15 LDS sex abuse cases found
Utah
- LDS position during crime: Scout leader
- Crime state: Utah
-
- 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
Alleged crime: 1980s, 
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
- View report »
Alleged crime county:
Alleged crime state:
Dozens of women told the court Bassett abused them as children; he attempted to get the case dismissed
"Why didn't they call us in? Why didn’t they call the kids in?"
-
- Arthur Bishop (1952 – 1988) was a Mormon boy scout leader in Utah; was excommunicated in the 1970s; later molested multiple children and killed five young boys; was sentenced to death by lethal injection in 1988
Crime: 1970s, 1980s, - Crime state:
Utah,
LDS positions: Missionary, Scout leader, 
Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison, -
- Douglas Bowen (1950 – ) was an LDS church member and Boy Scout leader in Washington, California, Utah and Idaho; was convicted of attempted aggravated sexual abuse of a child; in a 2017 lawsuit filed against the Mormon church, two plaintiffs alleged that Bowen abused them in Scouting in approximately 1974 or 1975
- Crime: 1970s,
- Crime state:
Utah,
LDS positions: Scout leader, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Jail, Registered sex offender, Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Unknown result, 
Alleged failure to report-
- Luke Dalton (1941 – ) was a Mormon church member; admitted to sexually abusing dozens of boys over decades in Ohio, Montana and Utah; arrested in 1997 in Utah for sexually abusing his only son; convicted and sentenced to prison; served 3.5 years in prison
- Crime: 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s,
- Crime state:
Montana, Ohio, Utah,
LDS positions: Scout leader, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison, Alleged failure to report-
- Dennis Empey (1957 – ) was a Mormon church member in Driggs, Idaho and scout leader in Provo, Utah; accused of sexually abusing many children between 1981 and 1990; a stake president and four Mormon bishops allegedly failed to report abuse for years; convicted in 1991 in Utah of child molestation; sentenced to one year in jail and three years probation; charged in 2025 in Idaho with sex crimes
- Crime: 1980s, 1990s,
- Crime city:
UT - Provo,
- Crime state:
Idaho, Utah,
Crime city:
Convicted:
1991, LDS positions: Scout leader, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Jail, Ongoing, Probation, Registered sex offender, Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Unknown result, Alleged failure to reportEmpey's alleged sex crimes span at least 44 years (1981 - 2025)
"This man has molested so many children that it involved four Bishops from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints."
-
- 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."
-
- William Hanson (1962 – ) was a Mormon youth leader who allegedly sexually abused children in several US states, including Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Utah, Texas, Wisconsin and New Jersey; sentenced to prison for child sexual abuse; in the 2000s, the Mormon church settled a civil lawsuit in which the victim accused it of failing to protect him
- Crime: 1980s, 1990s,
- Crime state:
Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, New Jersey, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin,
LDS positions: High priest, Scout leader, Youth leader, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison, Probation, Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement, Alleged failure to report-
- Lynn Hill was a Mormon scoutmaster in Utah; worked from 1976 to 1984 as a financial auditor for the LDS church, including in Japan and other Asian countries; sentenced in 2004 to up to five years in prison for sexually abusing a 17-year-old developmentally disabled girl; Hill molested her while driving her to an LDS church activity for disabled children, and at her home, according to charging documents
- Crime: 2000s,
- Crime state:
Utah,
Convicted:
2004, LDS positions: Missionary, Scout leader, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Prison, Released, -
- Scotty Mortensen was an LDS church member and scout leader in Utah; accused in 1988 of child sexual abuse
- Alleged crime: 1980s,
- Alleged crime state:
Utah,
LDS positions: Scout leader, Criminal case(s): Unknown result, -
- Thomas Opfar (1937 – 1998) was a Mormon church member in Pennsylvania and Utah; pleaded guilty in Utah to charges related to child sexual abuse; sentenced to five to 15 years in prison
- Crime: 1980s,
- Crime state:
Utah,
LDS positions: Scout leader, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison, -
- Brian Peterson (1964 – ) was an LDS church member and scout leader in Orem, Utah; accused in 1988 of child sexual abuse; convicted and sentenced to prison in 1990
- Crime: 1980s,
- Crime county:
UT - Utah,
- Crime state:
Utah,
Convicted:
1989, LDS positions: Scout leader, Criminal case(s): Convicted, No contest, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison, Alleged failure to reportA Mormon scout leader knew of allegations against Peterson for at least 10 months before reporting him to law enforcement
"I've had little boys all over the state of Utah in conjunction with the Boy Scout program. Give me an 11-year-old boy for a week, and I'll make him a homosexual for life."
-
- Phillip Rimmasch (1937 – 2009) was a Mormon church member and scout leader in Utah in the 1980s; had a 50-plus year career as a mortician; convicted of child sexual abuse; on appeal, the Utah Supreme Court ordered a new trial in 1989
- Crime: 1980s,
- Crime state:
Utah,
LDS positions: Scout leader, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Overturned/reversed, Unknown result, -
- Robert Stillwell (1964 – ) was a Mormon church member and boy scout leader in Salt Lake City, Utah; accused of sexual abuse in 1987; convicted in 1993 and 1998 in separate cases of child sexual abuse; a Mormon bishop reportedly became aware of the abuse, but did not take any church disciplinary action or report to police
- Crime: 1980s,
- Crime county:
UT - Salt Lake,
- Crime state:
Utah,
LDS positions: Missionary, Scout leader, Youth leader, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Alleged failure to report-
- Jay Toombs (1956 – ) was an LDS scout leader and private investigator in Benson, Utah; allegedly told his stake president (a Cache County prosecutor) in 1994 that he had molested boys; three LDS bishops and stake president Jerry Toombs (his older brother) allegedly knew of abuse but did not tell police; convicted in 2000 and sentenced to five years to life in prison; released in 2025; lives in Logan, Utah
- Crime: 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s,
- Crime state:
Utah,
Convicted:
2000, LDS positions: Scout leader, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison, Registered sex offender, Released, Alleged failure to reportadmitted to molesting at least 53 victims
"I felt like I was going to the authorities [by reporting to multiple bishops]. I wanted to do what was right. I didn't want to see him go to prison. I wanted him to get help. [...] I was always told to be patient with Jay, he was a good man. That's what I was told again and again and again. I was even given priesthood blessings that I had been chosen to help him."
-
- Robert Tubbs (1951 – ) was an LDS scout leader in Slaterville, Weber County, Utah; admitted he told a Mormon bishop in the early 1970s he had molested multiple boys; Tubbs said the bishop kept the abuse secret; nearly 20 years passed and Tubbs molested others; in the 1990s, Tubbs pleaded guilty to child sexual abuse charges; sentenced to six years to life in prison; paroled in 2000; violated parole; released in 2008
- Crime: 1990s,
- Crime state:
Utah,
LDS positions: Missionary, Scout leader, Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Convicted, Parole, Prison, Registered sex offender, Released, Violated parole/probation, Alleged failure to reportFilters
Select one or more criteria from the dropdown menus below to refine results.