- LDS positions: Bishop,
- Criminal case: Convicted, Pleaded guilty,
- Civil case: No civil case,
Case report
Charles Tyhurst was a practicing optometrist in the Lebanon, Virginia area as of 1979. His license expired at the end of 2018.
He was called as bishop of the Bristol Ward of the Mormon church in late 1986 or early 1987. He was still serving as bishop as of October 1990. (Bristol, Virginia is a twin city of Bristol, Tennessee – it is the same city, straddling the TN/VA state line.) He was no longer bishop as of August 1992.
In 2019, Tyhurst was arrested. He was sentenced in 2020 to prison for five years for aggravated sexual battery of a minor.
Related criminal case: Washington County Circuit Court case number CR1900037700.
A former acquaintance of Tyhurst told FLOODLIT, “Charles W. Tyhurst was my childhood bishop. He always creeped me out. He was overly affectionate and gave all the young girls pet names in the ward. I caught him staring at me many times. When I was 11, I had to ‘confess’ the sexual abuse by a family member to him and it was extra traumatizing. He told me to never tell anyone else. Everything got swept under the rug.”
Tyhurst became a licensed pilot through the Federal Aviation Administration in 2012.
Case facts
- case report | facts | sources
- AKA Charles W. Tyhurst Jr, Chuck Tyhurst
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Born: 1947
- LDS mission: unknown
- Lived in: Virginia,
- During alleged crime, lived in: Virginia,
- When accused, lived in: Virginia,
- Victims: 1 victim,
- Latest update: 2024: registered sex offender; lives in Richmond, Virginia. 2020: sentenced in Virginia to prison for five years for aggravated sexual battery of a minor
- Add information
Case information sources
- case report | facts | sources
- 'A sure loser'
- 'Prodigal Son' to be screened at Bristol church
- Lebanon optometrist sentenced to 5 years for aggravated sexual battery
- Lebanon optometrist pleads guilty to child sex crime
- CHARLES WESLEY TYHURST - Offender #101436
- Virginia Department of Health Professions License Lookup
- Virginia Department of Health Professions License Lookup
Case information source details
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'A sure loser'
Publisher: Bristol Herald Courier
Date: 26 Mar 1987
Archive.org
Source type: News article[letter to the newspaper by Tyhurst]
Mr. Tyhurst is bishop of the Bristol Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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view all information sources 'Prodigal Son' to be screened at Bristol church
Publisher: Bristol Herald Courier
Date: 27 Oct 1990
Archive.org
Source type: News article"... according to Bishop Charles W. Tyhurst, local lay leader of the LDS Church."
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view all information sources Lebanon optometrist sentenced to 5 years for aggravated sexual battery
Publisher: Super Talk WFHG FM 92.9
Date: 3 Feb 2020
Archive.org
Source type: News articleA Russell County, Virginia optometrist who had a practice based in Lebanon for decades has pleaded guilty to sex crimes.
According to information found in Washington County, Virginia Circuit Court, Charles Tyhurst, 73, will serve five years in prison on one count of aggravated sexual battery after a judge suspended 15 of the recommended 20-year sentence. A second count of the same charge was dropped during the proceedings.
The report said that the incident took place in the early 1990s and involved a child under the age of 13. Information from the Virginia Board of Optometry says Tyhurst’s license expired in 2018.
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view all information sources Lebanon optometrist pleads guilty to child sex crime
Publisher: WCYB
Date: 4 Feb 2020
Archive.org
Source type: News articleLEBANON, Va. — A Lebanon optometrist who admitted to a child sex crime will go to prison for five years.
Seventy-three-year-old Charles Tyhurst has pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual battery. The charge was brought in Washington County, Virginia.
Prosecutors say it involved an incident in 1993 and involved a child under the age of 13.
Originally, two charges were filed, but one was dropped.
Tyhurst pleaded guilty to the second.
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view all information sources CHARLES WESLEY TYHURST - Offender #101436
Publisher: Virginia State Police
Date: 24 Jan 2024
Archive.org
Source type: Registered sex offender recordRegistration Number:
101436
Status:
Incarcerated
Age:
76
Tier:
3
Lifetime Registration:
Yes
Reg. Renewed:
Initial Registration Start Date:
11/05/2019
Sex:
MALE
Race:
WHITE
Hair:
GRAY OR PARTIALLY GRAY
Height:
5' 0"
Weight:
197 lbs
Eyes:
HAZEL -
view all information sources Virginia Department of Health Professions License Lookup
Publisher: Virginia Department of Health Professions
Date: 24 Jan 2024
Archive.org
Source type: WebsiteLicense Information
License Number 0601000826
Occupation Optometrist-Non TPA
Name Charles W Tyhurst
Address Lebanon, VA 24266
Initial License Date 08/03/1977
Expire Date 12/31/2005
License Status Expired
Additional Public Information* No -
view all information sources Virginia Department of Health Professions License Lookup
Publisher: Virginia Department of Health Professions
Date: 24 Jan 2024
Archive.org
Source type: WebsiteLicense Number 0618000138
Occupation Optometrist-TPA Certified
Name Charles W Tyhurst
Address Lebanon, VA 24266
Initial License Date 07/29/1991
Expire Date 12/31/2018
License Status Expired
Additional Public Information* No
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