68

Former LDS/Mormon church bishops who have been publicly accused or found guilty of sexual abuse or sex crimes.

  • Aaron, George William was a Mormon bishop in Utah; allegedly sexually abused his two teenage daughters; paid $25,000 in punitive damages after losing a civil lawsuit
    1941-
  • Allsford, Stewart former LDS bishop in the Plymouth England stake; accused of sexually abusing two girls; killed himself on third day of his child sex abuse trial
    1951-2017
  • Andrus, Alan Roman was a Mormon bishop in California; accused of sexual abuse in 2020; as of March 2023, the case is proceeding through pretrial motions
    -
  • Atkin, Arlo Kay former LDS bishop in Arizona; accused of raping and impregnating a 14-year-old girl in his ward while he was her bishop; pleaded guilty, served time in prison
    1956-
  • Bodily, Gordon Brent former Mormon bishop; sentenced in 2001 to 21 months in federal prison for luring a 17-year-old North Carolina girl to Utah for sex
    1949-
  • Boring, Donnie Rue was a Mormon bishop and stake high council member in California / Arizona; pleaded guilty in 2017 to a felony charge of sexual abuse; died in December 2017
    1950-2017
  • Brinkerhoff, Allen J was a Mormon bishop and stake president and manager of an LDS stake welfare farm in Nevada; in 2007, found guilty of child sexual abuse and sentenced
    1929-2019
  • Brockner, Ronald Terry former Mormon bishop and stake president in Louisiana; found guilty in Idaho in 2020 of sexually exploiting a minor; sentenced to 5 to 10 years in prison
    1959-
  • Bronson, Michael Lynn former Mormon bishop in Utah; sentenced to prison in 2017 for first-degree felony attempted aggravated child sexual abuse
    1964-
  • Burdick, Paul Douglas former LDS bishop in Oregon; pleaded guilty to third-degree sex abuse involving students
    1972-
  • Coleman, Michael Wayne former LDS bishop; arrested for sexual solicitation of a minor online
    -unknown
  • Crookston, Clark Elwood former bishop in Utah; accused of 60 years of sex abuse of multiple children; found guilty of attempted aggravated child sexual abuse; sentenced in 2022 to up to 35 years in prison
    1949-n/a
  • Croshaw, Alan Lee was a Mormon bishop in Utah in the 1990s; admitted to having a lifelong sexual addiction with a preference for prepubescent girls; downloaded and distributed child pornography; in 2015, sentenced to 30 days in jail for felony voyeurism and misdemeanor lewdness; violated probation by downloading porn
    1946-
  • Darrington, Scott Alan former LDS bishop, assistant school principal; convicted of possession of child pornography, spent a year in prison
    1967-2023
  • Denos, James former LDS bishop; sentenced to a minimum 20 years in a Utah state prison for sexually abusing four of his granddaughters living in Utah
    -
  • Deutsch, Larry former Mormon bishop; charged with child porn and luring a teen across state lines; pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 144 months in federal prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release for coercion and enticement of a minor and receiving child pornography
    1966-unknown
  • Dew, Gregory Scott former bishop, chiropractor, gymnastics teacher; as of November 2022, serving prison time in Ohio for sexually abusing teenage girls
    1961-
  • Edwards, Todd Mitchell former Mormon bishop in California; sentenced to prison in 2013 for child sexual abuse
    1964-
  • Faivre, Nicolas Pierre former LDS bishop in Australia; charged with sending sexually explicit messages to a child
    1979-
  • Fuller, Francis Heber former Mormon bishop in Utah; convicted of sexual contact with his underage granddaughter; sentenced to two years in prison
    -
  • Furness, Rex Lyle former Idaho state senator and Mormon bishop; in 1996, pleaded guilty to sexual battery for fondling his granddaughter; was sentenced to 60 days in jail; given a withheld judgment: if he did not violate the terms of his probation, the felony conviction would be kept from his record
    1923-2005
  • Gardner, Samuel Howard former LDS bishop; accused of sexual abuse
    1932-1968
  • Garn, Kevin Stacy former Utah House majority leader; was an LDS church member who admitted in 2010 to a nude encounter with a 15-year-old girl in a hot tub in 1985, when he was 28
    1955-
  • Gillins, Keith Lorraine former mayor, LDS bishop and high school teacher; arrested on charges of having sex with a 17-year-old girl; received three sentences of three years to life in prison Location: 2022, Milford, UT
    1947-
  • Gomez, David James former LDS bishop; arrested in 2004 and charged with 125 counts of sexual abuse; charges were dropped in 2005
    1946-
  • Gonzales, Luis was a Mormon bishop; charged with 20 counts of child molestation, battery, rape, bigamy, stalking, and fraud; in 2002, was found guilty of bigamy, spousal abuse (battery) and child molestation
    -
  • Gooden, Shawn Cory was an LDS bishop; arrested and charged with sexually molesting two girls; as of Feb 2023, awaiting extradition to Virginia
    1974-
  • Hall, Douglas Bruce was an LDS bishop in Utah; pleaded guilty in 2001 to two third degree felony counts of attempted forcible sexual abuse; pleaded guilty in 2002 to one second degree felony count of sex abuse of a child
    1952-
  • Hallows, Timothy James was an LDS bishop in Utah; sentenced to prison for possessing child pornography
    1958-
  • Harker, Marvin Ross LDS church member; sexually assaulted several young girls; confessed to his bishop and a mission president, who told him not to report to police
    1968-
  • Haskell, James Glenn was an LDS bishop and an attorney; charged with 14 felonies and three misdemeanors for allegedly sexually abusing four children; pleaded not guilty
    1982-
  • Head, Jeffrey Byron former LDS bishop in Utah; convicted of attempted forcible sexual abuse, two counts of lewdness and sexual battery; sentenced to four months behind bars and four years of probation
    1964-
  • Hildreth, Clayton Ray former Mormon stake president; sentenced to prison in 2005 for soliciting sex with a 14-year-old girl online
    1952-
  • Hughes, Erik Wayne former Mormon bishop; was sentenced to prison for sexually abusing two children while serving as their bishop
    1966-
  • Jennings, Floyd C was a former Mormon bishop and school bus driver in Utah; arrested in February 2017 for soliciting sex from two girls he thought were 13 years old; convicted in 2019
    1947-
  • Johnson, Carl Matthew former mayor of West Bountiful, UT; former Mormon bishop; arrested for and charged with sexually abusing several children; pleaded guilty in January 2023 to four felony counts of child sexual abuse; sentenced in March 2023 to prison Location: , , unknown unknown
    1945-
  • Kempton, Robert Glenn was an Mormon bishop, stake president and attorney in Arizona; arrested in 2014 in a police sting for underage prostitution
    1942-2018
  • Kennard, Lon Harvey former Mormon bishop in Utah; in 2011, pleaded guilty to three felony counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child; sentenced in November 2011 to three consecutive terms of five years to life in the Utah State Prison
    1941-2019
  • Loholt, Jack was an LDS church member; accused of sexual abuse
    -
  • MacNeill, Martin was a Mormon bishop; accused of sexual abuse
    -
  • McCleve, Timothy O'Sean former Mormon bishop; sentenced to prison for sexual abuse
    1956-
  • Mortensen, Shawn Tyler was a Mormon bishop and stake presidency member in New Mexico; admitted to molesting an 11-year-old girl while lying in bed with his dying wife; found guilty of sexual abuse; sentenced to prison
    1965-
  • Moss, David Neil was an LDS bishop (2015-19) and police officer in Utah; arrested in 2019 for soliciting an undercover cop for sex; pleaded guilty in 2019 to a 3rd degree felony charge of exploiting a prostitute and a misdemeanor charge of patronizing a prostitute; sentenced to prison but both terms were suspended
    1967-
  • Murdock, Steven Dean former Mormon bishop and stake high council member in Utah; in 2019, was caught taking photos of a young woman in a dressing room in Tennessee; pleaded guilty in November 2019
    1963-
  • Neipp, Joseph former LDS bishop in California; in 2021, pleaded no contest to four molestation counts and was given an 18-year prison sentence, with credit for the three years he spent in county jail prior to his sentencing
    -
  • Newman, Paul William was a Mormon bishop in Utah; convicted of a sex crime
    1957-
  • Palmer, Spencer John was a Mormon temple endowment ceremony actor, BYU professor, mission president, temple president, LDS church area authority; posthumously accused of sexual abuse by his grandson
    1927-2000
  • Petit, Eneudo former Mormon bishop; allegedly avoided arrest warrant for sexual abuse by fleeing the US to Venezuela
    1973-
  • Phelps, Ronald was an LDS bishop; accused of sexual abuse; alleged Mormon church coverup
    -
  • Phister, Scott Elvin was a Mormon bishop and stake president in Wyoming; later moved to Utah and worked as a massage therapist; pleaded no contest in 2022 to two class A misdemeanor charges of sexual battery for touching a female massage client in a sexual manner
    1964-2023
  • Pierson, Chesley Nels was an LDS stake president and stake patriarch in Alberta, Canada; accused of sexually abusing multiple young men
    1928-2021
  • Pilling, Errol Kent former bishop; pleaded guilty to charges of sexual misconduct
    1942-
  • Poelman, Byron Lloyd was a bishop and stake president in Utah and partner in a law firm that represented the LDS church; arrested in 1994 for soliciting a prostitute; pleaded guilty to a class B misdemeanor charge of patronizing a prostitute
    1934-2014
  • Powell, Geoffrey James former LDS bishop; jailed for 12 months for sexually abusing a seven-year-old girl in his ward
    1947-
  • Pratt, Carl Dee was a Mormon bishop in San Manuel, Arizona; allegedly sexually abused a boy in his ward
    1930-2006
  • Reyes, Alberto was a Mormon bishop in Argentina; accused of a sex crime
    2023-2023
  • Robinson, James Douglas former LDS bishop, accused of sexually abusing a teenage girl; charges were dropped
    -
  • Sampson, Richard Blaine was a Mormon church member; convicted child sexual abuser and former Provo, Utah MTC doctor; sentenced in 2014 to one to 15 years in prison for child sexual abuse
    1945-
  • Tapp, Gerald former LDS bishop in the UK; in 2008, sentenced to three and a half years in jail for distributing and possessing indecent images of children
    1952-
  • Templeton, Glendon former Mormon bishop, Sunday school teacher, scout leader; accused but never prosecuted for alleged sex crimes
    -
  • Thatcher, Ed was a Mormon bishop and later a city manager in Texas; accused of sexual harassment; results of accusations unknown
    -
  • unknown, unknown was a Mormon bishop in Panama; accused of sexual abuse
    2023-2023
  • unknown, M was a Mormon church member in Alberta, Canada; accused of sexual abuse
    -
  • unknown, Dave was a Mormon bishop in Utah; accused of sexual abuse
    -
  • Vallejo, Keith Robert was a Mormon bishop in Utah; convicted of sexually abusing and raping two underage girls; sentenced in 2017 to five years to life in prison
    1974-unknown
  • Westover, Robert Fleming former LDS bishop and attorney in Texas; arrested in 2021 for allegedly recording his underage daughter; pleaded guilty in 2023 and sentenced to 4 years probation
    1972-
  • Whiting, Dylan Kevin was an LDS bishop; was removed from his position after child sexual abuse allegations surfaced; was charged with four sex crimes; pleaded guilty to one felony count
    1988-
  • Worthley, Chauncey Joseph former LDS bishop in Orange County, California; confessed to sexual abuse and had his foster parent license taken away
    1931-1998