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Alleged failure to report
Crime: 1990s,
Crime county:
AZ - Maricopa,
Crime state:
Arizona,
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Positions: Missionary, - Mission:
Brazil - Brazil [unknown city] 1967-1969
Alleged:
1,
Alleged crime scenes:
LDS activity,
Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison, Released,
Alleged church actions: Excommunicated, Rebaptized,
updated Sep 18, 2026 - request update | add info
Rowan Ellsworth was a Mormon church member in Arizona.
According to a person familiar with Ellsworth’s case, Ellsworth molested a 14-year-old girl at an LDS girls camp in mid-1990. The source told FLOODLIT that the abuse was reported to a bishop in Winslow, Arizona, with the last name Burgess. Burgess did not notify law enforcement, but instead encouraged the victim to forgive Ellsworth, according to our source, who requested to remain anonymous.
Another person familiar with Ellsworth reported to FLOODLIT that he pleaded guilty to two counts of child molestation for abusing a 12-year-old female. They also reported that this child went to her bishop in St. Johns, Arizona and tried to talk to him about the sexual abuse, bishop Nick Patterson, who told her that he was not in a position to help her and she would have to go to the cops herself. This source also requested to remain anonymous.
In 1999, Ellsworth was sentenced to 10 years per child molestation charge, served concurrently. The conviction was for sexually molesting one child.
He was released in 2007.
Rowan Ellsworth is a registered sex offender living in Mesa, Arizona
If you have any information about Rowan Ellsworth’s LDS membership history please contact us.
Have any info on this case? Contact FLOODLIT.
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Sources
- Young Couples Planning to be Married in November / Arizona Temple Marriage,
- Rowan Joseph Ellsworth,
- nephew of the accused - Anthon Taylor Ellsworth,
- Rowan Joseph Ellsworth,
- Flagstaff woman hurt in plane crash near camp Verde / Rowan was a deputy,
- 3 hurt as plane crashes on Mesa takeoff,
- Mobil-home park developer is target for forgery probe,
- 3 plead innocense in theft of pottery from Arizona ruins / Rowan a probation officer,
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1. Young Couples Planning to be Married in November / Arizona Temple Marriage
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2. Rowan Joseph Ellsworth
Inmate 141511
Last Name First Name Middle Initial
ELLSWORTH ROWAN .
Gender Height (inches) Weight Hair Color
Male 5 f 0 250 Brown
Eye Color Ethnic Origin Custody Class Admission
Blue Caucasian Medium/Lowest 01/14/99
Projected Eligible Release Date
Prison Release Date Release Type
01/11/2009 Community Supervision End Date
Most Recent Location As of Date
Complex Unit Last Movement Status
01/11/2009 Inactive
Inmate Mailing Address
Mailing address is not available.
Earned Credit Release Date is provided for guidance. Confirmation can be sought by contacting ADCRR.
It is important to note that all Release Dates are projected and are subject to change; confirm with ADCRR Time Computation Unit or the Offender Information Unit where the inmate is housed for potential changes
If you are a victim of crime, please call or email the Office of Victim Services for assistance with your victim rights or concerns: 602-542-1853 azvictims@azadc.gov
Details of inmate offenses can be accessed by reviewing the case file at the Office of the Clerk of the Court where the case was adjudicated.
Commitment and Sentence Information 2 records
Commit# Sentence Length Sentence County Court Cause# Offense Date Sentence Date Sentence Status Crime
A01 010 Y/00 M/00D Apache County 000098189 06/01/1994 01/11/1999 Imposed ATTEMPTED MOLESTATION OF CHILD
A02 010 Y/00 M/00D Apache County 000098189 07/01/1994 01/11/1999 Imposed ATTEMPTED MOLESTATION OF CHILD
Disciplinary Infractions 0 record
Disciplinary Appeals 0 record [Info]
Profile Classification 19 records [Info]
Complete Date Classification Type Custody Risk Internal Risk
Active Classification Reclassification Medium Lowest
01/12/2006 Reclassification Medium Lowest
07/21/2005 Reclassification Medium Lowest
01/21/2005 Reclassification Medium Lowest
07/20/2004 Reclassification Medium Lowest
01/29/2004 Reclassification Medium Lowest
07/31/2003 Reclassification Medium Lowest
01/31/2003 Reclassification Medium Lowest
08/06/2002 Reclassification Medium Lowest
02/15/2002 Reclassification Medium Lowest
08/21/2001 Reclassification Medium Lowest
02/27/2001 Reclassification Medium Lowest
02/27/2001 Reclassification Medium Lowest
08/17/2000 Reclassification Close Lowest
02/14/2000 Reclassification Close Lowest
08/31/1999 Reclassification Close Lowest
08/31/1999 Reclassification Close Lowest
04/12/1999 Reclassification Close Low
01/29/1999 Initial Classification Close Low
Parole Action 0 record
Work Program 1 records
Assigned Date Completed Date Work Assignment
05/17/2000 05/17/2000 SUB ABUSE EDUCATION -
3. nephew of the accused - Anthon Taylor Ellsworth
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4. Rowan Joseph Ellsworth
Name: Rowan Ellsworth
Aliases:ROWAN JOSEPH EELSWORTH
Joseph Rowan Ellsworth
Rowan J Ellsworth
Rowan Joseph Ellsworth
ROWAN JOESPH
ROWAN ELLSWORTH JOESPH
Rowan Joseph
ELLSWORTH ROWAN
J ELLSWORTH ROWAN
JOSEPH ROWAN
JOSEPH ELLSWORTH ROWAN
Level: Level 1
Status: ActivePhysical Description
• Age: 78 • Height: 5'11''
• Sex: M • Weight: 195lbs
• Race: White • Eyes: Blue
• Hair: Brown
• Scars/Tattoos: Scar on abdomen ()Address
[REDACTED] a, AZ 85205
View Map
Other Known Addresses
Offenses
• Description: 13-1410 - Molestation of child (attempted)
• Conviction State: ArizonaName: Rowan Ellsworth
Aliases:ROWAN JOSEPH EELSWORTH
Joseph Rowan Ellsworth
Rowan J Ellsworth
Rowan Joseph Ellsworth
ROWAN JOESPH
ROWAN ELLSWORTH JOESPH
Rowan Joseph
ELLSWORTH ROWAN
J ELLSWORTH ROWAN
JOSEPH ROWAN
JOSEPH ELLSWORTH ROWAN
Level: Level 1
Status: Active -
5. Flagstaff woman hurt in plane crash near camp Verde / Rowan was a deputy
A Flagstaff woman was injured critically Sunday when a small plane piloted by her husband crashed south of Camp Verde, authorities said.
Dispatcher Terry North of the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office identified the pilot as Richard Trebowski, 51, and the two passengers as Patricia A. Trebowski, 40, and Rebecca Lynn Stutz, 19.
Mrs. Trebowski was flown by helicopter to Flagstaff Hospital, where she was in critical condition Sunday evening.
She was thrown from the plane when it crashed, Sgt. Frank Valentine said.
Valentine said Trebowski, who works at a Flagstaff restaurant, and Ms. Stutz were treated at Marcus J. Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Cottonwood and released.
Deputy Rowan Ellsworth said the 1979 Cessna 182, owned by Northland Aviation in Flagstaff, hit big catclaw bushes while landing at about noon on a strip at the Camp Verde Fish Farm, a hatchery eight miles south of Camp Verde and near Verde Lake.
Ellsworth said the plane skidded along the ground on its nose for about 30 feet before its nose gear broke off. The plane caught on a strut and flipped.
Ellsworth said the pilot "had been there (at the fish farm) Friday, walking along the strip with the owner. They were talking about whether he could land there. He said he could.
"He just came in a little bit too low."
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6. 3 hurt as plane crashes on Mesa takeoff
MESA — A four-engine C-54 crashed Tuesday while trying to take off from Falcon Field. Its two occupants and a driver of a pickup truck it hit were injured.
Witnesses said the 34-year-old plane ran off the end of the runway, hopped over an embankment and struck the truck before breaking apart in an orange grove across Greenfield Road.
Pilot Lowell Rogers, 35, of Las Vegas, suffered a broken leg, but was able to get free of the wreckage. Copilot Mike Lefebvre, 21, of 928 S. Terrace, Tempe, was pinned inside for about 40 minutes. He suffered two broken legs, according to Mesa police.
Both were listed in stable condition at Mesa Lutheran Hospital late Tuesday after surgery.
William Bryan Mully, 20, of 206 N. Standage, Mesa, the truck driver, was treated at Mesa Lutheran for cuts and was released.
Mesa Police Detective Rowan Ellsworth said the plane was used for agricultural spraying by Globe Air of Mesa and Biegerk Aviation, a Nebraska company.
He said both crewmen were certified to fly C-54s, but neither had flown that plane before.
"They were on their way to sort of an orientation flight," Ellsworth said. "The plane came over the bank and there was the pickup. The truck caught the right inboard propeller — the wings detached from the plane and the fuselage continued into the trees."
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7. Mobil-home park developer is target for forgery probe
"Mobil-home park developer is target of forgery probe"
Inquiry focuses on attempt to get loan from Mesa bank
By Brent Whiting, Republic StaffThe developer of a destitute Mesa mobile-home park is under investigation by Mesa police for alleged forgery and submitting false financial statements to a bank, it was disclosed Thursday.
The probe centers upon H. Keith Smith, developer of the Sundance Resort, 4700 E. Main, according to documents filed in Maricopa County Superior Court.
The documents show that Deanna Cardiff, 37, of 301 N. 61st Place, Mesa, has implicated Smith in a fraudulent scheme to obtain a $100,000 loan from Mission Bank, 5555 E. Main, Mesa.
Smith, 53, of 7832 Via Costa, Scottsdale, could not be reached for comment. Robert Houser, one of his attorneys, said he could not comment on the documents because he hasn't seen them.
The court documents consist of two search warrants issued Jan. 30 by Judge Michael Bradford allowing Mesa police to seize financial statements filed with the bank to secure the $100,000 loan.
The statements were filed in the name of Miss Cardiff and Don R. Christopher, both of whom are trustees for Sundance Resort, court papers show.
Miss Cardiff has told police that the financial statement in her name is fraudulent and Smith helped her to prepare it, court papers show.
She also has reported that the statement filed in Christopher's name is false and that Smith forged Christopher's signature on the document, the papers show.
Rowan Ellsworth, a Mesa police detective, told Bradford that Miss Cardiff's reliability is evidenced by her free admission to self-incriminating evidence. He said Miss Cardiff has openly assisted police in their investigation.
According to court papers, the loan was issued to Real Property Management Co., a company set up by Smith to develop Sundance Resort.
Smith served as general manager of Real Property Management and the firm has defaulted on the loan, the papers show.
Miss Cardiff told police that she prepared a financial statement showing a net worth of $257,600, court papers show. She said Smith altered the document to reflect a net worth of $1,335,097, according to the papers.
"Never submit a financial statement showing a net worth less than $1 million," Miss Cardiff said she was told by Smith, the papers show.
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8. 3 plead innocense in theft of pottery from Arizona ruins / Rowan a probation officer
A reserve Yavapai County deputy sheriff, a former deputy and an Indian-jewelry dealer pleaded innocent Wednesday to charges that they stole pottery from an archaeological site near Flagstaff.
The three, indicted Oct. 9 by a federal grand jury in Phoenix, are among the first in the nation to be prosecuted under a tough new federal law intended to scare diggers away from ruins, including the thousands of sites in Arizona.
The innocent pleas were entered before U.S. Magistrate Michael Mignella by Rowan J. Ellsworth, 37, of Camp Verde, a former Yavapai County deputy sheriff who now is a probation officer for the Camp Verde Yavapai-Apache Indian Community; Harry J. King, 41, of Camp Verde, a reserve deputy for the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office; and Carol L. Steen, 36, of Rimrock, a self-employed Indian jeweler.
Their trial is scheduled to begin Dec. 10 in Prescott before U.S. District Judge Charles L. Hardy. They remain free on their own recognizance.
According to the indictment, the three excavated and removed ruins from the Coconino National Forest about 15 miles east of Flagstaff in November 1982.
Ellsworth, contacted at his home, declined comment. King and Steen could not be reached.
They face penalties of up to $20,000 each plus two years in prison under the federal Archaeological Resource Protection Act. Although the act was approved by Congress in 1979, its full effect only now is emerging.
That's because regulations needed to give the law its clout were not enacted until January 1984, said Sherry P. Herrgott, the assistant U.S. attorney handling the case.
The regulations tell archaeologists how to determine whether the damage at a site should be considered a felony. For the damage to be considered serious enough to justify felony charges, archaeologists must certify that properly excavating an identical site would cost more than $5,000.
Herrgott, who instructs federal officials from across the country on how to use the law, said that Arizona "probably is more active than any district in the country in implementing this law."
Last year, an Arizona resident became the first in the nation to forfeit a vehicle used to steal artifacts, as authorities used a provision allowing them to seize vehicles used in commission of the crimes.
In another case, authorities seized $40,000 in pottery from the home of a person ordered to make restitution.
Another case is pending in U.S. District Court in Phoenix against three others indicted on charges of destroying ruins.
Arraignment is set for next Wednesday for brothers Dale Roy Plumb, 21, and David Press Plumb, 25, both of Show Low, and Patrick Ken Reidhead, 24, of Snowflake. They are accused of stealing artifacts from the Cherry Site, a prehistoric settlement on Bureau of Land Management land near Show Low, in March.
Documents
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Criminal case documents
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