was a Mormon area authority seventy and mission president; accused in a 2025 lawsuit of concealing child sexual abuse perpetrated by another person in order to be able to become a mission president; accused of inviting a known child sexual abuser to travel to his mission home in Madrid, Spain, where the abuser molested a child

Phil Bussey was an LDS church area authority seventy and mission president.

In 2025, a lawsuit against Bussey and the Mormon church said Bussey helped a convicted sex offender (Paydan Georgy Bussey) be removed from registries in Washington and Utah in order for Phil to be able to become a mission president.

Phil Bussey consulted with LDS church leaders about Paydan’s sexual misconduct and criminal case in Washington and got advice from them on “how to proceed,” according to the complaint.

In 2019, Phil Bussey invited Paydan to visit him while Phil was a mission president in Madrid, Spain.

While there, Paydan groomed and molested a small child, the lawsuit said.

The LDS church paid for Paydan’s travel to and from Spain, according to the lawsuit.

As of February 2025, Paydan was facing child sex abuse charges in ongoing cases in King County, Washington and in Utah.

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If you have any information about this individual, including their history in the Mormon church, please add information below or contact us.

FLOODLIT.org reports on sexual abuse in the LDS church in order to raise public awareness and help survivors heal. Learn more »

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