59 matching Mormon sex abuse cases

  • Crime location: Arizona
    • Paul Adams was an LDS church member in Arizona; sexually abused two children for several years after confessing to his bishop; arrested and charged; died by suicide in 2017 while in custody awaiting trial
    • Leizza Adams was the wife of sexual abuser Paul Douglas Adams; sentenced in 2018 in Arizona to 2.5 years in prison after pleading no contest to two felony counts of child abuse (not sexual abuse)
    • 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
    • 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
    • Arlo Atkin was a former LDS bishop in or near Chandler, Maricopa County, Arizona; accused of raping and impregnating a 14-year-old girl in his ward while he was her bishop; pleaded guilty, spent 132 days in jail
    • 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
    • James Bayless was a Mormon church member in Gilbert, Arizona; pleaded guilty in 2015 to two counts of molestation of a child; as of 2024, is a registered sex offender living in Mesa, Arizona
    • 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
    • Rachel Brock was a Mormon church member in Arizona; pleaded guilty to sexually abusing the same boy that her mother, Susan Brock, was convicted of molesting
    • Susan Brock was an LDS church member in Arizona; was sentenced in April 2011 to 13 years in prison for engaging in a three-year-long sexual relationship with a boy, beginning when he was 14 years old; was released in December 2021
    • 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
    • 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
    • Michael Coleman was an LDS bishop and former sound recording engineer in Mesa, Arizona (Lehi 2nd Ward); arrested in 2014 for sexual solicitation of a minor online; the alleged crime took place while he was bishop
    • Kenneth Copple was a Mormon church member in Arizona; found guilty of child sexual abuse and sentenced in 2019 to prison
    • 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
    • Jane Doe was an LDS church member; accused of sexual 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
    • Anthon Ellsworth was an LDS bishopric counselor and returned missionary in Arizona; in 2021, pleaded guilty to three felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and was sentenced to seven years in prison
    • 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
    • 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
    • Roy Hunt was a Mormon church member in Maricopa County, Arizona; former city manager in Snowflake and Holbrook and a public finance banker at the National Bank of Arizona; accused of child sexual abuse in 2004; pleaded guilty in 2005 to a reduced charge; sentenced to prison in Arizona in 2005
    • 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
    • Larry Judd was an LDS church member in Mesa, Arizona; accused of sexual abuse; admitted to molesting 12 girls over a period of about 20 years
    • 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
    • Derek Layton was an LDS church member in Arizona; accused of sexual abuse in the late 1980s; convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison for "sexual conduct with minor and dangerous crimes against children"
    • 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 an LDS church member in California and Arizona; convicted three times of child sexual abuse; sentenced in 1979 to six years in prison for sexually abusing a child; returned to the Mormon church after being released from prison, was made a scout leader and allegedly molested a scout on a campout in about 1987, according to a civil lawsuit; sentenced in Arizona in 1989 to 37 years in prison
    • 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
    • Bruce O'Dell was a Mormon bishop and dermatologist in Show Low, Navajo County, Arizona; in 1999, was charged with 48 counts of sexual abuse
    • 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
    • Carl Pratt was a Mormon bishop in San Manuel, Arizona; allegedly sexually abused a boy in his ward, in the bishop's office at an LDS chapel; died in 2006
    • Richard Ray was an LDS church member in Arizona; sentenced in 1984 to 61 years in prison for molesting five girls; allegedly had more than 30 victims; the LDS church was involved in a lawsuit regarding clergy-penitent privilege; the church settled out of court for an undisclosed amount just before trial
    • 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
    • Trent Rogers was a Mormon church member in Arizona; accused of sexual abuse
    • 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
    • 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
    • Jordan Udall was a Mormon church member and police officer in St. Johns Arizona; pleaded guilty in 2022 to knowing access to child pornography
    • Marcus Udall was an LDS church member in Maricopa County, Arizona; accused of child sexual abuse; pleaded guilty in 2014 to a reduced felony charge;
    • William Whitmore was an LDS church member in Mesa, Arizona; convicted of sexual abuse
    • 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

 

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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.