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Donate »23 Mormon sexual abuse cases found
Michael Adamson
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- was a church caretaker and organist in York, England; abused at least four children as young as seven years old; convicted; sentenced to prison in England in 2008 for child sexual abuse.
- Learn more »
Alleged coverup- Criminal: Convicted,
- Civil: No civil case,
- Positions: Other leader,
- Crime scenes: LDS building,
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Mark Anderson
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- was a Mormon church branch president and dentist in Woodland, California; accused by 27 former female patients of touching them inappropriately in office visits; found guilty in 2009 of 11 felony counts and one misdemeanor count of sexual battery for sexual abuse of several of his female patients; sentenced to six years in California state prison; required to register for life as a sex offender.
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- Criminal: Convicted, Prison, Registered sex offender,
- Positions: Branch president, Other leader,
- Crime: 2000s, in California,
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Joseph Bishop
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- 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.
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- Alleged coverup
- Criminal: Police investigation,
- Civil: Dismissed, Dismissed with prejudice, Lawsuit v. LDS church,
- Positions: Mission president, Missionary, Other leader,
- Alleged crime: 1970s, 1980s, in Utah,
- Crime scenes: LDS building,
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Kevin Bowman
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- was an LDS first counselor in a ward bishopric and a restaurant owner in Spanish Fork, Utah; was an LDS missionary in Taiwan 1999-2001; accused of sexual abuse of a teenage girl who worked in his restaurant; arrested in July 2023; in June 2024, found guilty by a jury of forcible sexual abuse (second-degree felony) and lewdness (class B misdemeanor); sentencing set for July 29, 2024.
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- Alleged coverup
- Criminal: Convicted, Found guilty, Jury trial,
- Civil: No civil case,
- Positions: Bishopric counselor, Missionary, Other leader,
- Crime scenes: Perpetrator's workplace,
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Daniel Cupyrna
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- was a Mormon assistant stake clerk and stake technology specialist in Middlesbrough Ward, Billingham Stake, UK; accused of possession of child sexual abuse material; admitted to wrongdoing; convicted.
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- Criminal: Admitted guilt, Convicted,
- Civil: No civil case,
- Positions: Other leader, Stake clerk,
- Crime: 2010s, in England, United Kingdom,
- Crime scenes: Online,
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Michael Davis
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- was an LDS church member in Utah and later an elders quorum president in Minnesota; pleaded guilty in 2003 in Utah to misdemeanor lewdness involving a child; pleaded guilty in Utah in 2006 to felony forcible sexual abuse; arrested in 2019 in Minnesota; sentenced in 2022 to 30 years in prison for sexual abuse of a juvenile under his care; in March 2024, appealed his 2022 Minnesota conviction.
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- Alleged coverup
- Criminal: Convicted, Prison,
- Positions: Elders quorum, Other leader,
- Crime: 2000s, 2010s, in Minnesota, Utah,
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John Doe
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- was an LDS stake mission president; accused by Mormon leader Vaughn Featherstone in 1975 of child sexual abuse of "many, many Aaronic Priesthood boys" in Doe's stake.
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- Alleged coverup
- Criminal: Never charged, Not convicted, Unknown result,
- Civil: No civil case,
- Positions: Other leader,
- Alleged crime: 1970s,
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John Doe
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- was an LDS church member; accused of sexual abuse.
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- Alleged coverup
- Criminal: Never charged, Not convicted,
- Civil: Lawsuit v. LDS church,
- Positions: Other leader,
- Alleged crime: 1980s, in Australia,
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Frederick Edvalson
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- was a Mormon in Utah and Camp Springs, Prince George's County, Maryland; convicted 3 times of sexual abuse in Maryland in the 1980s; third conviction: while on probation, groomed a 10-year-old girl and sexually assaulted her in a room inside a Mormon chapel on multiple occasions from 1983 to 1984; reportedly told her he was giving her "special religious training;" sentenced to 8 years in prison.
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- Alleged coverup
- Criminal: Convicted,
- Civil: Lawsuit v. LDS church, Ongoing,
- Positions: Ministering/home teacher, Other leader, Scout leader,
- Crime scenes: LDS building,
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Ronald Hall
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- was an LDS church member and former Mormon Tabernacle Choir member in Utah and Washington; accused of sexually molesting three underage girls in 1997 or 1998; acquitted in 2000; accused of sexual abuse of a fourth victim, an underage girl, in approximately 2003; convicted in 2005 of third degree felony attempted child sexual abuse; sentenced.
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- Criminal: Convicted, Found not guilty,
- Civil: No civil case,
- Positions: Seminary teacher, Tabernacle Choir,
- Crime: 1990s, in Utah,
- Crime scenes: Unknown crime scene,
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Brandon Hernandez
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- 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.
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- Criminal: Convicted, Plea agreement, Pleaded guilty, Unknown result,
- Civil: No civil case,
- Positions: Other leader,
- Crime scenes: LDS building,
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Boyd Lords
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- was a Mormon church member in Winnemucca, Nevada; accused of child sexual abuse; pleaded guilty in 2022 to one felony count of lewdness with a child under the age of 14; was sentenced to prison.
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- Criminal: Convicted,
- Positions: High priest, Missionary, Ward executive secretary,
- Crime: 2010s, in Nevada,
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Chester Meek
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- was a Mormon bishop in Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada when he sexually abused a woman; convicted of sexual assault against a female church member; there were several victims in this case over a period of five years; at least one reported abuse taking place in the bishop's office inside an LDS chapel.
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LDS church payment: Undisclosed amount
- Criminal: Convicted,
- Positions: Bishop, Other leader,
- Crime scenes: Bishop's office, LDS building, Victim's home,
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Russell Millsaps
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- was an LDS church member and retired police sergeant in Arizona; sentenced in 2016 to 323 years in prison for child sexual exploitation.
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- Criminal: Convicted,
- Civil: No civil case,
- Positions: Other leader,
- Crime: 1990s, 2010s, in Arizona,
- Crime scenes: Unknown crime scene,
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Jonathon Moser
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- was an LDS church member and middle school teacher in Rawlins, Wyoming; found guilty of sexually abusing two minor girls; sentenced to a minimum of 36 years in prison; a source told FLOODLIT that North Dakota LDS church leaders knew about the abuse but "did nothing".
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- Alleged coverup
- Criminal: Convicted, Prison,
- Positions: Missionary, Other leader, Unknown position,
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Vernon Sanford
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- was an LDS church member in San Diego, California; died in 2000; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse, along with his son, Vernon Sanford Jr; the suit was one of 91 or more coordinated civil suits filed in California in 2024 against the Mormon church; the alleged abuse occurred between 1961 and 1970; the Sanfords were the plaintiff's LDS home teachers.
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- Alleged coverup
- Criminal: Never charged,
- Civil: Lawsuit v. LDS church, Ongoing,
- Positions: Other leader,
- Alleged crime: 1960s, 1970s, in California,
- Crime scenes: LDS building, Perpetrator's home, Vehicle,
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Paul Spencer
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- was a Mormon church temple prep instructor and mission leader in Riverton, Salt Lake County, Utah; charged in December 2024 with multiple felonies related to arranging to meet a police detective posing as a 13-year-old girl for sexual assault in Lehi, Utah.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Ongoing, Police investigation,
- Civil: No civil case,
- Positions: Other leader, Ward mission leader, Youth leader,
- Alleged crime: 2020s, in Salt Lake County (Utah), Utah,
- Crime scenes: Online,
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Arthur Stout
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- was a Mormon church member in Littlerock, California; in 2024, a civil lawsuit said he sexually assaulted a girl "on a weekly basis" from 1991 to 1997, starting when she was 5 years old; some of the alleged abuse took place in an LDS church building.
- Learn more »
- Alleged coverup
- Criminal: Never charged, Not convicted,
- Civil: Lawsuit v. LDS church, Ongoing,
- Positions: Other leader,
- Alleged crime: 1990s, in California,
- Crime scenes: LDS building, Perpetrator's home, Vehicle, Victim's home,
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Sean Sund
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- was an LDS primary teacher in Utah; was convicted in 2022 of sexually abusing a girl from his LDS ward.
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- Criminal: Convicted,
- Positions: Other leader, Primary,
- Crime: 2010s, in Utah,
- Crime scenes: Perpetrator's home,
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Bob UNKNOWN
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- was a Mormon church member and Melchizedek priesthood holder in Lancaster, California; a 2024 civil lawsuit said he took part with a Mormon bishop and another Melchizedek priesthood holder in sexually assaulting an underage boy inside an LDS church building on a weekly basis from 2001 to 2003, starting when the victim was 15 years old.
- Learn more »
- Alleged coverup
- Criminal: Never charged, Not convicted,
- Civil: Lawsuit v. LDS church, Ongoing,
- Positions: Unknown position,
- Alleged crime: 2000s, in California,
- Crime scenes: LDS building,
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Jim UNKNOWN
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- was a Mormon church member and Melchizedek priesthood holder in Lancaster, California; a 2024 civil lawsuit said he took part with a Mormon bishop and another Melchizedek priesthood holder in sexually assaulting an underage boy inside an LDS church building on a weekly basis from 2001 to 2003, starting when the victim was 15 years old.
- Learn more »
- Alleged coverup
- Criminal: Never charged, Not convicted,
- Civil: Lawsuit v. LDS church, Ongoing,
- Positions: Other leader,
- Alleged crime: 2000s, in California,
- Crime scenes: LDS building,
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Mark Webster
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- was a branch president in New Mexico; accused of rape in a civil lawsuit.
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- Alleged coverup
- Criminal: Never charged, Not convicted,
- Civil: Lawsuit v. LDS church, Unknown result,
- Positions: Branch president, Other leader,
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Timothy Wright
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- was a Mormon church member in Santa Clara, California; convicted in 1994 of one or more felonies related to child sexual abuse; a 1994 civil lawsuit against the Mormon church said he molested a boy between 1989 and 1992, when the boy was 14 to 17 years old (actions for which he was convicted); the suit was dismissed in 1995 for failure to appear by the plaintiff's attorneys.
- Learn more »
- Criminal: Convicted, Jail,
- Civil: Dismissed, Lawsuit v. LDS church,
- Positions: Other leader,
- Crime: 1980s, 1990s, in California,
- Crime scenes: Unknown crime scene,
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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