FLOODLIT has found the following cases in which the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon church) or its local leaders were alleged to have failed to report sexual abuse allegations to police or legal authorities.

View our full database of Mormon sexual abuse cases or our map showing events in the life of the accused.

If you know of a Mormon “failure to report” case that’s not listed here, please contact us.

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67 LDS failure to report cases

  • Aaron, George William was a Mormon bishop in Utah; allegedly sexually abused his two teenage daughters; paid $25,000 in punitive damages after losing a civil lawsuit
    1941-
  • Allsford, Stewart former LDS bishop in the Plymouth England stake; accused of sexually abusing two girls; killed himself on third day of his child sex abuse trial
    1951-2017
  • Andrus, Alan Roman was a Mormon bishop in California; accused of sexual abuse in 2020; as of May 2023, the case is proceeding through pretrial motions
    1963-
  • Atkin, Arlo Kay former LDS bishop in Arizona; accused of raping and impregnating a 14-year-old girl in his ward while he was her bishop; pleaded guilty, served time in prison
    1956-
  • Bodily, Gordon Brent former Mormon bishop; sentenced in 2001 to 21 months in federal prison for luring a 17-year-old North Carolina girl to Utah for sex
    1949-
  • Boring, Donnie Rue was a Mormon bishop and stake high council member in California / Arizona; pleaded guilty in 2017 to a felony charge of sexual abuse; died in December 2017
    1950-2017
  • Brinkerhoff, Allen J was a Mormon bishop and stake president and manager of an LDS stake welfare farm in Nevada; in 2007, found guilty of child sexual abuse and sentenced
    1929-2019
  • Brockner, Ronald Terry former Mormon bishop and stake president in Louisiana; found guilty in Idaho in 2020 of sexually exploiting a minor; sentenced to 5 to 10 years in prison
    1959-
  • Bronson, Michael Lynn former Mormon bishop in Utah; sentenced to prison in 2017 for first-degree felony attempted aggravated child sexual abuse
    1964-
  • Burdick, Paul Douglas former LDS bishop in Oregon; pleaded guilty to third-degree sex abuse involving students
    1972-
  • Coleman, Michael Wayne former LDS bishop; arrested for sexual solicitation of a minor online
    -unknown
  • Crookston, Clark Elwood former bishop in Utah; accused of 60 years of sex abuse of multiple children; found guilty of attempted aggravated child sexual abuse; sentenced in 2022 to up to 35 years in prison
    1949-n/a
  • Croshaw, Alan Lee was a Mormon bishop in Utah in the 1990s; admitted to having a lifelong sexual addiction with a preference for prepubescent girls; downloaded and distributed child pornography; in 2015, sentenced to 30 days in jail for felony voyeurism and misdemeanor lewdness; violated probation by downloading porn
    1946-
  • Darrington, Scott Alan former LDS bishop, assistant school principal; convicted of possession of child pornography, spent a year in prison
    1967-2023
  • Denos, James former LDS bishop; sentenced to a minimum 20 years in a Utah state prison for sexually abusing four of his granddaughters living in Utah
    -
  • Deutsch, Larry former Mormon bishop; charged with child porn and luring a teen across state lines; pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 144 months in federal prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release for coercion and enticement of a minor and receiving child pornography
    1966-unknown
  • Dew, Gregory Scott former bishop, chiropractor, gymnastics teacher; as of November 2022, serving prison time in Ohio for sexually abusing teenage girls
    1961-
  • Edwards, Todd Mitchell former Mormon bishop in California; sentenced to prison in 2013 for child sexual abuse
    1964-
  • Faivre, Nicolas Pierre former LDS bishop in Australia; charged with sending sexually explicit messages to a child
    1979-
  • Fuller, Francis Heber was a Mormon bishop in Highland, Utah in 1993; also was a stake high council member in Utah; in 2018 or 2019, pleaded guilty to two second degree felony counts of child sexual abuse; sentenced in 2019 in Utah to two years in prison
    1940-
  • Furness, Rex Lyle former Idaho state senator and Mormon bishop; in 1996, pleaded guilty to sexual battery for fondling his granddaughter; was sentenced to 60 days in jail; given a withheld judgment: if he did not violate the terms of his probation, the felony conviction would be kept from his record
    1923-2005
  • Gardner, Samuel Howard former LDS bishop; accused of sexual abuse
    1932-1968
  • Garn, Kevin Stacy former Utah House majority leader; was an LDS church member who admitted in 2010 to a nude encounter with a 15-year-old girl in a hot tub in 1985, when he was 28
    1955-
  • Gillins, Keith Lorraine former mayor, LDS bishop and high school teacher; arrested on charges of having sex with a 17-year-old girl; sentenced in 2009 to three sentences of three years to life in prison Location: 2022, Milford, UT
    1947-
  • Gomez, David James former LDS bishop; arrested in 2004 and charged with 125 counts of sexual abuse; charges were dropped in 2005
    1946-
  • Gonzales, Luis was a Mormon bishop; charged with 20 counts of child molestation, battery, rape, bigamy, stalking, and fraud; in 2002, was found guilty of bigamy, spousal abuse (battery) and child molestation
    -
  • Gooden, Shawn Cory was an LDS bishop; arrested and charged with sexually molesting two girls; as of Feb 2023, awaiting extradition to Virginia
    1974-
  • Hall, Douglas Bruce was an LDS bishop in Utah; pleaded guilty in 2001 to two third degree felony counts of attempted forcible sexual abuse; pleaded guilty in 2002 to one second degree felony count of sex abuse of a child
    1952-
  • Hallows, Timothy James was an LDS bishop in Utah; sentenced to prison for possessing child pornography
    1958-
  • Harker, Marvin Ross LDS church member; sexually assaulted several young girls; confessed to his bishop and a mission president, who told him not to report to police
    1968-
  • Haskell, James Glenn was an LDS bishop and an attorney in Vacaville, California; charged with 14 felonies and three misdemeanors for allegedly sexually abusing four children; pleaded not guilty
    1982-
  • Head, Jeffrey Byron former LDS bishop in Utah; convicted of attempted forcible sexual abuse, two counts of lewdness and sexual battery; sentenced to four months behind bars and four years of probation
    1964-
  • Hildreth, Clayton Ray former Mormon stake president; sentenced to prison in 2005 for soliciting sex with a 14-year-old girl online
    1952-
  • Hughes, Erik Wayne former Mormon bishop; was sentenced to prison for sexually abusing two children while serving as their bishop
    1966-
  • Jennings, Floyd C was a former Mormon bishop and school bus driver in Utah; arrested in February 2017 for soliciting sex from two girls he thought were 13 years old; convicted in 2019
    1947-
  • Johnson, Carl Matthew former mayor of West Bountiful, UT; former Mormon bishop; arrested for and charged with sexually abusing several children; pleaded guilty in January 2023 to four felony counts of child sexual abuse; sentenced in March 2023 to prison Location: , , unknown unknown
    1945-
  • Kempton, Robert Glenn was an Mormon bishop, stake president and attorney in Arizona; arrested in 2014 in a police sting for underage prostitution
    1942-2018
  • Kennard, Lon Harvey former Mormon bishop in Utah; in 2011, pleaded guilty to three felony counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child; sentenced in November 2011 to three consecutive terms of five years to life in the Utah State Prison
    1941-2019
  • Loholt, Jack was an LDS church member; accused of sexual abuse
    -
  • MacNeill, Martin was a Mormon bishop; accused of sexual abuse
    -
  • McCleve, Timothy O'Sean former Mormon bishop; sentenced to prison for sexual abuse
    1956-
  • Mortensen, Shawn Tyler was a Mormon bishop and stake presidency member in Albuquerque, New Mexico; in February 2021, admitted to police that he had sexually abused an 11-year-old girl in January 2021; found guilty of sexual abuse; sentenced in 2022 to prison in New Mexico
    1965-
  • Moss, David Neil was an LDS bishop (2015-19) and police officer in Utah; arrested in 2019 for soliciting an undercover cop for sex; pleaded guilty in 2019 to a 3rd degree felony charge of exploiting a prostitute and a misdemeanor charge of patronizing a prostitute; sentenced to prison but both terms were suspended
    1967-
  • Murdock, Steven Dean former Mormon bishop and stake high council member in Utah; in 2019, was caught taking photos of a young woman in a dressing room in Tennessee; pleaded guilty in November 2019
    1963-
  • Neipp, Joseph former LDS bishop in California; in 2021, pleaded no contest to four molestation counts and was given an 18-year prison sentence, with credit for the three years he spent in county jail prior to his sentencing
    -
  • Newman, Paul William was a Mormon bishop in Utah; convicted of a sex crime
    1957-
  • Petit, Eneudo former Mormon bishop; allegedly avoided arrest warrant for sexual abuse by fleeing the US to Venezuela
    1973-
  • Phelps, Ronald was an LDS bishop; accused of sexual abuse; alleged Mormon church coverup
    -
  • Phister, Scott Elvin was a Mormon bishop and stake president in Wyoming; later moved to Utah and worked as a massage therapist; pleaded no contest in 2022 to two class A misdemeanor charges of sexual battery for touching a female massage client in a sexual manner
    1964-2023
  • Pierson, Chesley Nels was an LDS stake president and stake patriarch in Alberta, Canada; accused of sexually abusing multiple young men
    1928-2021
  • Pilling, Errol Kent was a Mormon bishop in Calgary, Alberta in the 1980s; pleaded guilty to charges of sexual misconduct
    1942-
  • Poelman, Byron Lloyd was a bishop and stake president in Utah and partner in a law firm that represented the LDS church; arrested in 1994 for soliciting a prostitute; pleaded guilty to a class B misdemeanor charge of patronizing a prostitute
    1934-2014
  • Powell, Geoffrey James former LDS bishop; jailed for 12 months for sexually abusing a seven-year-old girl in his ward
    1947-
  • Pratt, Carl Dee was a Mormon bishop in San Manuel, Arizona; allegedly sexually abused a boy in his ward
    1930-2006
  • Reyes, Alberto was a Mormon bishop in Argentina; accused of a sex crime
    2023-2023
  • Robinson, James Douglas former LDS bishop, accused of sexually abusing a teenage girl; charges were dropped
    -
  • Sampson, Richard Blaine was a Mormon church member; convicted child sexual abuser and former Provo, Utah MTC doctor; sentenced in 2014 to one to 15 years in prison for child sexual abuse
    1945-
  • Tapp, Gerald former LDS bishop in the UK; in 2008, sentenced to three and a half years in jail for distributing and possessing indecent images of children
    1952-
  • Templeton, Glendon former Mormon bishop, Sunday school teacher, scout leader; accused but never prosecuted for alleged sex crimes
    -
  • Thatcher, Ed was a Mormon bishop and later a city manager in Texas; accused of sexual harassment; results of accusations unknown
    -
  • unknown, unknown was a Mormon bishop in Panama; accused of sexual abuse
    2023-2023
  • unknown, M was a Mormon church member in Alberta, Canada; accused of sexual abuse
    -
  • unknown, Dave was a Mormon bishop in Utah; accused of sexual abuse
    -
  • Vallejo, Keith Robert was a Mormon bishop in Utah; convicted of sexually abusing and raping two underage girls; sentenced in 2017 to five years to life in prison
    1974-unknown
  • Westover, Robert Fleming former LDS bishop and attorney in Texas; arrested in 2021 for allegedly recording a minor; pleaded guilty in 2023 and sentenced to 4 years probation
    1972-
  • Whiting, Dylan Kevin was an LDS bishop in Nampa, Idaho; was removed from his position in 2021 after child sexual abuse allegations surfaced; was charged with four sex crimes; pleaded guilty to one felony count; sentenced in 2022 to prison
    1988-
  • Worthley, Chauncey Joseph former LDS bishop in Orange County, California; confessed to sexual abuse and had his foster parent license taken away
    1931-1998