Wade Christofferson (1953 – ) was accused, per Floodlit's sources, of sexually abusing up to 12 children in Illinois, Ohio and Utah between 1985-2025, including while in bishopric; excommunicated in 1996 for child sexual abuse; rebaptized in 1997, was bishopric counselor 2006-11, 2016-19; charged in 2025 with child sexual abuse (alleged between 2016-25); his brother, apostle Todd Christofferson, knew by around 2020 of abuse.
"I am deeply sorry for what I have done and will be meeting with my bishop to start the repentance process." - Wade Christofferson, Nov. 6, 2025 text message to the father of a girl Wade allegedly sexually abused
"The Church strongly condemns and does not tolerate abuse and honors the courage and respects the rights of survivors. Regarding the history of Wade Christofferson: President  D. Todd Christofferson was never in a position to know about and, in fact, did not know about or influence the ecclesiastical decisions regarding his brother’s membership. While he and other family members were told of Wade’s... excommunication, he was not informed of the specific reasons and had no reason to suspect it was for abuse. It was not until around 2020 that President Christofferson first learned of — through family disclosure — some of his brother’s history of abuse from thirty years earlier; he respected the adult victims’ wishes not to involve law enforcement at that time. However, upon learning of a recent allegation involving a minor, President Christofferson immediately reported it to legal authorities."
— Latter-day Saints spokesman in Utah, statement to Chicago Sun-Times, Mar. 5, 2026
URGENT Mar. 7, 2026: Floodlit needs your help to keep our database and reporting alive as we prepare to release a report you won't want to miss. We currently need to raise $350 to cover Web hosting expenses, an Internet bill, and the costs of copies of court documents that we plan to make available to the public along with our upcoming report. Please donate and tell a friend!

UPDATE Mar. 5, 2026 9:15am ET – The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting today on Wade Christofferson. Floodlit’s reporting was noted in the article.

A Latter-day Saints spokesman in Utah released a statement to the Sun-Times saying: “The Church strongly condemns and does not tolerate abuse and honors the courage and respects the rights of survivors. Regarding the history of Wade Christofferson: President D. Todd Christofferson was never in a position to know about and, in fact, did not know about or influence the ecclesiastical decisions regarding his brother’s membership. While he and other family members were told of Wade’s […] excommunication, he was not informed of the specific reasons and had no reason to suspect it was for abuse. It was not until around 2020 that President Christofferson first learned of — through family disclosure — some of his brother’s history of abuse from thirty years earlier; he respected the adult victims’ wishes not to involve law enforcement at that time. However, upon learning of a recent allegation involving a minor, President Christofferson immediately reported it to legal authorities.”

The church did not say when D. Todd Christofferson first learned of his brother Wade’s excommunication. Todd was a seventy and general authority in the Mormon church in 1996 when Wade was excommunicated for child sexual abuse. Todd became an apostle in 2008.

The church’s statement confirmed the news Floodlit broke in November 2025 that a family member made Todd Christofferson aware in “around 2020” of alleged child sexual abuse by Wade “from thirty years earlier.” Despite being told that his brother had sexually abused multiple girls, Todd Christofferson did not report the allegations to law enforcement. Wade allegedly went on to sexually abuse at least two more girls.

In a December 2025 statement, the church said one of its leaders in Ohio reported abuse allegations “the following day” after they “learned of abuse allegations against Wade Christofferson involving an alleged victim in Utah on the evening of Nov. 6 [2025].” The church also said “it learned of an additional alleged victim in Ohio on Nov. 11 […] and reported to law enforcement the next day.” Floodlit is trying to determine whether the Nov. 12, 2025 report was made by apostle Todd Christofferson.

—

Wade Christofferson Child Sexual Abuse Case: Key Allegations

After communicating in November 2025 with four alleged victims and relatives of two other alleged victims of child sexual abuse by Wade Christofferson, Floodlit broke the story that:

  • Mormon apostle D. Todd Christofferson learned in around 2020 that his brother Wade Christofferson allegedly sexually abused multiple children between the late 1980s and early 1990s, but Todd did not report the alleged abuse to law enforcement. In March 2026, a church spokesman said Todd “respected the adult victims’ wishes not to involve law enforcement at that time.”
  • Wade Christofferson had at least nine to 12 alleged child sexual abuse victims dating back to 1985, in three U.S. states (Illinois, Ohio and Utah).
  • According to multiple alleged victims and their relatives, Wade Christofferson was excommunicated in the 1990s, several years after church officials first became aware of allegations of child sexual abuse against him.
  • Wade Christofferson was rebaptized into the Mormon church, and church officials removed an annotation on Wade Christofferson’s church membership record, allowing him access to children at church, according to multiple alleged victims and relatives. Such a removal would have required First Presidency approval, according to church policy.
  • Between 2006 and 2025, the Mormon church assigned Wade Christofferson to work in three ward bishoprics and two other church leadership positions, according to records obtained by Floodlit.
  • Two bishops and a stake president in the 1990s, apostle Todd Christofferson in around 2020, and an area authority seventy in 2025 all knew prior to Wade Christofferson’s 2025 arrest that he had allegedly perpetrated child sexual abuse, according to reports to Floodlit by alleged victims. In 2024, another stake president allegedly told an abuse victim that he knew the church placed an annotation on Wade Christofferson’s church membership record to prevent him from working with children, and that the church later removed the annotation.
  • None of these six church officials told police about the alleged abuse prior to November 2025, according to alleged victims. In at least four instances (both bishops, the 2024 stake president and the 2025 area authority seventy), alleged victims told Floodlit they reported their abuse personally to church officials.

Floodlit compiled a timeline of events in Wade Christofferson’s life, including allegations of child sexual abuse, based on communication with alleged victims or their relatives, and on court and church records we’ve obtained.

Floodlit helped three alleged victims and relatives of two other alleged victims in this case to contact each other, prompting a cascade of revelations.

Wade Christofferson Sex Abuse Case Timeline

  • 1985: Wade Christofferson moves from the United Arab Emirates to Crystal Lake, Illinois and begins attending the Crystal Lake 1st Ward in the Schaumburg Illinois Stake, with bishop Lee Donaldson, an LDS church CES coordinator for local seminaries and institutes.
  • 1985 or 1986: Christofferson begins sexually abusing children in his LDS ward within months of moving to Crystal Lake, Illinois, according to Victim 1, who later tells Floodlit her abuse began in approximately 1985. This is the earliest alleged abuse by Wade Christofferson, as far as Floodlit is aware.
  • Between approximately 1988 and 1992: Christofferson allegedly sexually abuses a girl (Victim 2) in Sandy, Utah; at his home in Crystal Lake, Illinois; and in Nauvoo, Illinois. She is 9 years old when the abuse begins and 13 when it ends, she later tells Floodlit.
  • Summer 1990: Wade Christofferson allegedly sexually assaults a 13-year-old girl (Victim 3) while hosting a sleepover at his home.
  • Late 1990 or early 1991: Several months after allegedly sexually assaulting Victim 3, Wade Christofferson is assigned to be Lee Donaldson’s first counselor in the Crystal Lake 1st Ward bishopric, Victim 3 later tells Floodlit. He and Donaldson are close personal friends. “I was really upset,” she later tells Floodlit. In a temple recommend interview, Victim 3 tells Bishop Donaldson what his new counselor, Wade Christofferson, did to her the previous summer. As months go by, she waits for Wade Christofferson to be released from his bishopric position. “It never happened,” she later tells Floodlit.
  • Approximately 1991 or 1992: According to Victim 4‘s relative, Wade Christofferson allegedly attempts to sexually assault Victim 4 at a sleepover at his home. It is two o’clock in the morning. While pretending to look for the family cat, Wade Christofferson approaches Victim 4 and attempts to sexually abuse her, Victim 4‘s relative later tells Floodlit. Victim 4 “got out of the situation” and calls her parents to come pick her up, the relative later recalls. Victim 4‘s father tells Bishop Donaldson, who says he will “take care of it.”
  • Approximately 1992: Wade Christofferson is released from his position as first bishopric counselor, according to Victim 4‘s relative. Christofferson “continued attending but didn’t take the sacrament” for some time, Victim 4‘s relative later tells Floodlit.
  • 1993: Wade’s brother, Todd Christofferson, becomes a Mormon general authority and member of the First Quorum of the Seventy.
  • 1994 to 1996: John (pseudonym), brother of Victim 5, attends the LDS church in Crystal Lake as a young teenager. He later tells Floodlit, “My family knew the Christoffersons very well and spent a lot of time with them. I have now learned that my female friends from that period were either victims or nearly so (they woke up at sleepovers to Wade hovering over them, or lying on the floor by their bed, or trying to get into the bed with them). From what I have learned from talking to friends is that he used to […] hold sleepovers with girls in the ward. He also used to take photographs of girls […] (nothing ostensibly inappropriate, but those photos weren’t shared with the girls, and were for himself).” Victim 3 also later tells Floodlit about the photographs, saying Wade Christofferson “enjoyed doing photo shoots with the girls.” However, she says, “I never saw the pictures.”
  • Mid- to late 1990s: Victim 6 allegedly attends a sleepover at Wade Christofferson’s home in Crystal Lake. It is her first – and only – sleepover there. Victim 6 later tells Floodlit, “I woke up in the middle of the night and saw Wade sleeping on the bedroom floor between our […] beds. When I asked [another child] about it later, she said he was protecting us from [another male] and making sure we didn’t sneak out, which was really odd. I never slept over again.”
  • July 21, 1996: Lee Donaldson is released as bishop of Wade Christofferson’s LDS ward. The new bishop is James “Jim” Sherwood, who replaced Wade Christofferson as bishopric counselor in approximately 1992.
  • Late 1996: Bishop Sherwood meets with Victim 3, who is preparing to leave for college, and asks her if she ever had an “uncomfortable experience” with Wade Christofferson, she later tells Floodlit. She says yes. Bishop Sherwood asks if she can tell him about it because “some other girls had come forward.” Victim 3 tells Bishop Sherwood that Wade Christofferson sexually abused her in 1990, she later tells Floodlit. Bishop Sherwood initiates the church disciplinary process that leads to Wade Christofferson’s excommunication from the Mormon church. In all, according to multiple survivors or relatives of survivors who spoke to Floodlit, Wade Christofferson has at least seven to 10 alleged victims from the Crystal Lake 1st Ward in the 1980s and 1990s. (Victim 7, whose experience is not reported above, is a sibling of one of the other alleged victims.)
  • 1996: A stake high council of the Buffalo Grove Illinois Stake excommunicates Wade Christofferson for child sexual abuse. Floodlit learned of the excommunication in 2025 by communicating with abuse survivors and their family members. Former stake high council member Ed Nachel appeared in a Feb. 25, 2026 episode of the Mormon Stories Podcast, confirming the year of Christofferson’s excommunication. A story circulates among Crystal Lake 1st Ward members that the excommunication is due to a romantic extramarital affair with an adult coworker who blackmailed Wade Christofferson, according to multiple survivors or their relatives who spoke with Floodlit. Wade Christofferson continues to attend church meetings.
  • 1997: Wade Christofferson is rebaptized in Illinois, “following established disciplinary and confession processes,” per a 2026 church spokesman.
  • Approximately mid-1997: Wade Christofferson moves from Crystal Lake, Illinois to Dublin, Ohio and begins attending the Dublin Ward, later renamed the Dublin 1st Ward, in the Columbus Ohio Stake.
  • 1998: Wade’s brother Todd Christofferson becomes a president in the Mormon church’s Presidency of the Seventy.
  • Between approximately 1998 and 2006: An “asterisk” or annotation on Wade Christofferson’s church membership record forbidding leadership positions with access to children is removed, according to a survivor who told Floodlit that a stake president she spoke with in 2024 confirmed the prior existence and removal of the annotation.
  • 2006 to 2011: Wade Christofferson is the second counselor in the bishopric of the Columbus Young Single Adults (YSA) 2nd Ward, Columbus Ohio Stake.
  • 2008: Wade’s brother Todd Christofferson becomes a Mormon apostle.
  • 2016 to 2019: Wade Christofferson is first counselor in two different bishoprics in the Dublin 1st Ward, Columbus Ohio North Stake.
  • Between approximately 2016 and 2020: Wade Christofferson allegedly sexually abuses Victim 8 “more than a dozen times,” according to 2025 federal charging documents.
  • October 2017: In a video published by KSL about Wade’s brother Tom Christofferson’s spiritual journey as a gay Latter-day Saint, Wade Christofferson recalls thinking, “How can you betray our family?” when he learned Tom was gay, divorced and had left the Mormon church. Wade says he was “mad, upset, angry.” (see approximately 4:40 mark of video) KSL is owned by the Mormon church.
  • Around 2020: An alleged victim tells apostle Todd Christofferson’s relative that Wade Christofferson sexually abused her when she was a child (around 1990), and the relative notifies Todd Christofferson of the alleged abuse. The alleged victim later tells this to Floodlit. A church spokesman confirms the account in a Mar. 5, 2026 statement to the Chicago Sun-Times: “President Christofferson first learned of — through family disclosure — some of his brother’s history of abuse from thirty years earlier; he respected the adult victims’ wishes not to involve law enforcement at that time.” (Note: The church statement used the word “victims’,” indicating knowledge by Todd Christofferson of alleged sexual abuse of multiple children by his brother Wade.)
  • 2019 to 2023: Wade Christofferson is ward clerk, Dublin 1st Ward, Columbus Ohio North Stake.
  • 2022: Victim 1 confronts Wade Christofferson in person and asks him if he was excommunicated and rebaptized. He admits that he was, she later tells Floodlit. Wade tells Victim 1 that he believes he was forgiven for what he did.
  • 2022: Victim 1 reports to Crystal Lake, Illinois police that Wade Christofferson sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions when she was a child, at a Latter-day Saints meetinghouse in Crystal Lake. The alleged assault cannot be prosecuted due to the statute of limitations expiring.
  • September 2023 to November 2025: Wade Christofferson is second counselor in the stake Sunday school presidency of the Columbus Ohio North Stake.
  • Early 2025: An alleged victim meets in person with LDS area authority seventy Kevin Birch (North America North East area) and reports child sexual abuse by Wade Christofferson to Birch, the alleged victim later tells Floodlit.
  • Approximately May 2025: Wade Christofferson allegedly begins “using [a] secret language to shield his sexually explicit requests of [a] girl [Victim 9] in letters he [is] sending her from Ohio,” per a Dec. 5, 2025 Salt Lake Tribune description of federal charging documents. This alleged behavior continues until Nov. 5, when the girl’s father discovers the code, according to prosecutors.
  • October 2025: Wade’s brother Todd Christofferson becomes second counselor in the LDS First Presidency.
  • Nov. 5, 2025: According to 2025 charging documents, Wade Christofferson is FaceTiming a girl in Utah [Victim 9] and asks to see her to see “snow” and “friends.” Her father enters the room to find her lifting up her shirt to the camera. The Utah girl later tells investigators that Christofferson touched her inappropriately in the past and told her “she would like it when she got older,” the 2025 charges say.
  • Nov. 6, 2025: Wade Christofferson allegedly admits abusing Victim 8 and Victim 9 to their fathers, according to the charging document, and tells the Utah father in a text message: “I am deeply sorry for what I have done and will be meeting with my bishop to start the repentance process.”
  • Sometime in November 2025: Wade Christofferson looks online about leaving the United States, according to the charging document.
  • Nov. 11, 2025: Wade Christofferson texts an Arizona family member to ask if he can come there for “an open-ended stay” starting on Nov. 13, according to charging documents.
  • Nov. 12, 2025: Dublin, Ohio police start investigating after the Utah man’s brother in Ohio (Victim 8‘s father) reports that Christofferson had allegedly sexually abused his daughter, too.
  • Sometime in November 2025: Police in Dublin, Ohio search Wade Christofferson’s home, and a review of his phone allegedly reveals a search history for criminal defense attorneys in Ohio and Utah, as well as the phrase, “In Ohio do clergy have to report child abuse confessions.”
  • Nov. 20, 2025: Floodlit breaks the story of Wade Christofferson’s arrest and pending federal criminal charges. No mainstream news outlets mention the story until Nov. 25.
  • Nov. 20 to Nov. 25, 2025: Floodlit researches public records and communicates with several alleged abuse survivors and their relatives. Victim 3 tells Floodlit she is “sickened that it is 40 years later” and asks, “How many more people were harmed that didn’t need to be?!” Victim 4‘s relative says, “I’ve been waiting for years for this to happen and for justice to be served,” adding that they were “disgusted” when Todd Christofferson was called to be an apostle in 2008.
  • Nov. 24, 2025: The LDS church releases Wade Christofferson from his calling as stake Sunday school presidency counselor, per a Floodlit source.
  • Nov. 25, 2025: The U.S. Department of Justice, Southern District of Ohio announces that Wade Christofferson has been “charged federally with sexual exploitation crimes against minors.” The federal charges against Wade Christofferson pertain to alleged sexual abuse of two children between approximately 2016 and 2025, but Floodlit’s research has uncovered a much more expansive set of allegations. Floodlit publishes another update on its website, almost a full hour before mainstream news outlets begin to cover the story. Mainstream news articles do not mention allegations of additional victims beyond the two mentioned in the federal charging document, allegations of abuse prior to approximately 2016, or allegations that multiple Mormon officials failed over a 35-year period to report abuse to civil authorities or prevent Wade Christofferson from having access to children at church. No mainstream news reports mention the allegations discovered by Floodlit that Wade Christofferson sexually abused children in the 1980s and 1990s.
  • Dec. 3, 2025: Wade Christofferson is moved into U.S. Marshals custody, according to the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
  • Dec. 4, 2025: Floodlit breaks the news that Wade Christofferson has been booked out of the Salt Lake County Jail and is in U.S. Marshals Service custody. According to court documents, Wade is being extradited to southern Ohio.
  • Dec. 5, 2025: The Salt Lake Tribune reports on the federal charges against Wade Christofferson. Newly unveiled details from the charging document confirm Floodlit’s prior reporting regarding the nature and timeframe of the alleged abuse of Victim 8 and Victim 9. The Tribune article says, “The federal prosecutors allege Christofferson had been using this secret language to shield his sexually explicit requests of [a] girl in letters he had been sending her from Ohio for at least six months. The Utah father discovered the code on Nov. 5, prosecutors say, after he overheard a FaceTime conversation between his daughter and Christofferson and began asking them questions. […] Police started investigating a week later, after the Utah man’s brother in Ohio reported that Christofferson had allegedly sexually abused his daughter, too. […] The father told investigators that Christofferson had been sending his daughter letters over the past six months that used these and other sexual ‘code words.'” According to the Tribune, the Mormon church “said in a statement Friday [Dec. 5] that one of its leaders in Ohio ‘learned of abuse allegations against Wade Christofferson’ involving an alleged victim in Utah on the evening of Nov. 6, and the church reported to law enforcement the following day. It learned of an additional alleged victim in Ohio on Nov. 11, the church said, and reported to law enforcement the next day.” The church says in a statement to the Tribune: “‘Child abuse is inexcusable. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is committed to preventing, reporting, and addressing abuse. Leaders and members are directed to stop abuse, support victims — including with professional help — and follow all reporting laws. The church urges that all abuse be reported to authorities. […] The church is cooperating fully with the authorities in this ongoing investigation. We love and are most concerned for the victims and are offering support.”
  • Feb. 25, 2026: The Mormon Stories Podcast published a recorded interview with Edward Nachel, who told his account of being on the stake high council in Illinois that excommunicated Wade Christofferson in 1996.
  • Mar. 2, 2026: Attorneys for both the prosecution and defense in Wade Christofferson’s ongoing federal child sex abuse case filed a joint motion to extend the time during which an indictment must be filed. Floodlit obtained a copy of the motion, which states in part: “The Parties are exploring the possibility of a pre-indictment resolution, but will require additional time, especially in light of the nature of the evidence in this case, for those discussions, ongoing pre-indictment discovery review and additional meetings with Defendant.”
  • Mar. 5, 2026: The Chicago Sun-Times reported on Wade Christofferson. Floodlit’s reporting was noted in the article. A Latter-day Saints spokesman in Utah released a statement to the Sun-Times saying, “The Church strongly condemns and does not tolerate abuse and honors the courage and respects the rights of survivors. Regarding the history of Wade Christofferson: President D. Todd Christofferson was never in a position to know about and, in fact, did not know about or influence the ecclesiastical decisions regarding his brother’s membership. While he and other family members were told of Wade’s […] excommunication, he was not informed of the specific reasons and had no reason to suspect it was for abuse. It was not until around 2020 that President Christofferson first learned of — through family disclosure — some of his brother’s history of abuse from thirty years earlier; he respected the adult victims’ wishes not to involve law enforcement at that time. However, upon learning of a recent allegation involving a minor, President Christofferson immediately reported it to legal authorities.”

 

Wade Christofferson’s 2025 federal criminal case: Details

  • The timeframe of the alleged abuse in Wade Christofferson’s criminal case is unclear, but involves two victims not listed above, Victim 8 and Victim 9. Their alleged abuse took place sometime between 2016 and 2025, based on Wade Christofferson’s alleged use of FaceTime calls and on a Salt Lake Tribune report on Dec. 5, 2025 that described allegations in the charging document.
  • According to court documents, Christofferson allegedly searched online for “In Ohio do clergy have to report child abuse confessions” and for defense attorneys who represent people accused of sex crimes.
  • A criminal complaint merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
  • Floodlit is continuing to gather information in this case.

 

Why was there no mainstream news coverage of this story from Nov. 20 to Nov. 25?

On Nov. 20, Floodlit.org broke the story that Wade Christofferson, brother of Mormon church apostle Todd Christofferson, was arrested pending federal charges for alleged child sexual abuse.

We also broke the story that the church excommunicated, then rebaptized Wade Christofferson and placed him in at least three bishoprics, according to multiple reports to Floodlit by abuse survivors or their relatives, and according to church records obtained by Floodlit.

While the mainstream media remained silent for five days, we spoke with several alleged victims and their relatives, and gathered information about the allegations against Wade Christofferson, and about what Mormon officials knew and did in response.

This experience is not new for Floodlit. We’ve broken numerous stories that received no mainstream coverage. Examples:

We’ve also been the first to break stories where we provided more details and access to court documents not seen in subsequent mainstream reports. Examples:

In November 2025, Floodlit’s work was featured in the docuseries Surviving Mormonism with Heather Gay.

Thank you to the individuals who sent us photos of Christofferson for this report.

If you are a Survivor, please know you are not alone. You deserve to be heard and supported. If you are not a Survivor, please remember that, for many, Surviving is a daily battle. We call them Survivors for a reason. – FLOODLIT

URGENT: Please contact Floodlit if you are a survivor or know a survivor of alleged sexual abuse by Wade Christofferson, if you have any information about his history in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or if you personally knew him. Thank you so much!

Have any info on this or other Mormon sex abuse cases? Contact us.

As an independent newsroom, FLOODLIT relies on your generous support to make thousands of reports of sexual abuse in the Mormon church available. If you find our work helpful, please consider donating! Thank you so much for helping us shine a light.

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Sources

  1. Couple to Wed, Millard County Chronicle Progress (Utah), June 5, 1975.
  2. Christofferson brothers share how they remained 'as one', KSL, October 15, 2017.
  3. Inmate Information - Name: WADE S CHRISTOFFERSON, Salt Lake County , November 20, 2025.
  4. Dublin man arrested in Utah on federal child exploitation charges, U.S. Attorney's Office - Southern District of Ohio, November 25, 2025.
  5. Dublin man arrested in Utah after federal sex abuse charges filed, Columbus Dispatch (Ohio), November 25, 2025.
  6. Brother of an LDS apostle allegedly sent sexually explicit letters to Utah girl last month, Salt Lake Tribune, December 5, 2025.
  7. Questions cloud Mormon church handling of suburban congregation's ex-leader accused of abusing minors, Chicago Sun-Times, March 5, 2026.

  • 1. Couple to Wed

    • 19750605
    • News article
    • Millard County Chronicle Progress (Utah)

    [excerpt]

    [...] Mr. Wade S. Christofferson, son of Dr. and Mrs. Paul V. Christofferson of Vineland, New Jersey, (formerly of Delta).

    [...]

    Wade is a graduate of Glenbrook South High School, Glenview, Illinois. He has filled an LDS Argentina North mission and is presently attending the Brigham Young University. He is enrolled in the Honors Program.

  • 2. Christofferson brothers share how they remained 'as one'

    • 20171015
    • News article
    • KSL

    SALT LAKE CITY — Nearly 40 years ago, Tom Christofferson told his family he was gay. The initial reactions from his parents and brothers varied but their love for him never changed.

    This KSL television special — "That We May Be One: A Gay Mormon's Perspective on Faith and Family" — shares the story of Christofferson's spiritual journey.

    "I hope that when people hear the story of our family, they understand that the happy ending is not that I came back to church — although I'm grateful for that, obviously. The happy ending is that our family remained united in love throughout this journey," he said.

    The program features an interview with Christofferson and his brothers, along with ward and stake leaders in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who helped fellowship him back into the LDS faith after nearly two decades.

  • 3. Inmate Information - Name: WADE S CHRISTOFFERSON

    • 20251120
    • Police record
    • Salt Lake County

    [As of 1:00 am ET, Nov. 21, 2025:]

    Name: WADE S CHRISTOFFERSON

    Sex: M Age: 72
    Height: Weight:
    Race: Hair Color:
    Eye Color:

    Inmate Information
    Booking #: 25056688 SO#: 461558
    State ID: FBI:
    INS: Citizen:
    COB:

    Incarceration Information
    Current Location: MAIN County: SALT LAKE
    Current Housing Section: Current Housing Block:
    Current Housing Cell: Current Housing Bed:
    Booked Date: 11/20/2025 Release Date:

    Alias Information
    There are no aliases for this inmate.

    Detainer Information
    There is no detainer information for this inmate.

    Bond Information
    Case #: Amount: $0.00 Status: S Posted By: Post Date: 11/20/2025

    Charge Information
    Case # Offense Date Code Description Grade Degree
    11/20/2025 77-29-5 FEDERAL DETAINEES - INTERSTATE AGREEMENT NA

    --

    [As of 7:30 am ET, Nov. 21, 2025:]

    Sex: M Age: 72
    Height: 600 Weight: 220
    Race: Hair Color: GRAY OR PARTIALLY GRAY
    Eye Color: BROWN

    Inmate Information
    Booking #: 25056688 SO#: 461558
    State ID: FBI:
    INS: Citizen: UNITED STATES
    COB: Utah

    Incarceration Information
    Current Location: MAIN County: SALT LAKE
    Current Housing Section: 01 Current Housing Block: C
    Current Housing Cell: 10 Current Housing Bed: B
    Booked Date: 11/20/2025 Release Date:

    Alias Information
    There are no aliases for this inmate.

    Detainer Information
    There is no detainer information for this inmate.

    Bond Information
    Case #: Amount: $0.00 Status: S Posted By: Post Date: 11/20/2025

    Charge Information
    Case # Offense Date Code Description Grade Degree
    11/20/2025 77-29-5 FEDERAL DETAINEES - INTERSTATE AGREEMENT NA

  • 4. Dublin man arrested in Utah on federal child exploitation charges

    • 20251125
    • News article
    • U.S. Attorney's Office - Southern District of Ohio

    Defendant allegedly committed at least 20 hands-on offenses, sent letters to child victim with code words for sexual activity

    COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Dublin, Ohio, man was arrested in Utah and charged federally with sexual exploitation crimes against minors.

    Wade S. Christofferson, 72, was arrested on Nov. 20. He appeared in U.S. District Court in Utah today and his case was unsealed at that time. Christofferson is charged with attempting to sexually exploit a minor and with coercion and enticement.

    According to charging documents, on Nov. 12, the Dublin Police Department received a report regarding the alleged sexual abuse of an Ohio child by Christofferson.

    It is alleged Christofferson sexually abused the child in person 15 to 20 times.

    He also allegedly engaged in a sexually explicit FaceTime call with a second minor victim and sent coded letters to her Utah home that referenced sexual activity. Christofferson also committed hands-on sexual abuse of that child as well.

    A complaint affidavit details that Christofferson allegedly taught the Utah victim code words like “snow” for vagina, “friends” for nipples, “asterisk (*)” for naked, a drawn “smiley face” for rubs and “SS” for “Secret Spanks.” The defendant was allegedly overheard on a FaceTime call asking the victim if he could see her “snow” and “friends.”

    Letters referenced in the charging documents include “Top Secret” hand-written messages. For example, Christofferson wrote to the Utah victim, telling her “It was nice to see Snow and her friends when we FaceTimed…” and “I can’t wait to see you and play * games! I have a new one to teach you called ‘school.’ You will like it!”

    In one letter Christofferson allegedly included coupons he said were “Good for one * game with me!! You get to choose the game!”

    Christofferson’s phone allegedly included search history for “criminal defense attorneys sex crimes columbus ohio” and “In Ohio do clergy have to report child abuse confessions.”

    The defendant will be extradited from Utah to the Southern District of Ohio.

    Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Adam Lawson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Dublin Police Chief Justin Paez and other members of the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force announced the charges.

    U.S. Attorney Gerace commended the significant contributions to this case by the FBI Salt Lake City Division, the [redacted], Utah Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah.

    Assistant United States Attorney Emily Czerniejewski is representing the United States in this case.

    A criminal complaint merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

  • 5. Dublin man arrested in Utah after federal sex abuse charges filed

    • 20251125
    • News article
    • Columbus Dispatch (Ohio)

    [Floodlit has redacted some information to help preserve victims' privacy.]

    A Dublin man will return to Ohio to face federal child exploitation charges [...], court records say.

    The U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of Ohio said 72-year-old Wade Christofferson is accused of sexually abusing at least two children [...]. There were at least 15 to 20 instances of abuse, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

    Christofferson is charged with attempting to sexually exploit a minor, coercion and enticement. Authorities arrested him on Nov. 20 in Utah.

    Court records say Dublin police received a report about Christofferson on Nov. 12. An investigation determined one alleged victim lives in Ohio, and there is a second, who lived in Utah.

    That same day, Dublin police searched Christofferson's [...] home.

    [...]

    Additional investigation found searches on Christofferson's phone for "In Ohio do clergy have to report child abuse confessions" and for defense attorneys who represent people accused of sex crimes, court records say.

    According to court records, Christofferson had a sexually explicit FaceTime call with one of the victims that was overheard. In the call, Christofferson asked the child to see [their] "snow" and "friends," code words for genitals he had taught [them], court records say.

    Christofferson is accused of sending coded letters to the Utah victim that would include handwritten messages he labeled "Top Secret."

    In one letter, Christofferson referenced seeing the child's genitals while on a FaceTime call, as well as saying he would teach the child "games" that are believed to be code for sexual activity, court records say.

    Christofferson is currently being held in Utah while awaiting extradition back to Ohio.

  • 6. Brother of an LDS apostle allegedly sent sexually explicit letters to Utah girl last month

    • 20251205
    • News article
    • Salt Lake Tribune

    [updated 1:00 pm ET]

    Brother of an LDS apostle allegedly sent sexually explicit letters to Utah girl last month

    Wade Christofferson, 72, was charged in Ohio federal court with attempting to sexually exploit a minor, along with a second count of coercion and enticement.

    The path that led Ohio prosecutors to charge Wade S. Christofferson with attempting to sexually exploit a child began a month ago, when they say a Utah father figured out the code that Christofferson had been using with his daughter.
    The federal prosecutors allege Christofferson had been using this secret language to shield his sexually explicit requests of the young girl in letters he had been sending her from Ohio for at least six months. The Utah father discovered the code on Nov. 5, prosecutors say, after he overheard a FaceTime conversation between his daughter and Christofferson and began asking them questions.
    Police started investigating a week later after a man in Ohio — who knew about the alleged abuse in Utah — reported that Christofferson had allegedly sexually abused his daughter, too.

    This timeline was detailed in a charging document that The Salt Lake Tribune obtained Thursday from the federal prosecutors’ office in southern Ohio.
    Christofferson — whose older brother is an apostle and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ governing First Presidency D. Todd Christofferson — was charged on Nov. 20 in federal court in Ohio with attempting to sexually exploit a minor, along with a second count of coercion and enticement. The 72-year-old was booked into jail that same day in Utah.
    The charging document alleges Christofferson was FaceTiming with the Utah girl on Nov. 5 when her father overheard him asking her to see “snow” and “friends.” After Christofferson’s request, federal prosecutors say, the girl went into a bathroom closet and closed the door. Her father opened the door a few seconds later, according to charges, and found the girl lifting up her shirt to the camera.
    The Utah girl told her father, and later investigators, that Christofferson had taught her code words, and that “friends” meant “nipples,” and “snow” referenced her genitals. The father told investigators that Christofferson had been sending his daughter letters over the past six months that used these and other sexual “code words.”

    The Tribune generally does not identify alleged sexual assault victims and is not specifying how Christofferson knew the two girls in an effort to protect their privacy.
    The Utah girl also told investigators that Christofferson had touched her inappropriately in the past and told her “that she would like it when she got older,” according to the charges.
    Christofferson also allegedly admitted to the Ohio father that he sexually abused his young daughter several years ago more than a dozen times, the documents say. Christofferson has not been charged in state courts in Utah or Ohio in connection to these allegations as of Thursday.

    The docket in the federal case in Ohio has been under seal, and there’s no defense attorney listed in Utah records for Christofferson.
    Christofferson allegedly admitted abusing the two girls to their fathers, according to the charging document. The charging documents also say that Christofferson had indicated he wanted to start the repentence process with his bishop.
    Latter-day Saint bishops, or lay leaders of congregations, all have access to a 24/7 help line, which the church encourages them to use in cases of suspected abuse.
    For its part, the church says “when abuse occurs, the first and immediate responsibility of church leaders is to help those who have been abused and to protect vulnerable persons from future abuse.”

    Critics have countered, however, that the help line — staffed by attorneys for the church’s Salt Lake City law firm, Kirton McConkie — is mainly designed to shield the church from lawsuits.

    Police in Dublin, Ohio — where Christofferson lives — searched his home in November, and a review of his phone allegedly revealed a search history for criminal defense attorneys in Ohio and Utah, as well as the phrase, “In Ohio do clergy have to report child abuse confessions.”

    The answer in Ohio, according to a 2025 law, is that it depends on how the clergy learned of the abuse. In Utah, the law says clergy “may” report abuse obtained through a confession, but it does not require them to do so.
    Christofferson also looked online about leaving the United States, the charging document says, and texted a family member in Arizona on Nov. 11 to ask if he could come there for “an open-ended stay” starting on Nov. 13.
    It’s not clear why Christofferson was in Utah by Nov. 20, where he was booked into the Salt Lake County jail. Utah’s court docket does not indicate where he is at in the extradition process back to Ohio, which was ordered Nov. 25 by a Utah federal judge.

  • 7. Questions cloud Mormon church handling of suburban congregation's ex-leader accused of abusing minors

    • 20260305
    • News article
    • Chicago Sun-Times

    Wade Christofferson was arrested in November over child sex abuse accusations in Utah and Ohio. He was once a member and leader of a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints congregation in Crystal Lake, a far northwest suburb where records, interviews and other accounts indicate he might have molested more children in the 1980s and 1990s.

    --

    A Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints congregation in Crystal Lake, a far northwest suburb, where accused child molester Wade Christofferson (inset) was a one-time member and leader.

    [photo credit: Robert Herguth / Sun-Times, Floodlit]

    --

    A member of a prominent Mormon family who was arrested in Utah in recent months on child exploitation charges previously lived in the Chicago area and for many years attended a congregation in the far northwest suburbs — where he’s accused of abusing other minors.

    Questions are now being raised about whether local — or even national — Mormon leaders knew of that abuse but kept it secret, failing to tell police and providing cover that allowed child abuse to perpetuate.

    Wade Christofferson, who is in his early 70s, was arrested in November, charged with sexual exploitation crimes against minors and accused in court records of molesting an Ohio child 15 to 20 times.

    A brother of an influential Mormon leader, Christofferson “also allegedly engaged in a sexually explicit FaceTime call with a second minor victim and sent coded letters to her Utah home that referenced sexual activity,” federal prosecutors allege. “Christofferson also committed hands-on sexual abuse of that child as well.”

    While that court case focuses on more recent accusations of sexual abuse out of state, Christofferson is accused of molesting other children years earlier while a member and leader of a Mormon — or Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — congregation in Crystal Lake.

    Initially, he was “excommunicated” by the church for that behavior, according to interviews. But he was later allowed to return as a full member — and leader.

    A one-time member of Christofferson’s McHenry County congregation, former Woodstock resident Edward Nachel, told the Chicago Sun-Times that he was part of the church tribunal that convened in the mid-1990s over allegations that Christofferson molested at least one child at a “slumber party” hosted by one of his children.
    Edward Nachel.

    [photo of Edward Nachel. Facebook, Mormon Stories podcast]

    While church leaders subsequently “excommunicated” Christofferson over the alleged misconduct, they apparently never went to police or told their flock, and Christofferson was allowed to continue being a part of the congregation, though with a downgraded status.

    “No authorities were brought in, nothing was ever mentioned” to the membership, Nachel said, adding that a rumor was allowed to persist that Christofferson’s discipline had to do with an extramarital affair.

    “Nothing was ever done to dissuade this guy from doing this stuff.”

    At some point, Christofferson was “rebaptized,” and he moved to Ohio and resumed leadership roles, apparently without rank-and-file church members being told of his past.

    It’s unclear who signed off on Christofferson’s return.

    Nachel said Christofferson’s recent arrest in Utah spurred him to speak up. He said he took his oath seriously at the time of the tribunal that the proceedings and outcome were supposed to be secret, but he also says that had he or others spoken up long ago, perhaps they could have “stopped 30 years” of alleged abuse since then.

    Nachel, who moved from the Chicago region to Utah in 2018, said he harbors guilt over what happened and has gone on Facebook to apologize to victims and families for not doing more sooner.

    Current leaders of the Crystal Lake Mormon church couldn’t be reached. Crystal Lake police records show a female accuser came forward in 2022 alleging abuse at the Crystal Lake church by Christofferson years earlier when she was a child.

    Criminal charges weren’t pursued because the alleged assault occurred long enough ago that the statute of limitations had expired, records show.

    --

    [image: excerpt from a Crystal Lake, Illinois police report]

    [caption below image] A Crystal Lake police report showing a child sex abuse allegation against Wade Christofferson while he was involved with the Mormon church in the far northwest suburb. Criminal charges weren't lodged because the statute of limitations had expired by the time police learned of the alleged misconduct, records show. | Crystal Lake police department

    --

    The allegations relating to Christofferson’s November arrest indicate he wrote letters to one of the child victims with messages labeled as “top secret” with coded words for body parts, telling the Utah victim: “It was nice to see Snow and her friends when we FaceTimed.”

    Christofferson also allegedly wrote: “I can’t wait to see you and play * games! I have a new one to teach you called ‘school.’ You will like it!”

    His phone’s online history revealed searches for “criminal defense attorneys sex crimes columbus ohio” and “In Ohio do clergy have to report child abuse confessions,” according to federal authorities.

    Floodlit, an organization that chronicles sexual abuse within Mormonism, found after speaking to “multiple survivors or relatives of survivors” that Christofferson “has at least seven to 10 alleged victims from the Crystal Lake” church jurisdiction “in the 1980s and 1990s.”

    Neither Christofferson nor his attorney could be reached for comment.

    Floodlit also reported that D. Todd Christofferson — Wade Christofferson’s brother who is a high-ranking Mormon official, known as an apostle — knew in or about 2018 of at least one abuse allegation, citing information from an accuser.

    A Latter-day Saints spokesman in Utah released a statement to the Sun-Times saying:

    “The Church strongly condemns and does not tolerate abuse and honors the courage and respects the rights of survivors. Regarding the history of Wade Christofferson: President  D. Todd Christofferson was never in a position to know about and, in fact, did not know about or influence the ecclesiastical decisions regarding his brother’s membership.”

    “While he and other family members were told of Wade’s... excommunication, he was not informed of the specific reasons and had no reason to suspect it was for abuse.”

    “It was not until around 2020 that President Christofferson first learned of — through family disclosure — some of his brother’s history of abuse from thirty years earlier; he respected the adult victims’ wishes not to involve law enforcement at that time.”

    “However, upon learning of a recent allegation involving a minor, President Christofferson immediately reported it to legal authorities.”

    “Wade Christofferson was readmitted to the Church in 1997, following established disciplinary and confession processes, and we are aware of no abuse involving his Church service after that time. We remain committed to protecting the vulnerable and ensuring our reporting processes prioritize victim safety above all else.”

    Federal authorities haven’t said whether more charges are possible, and how many accusers from the Chicago region they’re aware of.

    [photo of Mormon church leader D. Todd Christofferson]

    [caption below photo] Mormon church leader D. Todd Christofferson. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

    --

    Like other Christian denominations including the Catholic church and the Southern Baptists, the Mormon church has been mired in sex abuse and financial scandals in recent years, though those troubles haven’t gotten much attention in Illinois because the faith group isn’t very large here compared to some Western states.

    In 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused the church and its investment manager of hiding assets to “obscure the amount of the Church’s portfolio” that, by 2018, had reached about $32 billion.

    The church has been hit with numerous claims about minors suffering sex abuse and ecclesiastical officials covering up — with the Guardian newspaper reporting in 2025 that more than 100 allegations against Mormon leaders emerged in California amid a three-year window that allowed adults to get around the expired statute of limitations and file lawsuits if they were molested as children.

    California has more than 700,000 Mormons.

    John Dehlin, host of the Mormon Stories podcast whose web site says he was excommunicated by the church in 2015 as “a direct result of his expanding podcast and outspoken support for the LGBTQ+ community,” hosted Nachel last month on his show and observed the irony of critics being kicked out of the church while men like Wade Christofferson are allowed to return and flourish.

    “They excommunicate the critics that are trying to protect the vulnerable and the marginalized,” Dehlin said. “It’s just suffocatingly painful, the disparity.”

    The church’s general handbook says: “Some people who are repenting have broken civil or criminal laws. In some cases, government authorities are not aware of this. Bishops and stake presidents encourage members to follow the law and report such matters when required. Leaders also counsel members to obtain competent legal advice when reporting. The Church’s policy is to obey the law.”

    --

    [photo of Nauvoo, Illinois Latter-day Saints temple]

    [caption below photo] A rebuilt Mormon temple in downstate Nauvoo. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

    --

    “In many places, priesthood leaders are required by law to report some illegal behaviors of which they become aware. For example, some states and countries require that child abuse be reported to law enforcement authorities.”

    In Utah, there are 2.2 million Mormons, about the size of the Catholic church in Cook and Lake counties.

    There are 17.5 million Mormons worldwide.

    The church reports roughly 60,000 members and nearly 120 congregations in Illinois, including suburban worship sites in Elgin, Glenview and Wilmette.

    Illinois holds an early and ugly place in Latter-day Saints history.

    The church’s web site says: “Thousands of early members . . . fled from Missouri to western Illinois in 1839 to escape persecution, including a literal extermination order given by Missouri governor Lilburn W. Boggs.”

    “The Latter-day Saints drained swamplands on the eastern banks of the Mississippi and established the thriving community of Nauvoo. The city, whose name means ‘beautiful place,’ grew to rival Chicago in size and became a hub of Church activity and commerce in Illinois.”

    “Unfortunately, the peace which Latter-day Saints had initially enjoyed in Illinois lessened with time as the number of Church members grew. Church founder Joseph Smith was martyred by a mob in the neighboring city of Carthage in 1844. By 1846, the Latter-day Saints were compelled to abandon Nauvoo for their own safety, thus launching one of the largest forced migrations in American history and the birth of the Mormon Trail.”

    Smith’s legacy has been challenged in more recent times because he not only had multiple wives — 30 or more — some were already married to his friends. At least one was 14 years old.

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Criminal case documents

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Other documents

Timeline

  • 1953
    Born

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Videos

    • Video title: Breaking: Mormon Church Hides Wade Christofferson Abuse Enabling More Abuse - Ed Nachel | Ep. 2117
    • Video description: In today's episode, Edward Nachel shares his firsthand account of serving on the High Council that excommunicated Wade Christofferson (Mormon apostle D. Todd Christofferson's brother) – and the guilt, questions, and reckoning that followed. Edward served in the same ward as Wade and knew him for over twenty-years.We begin with the recent arrest of Wade Christofferson and the allegations that have surfaced, including sexually coded letters and reported searches found on his phone. These are allegations until proven guilty in a court of law. But Edward’s story focuses on something broader: how church disciplinary systems operate, how secrecy functions, and what happens when there are no advocates for victims inside the room.Edward describes being selected for the Disciplinary Council, drawing lots to see who represented the abuser and who represented the church, being sworn to secrecy, the absence of witnesses and the victims, how the final decision was made by the Stake Presidency, and how ward members were never warned.At the time, Edward believed he was “on the church’s side.” Years later, he sees the system differently.This episode is not about attacking faith. It’s about transparency, accountability, and protecting children. Edward openly asks: What could I have done? Why didn’t I do more? And what must change to ensure this never happens again?

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Other Mormon sex abuse cases

    • Clark Crookston (1949 – ) was a former Mormon bishop, dentist and college professor in Orem, Utah; accused of nearly 60 years of sex abuse of multiple children; pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated child sexual abuse; sentenced in 2022 to up to 35 years in prison
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    • Arlo Atkin (1956 – ) was a former LDS bishop in or near Chandler, Maricopa County, Arizona; accused of raping and impregnating a 14-year-old girl in his ward while he was her bishop; pleaded guilty, spent 132 days in jail
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