20 LDS sex abuse cases found
temple workers
- LDS position: Temple worker
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- Robert Berchtold (1936 – 2005) 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
Crime: 1970s, 1980s, 
Crime state:
Idaho,
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LDS positions: Bishopric counselor, Missionary, Temple worker, 
Criminal case(s): Convicted, Jail, - Alleged failure to report
- View report »
Crime state:
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- Donnie Boring (1950 – 2017) was a former 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
- Convicted:
2017,
- LDS positions: Bishop, Missionary, Seminary teacher, Stake high council, Temple worker, Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Unknown result,
- View report »
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- Eddie Bunch (1943 – ) was an LDS church member in St. George, Utah; convicted in 2016 of misdemeanor lewdness involving a child and misdemeanor sexual battery; one victim was 16 years old and the second victim was 12 years old; served 135 days in jail and had 36 months of probation; as of March 2024, is a registered sex offender living in St. George, Utah
- LDS positions: Temple worker,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Jail, Probation, Registered sex offender,
- View report »
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- Alvin Chamberlain (1921 – 2024) was a Mormon church member; accused of sexual abuse
- LDS positions: Missionary, Senior missionary, Temple worker,
- Criminal case(s): Unknown result,
- View report »
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- James Denos (1929 – 2017) was a former LDS bishop and junior high school teacher in Utah; previously lived and served as a Mormon bishop in 1970 in Westminster, Orange County, California; sentenced in 2002 to a minimum of 20 years in a Utah state prison for sexually abusing four minor girls living in Utah; allegedly began molesting kids as early as 1950
- Crime: 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s,
- Crime state:
Utah,
Convicted:
2002, 
LDS positions: Bishop, Missionary, Stake high council, Temple worker, Ward clerk, 
Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison, 
Alleged failure to report"In public, my father was always so perfect, and he told us he was perfect. [...] He went to church every Sunday, we had family home evening and we read the Scriptures. People put him on a pedestal. But he was molesting children … right under our noses."
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- Larry Deutsch (1966 – ) was a Mormon bishop in Missouri; arrested in 2020 and charged with possession of child pornography (child sexual abuse material, or CSAM) and accused of luring an underage teenager from Arizona to Missouri; pleaded guilty; sentenced in 2021 to 12 years in federal prison plus a lifetime of supervised release; in 2024, the victim filed a civil lawsuit against the LDS church
- Crime: 2010s, 2020s,
- Crime county:
AZ - Maricopa,
- Crime state:
Arizona, Missouri,
Crime county:
Convicted:
2021, LDS positions: Bishop, Scout leader, Sunday school, Temple worker, Youth leader, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Pleaded guilty, Prison, Probation, Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Ongoing, Alleged failure to report-
- John Doe was a Mormon temple worker in Los Angeles, California; accused in a 2025 lawsuit against the LDS church of sexually assaulting a man in 1984 while performing a private anointing ritual in the Los Angeles LDS temple
- Alleged crime: 1980s,
- Alleged crime state:
California,
LDS positions: Temple worker, Criminal case(s): Never charged, Not convicted, Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Ongoing, Alleged failure to report-
- Pierre Euvrard (1949 – 2000) was a Mormon mission president from 1991 to 1994 in the Mascarene Islands mission / South Africa Durban mission; died in 2000; accused in a 2020 Arizona lawsuit of sexually abusing two underage teen boys for years while working as a mission president
- LDS positions: Bishop, Bishopric counselor, Mission president, Missionary, Other leader, Stake high council, Temple worker,
- Criminal case(s): Never charged, Not convicted,
- Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Unknown result,
- Alleged failure to report
- View report »
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- 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
- Alleged crime: 2020s,
- Alleged crime country:
Ireland,
Alleged crime country:
LDS positions: Bishop, Bishopric counselor, Stake high council, Temple worker, Criminal case(s): Ongoing, Unknown result, -
- Larry Harmon (1932 – 2012) was a Mormon church member; accused of sexual abuse
- LDS positions: Missionary, Senior missionary, Temple worker,
- View report »
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- Samuel Heavilon (1960 – ) was allegedly a former LDS branch president in Frankfort, Indiana; convicted in 2018 and in 2024 of child exploitation; sentenced both times to prison
- Crime: 2010s,
- Crime state:
Indiana,
Convicted:
2018, LDS positions: Branch president, Stake high council, Temple worker, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison, Alleged failure to report-
- Ronald Jones (1937 – ) was a former Mormon bishop, stake president and temple presidency counselor; Military Relations director for the LDS church from 1989 to 1991; convicted of sex solicitation in Utah in 1990 and 1995; charged in 2025 with three first-degree felony counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, one first-degree felony child kidnapping count, and two related misdemeanors
- LDS positions: Bishop, Branch president, Other leader, Scout leader, Stake presidency counselor, Stake president, Temple worker, Unknown position, Ward executive secretary,
- Criminal case(s): Ongoing,
- View report »
became temple presidency counselor and sealer despite two convictions for sex solicitation
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- David Keller (1970 – ) was a Mormon temple worker, Sunday school teacher and former stake presidency member in Paradise, Cache Valley, Utah; admitted in May 2024 to child sexual abuse and was charged with seven first-degree felony counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child
- Alleged crime: 2000s, 2010s,
- Alleged crime county:
UT - Cache,
- Alleged crime state:
Utah,
LDS positions: Stake presidency counselor, Sunday school, Temple worker, Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Ongoing, -
- Brian Mitchell (1953 – ) was a Mormon church member and temple worker in Utah; abductor, with Wanda Barzee, of Elizabeth Smart
- Crime: 1980s, 1990s, 2000s,
- Crime state:
Utah,
Convicted:
2009, LDS positions: Stake high council, Temple worker, Criminal case(s): Convicted, -
- 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 crime: 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s,
- Alleged crime state:
Utah,
LDS positions: Bishopric counselor, Elders quorum, High priest, Other leader, Temple worker, Criminal case(s): Not convicted, Alleged failure to report-
- 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
- Crime: 2010s,
- Crime state:
Utah,
Convicted:
2015, LDS positions: High priest, Temple worker, Criminal case(s): Community service, Convicted, Jail, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Probation, -
- Joseph Shanks was an LDS senior missionary and temple worker in Chorley, Lancashire, England; convicted of ten charges related to sex crimes after he was caught in a police sting operation trying to meet three young children for sex; called from a landline registered to the Mormon Church's missionary training center
- Crime: 2010s,
- Crime country:
England, United Kingdom,
Convicted:
2017, LDS positions: Missionary, Temple worker, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Jail, -
- Michael Shean (1947 – ) 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
- Crime: 1980s,
- Crime state:
California,
LDS positions: Bishopric counselor, Missionary, Seminary teacher, Temple worker, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison, Civil case(s): Judgment for plaintiff, Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement, Alleged failure to report-
- Stephen Stokes (1948 – 2016) 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
- Alleged crime: 2010s,
- Alleged crime state:
Idaho,
LDS positions: Bishopric counselor, BYU, Missionary, Scout leader, Stake high council, Temple worker, Youth leader, Criminal case(s): Never charged, Not convicted, Civil case(s): Dismissed, Dismissed with prejudice, -
- 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
- Alleged crime: 1970s, 1980s,
- Alleged crime country:
Australia,
LDS positions: Bishop, Bishopric counselor, Branch president, Mission president, Missionary, Stake high council, Temple worker, Criminal case(s): Never charged, Not convicted, Alleged failure to reportFilters
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