was an LDS church member in Idaho; in 2009, pleaded guilty to a charge of lewd conduct; sentenced to 30 years in prison; Mormon leaders failed to report abuse to police in the 1980s

Case report

01/30/80 Boise, Idaho

LDS Steve Nelson “sexually abused as many as four children over a 30-year period. In the 1980s Nelson confessed to molesting one child to LDS officials, who learned of the crime from the victim but did not report it.

More than 20 years later, Nelson pleaded guilty to a charge of lewd conduct. In 2009, the woman he had abused as a pre-teenager in the 1980s caught him molesting a 3-year-old girl, according to court records.

Before sending Nelson to 30 years in prison, 4th District Judge Darla Williamson told him:
“I just don’t understand … why the church didn’t require that law enforcement be involved with you. Possibly at that point, if you had been charged, we would have at least one less victim.”

Case facts

Case information sources

  1. Did Fellow Mormons Cover up Officer's Baby Molestation
    view source details | 13 Dec 2010 | McClatchy DC [from Idaho Statesman]

Case information source details

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