LDS sex abuse lawsuits have existed since at least 1984. When criminal cases fail to bring justice, or even when the LDS abuser is convicted, civil suits sometimes occur.

Here is a partial timeline of documented lawsuits against the Mormon church regarding sexual abuse (view a list of accused in such cases):

  • 1984 – Richard Kenneth Ray – Maricopa County, Arizona – settled in 1990
  • 1986 – Trent Rogers – Maricopa County, Arizona – unknown result
  • 1987 – Timur Dykes – Multnomah County, Oregon – three lawsuits
  • 1989 – Steven LeRoy Hammock – Utah – in 1997, a federal judge awarded $150,000 in damages to the victim
  • 1989 – James Francis Hogan – Oregon – settled out of court (unknown amount)
  • 1990 – Robert Gene Metcalf – Maricopa County, Arizona; unknown result
  • 1990s – Charles Blome – Texas – LDS church found liable for $4 million
  • 1992 – Eric Patrick Avant – Virginia – LDS church settled in 1992 (unknown amount)
  • 1993 – Christian Robert Bearnson – LDS church was found liable, then settled with the two plaintiffs, reportedly for millions of dollars, and had the court records sealed
  • 1994 – Ralph Edward Neeley – Jefferson County, Texas – Mormon church settled out of court, reportedly for millions of dollars
  • 1994 – Arlo Kay Atkin – Maricopa County, Arizona – dismissed with prejudice in 1995, possibly due to a settlement
  • 1996 – James F Adams – LDS church settled out of court in 2000
  • 1998 – Franklyn Richard Curtis – LDS church settled mid-lawsuit for $3 million
  • 2001 – Larren Bybee Arnold – LDS church settled out of court in 2001 for $50,000, possibly prior to filing
  • 2003 – Edwin Ellis Dyer – settled out of court for $200,000; the church also spent $58,151.36 in legal fees investigating and defending the legal claim
  • 2003 – James Francis Hogan – settled out of court with two plaintiffs for $800,000 and $75,000; the church also spent $135,684.26 in legal fees
  • 2005 – John Phillip Misseldine – two lawsuits closed after the church set up trust funds of $400,000 for one victim and $382,000 for two other victims
  • 2008 – Larren Bybee Arnold – LDS church settled out of court in 2012 (unknown amount)
  • 2011 – Mark Leroy Gum – settled in 2012 (unknown amount)
  • 2012 – Vance Paul Hein – settled in 2014 (unknown amount)
  • 2013 – Christopher Michael Jensen – West Virginia – settled for $32 million in 2018 (the church also spent over $27 million on legal defense)
  • 2014 – Brian Richard Pickett – Hawaii – settled in 2016 (unknown amount)
  • 2019 – Melvin Kay Johnson – unknown result
  • 2020 – Robert Gene Metcalf – Maricopa County, Arizona; unknown result
  • 2022 – complaint – Michael Ralph Bolingbroke – California – unknown result
  • 2024 – John Doe – Texas – former bishop; LDS church settled (unknown amount)
  • 2020s – John Doe – Lake Elsinore, California; $2.28 billion jury award to the victim; $995,000 settlement payment by the LDS church
  • 2020s – Anonymous Mormon abuse case, Tacoma, Washington: the Mormon church settled a civil suit with the abuse survivor for $1.1 million
  • 2020s – Melvin Kay Johnson – unknown result
  • unknown date – Eustacio Munioz LDS abuse lawsuit: the victim, as an adult, filed a civil lawsuit against the Mormon church and won
  • unknown date – William Scott Hanson – settled out of court (unknown amount)

Looking for a specific LDS sexual abuse lawsuit? Browse our LDS sex abuse database or search for Mormon sex crime cases.

Some civil lawsuits end in, or are prevented by, settlements where the Mormon church pays money to a sexual abuse victim in exchange for secrecy about the abuse, or as a court ordered payment due to failure to report abuse.

Sometimes, LDS bishops have covered up abuse. You may wonder, what can I do if a Mormon bishop fails to report abuse? We have tips on that.

Contact FLOODLIT if you have information about an LDS abuse lawsuit we may be missing in our public database.