Bishopric counselor

Cort Andrew was an LDS church member from Cache County, Utah. He was married in the Bountiful, Utah Mormon temple in May 2013.

UPDATE 2023-08-20:

• There was a pre-trial conference on June 26, 2023.
• The defense requested a continuance so Cort Andrew (defendant) could complete evaluations.
• The prosecution didn’t object. The court continued to August 14.
• Another pre-trial conference was held on Aug 14.
• Same thing, defense said they’re still waiting for final evaluation results and requested another continuance.
• No objection from the state. It’s been continued to September 18, 2023 (another pre-trial conference).

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from Cache Valley Daily:

“LOGAN — A former local leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is facing criminal charges for allegedly sexting with a teenage girl in his congregation. Cortney Ted Andrew, a 38-year-old Trenton man is facing four counts of enticing a minor by internet or text, a second-degree felony.

Cache County Sheriff’s Lt. Doyle Peck said the crimes allegedly occurred between June 10 and July 14, 2021. Andrew was then reportedly serving as a counselor in the ward’s bishopric with a bishop and another counselor. The three men would oversee the operations of the congregation, including the records, finances and caring for those in need.

Sheriff’s Lt. Mikelshan Bartschi said the alleged victim told detectives how she originally began communicating with Andrew to receive counseling. Andrew would text the teen girl religious advice.

the texts turned inappropriate and very sexually graphic

As the communications went on though, “the texts turned inappropriate and very sexually graphic,” said Bartschi.

The alleged victim’s mother reported the actions to the bishop, who reportedly removed Andrew from his position in the ward. She later notified and spoke to law enforcement after the bishop allegedly failed to report the crimes.

Peck said it appears from the evidence, Andrew was attempting to groom the girl to have sex with him. The communications ended supposedly before the relationship became physical.

According to court records, Andrew made his initial appearance Monday afternoon in 1st District Court. He had previously been arrested and booked temporarily into the Cache County Jail.

Church officials did not issue a statement when asked for comment regarding Andrew’s arrest. In October 2022, Church President Russell M. Nelson said “any kind of abuse of women, children, or anyone is an abomination to the Lord…Those who perpetrate these hideous acts are not only accountable to the laws of man but will also face the wrath of Almighty God.”

Andrew remains out of jail on pretrial supervision. He could face up to 15 years in prison, if convicted.”

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As of 2023-04-11, the Cache Valley Daily article quoted above changed its article to read:

“Editors note: This story was updated Tuesday morning after receiving information from a spokesperson from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

LOGAN — A former local leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is facing criminal charges for allegedly sexting with a teenage girl in his congregation. Cortney Ted Andrew, a 38-year-old Trenton man is facing four counts of enticing a minor by internet or text, a second-degree felony.

Cache County Sheriff’s Lt. Doyle Peck said the crimes allegedly occurred between June 10 and July 14, 2021. Andrew was then reportedly serving as a counselor in the ward’s bishopric with a bishop and another counselor. The three men would oversee the operations of the congregation, including the records, finances and caring for those in need.

Sheriff’s Lt. Mikelshan Bartschi said the alleged victim told detectives how she originally began communicating with Andrew to receive counseling. Andrew would text the teen girl religious advice.

the texts turned inappropriate and very sexually graphic

As the communications went on though, “the texts turned inappropriate and very sexually graphic,” said Bartschi.

The alleged victim reported the actions to the bishop, who reportedly removed Andrew from his position in the ward, according to Bartschi.

Peck said it appears from the evidence, Andrew was attempting to groom the girl to have sex with him. The communications ended supposedly before the relationship became physical.

According to court records, Andrew made his initial appearance Monday afternoon in 1st District Court. He had previously been arrested and booked temporarily into the Cache County Jail.

Church spokesman, Sam Penrod said the Church reported these allegations to authorities on behalf of the bishop in February 2022, when he first learned of the situation. This individual was immediately released from serving as a counselor in the bishopric. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has zero tolerance for abuse of any kind and is awaiting the outcome of this case in the court system before commenting any further.

In October 2022, Church President Russell M. Nelson said “any kind of abuse of women, children, or anyone is an abomination to the Lord…Those who perpetrate these hideous acts are not only accountable to the laws of man but will also face the wrath of Almighty God.”

Andrew remains out of jail on pretrial supervision. He could face up to 15 years in prison, if convicted.”

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from Cache Valley Daily on May 23, 2023:

“LOGAN — A former local leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is being bound over for trial on charges of sexting with a teenage girl in his congregation. Cortney Ted Andrew, a 38-year-old Trenton man, pleaded “not guilty” to the six counts of enticing a minor by internet or text, three second-degree felonies and three third-degree felonies.

According to court records, Andrew appeared for a preliminary hearing Monday morning in 1st District Court. Following prosecutor’s calling the lead investigator in the case to testify and showing a statement from the alleged victim about the allegations, Judge Angela Fonnesbeck determined there was sufficient evidence to bind the defendant over for trial.

Cache County Sheriff’s deputies report the crimes allegedly occurred between June 10 and July 14, 2021. Andrew was then reportedly serving as a counselor in the ward’s bishopric with a bishop and another counselor. The three men would oversee the operations of the congregation, including the records, finances and caring for those in need.

The alleged victim told detectives how she originally began communicating with Andrew to receive counseling. He would text the teen girl religious advice.

As the communications went on, though, the texts turned inappropriate and sexually-graphic in nature.

The alleged victim reported the actions to the bishop, who reportedly removed Andrew from his position in the ward.

Investigators suspect Andrew was attempting to groom the girl to have sex with him. The communications ended supposedly before the relationship became physical.

At the time of Andrew’s arrest, Church spokesman Sam Penrod said the Church reported the allegations to authorities on behalf of the bishop in February 2022 when he first learned of the situation. Penrod explained, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has zero tolerance for abuse of any kind and is awaiting the outcome of this case in the court system before commenting any further.

Andrew remains out of jail on pretrial supervision. He is scheduled to appear again in court June 26 for a pretrial conference, and could face up to 15 years in prison, if convicted.”

Kevin Bowman was a Mormon bishopric first counselor in Utah.

In July 2023, Bowman was accused of sexually abusing a worker at a Spanish Fork restaurant he owned.

At the time of the alleged sex crimes and his arrest, Bowman was serving as a first counselor in an LDS ward in Spanish Fork. He was also serving as a ward activity chairman.

Please contact FLOODLIT with information tips.

Bowman served a full-time mission to Taipei, Taiwan from 1999 to 2001.

He was married in an LDS temple in August 2002.

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From KSL on 2023-07-20:

“ SPANISH FORK — The owner of a Spanish Fork restaurant has been arrested and accused of being sexually inappropriate with a teenage employee.

Kevin Gerald Bowman, 42, of Spanish Fork, was arrested Thursday for investigation of forcible sexual abuse and lewdness.

The investigation began June 8 when a 16-year-old girl told police “she was sexually assaulted by Kevin while at her place of employment at Teriyaki Madness,” according to a police booking affidavit.

Police say Bowman is the owner of the restaurant at 788 N. 800 East.

The girl told police Bowman would “make inappropriate comments to her, call her beautiful and gorgeous, grabbed her breasts and would ‘brush her butt,'” the affidavit alleges. She recounted several incidents to detectives, including a time when Bowman dropped his shorts and stood in front of the girl wearing “see-through” mesh underwear allegedly to show her his sunburn; a time he inappropriately touched her while applying itching cream to the girl, and a second time he inappropriately touched her, according to the affidavit.

Bowman was questioned at the Spanish Fork Police Department on Thursday. He denied many of the allegations or gave a different versions to some of the events than the girl, according to the arrest report.

“I advised Kevin it was concerning that he is a 42-year-old male and the victim is a 16-year-old female and he pulled down his pants to show her his sunburn. Kevin advised she asked to see it. He was advised that was bizarre behavior and it was also bizarre behavior for him to be applying cream to her back, especially by going under her shirt,” the arresting officer wrote.

About 40 minutes after arriving at the police station, Bowman informed detectives that “he was done answering questions.” He was placed into handcuffs at that time and arrested.”

In 2021, Anthon Ellsworth was sentenced to seven years in prison for sexual exploitation of a minor.

Ellsworth had recently been called a a counselor in the ward bishopric at the time of his arrest in late 2020.

Three Arizona court records pertain to Ellsworth’s FLOODLIT file.
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from Gila Valley Central:

“THATCHER — A Thatcher man is facing a number of charges stemming from allegations he took nude photos and videos of his teenage daughter.

Anthon Taylor Ellsworth is facing 11 charges, including three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor by selling visuals, three counts of surreptitious viewing without consent, three counts of voyeurism and two counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor by selling visuals.
 
Back in February, Thatcher Police were notified of the allegations by Child Protective Services. Police interviewed the suspect’s wife, who said she found nude photos and videos of her daughter in the family’s cloud-based Amazon account.

She said she confronted her husband, and told investigators he reportedly admitted to her that he had taken images “four to five times over the past several months.”

She said she asked him to leave their home and suggested he speak with their bishop.

Investigators also spoke to the victim, who said she had found her father in her room attempting to place a camera, as well as finding other hidden cameras and phones in her room that were recording video of her, including video of her disrobing. In each instance she said she deleted the videos and gave the recording devices back to her father.

On advice from his attorney, Ellsworth declined to speak with investigators.

During searches of the home, the hotel room where Ellsworth was staying and his place of work, police seized a number of electronic devices that were sent to the Arizona Department of Public Safety lab in Tucson for forensic analysis.

That analysis turned up nude photos of a female that the victim’s wife was able to identify as her daughter.

A warrant for Ellsworth’s arrest was issued last week. He was charged, taken into custody and bond was set at $100,000.”

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from EA Courier:

“A 38-year-old Thatcher man was arrested recently on numerous sexual exploitation charges six months after his wife told police she found a pornographic video on the family Amazon iCloud account starring a 15-year-old girl.

According to a Thatcher Police Department report dated Aug. 19, Chief Shaffen Woods became aware of an Arizona Department of Child Safety investigation involving a Thatcher man in February and directed his officers to launch their own investigation.

The woman told officers she had discovered pornographic photos and a video of the girl on the family’s Amazon iCloud account. Although she could only see the shoes of the videographer, she told officers she recognized the shoes as her husband’s.

She further told officers that when she confronted her husband, he admitted to being obsessed with the girl before leaving the home for a hotel, according to the report.

The teenager in the photos and video told detectives she was unaware she was being filmed, the report stated.

The woman said she’d deleted the video and detectives obtained search warrants for the couple’s home, electronics and the husband’s motel room.

Amazon provided jump drives to the officers, but no pornographic video or photos could be found.

While serving the search warrant at the motel, detectives seized a computer, two phones, and other electronics.

The man was arrested last week after a forensic lab in Tucson informed Thatcher police they’d found a nude photo of a minor and the woman confirmed she’d seen it on the iCloud account.”

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According to a source familiar with the criminal court case against Ellsworth, the victim became aware of most of his invasive recordings and photos of her before he was arrested. This contradicts the reporting in the EA Courier.

2023-03-15: Wiscombe has been sentenced to prison.

CR10-22-00527 | State of Idaho Plaintiff, vs. Byron Dean Wiscombe Defendant.

charges filed on 2022-01-19 in Bonneville County District Court against Byron Wiscombe:

# — Description Statute Level Date
1 Children-Lewd Conduct with Child Under 16 I18-1508 Felony 10/06/2014
2 Children-Sexual Battery-Committed by Lewd or Lascivious Acts on a Minor Child 16 to 17 Years of Age I18-1508A(1)(a) Felony 10/06/2016
3 Video Voyeurism I18-6609 Felony 07/04/2019
4 Battery-Sexual I18-924 Misdemeanor 03/01/2021

Of those four charges, Wiscombe agreed in December 2022 to plea guilty to one: the first count, Children-Lewd Conduct with Child Under 16. The other three charges were to be dismissed.

According to the Idaho State Journal (source 1), Wiscombe “reportedly raped a teen girl over a seven-year period that lasted into her adulthood. She said Wiscombe also recorded her, saying she once found his phone hidden in an air vent in her bedroom with the video recorder on. A second victim also said Wiscombe touched her inappropriately. Her description of Wiscombe’s behavior was similar to the description given by the other victim.”

In December 2021, Wiscombe’s wife filed for divorce.

In 1996, LaVar Withers was charged with misdemeanor battery. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 days in prison. He was also ordered to serve two months probation. He paid $15,500 in fines in lieu of a suspended four-month jail term.

“Over 125 women and children (some as young as 13 years old) came forward to the Rape Crisis Response Center to tell of abuse by Dr. LaVar Withers over a thirty year period, from the 1960s to the 1990s.

Numerous women had told their Mormon bishops of Withers’ abuse through the years.

Some victims alleged that Mormon Church officials ignored their pleas for help or actually discouraged them from pursuing charges against the doctor.

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Withers attended grade school in Rexburg, Idaho and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Graduating from Madison High School, Class of 1955, Ricks College and Brigham Young University, he received his medical degree from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In 1970, Withers began serving as first counselor in a Mormon bishopric in the Blackfoot, Idaho Ninth Ward in the South Blackfoot LDS stake.

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Withers was on the high council and there were complaints that the local church authorities were protecting him.

“Following Miller’s advice, she that same day called Young, a dentist. Stake presidents sit above bishops in the Mormon hierarchy; Young’s great-great-grandfather was the Mormon pioneer Brigham Young.

“I’m not going to mince words,” Andrew began. Then she told her story, and offered to take a polygraph test. According to Andrew, Young mainly expressed his sorrow and appreciation for her call, right up until she told him she meant to notify the police.

“I wish you wouldn’t do that now,” Young responded. “I’d appreciate you letting me take care of things from my end.”

In an interview months later with the Idaho Statesman newspaper, Young didn’t dispute this account. Yes, he agreed, he “may have said do not go to the police immediately,” because Mormon doctrine stresses forgiveness. “When people have a hurt, they should leave it alone. Put it away and look for the good.”

Andrew wasn’t happy with Young’s request. But in the end–“being a co-dependent Mormon female” she later observed wryly–she agreed to wait.

Only for a month though. Having not heard from Young–she never would–Andrew in mid-February visited the police and prosecutor Steve Clark, who was still evaluating the Withers case. She also started talking to other women.

One contact led to another; the stories multiplied. At a meeting with Clark, Andrew was stunned to learn that since she’d filed her formal complaint, Withers had apparently molested yet another woman, a Ricks College student named Katherine Proctor.”

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Idaho criminal court case: CR-1996-531

Idaho civil class-action court case: CV-1996-979 – dismissed without prejudice