6 LDS sex abuse cases found
- Crime decade: 1950s
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- Dennis Collins was an LDS church member in Washington; pleaded guilty to child sexual abuse
Positions: Scout leader,
Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, - View report »
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- James Denos (1929 – 2017) was a former LDS bishop and junior high school teacher in Utah; previously lived and served as a Mormon bishop in 1970 in Westminster, Orange County, California; sentenced in 2002 to a minimum of 20 years in a Utah state prison for sexually abusing four minor girls living in Utah; allegedly began molesting kids as early as 1950
Alleged failure to report
Convicted:
2002,
Positions: Bishop, Missionary, Stake high council, Temple worker, Ward clerk,
Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison, - View report »
"In public, my father was always so perfect, and he told us he was perfect. [...] He went to church every Sunday, we had family home evening and we read the Scriptures. People put him on a pedestal. But he was molesting children … right under our noses."-
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- Edwin Dyer (1935 – 1986) was a Mormon church member and scoutmaster in central Oregon; accused of sexual abuse; allegedly molested as many as 15 boys over a 28-year period; convicted in 1985 of two misdemeanors related to sexual abuse; shot and killed in 1986 by one of his victims; the Mormon church settled out of court for $200,000 with one victim
Alleged failure to report-
Church paid $200,000
Positions: Scout leader,
Criminal case(s): Convicted, Jail, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Probation,
Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement,
Alleged church actions: Disfellowshipped, Excommunicated, - View report »
"Until we use names, until people understand that this happened to Johnny next door, it will keep on happening."Church officials asked Dyer to resign as scoutmaster and later disfellowshipped and excommunicated him, but allegedly did not tell police-
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- 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
Alleged failure to report
Convicted:
1956, 1960, 1966, 1979,
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 church actions: Church officials accused of failure to warn ward members, Church position after conviction, Excommunicated, - View report »
2024 lawsuit said Mormon church excommunicated Forrester after child sex abuse conviction, then later re-baptized him and assigned him to work with kids-
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- 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
Convicted:
1988,
Positions: High priest, Scout leader, Stake high council, Sunday school,
Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison, Probation,
Alleged church actions: Unknown church action, - View report »
Mathias reportedly admitted that he had 242 victims over a 30-year period-
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- Orin Searle (1926 – 2014) was an LDS church member in Ogden, Utah; accused of sexual abuse in 2013 but was deemed incompetent to stand trial; a victim said that Searle's predatory behavior began as early as the late 1950s, and that several family members, and multiple members of the LDS 44th Ward (Mount Ogden Stake), knew that Searle was a child molester but did nothing to stop him; died in 2014
Alleged failure to report
Positions: Bishopric counselor, Elders quorum president/counselor, High priest, Other leader, Temple worker,
Criminal case(s): Case dismissed due to incompetence, Not convicted, - View report »
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