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Donate »22 Mormon sexual abuse cases found
James Adams
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- was a Mormon church member in Beckley, West Virginia; sentenced to prison in 1994 for sexually abusing multiple children; in 1996, a $750 million lawsuit was filed against the Mormon church alleging coverup; the suit was settled out of court in 2000.
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Alleged coverup-
LDS church payment: Undisclosed amount
- Criminal: Convicted, Prison,
- Civil: Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement,
- Positions: Other leader,
- Crime: 1980s, in West Virginia,
- Crime scenes: Victim's home,
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Christian Bearnson
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- was a Mormon church member in Los Angeles, California in the early 1990s; molested a 13-year-old girl; the LDS church settled, reportedly for millions of dollars (US).
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- Alleged coverup
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LDS church payment: $2,000,000
- Criminal: Convicted, Probation,
- Civil: Judgment for plaintiff, Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement,
- Positions: Unknown position,
- Crime scenes: LDS activity,
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Christopher Church
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- was a Mormon high priest and anesthesiologist in Arizona; had his license revoked in 2011 for a pattern of touching women's breasts while they were unconscious; 2012 civil suit was dismissed.
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- Criminal: Never charged, Not convicted,
- Civil: Settlement,
- Alleged crime: 2010s, in Arizona,
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Franklyn Curtis
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- 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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- Alleged coverup
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LDS church payment: $3,000,000
- Criminal: Convicted,
- Civil: Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement,
- Positions: High priest, Sunday school,
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John Doe
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- 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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- Alleged coverup
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LDS church payment: $995,000
- Criminal: Convicted, Plea agreement, Pleaded guilty, Prison, Released,
- Civil: Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement,
- Positions: Unknown position,
- Crime: 1980s, 1990s, in California,
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Timur Dykes
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- was a Mormon church member and scout leader in Portland, Oregon; accused of sexual abuse; convicted; in about 2009, the Mormon church paid $350,000 to a victim to settle its portion of a civil lawsuit.
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- Alleged coverup
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LDS church payment: $350,000
- Criminal: Convicted, Jail, Probation,
- Civil: Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement,
- Positions: Scout leader,
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Shawn Frost
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- was an LDS church member in Virginia; arrested in 2022 and charged with child sexual abuse; in 2023, sued in $10.3 million lawsuit alleging child sexual abuse of three more victims; he was the victim's home teacher / ministering brother.
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- Criminal: Ongoing,
- Civil: Settlement,
- Positions: Ministering/home teacher, Missionary, Other leader, Stake clerk, Youth leader,
- Crime scenes: Recreational trip/outing,
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John Goodrich
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- was a former Mormon bishop and dentist in Idaho; accused of child sexual abuse and of having nonconsensual sex with a woman he admitting to drugging; given a withheld judgement; in December 2023, the AP reported that the Mormon church had offered $300,000 to a victim and her mother to not use her story to sue the church, and to keep the NDA secret; arrested in Virginia in March 2024.
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- Alleged coverup
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LDS church payment: $300,000
- Criminal: Charges dropped, Convicted, Withheld judgment,
- Civil: Settlement,
- Positions: Bishop,
- Crime: 2000s, in Idaho, Virginia,
- Crime scenes: Perpetrator's home, Victim's home,
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Mark Gum
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- was an Mormon scout leader in Oxnard, California; a 2011 lawsuit against the LDS church and the Boy Scouts of America accused him of sexually assaulting a boy scout; while the boy was living with Gum (with the consent of the boy's parents), church members visited and accepted the living arrangement, the suit said; in 2012, the Mormon church made a settlement payment for an undisclosed amount.
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- Alleged coverup
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LDS church payment: Undisclosed amount
- Criminal: Never charged, Not convicted,
- Civil: Dismissed, Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement,
- Positions: Scout leader,
- Alleged crime: 1980s, in California,
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Brent Hansen
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- was an LDS church member and dentist in Spanish Fork, Utah; was also mayor of Spanish Fork and president of its chamber of commerce; accused in a civil lawsuit of receiving sexual favors from a dentistry patient in return for prescriptions for narcotics; his dentistry license was suspended for 30 days; died in 2015.
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- Criminal: Never charged, Not convicted,
- Civil: Settlement, Unknown result,
- Positions: Bishop, Bishopric counselor, Scout leader, Stake high council, Sunday school, Youth leader,
- Alleged crime: 1980s, in Utah, Utah County (Utah),
- Crime scenes: Perpetrator's workplace,
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James Hogan
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- was a Mormon church member and scout leader in Oregon; in 1989, was sentenced to five years in prison for child sexual abuse; released in 1994; in 2011, a victim filed a civil lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America, seeking $5.2 million.
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- Alleged coverup
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LDS church payment: Undisclosed amount
- Criminal: Convicted, Pleaded guilty, Prison, Released,
- Civil: Settlement,
- Positions: Church employee, Scout leader,
- Crime: 1970s, 1980s, in Oregon,
- Crime scenes: LDS building,
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Christopher Jensen
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- was a Mormon church member in Utah and West Virginia; sentenced to 35 to 75 years in prison for sexually abusing two children; local LDS church coverup alleged; LDS church settled civil lawsuit mid-trial in 2018 for $32 million.
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- Alleged coverup
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LDS church payment: $32,000,000
- Criminal: Convicted,
- Civil: Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement,
- Positions: Missionary,
- Crime: 2000s, 2010s, in West Virginia,
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Melvin Johnson
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- 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 coverup
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LDS church payment: Undisclosed amount
- Criminal: Admitted guilt, Never charged, Not convicted,
- Civil: Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement, Unknown result,
- Positions: BYU, Church employee, Other leader,
- Alleged crime: 1960s, 1970s, in California, Utah,
- Crime scenes: Perpetrator's home, Victim's home,
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Kevin Kirkland
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- was a Mormon seminary teacher and school teacher in the Redlands, California area; accused of sexual abuse; pleaded guilty in 2016 to molesting four female students from May 2015 to May 2016; sentenced to two years in prison; released in June 2017.
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- Criminal: Convicted, Jail, Pleaded guilty,
- Civil: Settlement,
- Positions: Seminary teacher,
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John Misseldine
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- was a Mormon missionary in Nevada; charged with sexually abusing two little children at an LDS chapel in the Las Vegas area; in 2005, made a plea deal to avoid prison, via an Alford plea to two counts; a lawsuit said a local Mormon leader failed to report abuse to police; in 2008, sentenced to prison after violating the plea deal; as of 2024, lives in Las Vegas, Nevada as a registered sex offender.
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- Alleged coverup
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LDS church payment: $782,000
- Criminal: Alford plea, Convicted, Probation, Registered sex offender,
- Civil: Dismissed, Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement, Unknown result,
- Positions: Missionary,
- Crime scenes: LDS building,
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Thomas Monson
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- was an attorney for the LDS church's law firm, Kirton McConkie; In 1989, Monson paid a $75 fine and was placed on probation after he pleaded guilty to charges of soliciting sex from a prostitute; sued in the 1990s for sexual harassment; reached a settlement with the victim; was a Mormon bishop in Utah in 2008.
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- Criminal: Convicted, Pleaded guilty,
- Civil: Settlement,
- Positions: Bishop,
- Crime: 1980s, 1990s, in Salt Lake County (Utah), Utah,
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Brian Pickett
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- was a Mormon branch president and leader at a youth program picking pineapples in Maui, Hawaii; accused of sexual abuse in a civil lawsuit that also named the LDS church; the suit was dismissed with prejudice after a settlement in 2016.
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- Alleged coverup
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LDS church payment: Undisclosed amount
- Criminal: Never charged, Not convicted,
- Civil: Dismissed with prejudice, Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement,
- Positions: Branch president, Stake high council,
- Alleged crime: 1980s, in Hawaii,
- Crime scenes: LDS activity, Perpetrator's home,
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Richard Ray
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- was an LDS church member in Arizona; sentenced in 1984 to 61 years in prison for molesting five girls; allegedly had more than 30 victims; the LDS church was involved in a lawsuit regarding clergy-penitent privilege; the church settled out of court for an undisclosed amount just before trial.
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- Alleged coverup
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LDS church payment: Undisclosed amount
- Criminal: Convicted,
- Civil: Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement,
- Positions: Missionary,
- Crime: 1970s, 1980s, in Arizona,
- Crime scenes: Perpetrator's home,
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Michael Shean
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- was a Mormon bishopric counselor and temple worker, and deputy district attorney in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara County, California; convicted of sexually molesting boys and sentenced to prison; the Mormon church made a settlement payment to a victim who said a stake president covered up the abuse for years.
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- Alleged coverup
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LDS church payment: Undisclosed amount
- Criminal: Convicted, Prison,
- Civil: Judgment for plaintiff, Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement,
- Positions: Bishopric counselor, Missionary, Seminary teacher, Temple worker,
- Crime: 1980s, in California,
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Todd Summers
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- 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.
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- Alleged coverup
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LDS church payment: $100,000
- Criminal: Never charged,
- Civil: Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement,
- Positions: Missionary,
- Alleged crime: 1990s, in California,
- Crime scenes: LDS building, Public, Victim's home,
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Peter Taylor
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- was a Mormon church member in Washington; confessed to sexual abuse of his two underage stepdaughters; convicted; Mormon church lost a civil lawsuit and was court ordered to pay the victims $2.5 million; the church appealed and the amount was reduced to $1.2 million.
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- Alleged coverup
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LDS church payment: $1,200,000
- Criminal: Convicted, Pleaded guilty,
- Civil: Judgment for plaintiff, Settlement,
- Positions: Unknown position,
- Crime: 1980s, 1990s, in Washington,
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Sean Woolf
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- 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 sued the Mormon church in 2020; the church settled with the victim.
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- Alleged coverup
- Criminal: Never charged, Not convicted,
- Civil: Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement,
- Positions: Missionary,
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International map of locations where active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints perpetrated or allegedly perpetrated sexual abuse or other sex crimes, or where LDS leaders failed or allegedly failed to help abuse survivors.
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