Does your local LDS ward have any convicted sex offenders? Here’s how to find out in 4 easy steps.
This simple 4-step guide will help you find out whether there may be people attending an LDS ward/branch who have been convicted of sex crimes.
If you’re an active Latter-day Saint or a “PIMO” (physically in / mentally out of the LDS church), you probably 1) are attending a local Mormon church and 2) have login access to your ward and stake membership directories via the Member Tools app or LDS church website.
However, anybody can use these steps.
In this guide, “ward” means a local Mormon ward, branch or group.
NOTE: Do *not* use this guide to bother, harm, stalk, harass, bug, annoy, harangue, torment, exasperate, beleaguer, hound or otherwise disturb anyone. Be kind and use this information for personal research only.
STEP 1: GATHER NAMES
If you can login and view your online ward directory, open it up and copy the names and personal information of any adults you wish to research.
If someone is attending church that isn’t an LDS church member or doesn’t show up in the ward directory, consider checking on them as well.
STEP 2: SEARCH BY NAME
For each person you’re checking on, use the following websites to search for them by name/location:
INTERNATIONAL
Newspapers.com: https://www.newspapers.com (costs money, offers a free trial)
You can use Newspapers.com to help you confirm a person’s identity and learn about key events in their life (such as birth, high school or college graduations, LDS missions, marriages or LDS temple sealings, deaths of family members, etc.). You can also search for their name plus keywords like “sentenced” or “arrested” and sometimes find local news articles about any court cases they may have been involved in.
NATIONAL – UNITED STATES
The Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website: https://www.nsopw.gov (free)
Truth Finder: https://www.truthfinder.com (costs money, but well worth it in our opinion)
Judy Records: https://www.judyrecords.com – quick court cases search
PACER: https://pacer.uscourts.gov
NATIONAL – CANADA
CanLII: https://www.canlii.org
NATIONAL – AUSTRALIA
Court Data Australia: https://cda.courtdata.com.au
NATIONAL – UNITED KINGDOM AND IRELAND
For other countries, try searching in a search engine for “[country name] court case search.”
STATE-BY-STATE: UNITED STATES
Search state and local courts for court cases involving people on your list.
Examples from areas with higher Mormon populations:
Arizona: https://www.azcourtdocs.gov
Arizona – Maricopa County (Phoenix, Mesa and surrounding area): http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/docket/
California: Megan’s Law https://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/
Idaho: https://mycourts.idaho.gov
Nevada: https://nvcourts.gov/supreme/how_do_i/find_a_court
Texas: https://search.txcourts.gov
Utah: https://www.utcourts.gov/xchange/
Washington: https://dw.courts.wa.gov/
If you’re stuck, fire up a search engine and search for “[state or county name] court case search.”
When you find matching court records, look for the case “disposition” – that’s how the case ended up. You’ll be able to see if the person was convicted (found or pleaded guilty), acquitted, etc. and also what their criminal sentence was, if they were convicted.
STEP 3: SEARCH BY LOCATION
Do a geographical search for registered sex offenders in your desired area.
- The Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website: https://www.nsopw.gov
- Offender Radar – example: Provo, Utah (131 as of 4/24/2023)
- For Utah: SONAR
Note: Not every convicted sex offender is a *registered* sex offender. For example, as part of a plea bargain, a person may be able to avoid having to register as a sex offender.
STEP 4: SEARCH FLOODLIT.ORG
Search https://floodlit.org for the person you’re checking on, or for the city/state/country you’re interested in. It’s a database of LDS sex abuse and sex crime cases. There’s an advanced search tool as well: https://floodlit.org/search/ Oh and a map too: https://floodlit.org/map/
We hope this helps you in your journey.
If you’d like personal help in your research, let us know. We’ve got access to some people finder tools and some experience researching LDS sex abuse cases.
Not everyone is a sex offender. But a sex offender can be anyone, and sexual abuse can happen anywhere – even in a Mormon chapel or temple.
FLOODLIT is dedicated to abuse survivors. More about us
What tools/websites or steps could be added above? Have you found any sex offenders in your local Mormon ward? Let us know.