129 LDS sex abuse cases found
- LDS position: Bishop
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- Joseph Plautz (1937 – ) was a Mormon bishop or former bishop; accused of sexual abuse
- View report »
LDS positions: Bishop,
Criminal case(s): Unknown result,
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- Byron Poelman (1934 – 2014) 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
- View report »
Crime: 1990s,
Crime city: UT - Salt Lake City,
Crime county: UT - Salt Lake,
Crime state: Utah,
The woman was taken to jail, while Poelman was released immediately.-
LDS positions: Bishop, Bishopric counselor, Mission president, Missionary, Stake high council, Stake president, Sunday school,
Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Unknown result,
Alleged failure to report
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- Craig Pope (1963 – ) was a Mormon bishop or former Mormon bishop in St. Louis, Missouri; convicted in or prior to 2013 of possession of child pornography (child sexual abuse material); charge info: Child Porn - 2nd Subsequent Offense Or Poss > 20 Pictures/1 Film/video
- View report »
LDS positions: Bishop,
Criminal case(s): Convicted, Registered sex offender, Unknown result,
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- Geoffrey Powell (1947 – ) was an LDS bishop in Western Australia; accused of sexually abusing a seven-year-old girl in his ward; the alleged abuse took place while he was a bishop; the victim twice complained to the LDS church, but said she was not believed and was chastised, and it was suggested she should move away if she felt uncomfortable; in 2019, he was sentenced to 12 months in jail
- View report »
Crime: 1980s,
Crime country: Australia,




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- Carl Pratt (1930 – 2006) was a Mormon bishop in San Manuel, Arizona; allegedly sexually abused a boy in his ward, in the bishop's office at an LDS chapel; died in 2006
- View report »
LDS positions: Bishop, High priest, Other leader, Scout leader, Stake high council, Temple worker,
Criminal case(s): Never charged, Not convicted,
Alleged failure to report
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- Keith Price (1956 – ) was a Mormon bishop in Pleasant Grove, Utah; convicted in 2018 of class A misdemeanor voyeurism; secretly recorded underage girls; the crime occurred while he was serving as bishop
- View report »
Crime: 2010s,
Crime county: UT - Utah,
Crime state: Utah,




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- Alberto Reyes was a Mormon bishop in Argentina who sexually abused a child; allegedly sexually abused the victim for at least nine years; convicted in 2004
- View report »
Convicted: 2004,
LDS positions: Bishop,
Criminal case(s): Convicted,
Alleged failure to report
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- James Robinson was an LDS bishop in Utah; accused of sexually abusing a teenage girl; charges were dropped
- View report »
LDS positions: Bishop,
Criminal case(s): Charges dropped,
Alleged failure to report
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- Lowell Robison (1944 – 2018) was a Mormon mission president in the Mexico Leon mission (1995-1998) and stake president of the Provo, Utah Edgemont Stake (2001-2006); accused in 2018 of sexual abuse of multiple people; two months later, died by suicide
- View report »
Alleged crime: 1980s, 1990s,
Alleged crime country: Mexico,



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- Nefi Rubalcava was a Mormon bishop in Norwalk/Cerritos in southern California; accused of child sexual abuse in two lawsuits filed against the Mormon church in 2025; he was the foster father of one of his alleged victims and the bishop of both of them; he allegedly participated in a sex trafficking ring involving at least one other bishop and a stake president
- View report »
Alleged crime: 1970s, 1980s,
Alleged crime state: California,




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- Richard Sampson (1945 – ) was a Mormon bishop, stake high council member and doctor in Provo, Utah; was director of medical affairs for the LDS Missionary Training Center; allegedly sexually abused at least seven children; convicted and sentenced in 2014 to one to 15 years in prison for child sexual abuse; as of 2024, was out on parole living in Holladay, Utah
- View report »
Crime: 2000s, 2010s,
Crime city: UT - Provo,
Crime county: AZ - Maricopa, UT - Utah,
Crime state: Arizona, Utah,




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- Thomas Schofield (1955 – ) was a Mormon bishop in Elk Grove, Sacramento County, California; accused in a 2024 civil lawsuit of sexually abusing a 16-year-old child in 2004-05 while he was a Mormon Bishop; some of the alleged abuse took place in the Salt Lake City and Oakland LDS temples and the bishop's office at church
- View report »
Alleged crime: 2000s,
Alleged crime city: UT - Salt Lake City,
Alleged crime county: UT - Salt Lake,
Alleged crime state: California, Utah,




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- David Shurtz was a former Mormon bishop in 1999 in Clearfield, Davis County, Utah; accused in 2018 of sexual abuse
- View report »
LDS positions: Bishop,
Criminal case(s): Convicted, Unknown result,
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- UNKNOWN Smith was a Mormon bishop in Lancaster, California; a 2024 civil lawsuit said he took part with two Melchizedek priesthood holders 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
- View report »
Alleged crime: 2000s,
Alleged crime state: California,




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- Mark Stevens (1956 – ) was a Mormon bishop in West Jordan, Utah in 2006; charged in 2025 with sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl that allegedly took place in his office at church
- View report »
Alleged crime: 2000s,
Alleged crime county: UT - Salt Lake,
Alleged crime state: Utah,



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- Douglas Stoddard (1949 – ) was an LDS bishop in Hurst, Texas; convicted in 1992 of a felony child sexual abuse charge of indecency with a child by contact; sentenced to 8 years of probation; a lifetime registered sex offender in Texas; named publicly in August 2023 by a victim who said Stoddard molested him and three other boys in his Mormon ward while serving as bishop
- View report »
Crime: 1980s,
Crime state: Texas,



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- Gerald Tapp (1952 – ) was a Mormon bishop in Gravesend, England; in 2008, sentenced to three and a half years in jail for distributing and possessing indecent images of children
- View report »
Crime: 2000s,
Crime country: England, United Kingdom,



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- Glendon Templeton was a Mormon bishop, Sunday school teacher and scout leader in Arizona; was bishop of the Maryvale Ward in West Phoenix from 2014 to 2019; excommunicated in 2019; also was a volleyball coach for high school-aged girls; accused numerous times and arrested, but never prosecuted for alleged sex crimes; sued in 1997 for alleged sexual abuse; allegedly sexually assaulted multiple teenage girls
- View report »
Alleged crime: 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s,
Alleged crime county: AZ - Maricopa,
Alleged crime state: Arizona,




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- Wendell Thompson (1963 – ) was a former LDS bishop and stake presidency member in Clinton, Mississippi; convicted in 2011 of felony child sexual abuse (gratification of lust); some of the abuse took place while Thompson was in an LDS stake presidency role
- View report »
Crime: 2010s,
Crime state: Mississippi,




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- Donald Tolman (1943 – ) was an LDS church member and former bishop in Provo, Utah (Provo 10th Ward, starting in 1975); convicted in 2020 of six felony counts related to child sexual abuse; sentenced in 2020 to 25 years to life in prison
- View report »
Crime: 2010s,
Crime state: Utah,



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- Charles Tyhurst (1947 – ) was a former LDS bishop and optometrist in southwest Virginia; accused of sexual abuse; convicted; 2020: sentenced in Virginia to prison for five years for aggravated sexual battery of a minor; 2024: registered sex offender; lives in Richmond, Virginia
- View report »
LDS positions: Bishop,
Criminal case(s): Convicted, Pleaded guilty,
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- Keith Vallejo (1974 – ) was a Mormon bishop in Utah; accused of sexually abusing and raping two underage girls; in 2017, was found guilty in a jury trial of ten counts of second-degree felony forcible sexual abuse and one count of first-degree felony object rape; sentenced to five years to life in prison
- View report »
Crime: 2010s,
Crime state: Utah,




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- Joseph Walker (1955 – ) was a former Mormon bishop, stake presidency counselor and LDS Public Affairs employee in Utah; charged in 2025 with three third-degree felony counts related to child sexual exploitation; allegedly "engaged in several sexually explicit conversations […] to seduce, lure, and entice [a 14-year-old girl] into engaging in multiple sexual acts;" released from jail after letters from church members
- View report »
Alleged crime: 2020s,
Alleged crime state: Utah,


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- Robert Westover (1972 – ) was a former LDS bishop and attorney in Dallas, Texas; arrested in 2021 for allegedly recording a minor; pleaded guilty in 2023 and sentenced to 4 years probation
- View report »
Convicted: 2023,
LDS positions: Bishop, Missionary,
Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Probation,
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- Dylan Whiting (1988 – ) was an LDS bishop in Nampa, Idaho; was removed from his position in 2021 after child sexual abuse allegations surfaced; was charged with four sex crimes; pleaded guilty to one felony count; sentenced in 2022; FLOODLIT is seeking info on the sentence
- View report »
Crime: 2010s, 2020s,
Crime state: Idaho,




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- John Wichmann was an LDS bishop in the San Diego California South Stake in 2015-16; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of sexual abuse of a 16-year-old boy; the suit was one of 91 or more coordinated civil suits filed in California in 2024 against the Mormon church; the alleged sexual assaults took place in an unlocked church classroom in San Diego 25 times while other congregants were nearby
- View report »
LDS positions: Bishop,
Criminal case(s): Unknown result,
Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Ongoing,
Alleged failure to report
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- Gary Woolstenhulme (1933 – 2002) was a Mormon bishop in Imperial Beach, California in 1978; died in 2002; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse; the suit was one of 91 or more coordinated civil suits filed in California in 2024 against the Mormon church (plaintiff John Roe JB 65 - San Diego 24CU008107, CASD 3:24-cv-02349-AJB-MSB); allegedly sexually assaulted a 14-year-old boy in his office at church
- View report »
Alleged crime: 1970s,
Alleged crime state: California,




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- Orson Wright (1928 – 2017) was a Mormon mission president in Sydney, Australia from 1978 to 1980; accused of grooming some of the sister missionaries in his care to be his polygamous wives; removed early from his mission assignment; LDS church leaders in Salt Lake City, Utah allegedly covered up the reasons for Wright's removal
- View report »
Alleged crime: 1970s, 1980s,
Alleged crime country: Australia,



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- Luis Zarate was a Mormon bishop in Panama; accused of sexual abuse of a 4-year-old
- View report »
Alleged crime: 2010s,
Alleged crime country: Panama,



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