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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- Kim Hartley (1963 – ) was a Mormon church member in Clinton, Utah; accused of sexual abuse; convicted
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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
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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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- Robert Tubbs (1952 – ) was an LDS scout leader in Slaterville, Weber County, Utah; admitted he told a Mormon bishop in the early 1970s he had molested multiple boys; Tubbs said the bishop kept the abuse secret; nearly 20 years passed and Tubbs molested others; in the 1990s, Tubbs pleaded guilty to child sexual abuse charges; sentenced to six years to life in prison; paroled in 2000; violated parole; released in 2008
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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
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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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- 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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- Douglas Stoddard (1949 – ) was an LDS bishop in Hurst, Texas; convicted in 1992 of a felony child sexual abuse charge of indecency with a child by contact; sentenced to 8 years of probation; a lifetime registered sex offender in Texas; named publicly in August 2023 by a victim who said Stoddard molested him and three other boys in his Mormon ward while serving as bishop
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- Bob 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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- 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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- Cecil Cartwright (1926 – 2015) was a Mormon branch president in Orillia, Ontario, Canada; accused of sexual abuse; died in 2015
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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
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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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- 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
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"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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- 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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- 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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- 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 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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- Chesley Pierson (1928 – 2021) was an LDS bishop, stake presidency counselor and stake patriarch in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; accused of sexually abusing multiple young men
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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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- Tim Ryan was allegedly an LDS church member in Idaho; accused of sexual abuse; pleaded guilty in 2008 to a felony charge of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 16; detectives said the victim's family reported the abuse in 1999, but that it was dropped when they wouldn't cooperate with investigators
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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
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- Douglas Bowen (1950 – ) was an LDS church member and Boy Scout leader in Washington, California, Utah and Idaho; was convicted of attempted aggravated sexual abuse of 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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- Maurice Harker (1969 – ) was an LDS church member and therapist in Utah; accused of psychologically and physically harming sexual abuse victims who came to him as patients; charged in September 2023 with felony aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult and kidnapping
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- Richard Sampson (1945 – ) was a Mormon bishop, stake high council member and doctor in Provo, Utah; was director of medical affairs for the LDS Missionary Training Center; allegedly sexually abused at least seven children; convicted and sentenced in 2014 to one to 15 years in prison for child sexual abuse; as of 2024, was out on parole living in Holladay, Utah
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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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- Matthew Wallis (1984 – ) was a Mormon church member in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana and in Ogden, Utah; pleaded guilty to a charge related to child sexual abuse
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- William Hanson was a Mormon youth leader in several US states; sentenced to prison for child sexual abuse; the Mormon church settled a civil lawsuit in which the victim accused it of failing to protect him
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- John Doe was a Mormon church member; accused of sexual abuse
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- Raphael Caccioppoli (1971 – ) was a Mormon Sunday school teacher, lawyer and Justice Ministry judicial officer in New Zealand; confessed sex crime behavior to a Mormon bishop in 1998; LDS leaders did not tell police or local parents of children he was left alone to supervise; turned himself in to police in 2007; sentenced to five years in jail for child sexual abuse and animal sex abuse (bestiality)
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- Gene Guinn (1932 – 2008) was an LDS church member in the Dallas Seventh Ward, Texas; in 2000, found guilty by a jury of indecency with a child and sentenced to 68 years in prison; the victim was 10 years old at the time of the crime; Mormon officials allegedly knew about the abuse but failed to report to police
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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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- David Gomez (1946 – ) was a former LDS bishop and department of corrections administrator in or near West Valley City, Utah; arrested in 2004 and charged with 125 counts of sexual abuse; charges were dropped in 2005 due to issues related to the statutes of limitations
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- Paul Lewis was a Mormon church member and scout leader in Seattle, Washington; accused of sexual abuse; the victim sued the Mormon church in 2006
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- Michael Coleman (1960 – ) was an LDS bishop and former sound recording engineer in Mesa, Arizona (Lehi 2nd Ward); arrested in 2014 for sexual solicitation of a minor online; the alleged crime took place while he was bishop
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- Carlos Escalante was an LDS branch president in San Nicolas, Argentina; sexually abused his stepdaughter for 5 years, including while branch president; the victim asked local LDS leaders for support, but allegedly received none; she was punished by the church for "refusing to forgive" and for "failing to comply with worthiness standards;" Escalante was sentenced in 2018 to 14 years 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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- Dennis Schult (1935 – ) was a Mormon church member and scout leader in southern California; pleaded no contest to two counts of child molestation as part of a plea agreement wherein six other molestation charges were dropped; sentenced in 1991 to eight years in prison for sexually abusing two of his scouts for several years; as of 2024, registered sex offender living in Granada Hills, California
- View report »
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- G N was a Mormon church member; accused of sexual abuse
- View report »
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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
- View report »
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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
- View report »
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- Burrell Mohler was an LDS church member in Missouri; accused of sexual abuse; criminal charges dropped; civil case in 2013, results unknown
- View report »
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- Harvey Harper (1935 – 2014) was an LDS church member and deputy county district attorney in Los Angeles, California; arrested in 1984 and charged with child sexual abuse; jumped bail; found guilty; sentenced in absentia to 14 years in prison; lived secretly in Colorado for 20 months until federal investigators found him; local LDS church coverup alleged
- 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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- Timothy McCleve (1956 – ) was a former Mormon bishop in Harrisville, Utah when he was charged with sexually abusing three children; some of the abuse took place while he was bishop; sentenced in 2008 to up to 30 years in prison for child sexual abuse; in 2024, charged in Utah with threatening a witness in a parole violation investigation
- View report »
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Criminal case documents
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