16 matching Mormon sex abuse cases

  • Crime location: Canada
    • Robert Cervo was an LDS youth leader and schoolteacher in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada; accused of sexual abuse; agreed in 2015 to sign a peace bond (not a conviction, but an agreement to comply with certain conditions for a specified period) and the four criminal charges against him were stayed
    • Craig Elford was a Mormon church member in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; accused of child sexual abuse
    • Marvin Harker was an LDS bishop in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada in 2016; reportedly confessed to his mission president in 1987 to sexually abusing multiple children; also reportedly confessed to his bishop; both leaders told him not to report to police, according to records in a 2016 criminal case; convicted in 2019 (alleged abuse 1986-93); sentenced in 2020 to five years in prison; registered sex offender
    • Alleged coverup
    • James Hayes was an LDS bishop in the Timmins - North Bay area, Ontario, Canada; convicted of sexual exploitation in November 2001; molested an underage girl in his ward while serving as her bishop
    • Alleged coverup
    • Vance Hein was an LDS church member and scoutmaster in West Bradford, Pennsylvania; was convicted in 1999 of a misdemeanor for sexually abusing one of his boy scouts; sentenced in 2000 to 15 years of probation; arrested in 2011 for possessing child pornography; sentenced in 2012 to 15 to 30 years in prison; the Mormon church settled a related lawsuit in 2014
    • Alleged coverup
    • LDS church payment: Undisclosed amount
    • Bryant Litchfield was an LDS church member and physician in Alberta, Canada; accused of sexual abuse; acquitted; in 2008, was found guilty by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta of inappropriately touching women patients during breast and vaginal exams in 2001; stripped of his medical license
    • Melvin MacNeil was a Mormon church member in Ontario, Canada; accused of sexual abuse
    • Chester Meek was a Mormon bishop in Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada from 1990 to 1995; while bishop, he allegedly sexually sexual assaulted multiple female church members; at least one alleged incident of abuse occurred in the bishop's office inside an LDS church
    • LDS church payment: Undisclosed amount
    • Scott Musson was an LDS church member in Ontario, Canada; arrested and charged with two counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexual interference
    • Alleged coverup
    • Robert Nelson was an LDS bishop in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; accused of sexual abuse of a "mentally handicapped" woman; pleaded guilty in 1989; placed on two years probation, ordered to do 150 hours of community service, and ordered to take a conducted tour of a local jail
    • Church discipline: Excommunicated,
    • Errol Pilling was a Mormon bishop and licensed psychologist in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; went on an LDS mission to England in the early 1960s; pleaded guilty in 1988 and in 1994 to charges of sexual misconduct; in September 1994, his registration as a chartered psychologist with the Psychologists Association of Alberta was cancelled; in 1994, was excommunicated; as of February 2024, lives in Twin Falls, Idaho
    • Alleged coverup
    • Church discipline: Excommunicated,
    • Thomas Quinton was an LDS church member in Alberta, Canada; Tom drove to Great Falls, Montana to meet a 12 year old girl he met through a Craigslist ad; was arrested in a sting operation
    • James Victor was a Mormon missionary in Canada in the 1980s; allegedly sexually abused a 12-year-old boy while on his mission; an LDS stake president and a mission president (David Sorensen) allegedly covered up abuse allegations; Sorensen later became an LDS general authority
    • Alleged coverup
    • 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
    • Alleged coverup

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.