Raise awareness in March 2025
Your support enables us to conduct research, publish case info, and make documents freely available.
Our relentless reporting honors survivors, assists researchers, and empowers those who protect the vulnerable.
Donate »31 Mormon sexual abuse cases
-
Paul Douglas 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.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Died awaiting trial, Not convicted, Suicide,
- Civil: Dismissed,
Alleged coverup
-
-
Manuel Joseph 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.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted, Pleaded guilty,
- Alleged coverup
-
-
Arlo Kay 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.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted, Jail, Plea agreement, Pleaded guilty, Probation, Violated parole/probation,
- Civil: Dismissed with prejudice, Lawsuit v. LDS church, Unknown result,
- Alleged coverup
-
-
Coy Glen Ball
-
- was an LDS church member in Mesa, Arizona; was charged with 11 various abuses to a child; pled guilty to 3 counts of Molestation of a child.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted,
-
-
James Chalmers 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.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted, Pleaded guilty,
- Alleged coverup
-
-
Joseph Layton Bishop
-
- was a Mormon church member and president of the Provo, Utah Missionary Training Center (MTC) in the 1980s; allegedly sexually abused multiple sister missionaries; not criminally charged because the statute of limitations had expired (in 1984, the legal deadline in Utah for filing a rape charge was four years); civil lawsuit was dismissed after an agreement by the plaintiff and the LDS church.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Police investigation,
- Civil: Dismissed, Dismissed with prejudice, Lawsuit v. LDS church,
- Alleged coverup
-
-
Michael Wayne 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.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Unknown result,
- Civil: No civil case,
-
-
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.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted, Pleaded guilty, Prison,
- Civil: Lawsuit v. LDS church, Ongoing,
- Alleged coverup
-
-
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.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted, Plea agreement, Pleaded guilty, Prison, Registered sex offender,
- Civil: No civil case,
- Alleged coverup
-
-
Anthon Taylor 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.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted, Plea agreement, Pleaded guilty, Prison,
- Civil: No civil case,
-
-
Rowan Joseph Ellsworth
-
- was an LDS church member and schoolteacher in Arizona; 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.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted,
- Civil: No civil case,
- Alleged coverup
-
-
Kelly Stephen Erickson
-
- was an LDS church member and US Air Force military member in Washington; accused of child sexual abuse; convicted and sentenced to prison; as of 2023, incarcerated in Tucson, Arizona.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted, Pleaded guilty,
-
-
Daniel Adam Galloway
-
- was an LDS church member in Arizona City, Pinal County, Arizona; found guilty of sexually abusing an 8 year old foster child.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted,
-
-
Floyd Keith 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.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Never charged, Not convicted,
- Civil: No civil case,
-
-
Brandon Osorio 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.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted, Plea agreement, Pleaded guilty, Unknown result,
- Civil: No civil case,
-
-
Larry Wright 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.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted,
-
-
Robert Glenn 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.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Police investigation, Unknown result,
- Civil: No civil case,
-
-
Derek Marlan 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 with minor and dangerous crimes against children".
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted, Prison,
- Alleged coverup
-
-
Edwin Gale McClellan
-
- was an LDS church member and former Mormon bishop in Cottonwood, Arizona; accused of sexually abusing 3 female family members from the 1980s-2000s.
- Learn more »
-
-
Robert Gene Metcalf
-
- was an LDS church member in California and Arizona; convicted three times of child sexual abuse; sentenced in 1979 to 6 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.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted, Prison,
- Alleged coverup
-
-
Russell Dean Millsaps
-
- was an LDS church member and retired police sergeant in Arizona; sentenced in 2016 to 323 years in prison for child sexual exploitation.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted,
- Civil: No civil case,
-
-
Paul Kimball 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.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted, Fled or failed to appear, Prison,
-
-
Brett Richard Nichols
-
- was an LDS church member in Arizona; convicted 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.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted,
- Civil: No civil case,
-
-
Christopher Ryan Nuttall
-
- was an LDS church member in Mesa, Arizona; arrested in an FBI sting operation and convicted of LURE MINOR FOR SEX EXPLOIT and ATTEMPT TO COMMIT - SEXUAL CONDUCT WITH MINOR .
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted,
-
-
Bruce Lavon O'Dell
-
- was a Mormon bishop and dermatologist in Show Low, Navajo County, Arizona; in 1999, was charged with 48 counts of sexual abuse.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Unknown result,
- Civil: No civil case,
-
-
Richard Kenneth Ray
-
- was an LDS church member in Arizona; sentenced to prison for sexually abusing children; the LDS church was involved in a lawsuit regarding clergy-penitent privilege; the church settled out of court.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted,
- Civil: Settlement,
- Alleged coverup
-
LDS church payment: Undisclosed amount
-
-
Richard Blaine Sampson
-
- was a Mormon bishop, stake high council member and doctor in Provo, Utah; Director of Medical Affairs for the LDS Missionary Training Center; 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.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted, Parole, Pleaded guilty, Prison, Registered sex offender, Released,
- Civil: No civil case,
-
-
Thomas Theron Schofield
-
- was a Mormon bishop in Elk Grove, Sacramento County, California; accused in a 2024 civil lawsuit of sexually abusing a 16-year-old child in 2004-05 while he was a Mormon Bishop; some of the alleged abuse took place in the Salt Lake City and Oakland LDS temples and the bishop's office at church.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Never charged, Not convicted,
- Civil: Lawsuit v. LDS church, Ongoing,
- Alleged coverup
-
-
Marcus Cleveland Udall
-
- was an LDS church member in Maricopa County, Arizona; accused of child sexual abuse; pleaded guilty in 2014 to a reduced felony charge; .
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted,
- Alleged coverup
-
-
William Arthur Whitmore
-
- was an LDS church member in Mesa, Arizona; found guilty of sexual abuse .
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted,
-
-
Mitchell Blake Young
-
- was an LDS missionary in Canada; in 1980, 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.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted,
- Civil: Lawsuit v. LDS church, Unknown result,
- Alleged coverup
-
Add information
If you would like to add or correct any information, please fill out the form below.
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.
Visit the FLOODLIT Map