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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- LaVar Withers (1936 – 2005) was a Mormon and physician in Rexburg, Idaho; accused of sexually abusing at least 133 women and children as young as 13 years old over a period of 30 or more years; admitted to sexual abuse; in 1996, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery; sentenced to 30 to 60 days in jail and two years probation; the Mormon church placed him on probation and took his temple recommend; died in 2005
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- Craig Nebeker (1960 – ) was a Mormon church member in California and St. George, Utah; accused of sexual abuse and convicted of three counts of AGGRAVATED SEX ABUSE OF A CHILD and one count SODOMY ON A CHILD
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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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- Christian Bearnson (1963 – ) was a Mormon church member in Los Angeles, California in the early 1990s; molested a 13-year-old girl; in 1993, the Mormon church was found liable for child sexual abuse by a jury in a civil lawsuit; the LDS church then settled with the two plaintiffs, reportedly for millions of dollars (US), and had the court records sealed
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- Gary Woolstenhulme (1933 – 2002) was a Mormon bishop in Imperial Beach, California in 1978; died in 2002; 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 (plaintiff John Roe JB 65 - San Diego 24CU008107, CASD 3:24-cv-02349-AJB-MSB); allegedly sexually assaulted a 14-year-old boy in his office at 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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- Sean Woolf (1974 – ) was an LDS church member and full-time missionary; accused of sexual abuse of a child; the alleged abuse occurred during his mission; the victim later sued or planned to sue the Mormon church in 2020; the church settled with the victim, according to a person familiar with the case
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- George Tilson (1942 – 2020) was a Mormon church member in the Salt Lake City, Utah area (including Holladay); pleaded guilty to child sexual abuse in the 1990s; alleged coverup by Mormon leaders
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- John Doe (1961 – ) was an LDS church member and former Mormon bishop in Alabama, Alaska and Texas; in 2022 or 2023, confessed to child sexual abuse to his LDS bishop and stake president in Texas, according to a person familiar with the case; they reported him to local police in 2023; in 2024, a plaintiff filed a civil lawsuit against him; Doe and the church settled with the victim in 2025
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- Spencer Dixon (1964 – ) was a Mormon bishop in Salt Lake City, Utah; accused in 2002 of touching a 13-year-old girl inappropriately inside the LDS chapel of the Monument Park 7th Ward; acquitted in a jury trial
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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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- Nelson Bogero (1953 – ) was an LDS church member and Primary children's teacher in Cordoba, Argentina; accused in 2017 of sexual abuse of two girls who were in his Primary class; a local LDS leader allegedly knew about the abuse but failed to report to police; in August 2024, Bogero was sentenced to 16 years in prison
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- John Doe was a Mormon bishop in or near Salt Lake City, Utah; accused of sexual abuse of a 13-year-old boy; the alleged sexual assault took place in the Salt Lake Temple in the 1980s (approximately 1986), during a visit to perform baptisms for the dead
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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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- Shonn Ricks was an LDS church member in Benson, Cache County, Utah; accused of sexual abuse; found guilty by a jury in 1997; served about 14 months in prison; attempted to serve a Mormon mission and was supported by his stake president, Jerry Toombs; his mission call was withdrawn
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- Glendon Templeton was a Mormon bishop, Sunday school teacher and scout leader in Arizona; was bishop of the Maryvale Ward in West Phoenix from 2014 to 2019; excommunicated in 2019; also was a volleyball coach for high school-aged girls; accused numerous times and arrested, but never prosecuted for alleged sex crimes; sued in 1997 for alleged sexual abuse; allegedly sexually assaulted multiple teenage girls
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- Mitchell Young (1960 – ) was an LDS missionary in Canada; in 1980, was sent home after allegedly molesting children; convicted in Arizona (1985) and Utah (1988) of child sexual abuse; in 1993, sentenced in Utah to 15 years in prison for molesting a child for five years; a 2002 lawsuit against the LDS church accused Mormon leaders of providing a safe harbor for him; as of 2024, lives in Ogden, Utah; registered sex offender
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- Timothy Johnson was a Mormon church member in Oregon; pleaded guilty to four counts of second-degree sexual abuse and was sentenced to 15 years in prison; a lawsuit against the Mormon church was dismissed with prejudice
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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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- Dennis Empey (1957 – ) was a Mormon church member in Driggs, Idaho and scout leader in Provo, Utah; accused of sexually abusing many children between 1981 and 1990; a stake president and four Mormon bishops allegedly failed to report abuse for years; convicted in 1991 in Utah of child molestation; sentenced to one year in jail and three years probation; charged in 2025 in Idaho with sex crimes
- View report »
"This man has molested so many children that it involved four Bishops from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints."— Joe Empey's neighbor, pre-sentencing letter to Utah County judge George Ballif, Sept. 13, 1991-
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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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- Keith Price (1956 – ) was a Mormon bishop in Pleasant Grove, Utah; convicted in 2018 of class A misdemeanor voyeurism; secretly recorded underage girls; the crime occurred while he was serving as bishop
- View report »
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- John Doe (1955 – ) was a Mormon church member in Lake Elsinore, California; arrested in 1997; pleaded guilty to committing lewd acts with a child under age 14; spent three years in state prison; in December 2022, the LDS church paid $995,000 to settle its part of a related civil lawsuit wherein a jury awarded the victim $2.28 billion
- View report »
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- Stephen Field was a Mormon church member in California; convicted of sexual abuse; sentenced to prison
- View report »
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- G N was a Mormon church member; accused of sexual abuse
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- Eric Avant (1959 – ) was a Mormon cub scout leader in Norfolk, Virginia; convicted in 1979 of sodomizing an 11-year-old; Mormon leaders allegedly knew of his sexual attraction to young boys but did not check police records; convicted in 1988 of 14 counts of aggravated sexual battery and sentenced to 26 years in prison for molesting nine boys; had as many as 41 alleged victims; the church settled a lawsuit in 1992
- View report »
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- Jack Schofield (1923 – 2015) was an LDS church member, school administrator and state senator in Las Vegas, Nevada; accused of sexual harassment; died in 2015; a victim told FLOODLIT he sold her repeatedly to sex trafficking clients at a motel in Las Vegas
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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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- Paul Barnes (1955 – ) was a Mormon stake patriarch and former stake presidency counselor in Queen Creek, Arizona; accused of child sexual abuse that took place in 2022 in Idaho; convicted in 2023 or later and sentenced to prison
- View report »
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- James B was an LDS bishop in Newport Beach, California in about 1990 to 1995; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of sexually abusing a boy in his office at church every week from 1990 to 1995, when the victim was 12 to about 17 years old; 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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- 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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- Jason Stark (1985 – ) was a former full-time Mormon missionary in Kentucky; accused of sexually abusing three people in 2005 while on his mission; a lawsuit was filed against the Mormon church; in 2025, sentenced to 30 years in prison in Idaho
- View report »
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- Trent Rogers (1917 – 1995) was a Mormon church member in Arizona; accused of sexual abuse; pleaded guilty in 1986 and was sentenced to three years probation; a woman sued the Mormon church in 1986
- View report »
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- Murray Stubbs (1965 – ) was a Mormon church member in Canberra ACT Australia; accused of grooming a child using the internet because of sexually explicit texts; was found guilty of using the internet in an offensive way
- View report »
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- John Doe was a Mormon church member; accused of sexual abuse
- View report »
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- Orin Searle (1926 – 2014) was an LDS church member in Ogden, Utah; accused of sexual abuse in 2013 but was deemed incompetent to stand trial; a victim said that Searle's predatory behavior began as early as the late 1950s, and that several family members, and multiple members of the LDS 44th Ward (Mount Ogden Stake), knew that Searle was a child molester but did nothing to stop him; died in 2014
- View report »
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- Spencer Pratt was a Mormon church member in Spanish Fork, Utah; arrested in January 2025 on suspicion of child sexual abuse
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- Alan Dunn (1941 – ) was a Mormon church member and scout leader in Venice, California (Los Angeles); accused in 1978 of child sexual abuse; confessed to the police
- 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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- 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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- Anastasia Dawson (1993 – ) was a Mormon church member in Missouri; arrested in 2023 and charged with several counts relating to sexual abuse of a minor
- 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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- Michael Stillman (1939 – 2020) was a Mormon Tabernacle Choir member and professional scouter with the Boy Scouts of America in Monroe, Sevier County, Utah; accused in 1989 of having sexually abused a boy between the ages of 13 and 15 in the mid-1970s; decided to resign as district scout executive as long as it did not imply guilt; was never reported to police or charged with a crime
- View report »
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- David Hamblin (1954 – ) was a Mormon church member and former elders quorum president in Utah; arrested in 2022 and charged with child sexual abuse in three separate cases; investigated along with ex-wife Roselle Stevenson (arrested in 2023) for alleged ritualistic sexual abuse; in 2025, a court dismissed one case with prejudice after "discovery issues;" one case remained as of March 2025
- View report »
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- Joseph Neipp was a former LDS bishop in San Jose, California; in 2021, pleaded no contest to four molestation counts and was given an 18-year prison sentence, with credit for the three years he spent in county jail prior to his sentencing; father of convicted Mormon child sexual abuser Samuel Neipp
- View report »
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- Ronald Phelps was an LDS bishop and stake executive secretary, and attorney, in Oklahoma; arrested for indecent exposure before becoming an LDS bishop; accused of child sexual abuse; Mormon church leaders allegedly covered up the abuse
- View report »
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- Paul Newman (1957 – ) was a former Mormon bishop in Utah; charged in 2020 with child sexual abuse; convicted of a sex crime
- View report »
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- Melvin McKinney was an LDS church member in California; accused of sexual abuse
- View report »
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- Christopher Kite was an LDS church member in Chicago, Illinois; accused of sexual abuse
- View report »
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