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
- View report »
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- David Cannata (1965 – ) was a Mormon bishop in Tucson, Arizona in 2005 when he sexually abused a child who was 5 or 6 years old; was a stake high council member sometime in the 2010s; was confronted by the victim and turned himself into the police; convicted in 2019 and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison; was excommunicated from the Mormon church because of the abuse
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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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- Gary Jones 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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- 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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- Juan Flores Atenco (1955 – ) was a Mormon branch president in West Valley City, Utah for five years, including in the early 2000s; accused of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl in his office and another room at an LDS church building; convicted in 2012 of misdemeanor forcible sexual abuse and unlawful detention; sentenced to zero to one year in jail; in March 2025, charged with rape and object rape (alleged crimes in 2002)
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- Karey Zimmerman (1962 – ) was a Mormon church member in Utah and Nevada; in 2025, was accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse that allegedly took place in Nevada and Utah; the Mormon church was also named as a defendant; the lawsuit said a Utah bishop failed to report abuse allegations to police
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- William Evans (1909 – 1991) was a prominent Mormon church member in Salt Lake City, Utah; was bishop twice of the Grant 6th ward; from 1957 to 1962, was in the Utah State Legislature; served as Salt Lake County Clerk from 1968 to 1983; died in 1991; allegedly raped a relative in Salt Lake City in the early 1980s
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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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- David Blain (1970 – 2015) was an LDS church member in Washington; accused of sexual abuse
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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
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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 Queensland, Australia; 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
- View report »
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- John Doe was an LDS church member in Utah; accused of sexual abuse
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- Douglas Lovell (1958 – ) was a Mormon church member in Clearfield, Utah; accused of sexual abuse of a woman he murdered, Joyce Yost; Lovell claimed the LDS church meddled in his 2015 trial by discouraging a former prison bishop from testifying in his defense
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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
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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
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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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- Brigham Young (1801 – 1877) was the second president of the Mormon church; married 56 women, including a 15-year-old and three 16-year-olds; was publicly accused during his life (1801-1877) of sexual misconduct, including adultery and illegal polygamy; never charged with a sex crime; arrested and charged with adultery in 1871; not convicted
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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
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- Eddie Padilla was a Mormon bishop in Taos, New Mexico; accused of child sexual abuse; convicted twice
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- Jack Loholt was an LDS church member and Boy scout leader in Kent, Washington; accused of sexual abuse in the 1970s; court records show that two Mormon bishops knew about the abuse allegations but did not tell police; the Mormon church was court-ordered in 2006 to pay $87,500 to one victim after it settled with three others for undisclosed sums
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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
- 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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- 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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- Kevin Curlew was an LDS church member in Methuen, Massachusetts; accused of sexually abusing a child in an LDS chapel; convicted and sentenced to prison; in 2008, a victim's mother filed a civil lawsuit against the the Mormon church, claiming the church allowed the accused to babysit children despite his prior convictions for child sexual abuse, and that LDS leaders failed to report her child's abuse to police
- View report »
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- Rowan Ellsworth (1948 – ) was an LDS church member and schoolteacher in Arizona; allegedly molested a 14-year-old girl at an LDS girls camp in mid-1990; the abuse was reported to a bishop Burgess, who allegedly failed to report to police, but instead encouraged the victim to forgive; sentenced to prison in 1999 for two counts of child sexual abuse; released in 2007
- 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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- Stephen Young (1951 – ) was an LDS church member and police officer in Idaho; allegedly abused 20 babies over a 30-year period; pleaded guilty in 2010 to lewd conduct with a child under 16; sentenced to 25 years in prison
- View report »
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- Frank Lind (1956 – ) was a Mormon church member in California; sentenced before the early 2000s to 30 years to life in prison for sexually molesting a child; in the 2000s, a Mormon bishop allegedly supported Lind's decision to be baptized into the LDS church despite his prior conviction; in 2022, again convicted of child sexual abuse; sentenced to three consecutive terms of 25 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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- Paul Adams (1982 – 2017) was an LDS church member in Arizona; sexually abused two children for several years after confessing to his bishop; arrested and charged; died by suicide in 2017 while in custody awaiting trial
- View report »
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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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- 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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- 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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- 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
- View report »
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- Joseph Bishop was a Mormon church member and president of the Provo, Utah Missionary Training Center (MTC) in the 1980s; allegedly sexually abused multiple sister missionaries; not criminally charged because the statute of limitations had expired (in 1984, the legal deadline in Utah for filing a rape charge was four years); civil lawsuit was dismissed after an agreement by the plaintiff and the LDS church
- View report »
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- David O'Connor (1953 – ) was an LDS church member and high school wrestling coach in Tacoma, Washington; convicted of sexual abuse in 1977; once reportedly confessed his sexual abuse in an LDS sacrament meeting; in 2021, a victim sued the Mormon church
- View report »
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- George Lee (1943 – 2010) was a Mormon general authority in Utah; member of the First Quorum of the Seventy from 1975 to 1989; in 1994, pleaded guilty to attempted sexual abuse of a child, a third-degree felony; registered sex offender; died in 2010
- View report »
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- Fred Willie was a Mormon church member and Boy Scout leader in Idaho; convicted of charges related to child sexual abuse
- 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
- View report »
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- John Doe was a Mormon church member; accused of sexual abuse
- View report »
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- Keven Nelson was an LDS church member and Boy Scout leader in Idaho Falls, Idaho; accused of grooming and/or sexual abuse by multiple boys in his scout troop; in 1988, his BSA registration was suspended
- 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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- Todd Summers was an LDS church member and videographer for local children's events in Costa Mesa, California; accused of child sexual abuse that allegedly took place in a Mormon chapel and other locations; a 2009 civil suit against him ended with a $100,000 settlement payment by the Mormon church to the plaintiff
- View report »
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- Keith Bergstresser (1975 – ) was an LDS church member in Oregon and Idaho; convicted in 2002 in Oregon of contributing to sexual delinquency of a minor; made a registered sex offender; in 2019, was assigned a position in an elders quorum presidency in Idaho
- View report »
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Criminal case documents
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