Church action: Rebaptized

22 LDS sex abuse cases found

Alleged church action: Church officials re-baptized the accused after excommunication

Church action: Rebaptized

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- Terry Allen (1943 – ) was an LDS church member in California; in 1987, was found guilty of sexual abuse of a child and was sentenced to six years in prison; was assigned to multiple trusted church positions, including Sunday school president, despite the Mormon church being aware that he had raped a teenager; LDS leaders were accused of hiding his abuse from local church members; as of 2024, lives in Grapevine, Texas
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- Crime: 1980s,
- Places lived:
- Crime state: California, Connecticut,
- LDS positions: Bishopric counselor, Other leader, Stake high council, Sunday school, Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison, Registered sex offender, Released,
- Alleged failure to report
- Alan Bassett (1948 – ) was a Mormon church member and air traffic controller in Fruit Heights, Utah; accused in a 2019 civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse (dismissed without prejudice); charged in June 2024 with child sexual abuse; over 80 victims came forward; admitted to molesting many neighbor girls; tried to get his case dismissed due to an unsigned 1989 agreement with a deputy Davis County attorney
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- Alleged crime: 1980s,
- Places lived:
- Alleged crime county: UT - Davis,
- Alleged crime state: Utah,
- LDS positions: Other leader, Scout leader, Ward clerk,
- Criminal case(s): Ongoing,
- Civil case(s): Dismissed without prejudice,
- Alleged failure to report
- Max Cheatham (1960 – ) was an LDS church member in Wyoming, Utah and Colorado; accused of sexual abuse; convicted in Colorado of child sexual abuse
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- Crime: 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s,
- Places lived:
- Crime state: Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Utah, Wyoming,
- LDS positions: Missionary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Unknown result,
- Benjamin Covey (1792 – 1868) was a Mormon church member in the 1840s and 1850s; in 1848, was excommunicated for having sexual intercourse with two girls "less than Twelve years of age" who were his foster daughters; was rebaptized and soon thereafter was made bishop of the Salt Lake City Twelfth Ward from 22 February 1849 until 1856
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- Crime: 1840s,
- Places lived:
- Crime state: Nebraska,
- LDS positions: Bishop,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted,
- Franklyn Curtis (1903 – 1995) was a Mormon church member in Pennsylvania and Oregon; excommunicated in 1983 in Pennsylvania for sex abuse; rebaptized in 1984; molested five boys in Oregon; local LDS bishop knew but didn't report to police; convicted in 1995 in Oregon of sexual abuse; died in 1995
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- Crime: 1970s, 1980s, 1990s,
- Places lived:
- Crime state: Oregon, Pennsylvania,
- LDS positions: High priest, Sunday school,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted,
- Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement,
- Alleged failure to report
- 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
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- Crime: 1990s,
- Places lived:
- Crime county: AZ - Maricopa,
- Crime state: Arizona,
- LDS positions: Missionary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison, Released,
- Alleged failure to report
- 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 »
- Convicted: 2018,
- LDS positions: Branch president,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison,
- Alleged failure to report
- Alfred Forrester (1936 – 2013) was a Mormon church member in California; excommunicated in the 1950s after conviction for child molestation; moved to Iowa, reoffended, incarcerated; returned to California, convicted once or twice more, then assigned to be a Mormon church scoutmaster; abused again, caught, sentenced to prison in 1979; a 2024 lawsuit against the LDS church alleged that a bishop failed to protect kids
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- Crime: 1950s, 1960s, 1970s,
- Places lived:
- Crime state: California, Iowa,
- Convicted: 1956, 1960, 1966, 1979,
- LDS positions: Scout leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison, Probation, Registered sex offender, Released,
- Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Ongoing,
- Alleged failure to report
- Kenneth Good (1950 – ) was a Mormon church member in Georgia; accused of molesting 4 underage girls; pleaded guilty of child sexual abuse; sentenced in 1991 to 8 years in prison; released on parole in December 1993; as of 2023, lives in Taylorsville Utah
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- Crime: 1980s, 1990s,
- Places lived:
- Crime state: Georgia,
- LDS positions: Scout leader, Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison, Released,
- William Harding (1940 – ) was a Mormon branch president, elders quorum president and ward clerk in Tasmania and Queensland, Australia; charged in or before 2023 with multiple counts of sexual assault of a minor in two states in Australia; allegedly had as many as 40 victims; in 2024, pleaded guilty to reduced charges and was sentenced to 9 months in jail in Brisbane; in 2025, faced new charges in Tasmania
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- Crime: 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s,
- Places lived:
- Crime country: Australia,
- LDS positions: Branch president, Ward clerk,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Jail, Ongoing, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty,
- Alleged failure to report
- David Herget (1943 – 2005) was a Mormon high priest in Washington; convicted of child rape and child molestation in 1993; sentenced to 180 days in jail and was a registered sex offender; arrested in 2005, died by suicide in jail the next day; detectives identified at least seven victims; one child estimated that Herget abused him 1,400 times; in a 2025 lawsuit against the church, four plaintiffs said officials failed them
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- Crime: 1990s, 2000s,
- Places lived:
- Crime county: WA - King,
- Crime state: Washington,
- Convicted: 1993,
- LDS positions: High priest, Seminary teacher,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Died awaiting trial, Jail, Prison, Registered sex offender, Suicide,
- Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Ongoing,
- Alleged failure to report
- Roy Hunt (1959 – ) was a Mormon church member in Maricopa County, Arizona; former city manager in Snowflake and Holbrook and a public finance banker at the National Bank of Arizona; accused of child sexual abuse in 2004; pleaded guilty in 2005 to a reduced charge; sentenced to prison in Arizona in 2005
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- Crime: 1980s, 1990s,
- Places lived:
- Crime county: AZ - Maricopa,
- Crime state: Arizona,
- Convicted: 2005,
- LDS positions: Unknown position,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Pleaded guilty, Prison,
- Alleged failure to report
- 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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- Convicted: 2002,
- LDS positions: Scout leader, Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Pleaded guilty, Prison, Registered sex offender, Released,
- Alleged failure to report
- Kenneth Jenks (1941 – ) was an LDS church member in California (Milpitas Ward); was a ward executive secretary and ward librarian; charged with sexual abuse; convicted; served 14 years in prison for sexual abuse of a minor under duress; three victims sued the LDS church, claiming it knew about Jenks's abuse but allowed him to work with children
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- Crime: 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s,
- Places lived:
- Crime state: California,
- LDS positions: Other leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison, Registered sex offender,
- Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Ongoing,
- Alleged failure to report
- Melvin Johnson (1936 – ) was a Mormon seminary teacher and Brigham Young University (BYU) religion professor; accused by multiple victims of sexually abusing them when they were children; excommunicated and rebaptized; reportedly confessed to sexual abuse, but was not criminally charged; two victims filed lawsuits against him; one named the Mormon church as a defendant; it settled out of court
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- Alleged crime: 1960s, 1970s,
- Places lived:
- Alleged crime city: UT - Provo,
- Alleged crime county: UT - Utah,
- Alleged crime state: California, Utah,
- LDS positions: BYU, Church employee, Other leader, Seminary teacher, Stake high council,
- Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Never charged, Not convicted,
- Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement, Unknown result,
- Alleged failure to report
- Michael McClellan (1957 – ) was an LDS church member in Las Vegas, Nevada; arrested; convicted of attempted lewdness with a minor; sentenced to prison; as of 2024, lives in Cottonwood, Arizona
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- Crime: 2000s,
- Places lived:
- Crime state: Nevada,
- Convicted: 2004,
- LDS positions: Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison, Registered sex offender, Released,
- 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 »
- Convicted: 2021,
- LDS positions: Bishop,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Jail, No contest, Prison,
- Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Unknown result,
- Alleged failure to report
- Brett Nichols (1967 – ) was an LDS church member in Arizona; convicted in 2007 of child sexual abuse; sentenced to 10 years in prison; baptized again after excommunication; ward members reportedly were not told of his criminal past when he returned after his prison time
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- Convicted: 2007,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison,
- Grant Packer (1925 – 2008) was an LDS church member in Idaho; served a full-time mission to Canada in 1946-48 and two senior missions to Atlanta, Georgia and San Bernardino, California; charged with child sexual abuse; pleaded guilty; sentenced to three to 10 years in prison and 10 years probation; died in 2008
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- Crime: 1990s,
- Places lived:
- Crime state: Idaho,
- LDS positions: Bishopric counselor, Elders quorum, Missionary, Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Pleaded guilty,
- 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 »
- LDS positions: Scout leader, Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, No contest, Plea deal, Prison, Registered sex offender,
- Alleged failure to report
- 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 »
- Crime: 1980s,
- Places lived:
- Crime state: California,
- LDS positions: Bishopric counselor, Missionary, Seminary teacher, Temple worker,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison,
- Civil case(s): Judgment for plaintiff, Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement,
- Alleged failure to report
- Alva Van Wagoner (1929 – 2019) was a Mormon church member; accused of sexual abuse
- View report »
- Convicted: 1999,
- LDS positions: Branch president, Ministering/home teacher, Other leader, Sunday school,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Pleaded guilty,

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