Was Scout leader,
Unknown result,
updated Jan 18, 2025 - request update
John Doe (pseudonym) was a Mormon church member and Cub/Boy Scout leader in the United States. In the 2020s, a sexual abuse survivor identified Doe as part of a “proof of claim” submission in the massive Boy Scouts of America (BSA) bankruptcy case. The claim was one of 2,854 that directly identified the Mormon church, according to an expert analysis of the LDS church’s potential total liability for the sexual abuse allegations. The alleged abuse took place prior to the bankruptcy filing in February 2020, and may have dated back as early as the 1940s. FLOODLIT is seeking court documents and more details about these cases.
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Other Mormon sex abuse cases
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- John Doe was an LDS church member in California; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse; the suit was one of 91 or more coordinated civil suits filed in California in 2024 against the Mormon church
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- Jim UNKNOWN was a Mormon church member and Melchizedek priesthood holder in Lancaster, California; a 2024 civil lawsuit said he took part with a Mormon bishop and another Melchizedek priesthood holder in sexually assaulting an underage boy inside an LDS church building on a weekly basis from 2001 to 2003, starting when the victim was 15 years old
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- Albert Carlson (1944 – ) was a Mormon church member in Utah, New Mexico and Texas; arrested in the 1980s in Utah on a molestation charge after allegedly molesting an underage boy who he met through the church; the case was dropped to a lewdness charge which did not require him to register as a sex offender; in 2025, sentenced in Texas to life in prison for child sexual abuse
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- Vernon Sanford was an LDS church member in San Diego, California; died in 2000; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse, along with his son, Vernon Sanford Jr; the suit was one of 91 or more coordinated civil suits filed in California in 2024 against the Mormon church; the alleged abuse occurred between 1961 and 1970; the Sanfords were the plaintiff's LDS home teachers
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- Melvin McKinney was an LDS church member in California; accused of sexual abuse
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- Herman Blom (1948 – 2023) was a Mormon church member in the Netherlands and in Pleasant Grove, Utah; allegedly sexually abused a child in 2018; died in 2023
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- George Aaron (1941 – ) was a former Mormon bishop in a college ward in Provo, Utah; allegedly sexually abused his two teenage daughters in the 1980s and early 1990s; found civilly liable in 2001 to have "inflicted emotional distress," "breached fiduciary duty," and behaved with "reckless disregard" toward his younger daughter; paid $25,000 in punitive damages
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"I was sitting in a room, full of women, who had been sexually abused by a family member — most of them [saying], 'My father abused me. I told the bishop. Nothing happened.' I just knew that wasn't going to be my story. I wasn’t going to allow that to be my story."— Jane Doe-
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- Arlin Hatch was a Mormon church member in California; accused of sexual abuse in a 2025 lawsuit against the Mormon church
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- John Doe was an LDS church member in California; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse; the suit was one of 91 or more coordinated civil suits filed in California in 2024 against the Mormon church
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- Geoffrey Ashdown was a Mormon bishop and deputy school principal in Australia; allegedly sexually abused two children while he was a bishop; died
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- Rex Furness (1923 – 2005) was a former Idaho state senator and Mormon bishop in Idaho; in 1996, pleaded guilty to sexual battery for fondling an underage girl; was sentenced to 60 days in jail; given a withheld judgment: if he did not violate the terms of his probation, the felony conviction would be kept from his record
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- Gary Westlund was an LDS church member; accused of sexual abuse of a Navajo child placed in an LDS foster home as part of the Indian Student Placement Program, also called the Lamanite Placement Program
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- David Bennett (1954 – ) was an LDS church member and scout leader in California and Korea; convicted in 1987 in California of child sexual abuse; moved to Korea; was assigned to be an LDS young men's president and scoutmaster; was accused of molesting several boys; disappeared in 1991; FLOODLIT is attempting to locate him
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- Bruce Van Horn was a Mormon bishopric counselor in Cerritos, California; accused in a 2025 lawsuit against the Mormon church of sexually abusing a child as part of a sex trafficking ring, and of covering up the abuse; the plaintiff said she was abused over 200 times at the Cerritos LDS stake center from 1979 to 1983
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- John Doe was an LDS church member in California; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse; the suit was one of 91 or more coordinated civil suits filed in California in 2024 against the Mormon church
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- Matthew Anderson was an LDS church member in West Haven, Utah; accused of sexual abuse; convicted
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- William Jansen (1983 – ) was an LDS church member and police officer in Twin Falls, Idaho; accused of sexual abuse; pleaded guilty
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- John Doe was an LDS church member in California; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse; the suit was one of 91 or more coordinated civil suits filed in California in 2024 against the Mormon church
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- David McGhie (1963 – ) was an LDS church member in Utah; convicted in 2000 of child sexual abuse; an LDS bishop was accused of failing to report the abuse
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- Michael Adamson (1945 – ) was a Mormon church caretaker and organist in York, England; allegedly abused at least four children as young as seven years old between 1966 and 1982; sentenced to prison in England in 2008 for child sexual abuse
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- David Moss (1967 – ) was an LDS bishop (2015-19) and police officer in Lehi, Utah; arrested in 2019 for soliciting an undercover cop for sex; pleaded guilty in 2019 to a 3rd degree felony charge of exploiting a prostitute and a misdemeanor charge of patronizing a prostitute; sentenced to prison, but both terms were suspended
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- Michael Cunningham (1947 – ) was a Mormon church member in England; accused of sexual abuse; a judge sentenced Cunningham to ten years imprisonment and told him that he must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life
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- Timur Dykes was a Mormon church member and scout leader in Portland, Oregon; accused of sexual abuse; convicted multiple times; in 1987, three plaintiffs sued the Mormon church and the Boy Scouts of America; in about 2009, the Mormon church paid $350,000 to a victim to settle its portion of a civil lawsuit
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- John Doe was an LDS church member in California; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse; the suit was one of 91 or more coordinated civil suits filed in California in 2024 against the Mormon church
- View report »
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- James Bayless (1946 – ) was a Mormon church member in Gilbert, Arizona; pleaded guilty in 2015 to two counts of molestation of a child; as of 2024, is a registered sex offender living in Mesa, Arizona
- View report »
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- Dustin Hall was a Mormon church member and Boy Scout leader in Washington; accused of sexually abusing boys in the Shelton Ward near Olympia; a lawsuit filed against the Mormon church in 2009 claimed church leaders knew Hall posed a risk to boys but failed to prevent him from working with them
- View report »
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- B P was a Mormon church member; accused of sexual abuse
- View report »
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- John Doe was an LDS church member in California; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse; the suit was one of 91 or more coordinated civil suits filed in California in 2024 against the Mormon church
- View report »
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- Jeffrey Olson (1966 – ) was a Mormon church member in Utah; convicted of first-degree felony aggravated sex abuse of a child and was sentenced in 2020 to four consecutive terms of three years to life in prison
- View report »
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- John Doe was an LDS church member in California; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse; the suit was one of 91 or more coordinated civil suits filed in California in 2024 against the Mormon church
- View report »
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- Christopher Fleming was an LDS church member in Chesapeake, Virginia; found guilty of 10 counts of various sexual abuse to a minor; currently incarcerated in Virginia
- View report »
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- Paul Burdick (1972 – ) was an LDS bishop and drivers education teacher in Oregon; arrested in 2019 and charged with child sexual abuse; pleaded guilty to third-degree sex abuse involving underage female students in his job as a drivers ed teacher
- View report »
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- John Doe was an LDS church member in California; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse; the suit was one of 91 or more coordinated civil suits filed in California in 2024 against the Mormon church
- View report »
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- Bruce O'Dell (1970 – ) was a Mormon bishop and dermatologist in Show Low, Navajo County, Arizona; in 1999, was charged with 48 counts of sexual abuse
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- Anthon Ellsworth (1982 – ) was an LDS bishopric counselor and returned missionary in Arizona; in 2021, pleaded guilty to three felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and was sentenced to seven years in prison
- View report »
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- Michael Driggs (1950 – ) was a Mormon missionary in Brazil in the early 1970s; allegedly sent to a different mission in the United States after being found having inappropriate relationships with young boys; convicted of child sexual abuse in 1985 in Arizona; convicted again of child sexual abuse in 2013 in Utah; he met his victim in the Utah case at church, according to court documents
- View report »
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- Ronald Jenkins (1942 – ) was a Mormon scout leader, bishopric counselor and stake high council member in Idaho; worked as a high school teacher; accused of sexual abuse; convicted in 1996 of 10 counts of lewd conduct with a minor; sentenced to 17 years in prison; registered sex offender
- View report »
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- Dylan Whiting (1988 – ) was an LDS bishop in Nampa, Idaho; was removed from his position in 2021 after child sexual abuse allegations surfaced; was charged with four sex crimes; pleaded guilty to one felony count; sentenced in 2022 to prison
- View report »
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- John Doe was an LDS church member in California; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse; the suit was one of 91 or more coordinated civil suits filed in California in 2024 against the Mormon church
- View report »
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- Vernon Sanford was an LDS church member in San Diego, California; died in 2000; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse, along with his father, Vernon Sanford Sr; the suit was one of 91 or more coordinated civil suits filed in California in 2024 against the Mormon church; the alleged abuse occurred between 1961 and 1970; the Sanfords were the plaintiff's LDS home teachers
- View report »
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- James Schmidt (1944 – ) was an LDS church member and scout leader, with multiple charges of child sexual abuse over six years; convicted in Idaho; convicted in the late 1990s in Maryland; as of 2024, registered as a sex offender
- View report »
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- John Doe was an LDS church member in California; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse; the suit was one of 91 or more coordinated civil suits filed in California in 2024 against the Mormon church
- View report »
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- Steve Nelson (1945 – ) was an LDS church member in Idaho; in 2009, pleaded guilty to a charge of lewd conduct; sentenced to 30 years in prison; Mormon leaders allegedly failed to report abuse to police in the 1980s
- View report »
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- John Doe was an LDS church member in California; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse; the suit was one of 91 or more coordinated civil suits filed in California in 2024 against the Mormon church
- View report »
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- Gary Reese (1938 – 2014) was a Mormon bishopric counselor, seminary teacher and Boy Scout leader in Washington; accused of sexually molesting several boys in his scout troops; never charged; died in 2014
- View report »
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- Trevor Milton (1982 – ) was a Mormon church member and former technology billionaire (Nikola) in Utah; accused in a 2020 lawsuit of sexual assault of two minors
- View report »
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- UNKNOWN Smith was a Mormon bishop in Lancaster, California; a 2024 civil lawsuit said he took part with two Melchizedek priesthood holders in sexually assaulting an underage boy inside an LDS church building on a weekly basis from 2001 to 2003, starting when the victim was 15 years old
- View report »
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- Mark Webster was a branch president in New Mexico; accused of rape in a civil lawsuit
- View report »
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- Michael Shean (1947 – ) was a Mormon bishopric counselor and temple worker, and deputy district attorney in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara County, California; convicted of sexually molesting boys; sentenced to prison; the Mormon church allegedly made at least one settlement payment to a victim who said a stake president covered up the abuse for years
- View report »
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- James Hayes (1956 – ) was an LDS bishop in the Timmins - North Bay area, Ontario, Canada; convicted of sexual exploitation in November 2001; molested an underage girl in his ward while serving as her bishop
- View report »
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Documents
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Criminal case documents
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