33 matching Mormon sex abuse cases

  • Criminal case result: Found guilty
    • Mark Aitken was a Mormon church member in Falkirk, Scotland; found guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl after allegedly sending her manipulative and threatening messages
    • Mark Anderson was a Mormon church branch president and dentist in Woodland, California; accused by 27 former female patients of touching them inappropriately in office visits; found guilty in 2009 of 11 felony counts and one misdemeanor count of sexual battery for sexual abuse of several of his female patients; sentenced to six years in prison; required to register for life as a sex offender
    • Kevin Bowman was an LDS first counselor in a ward bishopric and a restaurant owner in Spanish Fork, Utah; was an LDS missionary in Taiwan 1999-2001; accused of sexual abuse of a teenage girl who worked in his restaurant; arrested in July 2023; in June 2024, found guilty by a jury of forcible sexual abuse (second-degree felony) and lewdness (class B misdemeanor); sentencing set for July 29, 2024
    • Church officials allegedly failed to report abuse
    • Revere Burnett was an LDS church member in Salt Lake City, Utah; accused of sexual abuse and found guilty of multiple felonies; appealed and received a lesser conviction sentence for misdemeanors; was not required to register as a sex offender
    • Albert Carlson was a Mormon church member in Utah, New Mexico and Texas; arrested in the 1980s in Utah on a molestation charge after allegedly molesting an underage boy who he met through the church; the case was dropped to a lewdness charge which did not require him to register as a sex offender; in 2025, sentenced in Texas to life in prison for child sexual abuse
    • Jayne Furness was a Mormon church member and boy scout leader in Arroyo Grande, California; accused of sex abuse; found guilty of voyeurism charges in or before 1972, and found guilty of sexual abuse charges in 1976; sentenced in 1976 or 1977 to prison; died in 1987
    • Jonathan Gonzalez was an LDS church member in Layton, Utah; found guilty of BURGLARY - 2nd Degree Felony, LEWDNESS INVOLVING A CHILD - Class A Misdemeanor, LEWDNESS - FIRST OR SECOND OFFENSE - Class B Misdemeanor
    • Stephen Goode was a Mormon church member in Gresham, Oregon; arrested in 2019 and accused of sexually abusing a child during a trip in 2018; in 2022, found guilty in a jury trial of four felony charges; sentenced to 8.5 years in prison and 20 years supervision
    • Gene Guinn was an LDS church member in the Dallas Seventh Ward, Texas; in 2000, found guilty by a jury of indecency with a child and sentenced to 68 years in prison; the victim was 10 years old at the time of the crime; Mormon officials allegedly knew about the abuse but failed to report to police
    • Church officials allegedly failed to report abuse
    • Church discipline: Excommunicated,
    • Harvey Harper was an LDS church member and deputy county district attorney in Los Angeles, California; arrested in 1984 and charged with child sexual abuse; jumped bail; found guilty; sentenced in absentia to 14 years in prison; lived secretly in Colorado for 20 months until federal investigators found him; local LDS church coverup alleged
    • Church officials allegedly failed to report abuse
    • Jeffrey Head was an LDS bishop in Utah; committed sex crimes while serving as a Mormon bishop; in 2019, a jury found him guilty of attempted forcible sexual abuse, two counts of lewdness and sexual battery; sentenced to four months in jail and four years of probation
    • Church officials allegedly failed to report abuse
    • Christopher Hettiger was a Mormon church member in Sacramento, California; in 2005, found guilty of child sexual abuse and was sentenced to 30 years in prison
    • Caleb Horner was an LDS church member in Melbourne, Australia; arrested in November 2021 and accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy he met in 2020; found guilty in 2024 of two counts of sexual assault by touch of a child under 16; sentenced in October 2024 to three years "community corrections," avoiding additional jail time
    • Church discipline: Excommunicated,
    • 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
    • Church officials allegedly failed to report abuse
    • LDS church payment: $32,000,000
    • Eric Jones was an LDS church member in Blackfoot, Idaho; arrested for alleged sexual contact with a toddler; convicted in January 2024 of battery with the intent to commit lewd conduct of a child after a one-day trial; sentenced in March 2024 to two to 20 years in prison; required to register as a sex offender
    • Kurt Leppert was a former LDS church primary teacher in Spokane Valley, Washington; found guilty in 2018 by a jury of seven counts of sexually abusing 3 children between the ages of 8 and 12; sentenced in 2018 to 21 years and 4 months in prison
    • Bryant Litchfield was an LDS church member and physician in Alberta, Canada; accused of sexual abuse; acquitted; in 2008, was found guilty by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta of inappropriately touching women patients during breast and vaginal exams in 2001; stripped of his medical license
    • Benjamin Manning was a Mormon church member in Massachusetts and Utah; in 2014, molested a child while living with her family in Salt Lake City, Utah; charged with child sexual abuse in 2019; was a Sunday school teacher at some point between 2014 and 2024; found guilty by a jury in February 2024; sentenced in April 2024 to 120 years in prison
    • Bruce McAskill was a Mormon church ward clerk in Jackson, Michigan; before becoming ward clerk, was convicted of rape; after becoming ward clerk, in 1994, was found guilty by a judge of kissing and fondling an 8-year-old boy whom he was babysitting; McAskill had met the boy's mother at church; a police officer said McAskill told him 'he didn't see any problem' with an adult sleeping naked with a child
    • Richard McClung was a Mormon bishopric counselor in the Rockford, Illinois area; convicted in 2007 and 2014 of child sexual abuse; accused in a 2025 lawsuit against the Mormon church of sexually abusing an 8-year-old girl; allegedly was not removed from bishopric despite charges
    • Church officials allegedly failed to report abuse
    • Aaron Montoya was a Mormon children's Primary teacher and law enforcement officer in Utah; found guilty in 2005 of sexually abusing children during LDS church meetings and at his home; later pleaded guilty in another case; in all, at least nine victims came forward; sentenced to prison in 2005; as of March 2025, is out of prison on parole and lives in Woods Cross, Utah as a registered sex offender
    • Shonn Ricks was an LDS church member in Benson, Cache County, Utah; accused of sexual abuse; found guilty by a jury in 1997; served about 14 months in prison; attempted to serve a Mormon mission and was supported by his stake president, Jerry Toombs; his mission call was withdrawn
    • Church officials allegedly failed to report abuse
    • James Samuels was a Mormon church member in Thornton, Idaho; found guilty of LEWD COND WITH A MINOR CHILD U/16 Date : 03-18-1980
    • Jeffery Scofield was an LDS church member in Provo, Utah; found guilty in 2004 of two counts of sexual abuse of a child (a 6-year-old girl); spent six years in prison and underwent therapy; in 2017, was arrested and charged with rape of a 73-year-old woman; the case was dismissed because the victim could not be located to testify in court
    • Charles Snider was an LDS church member in Georgia; accused of sexual abuse
    • Keith Vallejo was a Mormon bishop in Utah; accused of sexually abusing and raping two underage girls; in 2017, was found guilty in a jury trial of ten counts of second-degree felony forcible sexual abuse and one count of first-degree felony object rape; sentenced to five years to life in prison
    • Church officials allegedly failed to report abuse
    • Homer Van Matre was an LDS church member in Salt Lake County, Utah; found guilty of sexual abuse of child and sodomy on a child; charges were reversed on appeal when child recanted her story
    • Alan Willey was a Mormon church member and schoolteacher in Utah; honored as teacher of the year twice at local schools; sentenced to prison in 2007 for sexually molesting a child who was one of his students; accused of sexually abusing many other little children in his classes