11 LDS sex abuse cases found
stake high council members
- LDS position during crime: Stake high council
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- Mark Anderson (1959 – ) 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 prison; required to register for life as a sex offender
Crime: 2000s, 
Crime state:
California,
-
- Convicted:
2009,
LDS positions: Branch president, Other leader, 
Criminal case(s): Convicted, Found guilty, Jury trial, Prison, Registered sex offender, - Alleged failure to report
- View report »
Crime state:
-
- Michael Angus (1944 – ) was an LDS church member in Star, Idaho; convicted of possession of sexually explicit images of minors in 2012; was accused of sexually abusing two young girls; had created and possessed CSAM of one of the victims; is a registered sex offender lives in Twin Falls, Idaho.
- Crime: 2010s,
- Crime city:
Star,
- Crime county:
Ada,
- Crime state:
Idaho,
Crime city:
Crime county:
Convicted:
2012, 
LDS positions: Stake high council, 
Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Prison, -
- Timothy Bothell (1969 – ) was a LDS church employee and stake high council member in Utah; pleaded guilty and was sentenced in 2013 to two years in jail for sexual abuse of two girls, ages 11 and 13
- Crime: 2010s,
- Crime state:
Utah,
Convicted:
2013, LDS positions: Church employee, Stake high council, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Jail, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Registered sex offender, 
Alleged failure to report-
- David Farley (1958 – ) was a former doctor in West Linn, Oregon; accused of sexually abusing more than 200 patients over a span of many years, during some of which Farley was an LDS stake high council member; in 2024, the city of West Linn, Oregon released a report about the way its police department investigated Farley; in October 2025, a grand jury indicted him on 11 felony sexual assault charges
- Alleged crime: 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s,
- Alleged crime city:
OR - West Linn,
- Alleged crime county:
OR - Clackamas,
- Alleged crime state:
Oregon,
LDS positions: Bishopric counselor, Primary, Stake high council, Sunday school, Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Not convicted, Ongoing, Civil case(s): Ongoing, Alleged failure to reportChurch fought in court to keep records on Farley secret
"When I was assaulted, I thought I was alone, I thought I had misread things."
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- Tyson Green was a Mormon church member; accused of sexual abuse
- Alleged crime: 2020s,
- Alleged crime state:
Utah,
LDS positions: Stake high council, Youth leader, Criminal case(s): Ongoing, -
- Ángel Jaramillo was an LDS church member and city councilor in El Carmen, Jujuy, Argentina; arrested on child pornography and abuse charges (which includes distribution, tenancy, and production of material); in 2025, sentenced to two years of "prisión condicional" (akin to probation)
- Crime: 2020s,
- Crime city:
Argentina - Jujuy,
- Crime country:
Argentina,
Crime country:
Convicted:
2024, LDS positions: Church employee, Stake clerk, Stake high council, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Probation, Alleged failure to report-
- Melvin Johnson (1936 – ) was a Mormon seminary teacher and Brigham Young University (BYU) religion professor; accused by multiple victims of sexually abusing them when they were children; excommunicated and rebaptized; reportedly confessed to sexual abuse, but was not criminally charged; two victims filed lawsuits against him; one named the Mormon church as a defendant; it settled out of court
- Alleged crime: 1960s, 1970s,
- Alleged crime city:
UT - Provo,
- Alleged crime county:
UT - Utah,
- Alleged crime state:
California, Utah,
LDS positions: BYU, Church employee, Other leader, Seminary teacher, Stake high council, Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Never charged, Not convicted, Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement, Unknown result, Alleged failure to reportexcommunicated, rebaptized with a church record flagging him as a sex offender; top Mormon officials later removed the annotation
"We didn't choose this. It happened to us. It wasn't our choice. But we're damn sure going to do something about it."
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- Franklin Mathias (1934 – ) was a Mormon church member and Boy scout leader in La Grande, Oregon; had a career as a schoolteacher; accused in 1987 of sexual abuse; sentenced in 1988 to four years in prison for molesting a child; he said that he had 242 victims over a 30-year period; convicted in 1997 of failure to register as a sex offender and was placed on probation for 24 months
- Crime: 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s,
- Crime county:
crime-county-or-union,
- Crime state:
Oregon,
Convicted:
1988, LDS positions: High priest, Scout leader, Stake high council, Sunday school, Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison, Probation, Mathias reportedly admitted that he had 242 victims over a 30-year period
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- Steven Murdock (1963 – ) was a Mormon stake high council member and former LDS bishop in Holladay, Salt Lake County, Utah; allegedly sexually harassed multiple women in his ward while he was their bishop (he was bishop from 2013 to 2017); in 2019, was caught taking photos of a young woman in a dressing room in Tennessee; pleaded guilty in November 2019; sentenced in 2019 to one year probation, 48 hours community service
- Crime: 2010s,
- Crime state:
Tennessee,
Convicted:
2019, LDS positions: Bishop, Stake high council, Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Community service, Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Probation, Released, Alleged failure to report-
- Brian Pickett was a Mormon branch president and leader at a youth program picking pineapples in Maui, Hawaii; accused of sexual abuse in a civil lawsuit that also named the LDS church; the suit was dismissed with prejudice after a settlement in 2016
- Alleged crime: 1980s,
- Alleged crime state:
Hawaii,
LDS positions: Branch president, Stake high council, Criminal case(s): Never charged, Not convicted, Civil case(s): Dismissed with prejudice, Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement, Alleged failure to report-
- LaVar Withers (1936 – 2005) was a Mormon and physician in Rexburg, Idaho; accused of sexually abusing at least 133 women and children as young as 13 years old over a period of 30 or more years; admitted to sexual abuse; in 1996, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery; sentenced to 30 to 60 days in jail and two years probation; the Mormon church placed him on probation and took his temple recommend; died in 2005
- Crime: 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s,
- Crime city:
ID - Rexburg,
- Crime state:
Idaho,
LDS positions: Bishopric counselor, Stake high council, Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Convicted, Jail, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Probation, Alleged failure to reportFilters
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