21 LDS sex abuse cases found
high priests
- LDS position: High priest
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- Michael Bolingbroke (1942 – ) was a Mormon bishop and stake seventy president in Granada Hills, Los Angeles, California; accused of child sexual abuse in a 2022 lawsuit; died in 2024
Alleged failure to report- Positions: Bishop, Bishopric counselor, High priest, Other leader, Scout leader, Stake seventy, Sunday school,
Criminal case(s): Never charged, Not convicted, - Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Ongoing, Unknown result,
Alleged church actions: Unknown church action, - View report »
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- Jack Cash (1934 – 2023) was a Mormon bishopric counselor and stake high council member in San Luis Obispo, California; was a practicing chiropractor for over 30 years; between 1979 and 1995, allegedly fondled at least 11 women's breasts during chiropractic visits; license suspended in 1985; in 1995, convicted by jury of seven misdemeanor counts of sexual battery; sentenced to 2 months in jail, 3 years probation; died in 2023
- Positions: Bishopric counselor, High priest, Missionary, Other leader, Seminary teacher, Senior missionary, Stake high council, Sunday school,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Found guilty, Jail, Jury trial, Probation,
- View report »
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- Francis Cochran (1921 – 2005) was a Mormon high priest in the Seattle 6th Ward in Seattle, Washington in the 1980s; convicted twice in the 1980s of crimes related to sexual abuse of multiple children; allegedly assaulted multiple young girls on LDS property, including during church meetings; a 2025 lawsuit (Floodlit broke the story) said stake president Paul Diehl & multiple ward bishops covered up allegations against Cochran
- Alleged failure to report
- Convicted:
1987, 1988,
- Positions: High priest,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty,
- Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Ongoing,
- Alleged church actions: Church officials accused of failure to warn ward members, Excommunicated, Ward official accused of failure to report,
- View report »
"Despite numerous red flags, Defendants continued to give High Priest Cochran access to minor church members. Defendants allowed High Priest Cochran to continue to attend and volunteer at church events, including those attended by minors. Defendants also allowed High Priest Cochran to continue to transport young girls, including vulnerable refugee girls, to and from church events."Stake president and two LDS bishops allegedly covered up abuse allegations-
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- Clark Crookston (1949 – ) was a former Mormon bishop, dentist and college professor in Orem, Utah; accused of nearly 60 years of sex abuse of multiple children; pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated child sexual abuse; sentenced in 2022 to up to 35 years in prison
- Alleged failure to report
- Convicted:
2022,
- Positions: Bishop, High priest, Missionary, Stake high council,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison,
- View report »
"I assumed I was alone. I felt guilty even to question his worthiness. [...] I buried the hurt and kept it secret for over 30 years. [...] The children who came forward are my heroes. These are the brave souls [who] broke the curse that has been happening for nearly 60 years."-
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- Franklyn Curtis (1903 – 1995) was a Mormon church member in Pennsylvania and Oregon; excommunicated in 1983 in Pennsylvania for sex abuse; rebaptized in 1984; molested five boys in Oregon; local LDS bishop knew but didn't report to police; convicted in 1995 in Oregon of sexual abuse; died in 1995
- Alleged failure to report
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Church paid $3,000,000
- Positions: High priest, Sunday school,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted,
- Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement,
- Alleged church actions: Church position after conviction, Excommunicated, Rebaptized,
- View report »
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- Robert Dahle (1937 – 2022) was an LDS church member, Utah Highway Patrol trooper; alleged rapist of a 13-year-old girl
- Positions: Elders quorum president/counselor, High priest, Scout leader, Sunday school,
- Criminal case(s): Never charged, Not convicted,
- View report »
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- Lawrence Gilbert (1939 – ) was a Mormon church member and high priest group leader in California; convicted of sexually abusing three girls; sentenced to 10 years in prison
- Positions: High priest,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison,
- View report »
"I never would have left him alone with my children if he weren't a high priest. We considered him our family."-
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- Malcolm Goodwin (1940 – ) was a former Mormon bishop and retired pathologist and coroner's physician in O'Fallon, Illinois; US Army Reserves and Air Force veteran; arrested in 2022 for Predatory Sexual Assault of a Child; charged with six felony counts of predatory criminal sexual assault involving minors
- Positions: Bishop, High priest,
- Criminal case(s): Ongoing, Unknown result,
- View report »
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- Gene Guinn (1932 – 2008) was an LDS church member in the Dallas Seventh Ward, Texas; in 2000, found guilty by a jury of indecency with a child and sentenced to 68 years in prison; the victim was 10 years old at the time of the crime; Mormon officials allegedly knew about the abuse but failed to report to police
- Alleged failure to report
- Convicted:
2000,
- Positions: High priest,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Found guilty, Jury trial, Prison,
- Alleged church actions: Excommunicated, Ward official accused of failure to report, Ward official accused of pressuring victim not to seek accountability,
- View report »
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- William Hanson (1962 – ) was a Mormon youth leader who allegedly sexually abused children in several US states, including Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Utah, Texas, Wisconsin and New Jersey; sentenced to prison for child sexual abuse; in the 2000s, the Mormon church settled a civil lawsuit in which the victim accused it of failing to protect him
- Alleged failure to report
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Church paid $unknown
- Positions: High priest, Scout leader, Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison, Probation,
- Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement,
- View report »
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- David Herget (1943 – 2005) was a Mormon high priest in Washington; convicted of child rape and child molestation in 1993; sentenced to 180 days in jail and was a registered sex offender; arrested in 2005, died by suicide in jail the next day; detectives identified at least seven victims; one child estimated that Herget abused him 1,400 times; in a 2025 lawsuit against the church, four plaintiffs said officials failed them
- Alleged failure to report
- Convicted:
1993,
- Positions: High priest, Seminary teacher, Ward Santa Claus,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Died awaiting trial, Jail, Prison, Registered sex offender, Suicide,
- Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Ongoing,
- Alleged church actions: Church members wrote letters of support, Church officials accused of allowing interaction with children after notice of wrongdoing, Church officials accused of failure to protect victims after learning of possible abuse, Church officials accused of failure to warn ward members, Excommunicated, Rebaptized, Ward official accused of pressuring victim not to seek accountability,
- View report »
"This isn't a case of ignorance, it's a case of betrayal. The church knew exactly who this man was and what he had done. Nonetheless, they gave a convicted predator a position of trust and authority, which allowed him to exercise power over young boys. These kids deserved safety. Instead, they were left vulnerable to unimaginable harm."one boy estimated that Herget abused him 1,400 times-
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- Boyd Lords was a Mormon church member in Winnemucca, Nevada; accused of child sexual abuse; pleaded guilty in 2022 to one felony count of lewdness with a child under the age of 14; was sentenced to prison
- Convicted:
2022,
- Positions: High priest, Missionary, Ward executive secretary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison,
- View report »
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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
- Convicted:
1988,
- Positions: High priest, Scout leader, Stake high council, Sunday school,
- Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison, Probation,
- Alleged church actions: Unknown church action,
- View report »
Mathias reportedly admitted that he had 242 victims over a 30-year period-
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- Gordon Neeley (1935 – 2018) was an LDS church member and daycare owner in Salt Lake City, Utah; pleaded guilty to ATTEMPTED - AGGRAVATED SEXUAL ABUSE OF A CHILD; convicted; died in 2018
- Positions: High priest, Missionary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Pleaded guilty, Unknown result,
- Alleged church actions: Excommunicated,
- View report »
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- B P was a Mormon church member; accused of sexual abuse
- Alleged failure to report
- Positions: High priest, Ministering/home teacher,
- Criminal case(s): Unknown result,
- Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Ongoing,
- View report »
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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; the victim provided documents to Floodlit in 2023 detailing the abuse allegations; excommunicated in 1993, per victim; apparently rebaptized in 1990s; worked for seven years in Provo Utah Temple, per obit; died in 2006
- Alleged failure to report
- Positions: Bishop, High priest, Other leader, Scout leader, Stake high council, Stake presidency counselor, Temple worker,
- Criminal case(s): Never charged, Not convicted,
- Alleged church actions: Church position after excommunication, Excommunicated, Rebaptized,
- View report »
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- UNKNOWN Ross was an LDS high priest and stake seventy in California; 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
- Alleged failure to report
- Positions: High priest, Stake seventy,
- Criminal case(s): Never charged, Not convicted,
- Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Ongoing,
- View report »
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- Orin Searle (1926 – 2014) 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
- Alleged failure to report
- Positions: Bishopric counselor, Elders quorum president/counselor, High priest, Other leader, Temple worker,
- Criminal case(s): Case dismissed due to incompetence, Not convicted,
- View report »
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- Carl Sepos (1945 – ) was an LDS temple worker and high priest in Payson, Utah; pleaded guilty in 2015 to sexually abusing an adult woman with Down syndrome and autism at a hotel swimming pool; he blamed his sex crime in part on an addiction to pornography; sentenced to 150 days in jail, 36 months of probation and 100 hours of community service
- Convicted:
2015,
- Positions: High priest, Temple worker,
- Criminal case(s): Community service, Convicted, Jail, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Probation,
- View report »
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- George Tilson (1942 – 2020) was a Mormon church member in the Salt Lake City, Utah area (including Holladay); pleaded guilty to child sexual abuse in the 1990s; alleged coverup by Mormon leaders
- Alleged failure to report
- Positions: High priest, Scout leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty,
- Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Unknown result,
- View report »
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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
- Alleged failure to report
- Convicted:
2017,
- Positions: Bishop, High priest, Other leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Found guilty, Jury trial, Prison,
- View report »
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