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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- Edwin Dyer (1935 – 1986) was a Mormon church member and scoutmaster in central Oregon; accused of sexual abuse; allegedly molested as many as 15 boys over a 28-year period; shot and killed in 1986 by one of his victims; the Mormon church settled out of court for $200,000 with one victim
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"Until we use names, until people understand that this happened to Johnny next door, it will keep on happening."— Judith Powell, mother of abuse survivor Keith Powell-
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- John Misseldine (1982 – ) was a Mormon missionary in Nevada; charged with sexually abusing two children at an LDS chapel in the Las Vegas area; in 2005, made a plea deal to avoid prison, via an Alford plea to two counts; a lawsuit said a local Mormon leader failed to report abuse to police; in 2008, sentenced to prison after violating the plea deal; as of 2024, lives in Las Vegas, Nevada as a registered sex offender
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- Craig Mathias (1960 – ) was a Mormon church member and scout leader in Granada Hills, California; was in the Northridge ward until 1983; convicted in 1987 of sexually molesting multiple boy scouts; sentenced to six years in prison
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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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- Larry Deutsch (1966 – ) was a Mormon bishop in Missouri; arrested in 2020 and charged with possession of child pornography (child sexual abuse material, or CSAM) and accused of luring an underage teenager from Arizona to Missouri; pleaded guilty; sentenced in 2021 to 12 years in federal prison plus a lifetime of supervised release; in 2024, the victim filed a civil lawsuit against the LDS 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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- Wendell Thompson (1963 – ) was a former LDS bishop and stake presidency member in Clinton, Mississippi; convicted in 2011 of felony child sexual abuse (gratification of lust); some of the abuse took place while Thompson was in an LDS stake presidency role
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- Errol Pilling (1942 – ) was a Mormon bishop and licensed psychologist in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; went on an LDS mission to England in the early 1960s; pleaded guilty in 1988 and in 1994 to charges of sexual misconduct; in September 1994, his registration as a chartered psychologist with the Psychologists Association of Alberta was cancelled; in 1994, was excommunicated; as of February 2024, lives in Twin Falls, Idaho
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- Philander Smartt was a Mormon mission president in Puerto Rico; accused of sexually manipulating some of his sister missionaries; in 2014, the LDS church sent him home and called his behavior "immoral and sinful," but no criminal charges or civil lawsuits resulted
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- John Doe was an LDS church member in Queensland, Australia; accused of sexual abuse
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- George Barnett was a Mormon ward clerk 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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- Juan Guerrero Regalado was a Mormon church member in California; accused of sexual abuse in a 2025 civil 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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- 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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- Peter Brackner was second counselor in an LDS bishopric in Purvis, Mississippi, and a scoutmaster; accused of sexual abuse
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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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- Paul Jellum (1959 – ) was a Mormon scout leader in Logan, Utah in the 1980s; suspended by the BSA in 1987 after being accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old Boy Scout in his troop during a 1986 Scouting event at Camp Hunt near Bear Lake, Utah; in 1990, Jellum became a scoutmaster in a Nevada LDS ward despite his prior suspension; in 1991, Jellum admitted to the abuse
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- William Gillespie (1936 – ) was an LDS church member in Montgomery, Alabama; accused of reaching inside the swimsuits of two girls and fondling them in his backyard pool in 1987; convicted in 1988 of three charges of first-degree sexual abuse and sentenced to one year in prison, plus four years of probation; conviction was reversed on appeal, then upheld; was allegedly excommunicated from 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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- 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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- Christopher Kite was an LDS church member in Chicago, Illinois; accused of sexual abuse
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- Samuel Gardner (1932 – 1968) was an LDS bishop in the Oklahoma City First Ward in the early 1960s; accused of sexually abusing a teenage boy in the bishop's office at a Mormon chapel in about 1961; died in 1968
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- Jason Strong was an LDS church member in Utah; accused of sexual abuse; a victim sued the Mormon church after a bishop and stake president allegedly failed to report the abuse to police; the claims against the church were dismissed by a trial court, and the Utah Supreme Court upheld the dismissal in 2001, citing the First Amendment
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- Richard Baker (1978 – ) was an LDS bishopric counselor in Clearfield, Utah; accused of voyeurism and child sexual exploitation
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- Jeremiah Hatch was a Mormon bishop and scout leader in American Fork, Utah (12th Ward) in the 1970s and early 1980s; accused of sexual abuse of six children that allegedly took place in 1976 during an overnight camping trip, and at his home during a sleepover; allegedly abused up to 30 or more children around the same time
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- Francis Cochran (1921 – 2005) was a Mormon high priest in the Seattle 6th Ward in Seattle, Washington in the 1980s; convicted twice in the 1980s of crimes related to sexual abuse of multiple children; allegedly assaulted multiple young girls on LDS property, including during church meetings; a 2025 lawsuit (Floodlit broke the story) said stake president Paul Diehl & multiple ward bishops covered up allegations against Cochran
- View report »
"Despite numerous red flags, Defendants continued to give High Priest Cochran access to minor church members. Defendants allowed High Priest Cochran to continue to attend and volunteer at church events, including those attended by minors. Defendants also allowed High Priest Cochran to continue to transport young girls, including vulnerable refugee girls, to and from church events."— civil complaint filed Sept. 17, 2025 (case 2:25-cv-01797)-
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- Byron Wiscombe (1977 – ) was an LDS bishopric counselor and Ammon, Idaho city councilman; signed a plea agreement indicating he would admit to committing lewd conduct with a minor; sentenced to prison in 2023
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- Bishop Baldwin was a Mormon bishop in Pittsburg, California in 1989; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse that allegedly lasted from 1989 to 1997, when the victim was 5 to 13 years old; the suit was one of 91 or more coordinated civil suits filed in California in 2024 against the Mormon church
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- Erik Hughes (1966 – ) was a Mormon bishop in Mapleton, Utah and a Mormon church senior product manager when he sexually abused two underage children in his LDS ward dozens of times; was sentenced to prison in 2017; released in 2023; as of 2024, registered sex offender living in Utah
- View report »
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- Manuel Archibeque (1971 – ) was a Mormon church member in Maricopa County, Arizona; allegedly admitted to his bishop that he had sexually touched a child; charged in two cases in 2006 with sexual conduct with a minor and three counts of molestation of a child, all class two felonies; one case was dismissed in 2006 without prejudice; in the other, pleaded guilty to two reduced charges of child abuse
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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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- 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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- Gordon Bodily (1949 – ) was a Mormon bishop and physical education teacher in Hyrum, Cache Valley, Utah; accused in 2000 of luring a 17-year-old North Carolina girl to Utah for sex while serving as an LDS bishop; sentenced in 2001 to 21 months in federal prison
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- Richard James (1966 – ) was a Mormon church member in Potomac, Maryland; accused of sexually abusing a boy from 1995 to 1999 at billionaire Bill Marriott's home, an LDS church and other locations; pleaded guilty to reduced child abuse charges; sentenced to 10 years in prison (nine suspended); was a registered sex offender; the victim sued the church, Marriott and six others in 2024
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- Waylon White (1982 – ) was a Mormon church member in Payson, Arizona; was a licensed practiced nurse (PN); charged in 2025 with 18 felonies related to child sexual abuse
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- Mark Stevens (1956 – ) was a Mormon bishop in West Jordan, Utah in 2006; charged in 2025 with sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl that allegedly took place in his office at church
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- Matthew Doyle (1973 – ) was an LDS bishop in Copperas Cove, Texas (2nd Ward) in the 2000s; was a high school basketball coach; convicted in 2011 of sexual assault
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- John Parkinson (1931 – ) was a Mormon stake president (1981-1991) and physician in Fairfield, California; sentenced to prison in 1997 for sexually abusing two female patients, but the judge delayed the sentence pending an appeal; his conviction was later reversed
- View report »
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- Carlfred Broderick (1932 – 1999) was a Mormon stake president 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
- View report »
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- G N was a Mormon church member; accused of sexual abuse
- View report »
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- John Doe was an LDS church member in Utah; accused of sexual abuse
- View report »
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- Jeffrey Head (1964 – ) was an LDS bishop in Draper, Utah; committed sex crimes while serving as a Mormon bishop; in 2019, a jury found him guilty of attempted forcible sexual abuse, two counts of lewdness and sexual battery; sentenced to four months in jail and four years of probation
- View report »
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- Sterling Van Wagenen (1947 – ) was a co-founder of Sundance Film Festival and director of some Mormon temple endowment videos; publicly accused of sexual abuse of two children in two separate instances; sentenced to prison in 2019 for child sexual abuse
- View report »
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- Steven Hammock (1941 – ) was an LDS church member in Utah; pleaded guilty in 1983 to two counts of forcible sex abuse of a child and served six months in an inpatient treatment facility; the LDS church excommunicated him, but during a civil suit filed in 1989 by the victim, it refused to divulge information that Hammock gave to church officials; in 1997, a federal judge awarded $150,000 in damages to the victim
- View report »
"When is everyone going to realize that this shit's got to stop?"— Jane Doe, abuse survivor-
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- Stephen Davis was a Mormon bishopric counselor in Orange County, California; accused of sexual abuse
- View report »
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- Orson Wright (1928 – 2017) was a Mormon mission president in Sydney, Australia from 1978 to 1980; accused of grooming some of the sister missionaries in his care to be his polygamous wives; removed early from his mission assignment; LDS church leaders in Salt Lake City, Utah allegedly covered up the reasons for Wright's removal
- View report »
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- Brent Hansen (1938 – ) was an LDS church member and dentist in Spanish Fork, Utah; was also mayor of Spanish Fork and president of its chamber of commerce; accused in a civil lawsuit of receiving sexual favors from a dentistry patient in return for prescriptions for narcotics; his dentistry license was suspended for 30 days; died in 2015
- View report »
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- Scott Owen (1959 – ) was a Mormon bishop (twice), stake presidency counselor and therapist in Provo, Utah; called himself the "Porn King;" accused by 7 former patients of sexually abusing them during sessions, and by a cousin (alleged sex abuse in 1980s); an LDS bishop, a stake president (his business partner) and Utah DOPL all allegedly failed to report to police; arrested in Nov. 2023; sentenced in 2025 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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- F N was an LDS bishop 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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