was an LDS church member in Utah and Georgia; convicted three times of sex crimes: Scotland in the 1990s, Utah in 2001, Georgia in 2020; assigned to be a young men's president in a Georgia LDS branch in 2017; arrested in 2019 and charged with eight felony counts of child sexual exploitation; convicted; as of November 2023, lives in Fort Valley, Georgia as a registered sex offender

Case report

Brandon Manning was an LDS church member who was convicted three times of sex crimes:

  • in the 1990s while serving a Mormon mission in Scotland (sexual assault)
  • in 2001 in Utah (child sexual abuse)
  • in 2020 in Georgia (child sexual exploitation)

1993: Scotland Mormon missionary sex abuse case

In September 1993, Brandon Manning was a Mormon missionary in Scotland.

While in the Glasgow, Scotland area, Manning sexually assaulted Rachel Fenwick, who has given FLOODLIT permission to use her name in reporting about Manning’s history of abuse, in hopes of encouraging other abuse survivors to come forward.

At the time, Rachel was a 4-year-old girl.

In a 1995 letter, an attorney representing Fenwick told Fenwick’s family member that “to attempt proceedings against either the Mormon Church or against Brandon Lee Manning would be pointless because (a) of the fact that Brandon Lee Manning was a volunteer and (b) the cost of litigating against Brandon Lee Manning as an individual in the United States would be a fruitless exercise.”

In 1993, Manning was sent home early to North Ogden, Utah from his full-time LDS mission to Scotland, according to a source who told FLOODLIT that Manning said “he had been accused of something heinous.”

The abuse happened in September, 1993 in Langside, Glasgow.

The case was put forward to the Magistrates Court (Langside area) Glasgow.

The Mormon church was in Langside, Glasgow, on the same street as where the victim lived, near a school.

The case took up to 3-5 weeks. Manning denied the charges against him.

He was found guilty and fined £300 as it was his first offense in the country.

Manning was then deported back to the US and placed on the UK sex offender list for life.

He was also banned from returning to the UK.

FLOODLIT is attempting to get related court documents and official paperwork from the Strathclyde Police, Glasgow.

2001: Brandon Manning Utah child sexual abuse case

Brandon Manning was married in the Manti, Utah temple in June 1995, despite being a convicted sexual abuser.

In 2001, Manning was convicted of two Class A misdemeanor counts of sexual abuse of a minor, as part of a plea deal where one of the charges was reduced from a third degree felony to a misdemeanor.

At sentencing, Manning’s jail sentence of 365 days in the Weber County Jail was reduced to where 335 days were suspended, leaving him to serve 30 days in jail for sexually abusing a child, and despite his prior conviction in Scotland for sexual assault of an underage victim. He was not fined.

He was ordered to complete sex offender therapy with Family Reconstruction out of state, and to submit an updated report to the court in Utah every 90 days for a period of 365 days.

Manning was also ordered by the court not to have any unsupervised contact with teenagers under the age of 18 while on probation.

2019: Brandon Lee Manning Georgia child sexual exploitation case

Despite his conviction in Utah in 2001, Manning was assigned to be a young men’s president in a Georgia LDS ward in 2017.

Manning was arrested in 2019 and charged with eight felony counts of child sexual exploitation.

As of 2023, he lives in Georgia and is a registered sex offender. He was released from prison in April 2023.

Were you sexually abused by Brandon Lee Manning?

If you were abused by Brandon Manning, please contact us so we can put you in touch with other survivors (if you wish) and add information to this case report.

Floodlit is currently in touch with a victim of Manning’s abuse.

Thank you for shining a light.

Case facts

Case photos

Case information sources

  1. A Greene County businessman is facing child pornography charges.
    view source details | 21 Nov 2019 | Dock 103.9 - The Voice of Lake Oconee
  2. Greensboro man arrested on 8 counts of child pornography
    view source details | 20 Nov 2019 | Union-Recorder (Milledgeville, Georgia)
  3. Brandon Lee Manning
    view source details | 29 Nov 2023 | Georgia Sex Offender Registry

Case information source details

  • A Greene County businessman is facing child pornography charges.
    Publisher: Dock 103.9 - The Voice of Lake Oconee
    Date: 21 Nov 2019
    Archive.org
    Source type: News article

    A Greene County businessman is facing child pornography charges.

    45-year-old Brandon Lee Manning was arrested last Thursday and charged with eight counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children.

    The Greene County Sheriff’s Office says Manning possessed images of children engaged in sexual conduct.

    Manning is the owner of Pool Specialists, which is based in his Greensboro home. It was also listed as his last place employment in his arrest booking sheet.

    The arrest comes after an investigation that lasted months.

    The Greene County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant at Manning’s home in May and took possession of over a dozen electronic devices after receiving a tip that potentially explicit images were being accessed from the home. After conducting examinations of each of these devices, several hundred images of suspected Child Pornography were found.

    Manning was previously a Registered Sex Offender in Greene County, but was removed from the list in 2009 after completing certain requirements. His original conviction for Sexual Abuse of a Minor took place in Utah in 2001.

    Manning remains in the Greene County Jail after being denied bond.

    The Greene County Sheriff’s Office does not believe there were any local victims.

    (Photo Courtesy: Greene County Sheriff’s Office)

  • view all information sources
    Greensboro man arrested on 8 counts of child pornography
    Publisher: Union-Recorder (Milledgeville, Georgia)
    Date: 20 Nov 2019
    Archive.org
    Source type: News article

    GREENSBORO, Ga. - A 45-year-old Greensboro businessman is being held withheld without bond after he was arrested several days ago on multiple counts of sexual exploitation of children, local authorities say.

    The arrest of the man stems from an investigation that began back in May.

    Greene County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Capt Lee Stancill identified the suspect as Brandon Lee Manning, who had been living in the Charity Drive neighborhood of Greensboro.

    Manning, who reportedly is affiliated with a swimming pool business, is specifically charged with eight counts of sexual exploitation of children, according to Capt. Stancill, who is the lead investigator.

    Capt. Stancill said Manning was taken into custody at his residence Nov. 14 without incident. Manning’s arrest stemmed from an ongoing criminal investigation that has been underway by investigators with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office for the past several months.

    A search warrant was executed at the residence of the suspect back in May, according to the investigator.

    Capt. Stancill said during that time, he and other sheriff’s office investigators seized more than a dozen electronic devices from the residence.

    The lead investigator said the seizure of the electronic devices came as the result of a tip that potentially explicit images were being accessed from the residence.

    “After conducting examinations of each of these devices, several hundred images of suspected child pornography were found," Capt. Stancill said.

    Capt. Stancill said since the case was pending prosecution, he would not be able to discuss exactly what prompted the investigation.

    Manning who previously had been a registered sex offender in Greene County was removed from the list in 2009 after he completed certain requirements, Capt. Stancill said.

    Manning appeared before Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Terry N. Massey on Monday morning in Greene County Superior Court and was denied bond in the case. Manning was represented by his defense attorney, Mo Wiltshire during the brief hearing before the judge.

    Capt. Stancill said during the course of the investigation that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) had provided certain records, but that all digital forensics had been performed by him in his lab with equipment provided him by U.S. Secret Service.

    Capt. Stancill, who also works with the Electronic Crimes Task Force out of the U.S. Secret Service field office in Atlanta explained that the federal agency provides him all the equipment, his training, as well as his training and support for work he does when it comes to computers and mobile devices.

  • view all information sources
    Brandon Lee Manning
    Publisher: Georgia Sex Offender Registry
    Date: 29 Nov 2023
    Archive.org
    Source type: Registered sex offender record

    NAME: MANNING, BRANDON LEE
    GDC ID: 0001248647

    PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

    YOB: 1973
    RACE: WHITE
    GENDER: MALE
    HEIGHT: 6'00''
    WEIGHT: 214
    EYE COLOR: BLUE
    HAIR COLOR: BROWN
    SCARS, MARKS, TATTOOS

    INCARCERATION DETAILS

    MAJOR OFFENSE: SEX EXPLOITATION CHILD
    MOST RECENT INSTITUTION: CENTRAL STATE PRISON
    MAX POSSIBLE RELEASE DATE: 11/13/2023

    ACTUAL RELEASE DATE: 04/17/2023
    CURRENT STATUS: INACTIVE

    KNOWN ALIASES

    A.K.A. MANNING,BRANDON LEE
    STATE OF GEORGIA - CURRENT SENTENCES
    CASE NO: 886001

    OFFENSE: SEX EXPLOITATION CHILD [FLOODLIT note: 8 counts]
    CONVICTION COUNTY: GREENE COUNTY
    CRIME COMMIT DATE: 08/19/2017
    SENTENCE LENGTH: 15 YEARS, 0 MONTHS, 0 DAYS
    CASE NO: 886001

    STATE OF GEORGIA - PRIOR SENTENCES
    STATE OF GEORGIA - INCARCERATION HISTORY
    INCARCERATION BEGIN: 10/01/2020
    INCARCERATION END: 04/17/2023

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