Bishopric counselor

In 1987, California LDS church member Terry Allen was found guilty of sexual abuse of a child and was sentenced to six years in prison.

The local Mormon church was publicly accused of being actively engaged in a coverup of the Terry Allen sex abuse case.

He was appointed as multiple trusted positions, including Sunday School President, after the Mormon church became aware that he had raped a teenager.

According to one of his victims, the ward members were not told of Allen’s conviction for child sex abuse.

He was excommunicated after a victim went to the police.

He was later re-baptized into the Mormon church.

Court documents and newspaper articles suggest there may have been multiple LDS victims.

Two of Allen’s alleged victims later died by suicide.

On 1985-09-09, after moving away from Simi Valley, California, Allen was convicted of indecent exposure in Danbury, Connecticut.

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from the Los Angeles Times:

“When “One Terrific Guy,” a CBS movie with Wayne Rogers as a coach who molests a high school girl, aired a year ago, “one of the things that kind of upset us was that a number of critics said it was exaggerated,” said Mike Merrick, who co-produced with Joe Siegman. Now the producers feel vindicated: The film played a direct role in the conviction of a man for a similar crime.

David Jennings, who prosecuted the case, said that Terry George Allen, 43, described as an IBM executive who had been active in the local Mormon church, was sentenced Tuesday in Ventura County Superior Court to six years in prison for molesting his niece in 1982 when she was 13.

Jennings said that “One Terrific Guy” was a catalyst in helping the girl recall her ordeal. The film portrayed a victim doubted and ostracized by friends and family because no one could believe the popular suspect could be guilty of sexual abuse. In the real-life courtroom, according to Jennings, Allen acknowledged that he had molested his niece.

“It’s very typical for young people not to remember that this has happened to them until something triggers their memory,” Jennings said. “In this case, the show helped unlock her memory and get everything moving.””

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Cort Andrew was an LDS church member from Cache County, Utah. He was married in the Bountiful, Utah Mormon temple in May 2013.

UPDATE 2023-08-20:

• There was a pre-trial conference on June 26, 2023.
• The defense requested a continuance so Cort Andrew (defendant) could complete evaluations.
• The prosecution didn’t object. The court continued to August 14.
• Another pre-trial conference was held on Aug 14.
• Same thing, defense said they’re still waiting for final evaluation results and requested another continuance.
• No objection from the state. It’s been continued to September 18, 2023 (another pre-trial conference).

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from Cache Valley Daily:

“LOGAN — A former local leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is facing criminal charges for allegedly sexting with a teenage girl in his congregation. Cortney Ted Andrew, a 38-year-old Trenton man is facing four counts of enticing a minor by internet or text, a second-degree felony.

Cache County Sheriff’s Lt. Doyle Peck said the crimes allegedly occurred between June 10 and July 14, 2021. Andrew was then reportedly serving as a counselor in the ward’s bishopric with a bishop and another counselor. The three men would oversee the operations of the congregation, including the records, finances and caring for those in need.

Sheriff’s Lt. Mikelshan Bartschi said the alleged victim told detectives how she originally began communicating with Andrew to receive counseling. Andrew would text the teen girl religious advice.

the texts turned inappropriate and very sexually graphic

As the communications went on though, “the texts turned inappropriate and very sexually graphic,” said Bartschi.

The alleged victim’s mother reported the actions to the bishop, who reportedly removed Andrew from his position in the ward. She later notified and spoke to law enforcement after the bishop allegedly failed to report the crimes.

Peck said it appears from the evidence, Andrew was attempting to groom the girl to have sex with him. The communications ended supposedly before the relationship became physical.

According to court records, Andrew made his initial appearance Monday afternoon in 1st District Court. He had previously been arrested and booked temporarily into the Cache County Jail.

Church officials did not issue a statement when asked for comment regarding Andrew’s arrest. In October 2022, Church President Russell M. Nelson said “any kind of abuse of women, children, or anyone is an abomination to the Lord…Those who perpetrate these hideous acts are not only accountable to the laws of man but will also face the wrath of Almighty God.”

Andrew remains out of jail on pretrial supervision. He could face up to 15 years in prison, if convicted.”

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As of 2023-04-11, the Cache Valley Daily article quoted above changed its article to read:

“Editors note: This story was updated Tuesday morning after receiving information from a spokesperson from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

LOGAN — A former local leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is facing criminal charges for allegedly sexting with a teenage girl in his congregation. Cortney Ted Andrew, a 38-year-old Trenton man is facing four counts of enticing a minor by internet or text, a second-degree felony.

Cache County Sheriff’s Lt. Doyle Peck said the crimes allegedly occurred between June 10 and July 14, 2021. Andrew was then reportedly serving as a counselor in the ward’s bishopric with a bishop and another counselor. The three men would oversee the operations of the congregation, including the records, finances and caring for those in need.

Sheriff’s Lt. Mikelshan Bartschi said the alleged victim told detectives how she originally began communicating with Andrew to receive counseling. Andrew would text the teen girl religious advice.

the texts turned inappropriate and very sexually graphic

As the communications went on though, “the texts turned inappropriate and very sexually graphic,” said Bartschi.

The alleged victim reported the actions to the bishop, who reportedly removed Andrew from his position in the ward, according to Bartschi.

Peck said it appears from the evidence, Andrew was attempting to groom the girl to have sex with him. The communications ended supposedly before the relationship became physical.

According to court records, Andrew made his initial appearance Monday afternoon in 1st District Court. He had previously been arrested and booked temporarily into the Cache County Jail.

Church spokesman, Sam Penrod said the Church reported these allegations to authorities on behalf of the bishop in February 2022, when he first learned of the situation. This individual was immediately released from serving as a counselor in the bishopric. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has zero tolerance for abuse of any kind and is awaiting the outcome of this case in the court system before commenting any further.

In October 2022, Church President Russell M. Nelson said “any kind of abuse of women, children, or anyone is an abomination to the Lord…Those who perpetrate these hideous acts are not only accountable to the laws of man but will also face the wrath of Almighty God.”

Andrew remains out of jail on pretrial supervision. He could face up to 15 years in prison, if convicted.”

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from Cache Valley Daily on May 23, 2023:

“LOGAN — A former local leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is being bound over for trial on charges of sexting with a teenage girl in his congregation. Cortney Ted Andrew, a 38-year-old Trenton man, pleaded “not guilty” to the six counts of enticing a minor by internet or text, three second-degree felonies and three third-degree felonies.

According to court records, Andrew appeared for a preliminary hearing Monday morning in 1st District Court. Following prosecutor’s calling the lead investigator in the case to testify and showing a statement from the alleged victim about the allegations, Judge Angela Fonnesbeck determined there was sufficient evidence to bind the defendant over for trial.

Cache County Sheriff’s deputies report the crimes allegedly occurred between June 10 and July 14, 2021. Andrew was then reportedly serving as a counselor in the ward’s bishopric with a bishop and another counselor. The three men would oversee the operations of the congregation, including the records, finances and caring for those in need.

The alleged victim told detectives how she originally began communicating with Andrew to receive counseling. He would text the teen girl religious advice.

As the communications went on, though, the texts turned inappropriate and sexually-graphic in nature.

The alleged victim reported the actions to the bishop, who reportedly removed Andrew from his position in the ward.

Investigators suspect Andrew was attempting to groom the girl to have sex with him. The communications ended supposedly before the relationship became physical.

At the time of Andrew’s arrest, Church spokesman Sam Penrod said the Church reported the allegations to authorities on behalf of the bishop in February 2022 when he first learned of the situation. Penrod explained, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has zero tolerance for abuse of any kind and is awaiting the outcome of this case in the court system before commenting any further.

Andrew remains out of jail on pretrial supervision. He is scheduled to appear again in court June 26 for a pretrial conference, and could face up to 15 years in prison, if convicted.”

08/31/14 Provo, Utah

LDS Donald Nelson Bills, a Bishop in the LDS church “55, pleaded guilty Thursday to
forcible sodomy, a first-degree felony; object rape, a first-degree felony; forcible sexual
abuse, a second-degree felony; obstructing justice, a second-degree felony; and tampering
with a witness, a third-degree felony. In exchange for the plea, 10 additional charges were
dismissed.”

The child was 17 years old. “Bills would talk to the girl often about his personal life, including
his experiences in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, his service in an LDS
Church bishopric, and his absent sex life with his wife, according to the charges.”

“Bills used his position in an LDS bishopric to convince the girl that their behavior was not
inappropriate, according to the charges. He also told her that if their relationship was ever
discovered, she should say they had only kissed and that she had initiated it.”

Former Provo High teacher pleads guilty to having sex with student

July 3, 2015

“father insisted Bills knew “exactly what he was doing” as he coaxed the teenager into a
relationship and then used manipulation and threats to hide it.

“1 will never forgive Donald Bills,” the father said. “My family and 1, we are hurting and
nobody that has never gone through this will ever understand.”

Popular Provo teacher imprisoned for ‘heinous’ sexual grooming of student

By McKenzie Romero, Deseret News

Kevin Bowman was a Mormon bishopric first counselor in Utah.

In July 2023, Bowman was accused of sexually abusing a worker at a Spanish Fork restaurant he owned.

At the time of the alleged sex crimes and his arrest, Bowman was serving as a first counselor in an LDS ward in Spanish Fork. He was also serving as a ward activity chairman.

Please contact FLOODLIT with information tips.

Bowman served a full-time mission to Taipei, Taiwan from 1999 to 2001.

He was married in an LDS temple in August 2002.

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From KSL on 2023-07-20:

“ SPANISH FORK — The owner of a Spanish Fork restaurant has been arrested and accused of being sexually inappropriate with a teenage employee.

Kevin Gerald Bowman, 42, of Spanish Fork, was arrested Thursday for investigation of forcible sexual abuse and lewdness.

The investigation began June 8 when a 16-year-old girl told police “she was sexually assaulted by Kevin while at her place of employment at Teriyaki Madness,” according to a police booking affidavit.

Police say Bowman is the owner of the restaurant at 788 N. 800 East.

The girl told police Bowman would “make inappropriate comments to her, call her beautiful and gorgeous, grabbed her breasts and would ‘brush her butt,'” the affidavit alleges. She recounted several incidents to detectives, including a time when Bowman dropped his shorts and stood in front of the girl wearing “see-through” mesh underwear allegedly to show her his sunburn; a time he inappropriately touched her while applying itching cream to the girl, and a second time he inappropriately touched her, according to the affidavit.

Bowman was questioned at the Spanish Fork Police Department on Thursday. He denied many of the allegations or gave a different versions to some of the events than the girl, according to the arrest report.

“I advised Kevin it was concerning that he is a 42-year-old male and the victim is a 16-year-old female and he pulled down his pants to show her his sunburn. Kevin advised she asked to see it. He was advised that was bizarre behavior and it was also bizarre behavior for him to be applying cream to her back, especially by going under her shirt,” the arresting officer wrote.

About 40 minutes after arriving at the police station, Bowman informed detectives that “he was done answering questions.” He was placed into handcuffs at that time and arrested.”

Floodlit’s sources indicate that Brinkerhoff was Bishop of the Lovelock Nevada ward in the early 1980s and Stake President of the Winnemucca Nevada Stake in the mid-late 1980s.

Brinkerhoff was arrested in Nevada in 2007 and admitted to sexually abusing two children. He 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.

In 1957, as a 28 year old, Brinkerhoff served as second counselor in the LDS Lovelock branch presidency in Lovelock, Nevada. He was still serving in that Mormon church calling in 1961, when he was made second counselor in the Lovelock ward bishopric as that unit was converted from a branch into a ward.

Utah case information:

SECOND DISTRICT COURT – OGDEN
WEBER, STATE OF UTAH
STATE OF UTAH vs. COLLINGWOOD, GERALD ARTHUR
CASE NUMBER 961900783 – State Felony CURRENT ASSIGNED JUDGE: MICHAEL D LYON Parties
Charges

Relationship
Party
Represented By
Plaintiff
STATE OF UTAH
WILLIAM F DAINES
Defendant
GERALD ARTHUR COLLINGWOOD
KENT SNIDER
Offense
Offense Date
Charge 1
76-5-403.1 – SODOMY ON A CHILD 1st Degree Felony Disposition: December 12, 1996 Dismissed (w/o prej)
June 01, 1996
Charge 2
76-5-404.1 – SEXUAL ABUSE OF A CHILD 2nd Degree Felony
Plea: December 12, 1996 Guilty Disposition: December 12, 1996 {Guilty Plea}
June 01, 1996
Charge 3
76-5-404.1 – SEXUAL ABUSE OF A CHILD 2nd Degree Felony
Plea: December 12, 1996 Guilty Disposition: December 12, 1996 {Guilty Plea}
June 01, 1996
Events
Date
Event
August 06, 1996
Information filed
August 06, 1996
Filed: INFORMATION COUNT I
August 06, 1996
Filed: INFORMATION COUNTII
August 06, 1996
Filed: INFORMATION COUNT III
August 26, 1996
Event scheduled
October 03, 1996
Event scheduled
October 18, 1996
Event scheduled
December 12, 1996
Filed: AMMENDED INFORMATION COUNT II
December 13, 1996
Event scheduled
March 12, 1997
Event scheduled
March 27, 1997
Filed: JUDGMENT OF CONVICTION AND COMMITMENT

Randall Deaton was convicted in 2002 of two counts of attempted 1st degree sexual assault of a minor.

Deaton wasn’t an LDS church member at the time of conviction, but his family was. He allegedly converted to Mormonism in prison shortly after failing his first parole hearing.

Deaton was called into a local YSA (young single adults) ward bishopric in summer 2020 before some local LDS members protested and he was released. Allegedly, local church leaders had obtained First Presidency approval to call him to the bishopric in the first place. He was subsequently called as stake presidency secretary. When a new stake presidency was called, Deaton was released a few months later.

Allegedly, before Deaton’s YSA bishopric calling, he and his wife led a local LDS church-run addiction recovery group for years.

Gerald Elison was a junior high school drama teacher and Mormon church member in Orem, Utah.

In 2014, he was sued civilly by a man who alleged that Elison sexually molested him when the man was a student in Elison’s class in the early 1980s.

The lawsuit was dismissed due to the statute of limitations having expired.

Elison signed a confession that remained in his victim’s possession as of November 2018.

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from Elison’s obituary in 2019:

“Mr E began his career teaching as a Principal of an elementary school, but spent most of his time in the classroom teaching choir, English, Drama, and Stage Crew. Jerry spent 50+ years teaching in Alpine School District. His real love was being on stage and teaching young people his love of theater. In addition to teaching and directing in schools, he also performed and directed throughout Utah County, including Sundance Summer Theatre, Hale Center Theater, and SCERA Theater, among many others. He has received many awards for his community service.

Jerry was sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on November 15, 1957, to [Jane Doe], an excellent pianist and teacher. They recently celebrated their 62nd Anniversary. They have 7 children. Jerry was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and faithfully served in many church callings, including three Single Adult Bishoprics and on a Stake High Council. His favorite calling was playing the piano in Primary for over 20 years.

Jerry loved people and said of those he worked with: “I want them to remember the good times we shared together and the things that we were able to do in theater. I want them to remember the associations they’ve had with people and the fun of telling a story and being together and making it come alive for those who come to see it. That it’s been a good remembrance for them; that they have happy memories of it and good feelings of it.””

In 2021, Anthon Ellsworth was sentenced to seven years in prison for sexual exploitation of a minor.

Ellsworth had recently been called a a counselor in the ward bishopric at the time of his arrest in late 2020.

Three Arizona court records pertain to Ellsworth’s FLOODLIT file.
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from Gila Valley Central:

“THATCHER — A Thatcher man is facing a number of charges stemming from allegations he took nude photos and videos of his teenage daughter.

Anthon Taylor Ellsworth is facing 11 charges, including three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor by selling visuals, three counts of surreptitious viewing without consent, three counts of voyeurism and two counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor by selling visuals.
 
Back in February, Thatcher Police were notified of the allegations by Child Protective Services. Police interviewed the suspect’s wife, who said she found nude photos and videos of her daughter in the family’s cloud-based Amazon account.

She said she confronted her husband, and told investigators he reportedly admitted to her that he had taken images “four to five times over the past several months.”

She said she asked him to leave their home and suggested he speak with their bishop.

Investigators also spoke to the victim, who said she had found her father in her room attempting to place a camera, as well as finding other hidden cameras and phones in her room that were recording video of her, including video of her disrobing. In each instance she said she deleted the videos and gave the recording devices back to her father.

On advice from his attorney, Ellsworth declined to speak with investigators.

During searches of the home, the hotel room where Ellsworth was staying and his place of work, police seized a number of electronic devices that were sent to the Arizona Department of Public Safety lab in Tucson for forensic analysis.

That analysis turned up nude photos of a female that the victim’s wife was able to identify as her daughter.

A warrant for Ellsworth’s arrest was issued last week. He was charged, taken into custody and bond was set at $100,000.”

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from EA Courier:

“A 38-year-old Thatcher man was arrested recently on numerous sexual exploitation charges six months after his wife told police she found a pornographic video on the family Amazon iCloud account starring a 15-year-old girl.

According to a Thatcher Police Department report dated Aug. 19, Chief Shaffen Woods became aware of an Arizona Department of Child Safety investigation involving a Thatcher man in February and directed his officers to launch their own investigation.

The woman told officers she had discovered pornographic photos and a video of the girl on the family’s Amazon iCloud account. Although she could only see the shoes of the videographer, she told officers she recognized the shoes as her husband’s.

She further told officers that when she confronted her husband, he admitted to being obsessed with the girl before leaving the home for a hotel, according to the report.

The teenager in the photos and video told detectives she was unaware she was being filmed, the report stated.

The woman said she’d deleted the video and detectives obtained search warrants for the couple’s home, electronics and the husband’s motel room.

Amazon provided jump drives to the officers, but no pornographic video or photos could be found.

While serving the search warrant at the motel, detectives seized a computer, two phones, and other electronics.

The man was arrested last week after a forensic lab in Tucson informed Thatcher police they’d found a nude photo of a minor and the woman confirmed she’d seen it on the iCloud account.”

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According to a source familiar with the criminal court case against Ellsworth, the victim became aware of most of his invasive recordings and photos of her before he was arrested. This contradicts the reporting in the EA Courier.

Graton reportedly told police he had touched the girl’s chest and thighs, both under and over clothing, while giving her a massage in two occasions two and a half years ago. He also admitted to grabbing the girl’s hand and using it to touch himself.

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from the Daily Herald on 2017-12-05:

“A second counselor in a bishopric in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was arrested Monday after reportedly sexually abusing a girl multiple times.

Jeffrey Graton, 40 [sic – Graton was 44], of American Fork, was arrested on suspicion of three counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony.

Police responded Sunday to a call at the 300th block of 620 South in American Fork Sunday night on a welfare check after an LDS bishop called to have police check on Graton, a second counselor in an LDS bishopric.

Graton reportedly had left his home with a gun and wasn’t answering his phone after it was reported he had inappropriately touched a girl several years ago, according to a police report. Graton was found and gave the rifle to an LDS leader.

The abuse reportedly happened 10 times.

Graton reportedly told police he had touched the girl’s chest and thighs, both under and over clothing, while giving her a massage in two occasions two and a half years ago. He also admitted to grabbing the girl’s hand and using it to touch himself.”