7 LDS sex abuse cases found
Alleged church action: Unknown whether church officials took any action
- Criminal case result: Admitted guilt
- Church action: Unknown church action
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- Elic Agler was a Mormon church member in Snohomish County, Washington; allegedly confessed to child sexual abuse in 2001; accused in the 2010s of planning to molest another child; convicted; released from probation in 2021
LDS positions: Missionary, 
Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Convicted, Probation, Unknown result, - View report »
Floodlit is seeking court documents in Agler's case-
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- Samuel Faber (1981 – ) was an LDS church member in Sandy, Utah; accused in 2022 of sexually assaulting a woman he met on an LDS dating app; in 2024, admitted to sexually assaulting three women and pleaded guilty to felony charges of rape, forcible sodomy, aggravated sexual assault and forcible sexual abuse; sentenced to five years to life in prison
Crime: 2020s, 
Crime county:
UT - Salt Lake, - Crime state:
Utah,
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- Convicted:
2024,
- LDS positions: Unknown position,
- Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison,
- View report »
Crime county:
Crime state:
One victim reported that she told Faber "no" 83 times on the night of her assault
"You are a monster. My religion asks that we forgive. I don't feel this warrants forgiveness. Only God will give you forgiveness. You deserve everything that's coming to you. [...] You took away all the joy and happiness in my life."
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- John Fanning (1932 – 2012) was a Mormon branch president in Texas, bishop in Oklahoma and Boy Scout executive in several US states, including Utah; accused in 1986 in Utah of sexually abusing at least three boys, including during LDS-sponsored scouting activities; admitted guilt; convicted via plea agreement in 1986 or 1987; sentenced to 30 days in jail and spent approximately 18 months on probation; died in 2012
- Crime: 1980s,
- Crime state:
Louisiana, Utah,
Convicted:
1987, 
LDS positions: Bishop, Branch president, Missionary, Scout leader, Senior missionary, 
Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Convicted, Jail, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Probation, Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Unknown result, 
Alleged failure to reportA Mormon scout executive agreed to continue paying Fanning for a month after he admitted to sexually assaulting two children
"I told [John Fanning] we had two options. Immediate termination or he could resign and I would pay him through the end of next month but he had to leave as of now. He elected to resign."
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- David Farley (1958 – ) was a former doctor in West Linn, Oregon; accused of sexually abusing more than 200 patients over a span of many years, during some of which Farley was an LDS stake high council member; in 2024, the city of West Linn, Oregon released a report about the way its police department investigated Farley; in October 2025, a grand jury indicted him on 11 felony sexual assault charges
- Alleged crime: 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s,
- Alleged crime city:
OR - West Linn,
- Alleged crime county:
OR - Clackamas,
- Alleged crime state:
Oregon,
Alleged crime city:
LDS positions: Bishopric counselor, Primary, Stake high council, Sunday school, Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Not convicted, Ongoing, Civil case(s): Ongoing, Alleged failure to reportChurch fought in court to keep records on Farley secret
"When I was assaulted, I thought I was alone, I thought I had misread things."
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- Elwood Haws (1951 – ) was vice president of an LDS church-owned trust company in Utah; charged in 2020 with 13 second degree felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor; admitted that he viewed child sexual abuse material 3-4 times a week over a 3-4 year span; in 2021, pleaded guilty to three counts and was sentenced to 180 days in jail; in 2023, violated probation; as of 2026, lives in Taylorsville, Utah
- Crime: 2010s, 2020s,
- Crime state:
Utah,
Convicted:
2021, LDS positions: Church employee, Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Convicted, Jail, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Registered sex offender, Released, Violated parole/probation, -
- Franklin Mathias (1934 – ) was a Mormon church member and Boy scout leader in La Grande, Oregon; had a career as a schoolteacher; accused in 1987 of sexual abuse; sentenced in 1988 to four years in prison for molesting a child; he said that he had 242 victims over a 30-year period; convicted in 1997 of failure to register as a sex offender and was placed on probation for 24 months
- Crime: 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s,
- Crime county:
crime-county-or-union,
- Crime state:
Oregon,
Convicted:
1988, LDS positions: High priest, Scout leader, Stake high council, Sunday school, Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison, Probation, Mathias reportedly admitted that he had 242 victims over a 30-year period
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- Shawn Mortensen (1965 – ) was a former Mormon bishop and stake presidency member in Albuquerque, New Mexico; in February 2021, admitted to police that he had sexually abused an 11-year-old girl in January 2021; convicted of child sexual abuse; sentenced in 2022 to prison in New Mexico
- Crime: 2020s,
- Crime state:
New Mexico,
Convicted:
2022, LDS positions: Bishop, Bishopric counselor, Other leader, Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison, Filters
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