15 LDS sex abuse cases found
ward clerks or assistant ward clerks
- LDS position: Ward clerk
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- George Barnett was a Mormon ward clerk in Cerritos, California; accused in a 2025 lawsuit against the Mormon church of sexually abusing a child as part of a sex trafficking ring, and of covering up the abuse; the plaintiff said she was abused over 200 times at the Cerritos LDS stake center from 1979 to 1983
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Alleged crime: 1970s, 1980s, 
Alleged crime state:
California,
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LDS positions: Ward clerk, - Criminal case(s): Never charged, Not convicted,
- Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Ongoing,
- Alleged failure to report
Alleged crime state:
-
- Alan Bassett (1948 – ) was a Mormon church member and air traffic controller in Fruit Heights, Utah; accused in a 2019 civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse (dismissed without prejudice); charged in June 2024 with child sexual abuse; over 80 victims came forward; admitted to molesting many neighbor girls; tried to get his case dismissed due to an unsigned 1989 agreement with a deputy Davis County attorney
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- Alleged crime: 1980s,
- Alleged crime county:
UT - Davis,
- Alleged crime state:
Utah,
Dozens of women told the court Bassett abused them as children; he attempted to get the case dismissed
Alleged crime county:
LDS positions: Other leader, Scout leader, Ward clerk, 
Criminal case(s): Ongoing, Civil case(s): Dismissed without prejudice, 
Alleged failure to report"Why didn't they call us in? Why didn’t they call the kids in?"
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- Michael Cunningham (1947 – ) was a Mormon church member in England; accused of sexual abuse; a judge sentenced Cunningham to ten years imprisonment and told him that he must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life
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- LDS positions: Missionary, Ward clerk, Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison, Registered sex offender,
- Alleged failure to 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
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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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- Ernest Gourley (1927 – 2011) was a Mormon church member; accused of sexual abuse
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- LDS positions: Music leader, Other leader, Ward clerk, Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Unknown result,
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- Brian Griffeth (1978 – ) was a Mormon ward clerk in the Lake City, Florida area; accused of sexual abuse
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- LDS positions: Ward clerk,
- Criminal case(s): Ongoing,
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- Willard Hansen (1938 – 2013) was a Mormon church member; accused of sexual abuse
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- LDS positions: Bishopric counselor, Elders quorum, Missionary, Scout leader, Seminary teacher, Stake high council, Ward clerk, Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Registered sex offender,
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- William Harding (1940 – ) was a Mormon branch president, elders quorum president and ward clerk in Tasmania and Queensland, Australia; charged in or before 2023 with multiple counts of sexual assault of a minor in two states in Australia; allegedly had as many as 40 victims; in 2024, pleaded guilty to reduced charges and was sentenced to 9 months in jail in Brisbane; in 2025, faced new charges in Tasmania
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- Crime: 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s,
- Crime country:
Australia,
Crime country:
LDS positions: Branch president, Ward clerk, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Jail, Ongoing, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Alleged failure to report-
- Stanley Hunt (1953 – ) was an LDS church member and custodian in the Washington County School District in St. George, Utah; convicted of second-degree felony sex abuse of a child via a plea agreement; convicted in 2023 of violation of the terms of his sex offender registration
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- LDS positions: Bishopric counselor, Ward clerk,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Probation,
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- Gary Jones was a Mormon ward clerk in Cerritos, California; accused in a 2025 lawsuit against the Mormon church of sexually abusing a child as part of a sex trafficking ring, and of covering up the abuse; the plaintiff said she was abused over 200 times at the Cerritos LDS stake center from 1979 to 1983
- View report »
- Alleged crime: 1970s, 1980s,
- Alleged crime state:
California,
LDS positions: Ward clerk, Criminal case(s): Never charged, Not convicted, Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Ongoing, Alleged failure to report-
- James Larsen (1977 – ) was a Mormon church member (possibly a ward clerk or bishop) in Magna, Utah; accused in 2017 of putting cameras in LDS church bathrooms as well as a private rental; pleaded guilty; sentenced in 2018 to prison; released; as of 2025, lives in Magna, Utah as a registered sex offender
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- Crime: 2010s,
- Crime county:
UT - Salt Lake,
- Crime state:
Utah,
Convicted:
2018, LDS positions: Missionary, Ward clerk, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison, Registered sex offender, Released, -
- W Loveless (1979 – ) was a Mormon church member; accused of sexual abuse
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- LDS positions: Missionary, Ward clerk, Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Registered sex offender,
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- 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
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- LDS positions: Bishopric counselor, Nursery, Stake high council, Sunday school, Ward clerk,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison,
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- Bruce McAskill (1928 – ) was a Mormon church ward clerk in Jackson, Michigan; before becoming ward clerk, was convicted of rape; after becoming ward clerk, in 1994, was found guilty by a judge of kissing and fondling an 8-year-old boy whom he was babysitting; McAskill had met the boy's mother at church; a police officer said McAskill told him 'he didn't see any problem' with an adult sleeping naked with a child
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- Crime: 1990s,
- Crime state:
Michigan,
LDS positions: Other leader, Ward clerk, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Found guilty, Prison, -
- Jason Pedersen (1979 – ) 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
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- LDS positions: Bishopric counselor, Elders quorum, Missionary, Scout leader, Ward clerk,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Registered sex offender,
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