59 matching Mormon sex abuse cases

  • LDS position: Bishopric counselor
    • Terry Allen was an LDS church member in California; in 1987, was found guilty of sexual abuse of a child and was sentenced to six years in prison; was assigned to multiple trusted church positions, including Sunday school president, despite the Mormon church being aware that he had raped a teenager; LDS leaders were accused of hiding his abuse from local church members; as of 2024, lives in Grapevine, Texas
    • Cortney Andrew was a Mormon church member and bishopric counselor in Logan, Utah; charged in 2023 in Utah with four second degree felony counts of enticing a minor by internet or text; pleaded guilty to reduced charges in December 2023; sentenced in January 2024 to 60 days in jail
    • Richard Baker was an LDS bishopric counselor in Clearfield, Utah; accused of voyeurism and child sexual exploitation
    • Robert Berchtold was a Mormon church member in Idaho; sexually abused a child; in 1986, was found guilty of rape of a child and spent one year in jail
    • Donald Bills was a school teacher (one-time "teacher of the year") and former Mormon bishopric member in Provo, Utah; pleaded guilty to multiple felonies, including rape of a 17-year-old girl; sentenced in 2015 to a minimum of eight years in prison; as of January 2025, lives in Orem, Utah as a registered sex offender
    • Earl Bleak was an LDS church member and bishopric member in Tempe, Arizona; was a physician; accused of sexually abusing missionaries
    • Herman Blom was a Mormon church member in the Netherlands and in Pleasant Grove, Utah; allegedly sexually abused a child in 2018; died in 2023
    • Kevin Bowman 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
    • Peter Brackner was second counselor in an LDS bishopric in Purvis, Mississippi, and a scoutmaster; accused of sexual abuse
    • Allen Brinkerhoff was a Mormon bishop and stake president and manager of an LDS stake welfare farm in Nevada; arrested in Nevada in 2007 and admitted to sexually abusing two children; was convicted and sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison for battery with intent to commit sexual assault, and 12 to 32 months in prison for sexual abuse of a child; died in 2019
    • David Cannata was a Mormon bishop in Tucson, Arizona in 2005 when he sexually abused a child who was 5 or 6 years old; was a stake high council member sometime in the 2010s; was confronted by the victim and turned himself into the police; convicted in 2019 and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison; was excommunicated from the Mormon church because of the abuse
    • Gerald Collingwood was a Mormon bishopric counselor in Alabama; moved to Utah; convicted of child sexual abuse in 1996 in Utah
    • Robert Davis was a Mormon church member in Eugene, Oregon; convicted of 5 counts of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree and sentenced to 75 months in prison
    • Randall Deaton was an LDS church member in the Holmes Lake Ward, Lincoln Nebraska Stake; convicted in 2002 of attempted 1st degree sexual assault of a minor; the abuse took place before Deaton joined the LDS church; subsequently called as counselor in a YSA ward bishopric
    • John Doe was an LDS church member in Germany; accused of sexual abuse
    • Matthew Doyle was an LDS bishop in Copperas Cove, Texas (2nd Ward) in the 2000s; was a high school basketball coach; convicted in 2011 of sexual assault
    • Cesar Duran was a Mormon bishopric counselor in a Spanish-speaking LDS ward in Orem, Utah (Geneva Height Stake); arrested for alleged sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl in his ward; the alleged abuse took place inside an LDS church building
    • Gerald Elison was an LDS church member and junior high school drama teacher in Orem, Utah; accused in 2014 in a civil lawsuit of sexually abusing a boy student in the early 1980s; died in 2019
    • Anthon Ellsworth was an LDS bishopric counselor and returned missionary in Arizona; in 2021, pleaded guilty to three felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and was sentenced to seven years in prison
    • Thomas Forrest was an LDS church member in Mississippi; accused of sexual abuse; convicted
    • Martin Gilmour was a Mormon church member in Portadown, County Armagh, Northern Ireland; accused of sexual abuse of a 13-year-old child; was arrested in November 2024
    • Jeffrey Graton was a Mormon church counselor in a bishopric in Utah; sentenced to prison in 2018 for child sexual abuse
    • Matthew Hack was a Mormon church member and stake high council member in Oklahoma; accused in 2019 of child sexual abuse; pleaded no contest to an amended charge of child neglect
    • Ryan Hall was a former Mormon bishopric member and veteran sheriff's department detective in Maryland; in 2024, arrested and charged with several sex crimes related to child sexual abuse
    • Brent Hansen was an LDS church member and dentist in Spanish Fork, Utah; was also mayor of Spanish Fork and president of its chamber of commerce; accused in a civil lawsuit of receiving sexual favors from a dentistry patient in return for prescriptions for narcotics; his dentistry license was suspended for 30 days; died in 2015
    • Jeffrey Head was an LDS bishop in Utah; committed sex crimes while serving as a Mormon bishop; in 2019, a jury found him guilty of attempted forcible sexual abuse, two counts of lewdness and sexual battery; sentenced to four months in jail and four years of probation
    • Stanley Hunt was an LDS church member in St. George, Utah; Hunt was a custodian in the Washington County School District in St. George Utah; Hunt was found guilty of 2 counts of SEX ABUSE OF A CHILD - 2nd Degree Felony
    • Robert Jackson was a former assistant BYU professor and Mormon bishopric member (second counselor) in Provo, Utah; sentenced to two years in prison in 2006 for video recording a 14-year-old undressing
    • Ronald Jenkins was a Mormon scout leader, bishopric counselor and stake high council member in Idaho; worked as a high school teacher; accused of sexual abuse; convicted in 1996 of 10 counts of lewd conduct with a minor; sentenced to 17 years in prison; registered sex offender
    • Carl Johnson was a former Mormon bishop and former mayor of West Bountiful, Utah; arrested in 2022 and charged with sexually abusing several children between 1983 and 1997; pleaded guilty in 2023 to four felony counts of child sexual abuse; sentenced in 2023 to three consecutive terms of nine years to life each for first-degree felonies, plus one term of one to 15 years on a second-degree felony
    • Robert Kempton was a former Mormon bishop and stake president in Arizona; was an attorney and served a mission as a legal counsel for the LDS church in Africa; arrested in 2014 in a police sting for prostitution
    • Jimmy Kilpatrick was a Mormon church member in Alabama; pleaded guilty to charges of child sexual abuse; sentenced in 2015 to 10 years in prison
    • Virgil Larson was a Mormon church member and first counselor in an LDS ward bishopric in Chubbuck, Idaho; arrested in September 2024 and charged with sexual abuse of five boys, ages 12-15; he knew the boys from LDS ward activities and was their priesthood leader; as of March 2025, a jury trial was scheduled for April 8
    • Douglas Lund was a former Mormon bishopric counselor in Pahrump, Nevada; arrested in 2011 and accused of repeated sexual abuse of two young girls; the alleged abuse occurred over a period of several years
    • Major Madon was an LDS church member in Mapleton, Utah; convicted of child sexual abuse; as of 2024, serving time in prison in Central Utah Correctional Facility
    • Richard McClung was a Mormon bishopric counselor in the Rockford, Illinois area; convicted in 2007 and 2014 of child sexual abuse; accused in a 2025 lawsuit against the Mormon church of sexually abusing an 8-year-old girl; allegedly was not removed from bishopric despite charges
    • David McConkie was a Mormon bishop (approximately 2013-16), stake president (2016-21) and deputy district attorney in Colorado; paternal grandson of Mormon apostle Bruce R. McConkie; arrested in 2023 and charged with felony sexual assault on a child by someone in a position of trust; allegedly confessed child sexual assault to a Mormon church leader in 2008; in April 2025, proposed a plea deal to avoid prison
    • Shawn Mortensen was a former Mormon bishop and stake presidency member in Albuquerque, New Mexico; in February 2021, admitted to police that he had sexually abused an 11-year-old girl in January 2021; convicted of child sexual abuse; sentenced in 2022 to prison in New Mexico
    • Paul Newman was a former Mormon bishop in Utah; charged in 2020 with child sexual abuse; convicted of a sex crime
    • Grant Packer was an LDS church member in Idaho; served a full-time mission to Canada in 1946-48 and two senior missions to Atlanta, Georgia and San Bernardino, California; charged with child sexual abuse; pleaded guilty; sentenced to three to 10 years in prison and 10 years probation; died in 2008
    • Kenny Parcell was an LDS church member and president of the National Association of Realtors; former Mormon ward young men's leader in Utah and bishopric counselor at BYU-Provo; accused in 2023 of sexual harassment by three women; resigned
    • Terry Parker was a former Mormon bishop and school teacher at Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington; in 1996, two former students filed a civil lawsuit against the school district, Parker and the school's former principal, saying Parker sexually abused them; they said they reported to the school district, which then allegedly did nothing to protect them; the suit was dismissed with prejudice in Feb. 1998
    • Jason Pedersen was an LDS church member in Heber City, Utah; convicted guilty of first-degree felony attempted aggravated sex abuse of a child; as of April 2024, lives in Riverton, Utah as a registered sex offender and is an LDS elders quorum president
    • Byron Poelman 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
    • Michael Pratt was an LDS seminary principal in Utah; arrested in 2009; convicted and sentenced in 2010 for the sexual abuse of a 16-year-old seminary student
    • Gary Reese was a Mormon bishopric counselor, seminary teacher and Boy Scout leader in Washington; accused of sexually molesting several boys in his scout troops; never charged; died in 2014
    • Lowell Robison was a Mormon mission president in the Mexico Leon mission (1995-1998); accused in 2018 of sexual abuse of multiple people; two months later, died by suicide
    • Orin Searle was an LDS church member in Ogden, Utah; accused of sexual abuse in 2013 but was deemed incompetent to stand trial; a victim said that Searle's predatory behavior began as early as the late 1950s, and that several family members, and multiple members of the LDS 44th Ward (Mount Ogden Stake), knew that Searle was a child molester but did nothing to stop him; died in 2014
    • Michael Shean was a Mormon bishopric counselor and temple worker, and deputy district attorney in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara County, California; convicted of sexually molesting boys; sentenced to prison; the Mormon church allegedly made at least one settlement payment to a victim who said a stake president covered up the abuse for years
    • Kent Staheli was an LDS church member in California and Utah; served as first counselor in a Mormon bishopric; convicted in federal court in 2010 of charges related to child sex trafficking
    • Stephen Stokes was a Mormon church member and Brigham Young University-Idaho (BYU-I) professor; accused of sexual assault by a former student; died in 2016; in 2022, civil lawsuit against BYU-I was dismissed with prejudice
    • James Stringham was a Mormon church member and pediatric physician in Salt Lake City, Utah; in 1980, he made a video recording of a sexual nature involving a child patient; in 1982, pleaded no contest to a second-degree felony charge of sexual exploitation of a minor; sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay $7,500 restitution; his medical license was suspended for 90 days
    • Marc Turner was a former Mormon bishopric member and former Boy Scout leader in Austin, Texas; arrested in 2017 and charged with promotion of child pornography, a second-degree felony; convicted; sentenced to prison
    • Veloy Twitchell was a Mormon church member in Marysville, Washington; accused of perpetrating a sex crime in or around 2004
    • Byron Wiscombe was an LDS bishopric counselor and Idaho city councilman; signed a plea agreement indicating he would admit to committing lewd conduct with a minor; sentenced to prison in 2023
    • LaVar Withers 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
    • Gary Woolstenhulme 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
    • Orson Wright 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

 

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