26 matching Mormon sex abuse cases

    • James Adams

      • 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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      • Crime: 1980s, in West Virginia,
      • Positions: Other leader,
      • Alleged coverup

    • Larren Arnold

      • was a Mormon church member and scout leader in Idaho; in 1984, arrested for lewd conduct with a minor under sixteen (molested a nine year-old boy) in Idaho; convicted in October 1984; received a five year suspended sentence and three years probation; the Mormon church made a settlement payment to a victim in approximately 2007.
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      • Crime: 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, in Idaho,
      • Positions: Scout leader,
      • Alleged coverup

    • Christian Bearnson

    • Christopher Church

      • 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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      • Alleged crime: 2010s, in Arizona,

    • Franklyn Curtis

      • 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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      • Positions: High priest, Sunday school,
      • Alleged coverup

    • John Doe

      • 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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      • Crime: 1980s, 1990s, in California,
      • Positions: Unknown position,
      • Alleged coverup

    • Timur Dykes

      • 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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      • Positions: Scout leader,
      • Alleged coverup

    • Shawn Frost

    • John Goodrich

      • 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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      • Crime: 2000s, in Idaho, Virginia,
      • Positions: Bishop,
      • Alleged coverup

    • Mark Gum

      • was a 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 crime: 1980s, in California,
      • Positions: Scout leader,
      • Alleged coverup

    • Brent Hansen

    • William Hanson

    • James Hogan

    • Christopher Jensen

      • 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, also spending over $27 million on legal fees; FLOODLIT.org discovered the settlement details in 2025 and made them public for the first time.
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      • Crime: 2000s, 2010s, in Utah, West Virginia,
      • Positions: Missionary,
      • Alleged coverup

    • Melvin Johnson

      • 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, in California, Utah,
      • Positions: BYU, Church employee, Other leader, Stake high council,
      • Alleged coverup

    • Kevin Kirkland

      • 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 jail; released in June 2017.
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      • Positions: Seminary teacher,

    • John Misseldine

      • was a Mormon missionary in Nevada; charged with sexually abusing two 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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      • Crime: 2000s, in Nevada,
      • Positions: Missionary,
      • Alleged coverup

    • Thomas Monson

      • 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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      • Crime: 1980s, 1990s, in Salt Lake County (Utah), Utah,
      • Positions: Bishop,

    • Ralph Neeley

      • was an LDS church member in the Beaumont, Texas area; was sentenced in January 1994 to life in prison in Texas for repeated sexual abuse of an 8-year-old girl in an LDS chapel during church meetings and in other locations; died in prison in 2020; the Mormon church reportedly paid several million US dollars in a settlement to the victim.
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      • Crime: 1980s, 1990s, in Arkansas, Texas,
      • Positions: Unknown position,
      • Alleged coverup

    • Brian Pickett

    • Richard Ray

      • 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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      • Crime: 1970s, 1980s, in Arizona,
      • Positions: Missionary,
      • Alleged coverup

    • Michael Shean

    • 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.
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      • Alleged crime: 1990s, in California,
      • Positions: Missionary,
      • Alleged coverup

    • Peter Taylor

      • 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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      • Crime: 1980s, 1990s, in Washington,
      • Positions: Unknown position,
      • Alleged coverup

    • Robert White

    • Sean Woolf

      • 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 later sued or planned to sue the Mormon church in 2020; the church settled with the victim, according to a person familiar with the case.
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      • Positions: Missionary,
      • Alleged coverup

     

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    View the Mormon Sexual Abuse Map

    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.

    Browse the Mormon Sexual Abuse Database

    FLOODLIT.org has a free public database of hundreds of reports about people who committed or allegedly committed sex crimes, including sexual abuse, while they were active Mormon church members. You can browse the entire database by LDS church position, number of victims, places where crimes took place, criminal/civil case results, and other criteria.