was an LDS church member in the Holmes Lake Ward, Lincoln Nebraska Stake; convicted in 2002 of attempted 1st degree sexual assault of a minor; the abuse took place before Deaton joined the LDS church; subsequently called as counselor in a YSA ward bishopric

Case report

Note: Unlike most case reports in the FLOODLIT database, this one involves a perpetrator who sexually abused prior to becoming an LDS church member. However, we’ve decided to list the case report because it involves alleged failure to report abuse by LDS leaders.

Randall Deaton was convicted in 2002 of two counts of attempted 1st degree sexual assault of a minor.

Deaton wasn’t an LDS church member at the time of conviction, but his family was. He allegedly converted to Mormonism in prison shortly after failing his first parole hearing.

Deaton was called into a local YSA (young single adults) ward bishopric in summer 2020 before some local LDS members protested and he was released. Allegedly, local church leaders had obtained First Presidency approval to call him to the bishopric in the first place. He was subsequently called as stake presidency secretary. When a new stake presidency was called, Deaton was released a few months later.

Allegedly, before Deaton’s YSA bishopric calling, he and his wife led a local LDS church-run addiction recovery group for years.

Case facts

Case information sources

  1. source 1
    view source details | |

Case information source details

Browse the Mormon Sexual Abuse Database

FLOODLIT.org has a free public database of hundreds of reports about people who committed or allegedly committed sex crimes, including sexual abuse, while they were active Mormon church members. You can browse the entire database in all sorts of ways, including by LDS church position, number of victims, places where crimes took place, or criminal/civil case result.

View the Mormon Sexual Abuse Map

International map of locations where active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints perpetrated or allegedly perpetrated sexual abuse or other sex crimes, or where LDS leaders failed or allegedly failed to help abuse survivors.

 

Add information

Search the Mormon Sexual Abuse Database