51 matching Mormon sex abuse cases

      • Terry Allen was an LDS church member in California; in 1987, was found guilty of sexual abuse of a child and was sentenced to six years in prison; was assigned to multiple trusted church positions, including Sunday school president, despite the Mormon church being aware that he had raped a teenager; LDS leaders were accused of hiding his abuse from local church members; as of 2024, lives in Grapevine, Texas
      • Alleged coverup
      • Church discipline: Excommunicated, Rebaptized,
      • Alan Andrus was a Mormon bishop in Placerville, El Dorado County, California; accused of sexual abuse in 2020; as of June 2024, the case is proceeding through the trial setting process
      • Michael Antrobus was a former Mormon branch president (similar to a bishop) and bishop in Connersville, Indiana for 10 years (approximately 1974-84); convicted of child sexual abuse charges (9 counts, 6 victims) in Sacramento County, California in 2021-2022; sentenced to 8 years in San Quentin State Prison; died by suicide in prison in September 2023; allegedly had at least a dozen victims
      • Alleged coverup
      • Jose Arias was a Mormon church missionary in Palm Desert, California; accused of sexual abuse; civil suit filed against LDS church and Arias; judge awarded judgment by default for the plaintiff (victim) against Arias in 2017 in the amount of approximately $4.2 million; the LDS church was not found liable
      • Alleged coverup
      • John Baca was an LDS church member in California; found guilty of LEWD OR LASCIVIOUS ACTS WITH A CHILD UNDER 14 YEARS OF AGE
      • Christian Bearnson was a Mormon church member in Los Angeles, California in the early 1990s; molested a 13-year-old girl; in 1993, the Mormon church was found liable for child sexual abuse by a jury in a civil lawsuit; the LDS church then settled with the two plaintiffs, reportedly for millions of dollars (US), and had the court records sealed
      • Alleged coverup
      • LDS church payment: $2,000,000
      • David Bennett was an LDS church member and scout leader in California and Korea; convicted in 1987 in California of child sexual abuse; moved to Korea; was assigned to be an LDS young men's president and scoutmaster; was accused of molesting several boys; disappeared in 1991; FLOODLIT is attempting to locate him
      • Alleged coverup
      • George Brown was a Mormon church member in Benicia, California; accused of sexually abusing an infant until age 4, and of creating/having CSAM on computer; allegedly attempted sexual abuse on a second infant
      • Niles Carr was a Mormon missionary in Ireland in the late 1980s, originally from California; convicted of child sexual abuse charges; Mormon leaders allegedly assigned Carr to work with Boy Scouts after knowing he was sent home from his mission due to child sex abuse allegations
      • Alleged coverup
      • Dustin Cassady was a Mormon church member in the Sacramento, California area (Carmichael); accused of child sexual exploitation; pleaded guilty; as of March 2024, lives in Roseville, California as a registered sex offender
      • Richard Cole was an LDS church member in Santa Rosa, California; accused of sexually and physically abusing his wife; in 1975 was murdered by his wife when she said needed the abuse to stop
      • Alan Dunn was a Mormon church member and scout leader in Venice, California (Los Angeles); accused in 1978 of child sexual abuse; confessed to the police
      • Alleged coverup
      • Larry Dyke was a Mormon church member; accused of sexual abuse
      • Todd Edwards was a Mormon bishop in Menifee, Riverside County, California; in 2013, sentenced to three years in prison for sexual abuse of one teenage girl in 2006 and another in 2012; was bishop at the time of the 2012 abuse; in 2024, two victims sued the LDS church in separate lawsuits; one said a stake president and LDS law firm Kirton McConkie hindered police
      • Alleged coverup
      • Richard Freeman was an LDS church member and high school teacher in Fresno, California; accused of sexual abuse; convicted and sentenced to prison; moved to Provo, Utah
      • Luis Gonzales was a Mormon bishop in Sacramento, California; 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
      • Alleged coverup
      • Eugene Hansen was a Mormon church member and scout leader in California; accused of child sexual abuse
      • 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
      • Alleged coverup
      • Craig Harward was a Mormon ward executive secretary and former elementary "teacher of the year" in Santa Clara County, California; accused of sexual abuse of at least 10 children; pleaded guilty to charges related to sexual abuse of four children over a six-year period; sentenced to 14 years in prison; in 2024, a lawsuit said the LDS church failed to report abuse; as of 2024, lives in St. George, Utah
      • Alleged coverup
      • James Haskell was a former Mormon bishop and practicing attorney in Vacaville, California; charged with 14 felonies and three misdemeanors for allegedly sexually abusing four children; was an LDS stake high council member when charged; pleaded not guilty; in June 2024, found not guilty in a jury trial of 16 of 17 counts; jurors deadlocked on one count of felony injury upon a child
      • Hayden Hunter was a Mormon missionary in California; he was from Pleasant Grove, Utah; arrested in 2020 for distribution of child sexual abuse material (child pornography) while on his mission; convicted of possession of CSAM in 2021
      • Kenneth Jenks was an LDS church member in California (Milpitas Ward); was a ward executive secretary and ward librarian; charged with sexual abuse; convicted; served 14 years in prison for sexual abuse of a minor under duress; three victims sued the LDS church, claiming it knew about Jenks's abuse but allowed him to work with children
      • Alleged coverup
      • Thad Jesperson was an LDS church member in Murietta, California; accused of sexually abusing 8 of his elementary students at Toler Elementary School
      • Kevin Kirkland was a Mormon seminary teacher and school teacher in the Redlands, California area; accused of sexual abuse; pleaded guilty in 2016 to molesting four female students from May 2015 to May 2016; sentenced to two years in jail; released in June 2017
      • Craig Mathias was a Mormon church member and scout leader in Granada Hills, California; was in the Northridge ward until 1983; convicted in 1987 of sexually molesting multiple boy scouts; sentenced to six years in prison
      • Alleged coverup
      • Glen McGhie was a Mormon church member in Santa Clara, California; found guilty of lewd or lascivious act on a child age 14/15, a felony; lost his physical therapy license
      • John Midgett was a Mormon Sunday school teacher in the San Diego area, California; also was a Navy petty officer first class; accused of 43 felony counts of child molestation for allegedly sexually abusing eight girls, ages 5 to 10, in his Sunday school class; pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 years in prison; as of 2024, lives in Bountiful, Utah as a registered sex offender
      • Daniel Montoya was a Mormon church member and scout leader in Long Beach, California; pleaded guilty in 1986 to charges of child sexual abuse
      • Joseph Neipp was a former LDS bishop in San Jose, 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; father of convicted Mormon child sexual abuser Samuel Neipp
      • Alleged coverup
      • Church discipline: Excommunicated, Rebaptized,
      • Samuel Neipp was an LDS church member and middle school teacher in California; once named "teacher of the year" by the Union School District in the San Jose, California area; son of convicted child sexual abuser Joseph Neipp; pleaded no contest in 2019 to 12 charges related to sexual abuse; sentenced to 56 years in prison
      • Eric Olsen was an LDS church member and schoolteacher in Bakersfield, California; admitted to Ontario, California police that he had sexually abused between 200 to 300 girls, with as many as 30 victims in Kern County; convicted in 2007 in California of 6 felony counts of child sexual abuse; sentenced to five years in prison; lifetime registered sex offender; as of 2023, lives in Brigham City, Utah
      • John Parkinson was a Mormon stake president (1981-1991) and physician in Fairfield, California; sentenced to prison in 1997 for sexually abusing two female patients, but the judge delayed the sentence pending an appeal; his conviction was later reversed
      • Alleged coverup
      • David Phipps/Verity was an LDS church member and dentist in Sacramento, California; pleaded no contest in 1987 to two counts of misdemeanor sexual battery involving two of his patients; In 1994, also pleaded no contest to two counts of misdemeanor sexual battery; served time in jail and had dental license revoked
      • Eldon Saling was a Mormon church member in California and Utah; convicted in 1987 in California and in 1993 in Utah of charges related to sexual abuse; as of 2024, lives in Burley, Idaho as a registered sex offender
      • Vernon Sanford was an LDS church member in San Diego, California; died in 2000; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse, along with his son, Vernon Sanford Jr; the suit was one of 91 or more coordinated civil suits filed in California in 2024 against the Mormon church; the alleged abuse occurred between 1961 and 1970; the Sanfords were the plaintiff's LDS home teachers
      • Alleged coverup
      • Vernon Sanford was an LDS church member in San Diego, California; died in 2000; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse, along with his father, Vernon Sanford Sr; the suit was one of 91 or more coordinated civil suits filed in California in 2024 against the Mormon church; the alleged abuse occurred between 1961 and 1970; the Sanfords were the plaintiff's LDS home teachers
      • Alleged coverup
      • Dennis Schult was a Mormon church member and scout leader in southern California; pleaded no contest to two counts of child molestation as part of a plea agreement wherein six other molestation charges were dropped; sentenced in 1991 to eight years in prison for sexually abusing two of his scouts for several years; as of 2024, registered sex offender living in Granada Hills, California
      • Alleged coverup
      • Church discipline: Excommunicated, Rebaptized,
      • Eric Senior was an LDS church member in Santa Clara County, California; accused of sexual abuse in the 1990s; convicted; sentenced to prison; lost an appeal with the California Supreme Court; as of March 2024, lives in Provo, Utah as a registered sex offender
      • William Shubeck was a Mormon church member in San Bernardino, California; accused in 2003 of sexual abuse in a civil lawsuit against the LDS church
      • Alleged coverup
      • Neil Shumate was an LDS church member and scout leader in Pleasanton, California; was also a kindergarten teacher; arrested in 1994 and charged with molesting several of his students; convicted on all 16 counts; sentenced to 12 years in prison
      • Todd Summers was an LDS church member and videographer for local children's events in Costa Mesa, California; accused of child sexual abuse that allegedly took place in a Mormon chapel and other locations; a 2009 civil suit against him ended with a $100,000 settlement payment by the Mormon church to the plaintiff
      • Alleged coverup
      • LDS church payment: $100,000
      • James Ungricht was a Mormon church member and junior high school science and math teacher in San Diego, California; arrested in 2017 for lewd conduct in public; pleaded no contest in 2018 to a misdemeanor charge of lewd conduct in a public place; sentenced to serve 30 days in county jail, plus three years probation
      • Bob UNKNOWN was a Mormon church member and Melchizedek priesthood holder in Lancaster, California; a 2024 civil lawsuit said he took part with a Mormon bishop and another Melchizedek priesthood holder in sexually assaulting an underage boy inside an LDS church building on a weekly basis from 2001 to 2003, starting when the victim was 15 years old
      • Alleged coverup
      • Jim UNKNOWN was a Mormon church member and Melchizedek priesthood holder in Lancaster, California; a 2024 civil lawsuit said he took part with a Mormon bishop and another Melchizedek priesthood holder in sexually assaulting an underage boy inside an LDS church building on a weekly basis from 2001 to 2003, starting when the victim was 15 years old
      • Alleged coverup
      • David Webb was an LDS church member and oral surgeon in Vacaville, California; accused of sexual abuse of multiple patients in 2021 and again in 2022; gave up his license to practice in 2023; got a license to practice dentistry in Idaho; as of March 2024, a criminal case and several civil cases in California are ongoing
      • Michael Woodbury was a Mormon young men's president and attorney in Sacramento, California; sentenced in 2006 to six months in prison for sexually abusing a boy; contrary to a news article report, did not register as a sex offender
      • Gary Woolstenhulme was a Mormon bishop in Imperial Beach, California in 1978; died in 2002; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse; the suit was one of 91 or more coordinated civil suits filed in California in 2024 against the Mormon church (plaintiff John Roe JB 65 - San Diego 24CU008107, CASD 3:24-cv-02349-AJB-MSB); allegedly sexually assaulted a 14-year-old boy in his office at church
      • Alleged coverup
      • Chauncey Worthley was a former LDS bishop in Orange County, California; admitted to sexual abuse and had his foster parent license taken away
      • Timothy Wright was a Mormon church member in Santa Clara, California; convicted in 1994 of one or more felonies related to child sexual abuse; a 1994 civil lawsuit against the Mormon church said he molested a boy between 1989 and 1992, when the boy was 14 to 17 years old (actions for which he was convicted); the suit was dismissed in 1995 for failure to appear by the plaintiff's attorneys

     

    Add information

    If someone you know was harmed by the person listed on this page, or if you would like us to add or correct any information, please fill out the form below. We will keep you anonymous. You can also contact us directly.

    View the Mormon Sexual Abuse Map

    International map of locations where active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints perpetrated or allegedly perpetrated sexual abuse or other sex crimes, or where LDS leaders failed or allegedly failed to help abuse survivors.

    Browse the Mormon Sexual Abuse Database

    FLOODLIT.org has a free public database of hundreds of reports about people who committed or allegedly committed sex crimes, including sexual abuse, while they were active Mormon church members. You can browse the entire database by LDS church position, number of victims, places where crimes took place, criminal/civil case results, and other criteria.