59 matching Mormon sex abuse cases

  • Crime location: Arizona
    • Manuel Archibeque was a Mormon church member in Maricopa County, Arizona; allegedly admitted to his bishop that he had sexually touched a child; charged in two cases in 2006 with sexual conduct with a minor and three counts of molestation of a child, all class two felonies; one case was dismissed in 2006 without prejudice; in the other, pleaded guilty to two reduced charges of child abuse
    • Church officials allegedly failed to report abuse
    • Mathew Arrington was a Mormon church member and foster child advocate in Arizona; found guilty of child sexual abuse; sentenced in 2021 to 15 years in prison
    • Brandon Baldwin was a Mormon church member in Arizona; accused of sexual abuse
    • Coy Ball was an LDS church member in Mesa, Arizona; was charged with 11 counts related to child sex abuse; in 2014, pleaded guilty to three counts of molestation of a child
    • Earl Bleak was an LDS church member and bishopric member in Tempe, Arizona; was a physician; accused of sexually abusing missionaries
    • David Borg was a Mormon church member and scout leader; pleaded guilty to molesting multiple boys; sentenced to 34 years in prison
    • Donnie Boring was a former 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
    • David Cannata was a Mormon bishop in Tucson, Arizona in 2005 when he sexually abused a child who was 5 or 6 years old; was a stake high council member sometime in the 2010s; was confronted by the victim and turned himself into the police; convicted in 2019 and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison; was excommunicated from the Mormon church because of the abuse
    • Church discipline: Excommunicated,
    • Christopher Church was a Mormon high priest and anesthesiologist in Arizona; had his license revoked in 2011 for a pattern of touching women's breasts while they were unconscious; 2012 civil suit was dismissed
    • Larry Deutsch was a Mormon bishop in Missouri; arrested in 2020 and charged with possession of child pornography (child sexual abuse material, or CSAM) and accused of luring an underage teenager from Arizona to Missouri; pleaded guilty; sentenced in 2021 to 12 years in federal prison plus a lifetime of supervised release; in 2024, the victim filed a civil lawsuit against the LDS church
    • Church officials allegedly failed to report abuse
    • Michael Driggs was a Mormon missionary in Brazil in the early 1970s; allegedly sent to a different mission in the United States after being found having inappropriate relationships with young boys; convicted of child sexual abuse in 1985 in Arizona; convicted again of child sexual abuse in 2013 in Utah; he met his victim in the Utah case at church, according to court documents
    • Church officials allegedly failed to report abuse
    • Church discipline: Excommunicated,
    • Rowan Ellsworth was an LDS church member and schoolteacher in Arizona; allegedly molested a 14-year-old girl at an LDS girls camp in mid-1990; the abuse was reported to a bishop Burgess, who allegedly failed to report to police, but instead encouraged the victim to forgive; sentenced to prison in 1999 for two counts of child sexual abuse; released in 2007
    • Church officials allegedly failed to report abuse
    • Church discipline: Excommunicated, Rebaptized,
    • Daniel Galloway was an LDS church member in Arizona City, Pinal County, Arizona; found guilty of sexually abusing an 8 year old foster child
    • Floyd Godfrey was a Mormon church member and sexual orientation conversion therapist in Arizona; accused of sexual misconduct by two employees; in 2023, Godfrey was forced to surrender his license
    • Brandon Hernandez was an LDS church member in Tempe, Arizona; accused of sexually abusing a victim inside a Mormon church; convicted of four fourth degree felony counts of abuse of a child or vulnerable adult
    • Edward Hunter was a Mormon church member in Peoria, Arizona; accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl who was his patient; pleaded guilty to three counts of child abuse; sentenced to two years in prison and lifetime probation
    • Robert Kempton was a former Mormon bishop and stake president in Arizona; was an attorney and served a mission as a legal counsel for the LDS church in Africa; arrested in 2014 in a police sting for prostitution
    • Derek Lange was a Mormon church member and high school teacher and sports coach in Colorado City, Arizona; charged with attempted rape of a child, a first-degree felony; enticing a minor, a second-degree felony; and four counts of dealing in harmful materials to a minor, a third-degree felony
    • Cody Lara was an LDS church member in Arizona City, Pinal County, Arizona; accused of sexual abuse in 2018; convicted in 2019 of three reduced counts of abuse of a child or vulnerable adult
    • LaMell Lippard was a Mormon church member in Arizona; accused of sexual abuse
    • Edwin McClellan was a Mormon bishop in Cottonwood, Arizona; accused of sexually abusing 3 female family members from the 1980s-2000s
    • John McKown was an LDS church member in Arizona; charged in 2023 with child sexual exploitation
    • Robert Metcalf was a Mormon in California, Arizona; convicted of child sexual abuse in 1974; sentenced in 1979 to six years in prison; excommunicated; after prison, was rebaptized, made a scout leader and allegedly molested a scout on a campout in about 1987, according to a 1990 civil lawsuit against the LDS church; sentenced in Arizona in 1989 to 37 years in prison; 2020 lawsuit vs. LDS church
    • Church officials allegedly failed to report abuse
    • Church discipline: Excommunicated,
    • Russell Millsaps was an LDS church member and retired police sergeant in Arizona; sentenced in 2016 to 323 years in prison for child sexual exploitation
    • Paul Nelson was an LDS church member in Arizona; accused of sexual abuse; sentenced to prison in November 2023; failed to appear at his sentencing and went missing; reportedly planned to turn himself in in March 2024 on the condition that his $100k bail be returned to his family; arrested in April 2024 in Tucson, Arizona and extradited to Gilbert, Arizona
    • Brett Nichols was an LDS church member in Arizona; convicted in 2007 of child sexual abuse; sentenced to 10 years in prison; baptized again after excommunication; ward members reportedly were not told of his criminal past when he returned after his prison time
    • Christopher Nuttall was an LDS church member in Mesa, Arizona; arrested in an FBI sting operation; convicted in 2019 of LURE MINOR FOR SEX EXPLOIT and ATTEMPT TO COMMIT - SEXUAL CONDUCT WITH MINOR
    • David Owens was an LDS elders quorum president in Tempe, Arizona; accused of sexual abuse; sentenced in 2018 to 20 or more years in prison for sexually assaulting three young men in his Mormon ward
    • Leslie Paul was an LDS church member in Arizona; charged with child sexual abuse; found guilty on 32 counts; sentenced in about 1989 to over 400 years in prison
    • Richard Peterson was an LDS church member in Mesa, Arizona; accused of sexual abuse
    • Arthur Phillips was a Mormon church member in Arizona; sexually molested a 14-year-old girl; in the 1990s, sentenced to prison for one year and placed on probation for four years
    • Chance Ray was a Mormon church member and scout leader in the Mesa, Arizona area; convicted of child sexual abuse and sentenced to prison in Arizona; spent approximately 14 years in prison; released in July 2020
    • Richard Sampson was a Mormon bishop, stake high council member and doctor in Provo, Utah; was director of medical affairs for the LDS Missionary Training Center; allegedly sexually abused at least seven children; convicted and sentenced in 2014 to one to 15 years in prison for child sexual abuse; as of 2024, was out on parole living in Holladay, Utah
    • Church officials allegedly failed to report abuse
    • George Squire was a Mormon church member in Mesa, Arizona; accused of sexual abuse; convicted and sentenced to prison
    • Glendon Templeton was a Mormon bishop, Sunday school teacher and scout leader in Arizona; was bishop of the Maryvale Ward in West Phoenix from 2014 to 2019; excommunicated in 2019; also was a volleyball coach for high school-aged girls; accused numerous times and arrested, but never prosecuted for alleged sex crimes; sued in 1997 for alleged sexual abuse; allegedly sexually assaulted multiple teenage girls
    • Church discipline: Excommunicated,
    • Jordan Udall was a Mormon church member and police officer in St. Johns Arizona; pleaded guilty in 2022 to knowing access to child pornography
    • Kenne Worthen was a Mormon elementary school teacher and BYU-Idaho adjunct professor in Arizona who sexually abused a 12-year-old child; in 2015, pleaded guilty to sexual conduct with a minor and two counts of attempt to commit child molestation; sentenced to 25 years in prison and a lifetime of probation after
    • Harvey Wright was an LDS church member and scout leader in Flagstaff, AZ; in 1988, pleaded guilty to "Attempted Sexual Abuse/Dangerous Crimes Against Children" and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and four years probation; placed in the BSA Confidential Files ("Perversion Files")
    • Skyler Wright was a Mormon church member in Arizona; accused of a sex crime
    • Mitchell Young was an LDS missionary in Canada; in 1980, was sent home after allegedly molesting children; convicted in Arizona (1985) and Utah (1988) of child sexual abuse; in 1993, sentenced in Utah to 15 years in prison for molesting a child for five years; a 2002 lawsuit against the LDS church accused Mormon leaders of providing a safe harbor for him; as of 2024, lives in Ogden, Utah; registered sex offender
    • Church officials allegedly failed to report abuse

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