17 matching Mormon sex abuse cases

      • 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
      • Church officials allegedly failed to report abuse
      • 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
      • Church officials allegedly failed to report abuse
      • 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
      • Church officials allegedly failed to report abuse
      • 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
      • 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
      • Church officials allegedly failed to report abuse
      • 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
      • Church officials allegedly failed to report abuse
      • 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