Convicted:
2015, 
LDS positions: BYU, Scout leader, - LDS mission:
unknown
- Alleged:
1 victim,
Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison, Probation, 
updated Sep 27, 2025 - request update | add info
Convicted:
LDS positions: 
Alleged:
Criminal case(s): 
LDS Kenne Worthen, “A married Mormon elementary school teacher had a sexual relationship with one of his 12-year-old students – and was only stopped when her classmates told other teachers, police have revealed.”
“Kenne Worthen, 27, allegedly started flirting with the sixth grader at Longview Elementary School in Phoenix last August and the relationship turned sexual in January, FoxlO reported.” Worthen, “is also an International Pathway Adjunct Professor at Brigham Young University-Idaho, where he teaches life skills and English to international students, according to his Linkedin page.”
‘Mr. Worthen was employed by the university as an online adjunct instructor,’ a university spokesperson told DailyMail.com. ‘However, his employment was terminated as soon as the university was made aware of his arrest.”
“He has also previously held after-school teacher roles in Idaho and volunteered as a Boy Scouts supervisor, according to his Linkedin page. The profile also suggests he is a follower of the Church of Latter-Day Saints.”
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Sources
- Former Phoenix teacher sentenced to 25 years in prison,
- Married elementary school teacher had sexual relations with 12-year-old student: cops ,
- Phoenix teacher gets 25 years in prison for sex with preteen,
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1. Former Phoenix teacher sentenced to 25 years in prison
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2. Married elementary school teacher had sexual relations with 12-year-old student: cops
A married Mormon elementary school teacher is being held without bond while accused of having a sexual relationship with his 12-year-old student.
Kenne Worthen, a 27-year-old father of one, was arrested Friday at Phoenix’s Longview Elementary School for five felony charges after the child’s classmates alerted staff to their inappropriate behavior, authorities said.
A following search of the sixth grader’s iPod revealed sexually-graphic conversations in her Google Hangouts app, according to court documents, obtained by CBS5
Some of the messages, written under the pseudonym of Jesse Smith but later linked to Worthen, also expressed concern that the girl would tell his wife or the police about their relations.
Worthen is a married father of one. In his first court appearance he was ordered held without bond.
The girl initially denied having relations with Worthen when questioned by police but eventually confessed, claiming that he started flirting with her in August before sexually touching her on April 10, authorities said.
The girl’s outraged father, speaking to KSAZ, said that’s when Worthen asked her mother if she could stay after school to “help with something.”
“She said, ‘of course, sure, why not,’ the father recalled.
Authorities say Worthen began a sexual relationship with his 12-year-old student after asking her to stay after to school. Conversations on the girl's iPod also revealed sexually-graphic messages.
“There should have been no reason why my child was in a classroom alone with a teacher,” he said.
He described the allegations now as “just sickening” and said it will take a long time for his daughter to heal.
“You have this anger, the anger towards the perpetrator, and a feeling that you physically want to harm that person,” he told KSAZ. “Then there’s an anger at least for me towards the school, because you send your child there thinking they’re going to be safe.”
In addition to expressing his desire to completely pummel Worthen, he expressed thanks to the classmates who alerted staff.
Those children he called heroes.
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3. Phoenix teacher gets 25 years in prison for sex with preteen
Documents
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Criminal case documents
Floodlit does not have a copy of a related probable cause affidavit. Please check back soon or contact us to request that we look for one.Civil case documents
Floodlit does not have a copy of a related civil complaint. Please check back soon or contact us to request that we look for one.Other documents
Floodlit does not have a copy of any other related documents. Please check back soon or contact us to request that we look for some.Videos
- Video title: Phoenix teacher’s arrest alarming schools and neighbors
- Video description: Kenne Worthen now facing five felony charges.
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Other Mormon sex abuse cases
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- Rex Furness (1923 – 2005) was a former Idaho state senator and Mormon bishop in Idaho; in 1996, pleaded guilty to sexual battery for fondling an underage girl; was sentenced to 60 days in jail; given a withheld judgment: if he did not violate the terms of his probation, the felony conviction would be kept from his record
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- Lon Kennard (1941 – 2019) was a former Mormon bishop in Heber City, Utah; in 2011, pleaded guilty to three felony counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child; sentenced in 2011 to three consecutive terms of five years to life in the Utah State Prison
- View report »
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- Thomas Evans-Southall was an LDS bishop in Charlottesville, Virginia; originally from England; accused of sexual abuse; convicted in 2018 and sentenced to two consecutive terms of two years in prison
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