Index: https://floodlit.org/lpc/crime-bishop/
If you’re looking for a list of former Mormon bishops who were ever publicly accused of sex crimes (regardless of when the alleged criminal acts took place), that’s here: https://floodlit.org/lpe/ever-bishop/
Have you ever heard LDS church members say something like, “That abuse doesn’t really count, because he didn’t do it WHILE he was active in the church?” or “God would never allow a bishop he called to get away with sexually abusing anybody.”
If so, here’s a list you can show them, with facts and links to details about each case.
Do you know any of these men? If so, please let me know so we can add details to his case listing.
1. Mesa, Arizona rapist bishop
- LDS bishop in Arizona in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
- Accused of raping and impregnating a 14-year-old girl in his ward while he was her bishop.
- Pleaded guilty, served 132 days in prison.
- Violated probation by having contact with his victim, who he took to Las Vegas and married in October 1991.
- FLOODLIT’s sources indicate that he may be living in Southeast Asia and may have posted online about several sexual relationships, including marriages, with a series of young Asian women.
2. Utah LDS bishop / rapist
- Mormon bishop in Utah in the 2010s.
- Convicted of sexually abusing and raping two underage girls while serving as an LDS bishop.
- Sentenced in 2017 to five years to life in prison.
- At his sentencing, the judge (who was also a Mormon bishop) praised the convicted child rapist as a “an extraordinarily good man” in front of his two victims.
3. Western Australia Mormon bishop / child sexual abuser
- LDS bishop of the Como ward in Perth, Australia in the early 1980s.
- Sexually assaulted a 7-year-old girl twice while babysitting her.
- When the victim twice complained to the LDS church, she was reportedly not believed and was chastised, and it was suggested she should move away if she felt uncomfortable.
- Finally in 2017, after she took her case to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, police interviewed her ex-bishop abuser.
- He was found guilty in 2019 and sentenced to one year in prison.
4. Utah Mormon bishop and police officer, would-be pimp
- LDS bishop (2015-19) and police officer in Utah.
- Arrested in 2019 for soliciting an undercover cop for sex.
- Pleaded guilty in 2019 to a 3rd degree felony charge of exploiting a prostitute and a misdemeanor charge of patronizing a prostitute.
- Sentenced to prison but both terms were suspended.
- The judge also ordered him to write apology letters to the two undercover agents who claimed they experienced distress and trauma after the encounter.
5. Utah LDS bishop who sexually abused at least three children
- Mormon bishop in Utah in the mid to late 2010s.
- Sentenced to prison for sexually abusing at least three children while serving as their bishop.
- In one of the alleged dopings, police said he provided a victim with a fake melatonin tablet to help him sleep. The victim said he awoke to find the bishop touching him in a sexual manner.
6. Utah Mormon bishop who sexually abused young boys
- LDS bishop in a Utah ward in 2018.
- Accused of touching one of the victims inappropriately and looking down his shorts. A witness told police that the bishop asked the victim to pull down his pants and underwear because he was curious about his recent surgery.
- A member of his congregation told police when the bishop picked him up to get milkshakes, he talked about masturbation. The bishop also allegedly rubbed the person’s shoulders, removed his shirt and moved the person’s hand on his thigh, near his private parts.
- On another occasion, the bishop locked himself and another boy inside of a vehicle to discuss masturbation and erections. The bishop allegedly said, “We have to figure this masturbation thing out. You’re not leaving until we figure this out.”
- Convicted of attempted forcible sexual abuse, two counts of lewdness and sexual battery.
- Sentenced to four months behind bars and four years of probation.
- More reading: KUTV
7. Utah Mormon bishop who possessed child pornography
- Was an LDS bishop in Utah in 2019.
- Arrested in 2019 and charged with possession of child porn.
- Pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with federal prosecutors.
- Sentenced to 46 months in prison for possessing child pornography.
8. California LDS bishop who sexually assaulted a teenage girl while serving as her bishop
- Was an LDS bishop in the Menifee ward in the Riverside, California area in 2012.
- Arrested in May 2013 and charged with sexually abusing two girls in his ward – a 16-year-old in 2006 before he became a bishop, and an 18-year-old in 2012 while he was a bishop.
- Sentenced to prison in 2013.
9. Utah Mormon bishop who lured a 17-year-old girl to Salt Lake City to have sex with him
- Was an LDS bishop in Utah in or before 2001.
- Pleaded guilty to luring a 17-year-old girl to Salt Lake City to have sex with him by posing as a teenage member of the Mormon Church on the internet.
- Admitted meeting the North Carolina girl through a teen chatroom focusing on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- The Mormon bishop originally pretended to be a 19-year-old.
- After the relationship began to include sexual conversations on the phone, the bishop admitted to being a 51-year-old man.
- A few months later he invited the girl to Utah, telling her parents she would be visiting colleges and Mormon landmarks.
- The two had sex at a Salt Lake City motel several times over a three-day period.
- He was sentenced in 2001 to 21 months in federal prison.
- He was also sentenced to 24 months probation after the prison term and ordered to undergo sex offender treatment.
Near-misses:
- https://floodlit.org/a/a492/ – LDS bishop in the Plymouth England stake in the 1990s to at least 2002; accused of sexually abusing two girls; killed himself on third day of his child sex abuse trial. So, no conviction.
- https://floodlit.org/a/a094/ – former LDS bishop in Westminster, California. We’ve left him off the list only because we’re not sure when the alleged crimes took place. His son claimed that he (the former bishop) molested his first victim 50 years prior to being sentenced to prison. The family identified 17 alleged victims.
- https://floodlit.org/a/a080/, https://floodlit.org/a/a186/ and many others at https://floodlit.org/lpe/ever-bishop/ – we’re not certain in many of these cases whether sexual abuse took place while the accused were serving as Mormon bishops.
- https://floodlit.org/browse-by-position/ – we haven’t listed stake presidents, seventies, or other “higher” Mormon leaders here, or counselors in bishoprics, because we’re exclusively focused in this particular list on the calling of bishop.
Note: This is not a comprehensive list. It’s merely a start. We will find many more of these stories as we continue to research this topic. If we’ve missed someone, please let us know.
Questions for Latter-day Saints:
- Did God call these sexual abusers to be bishops?
- Why did God not stop them from molesting or raping while serving as bishops?
- Why did God not inspire their stake presidents or other church leaders to expose their sex crimes?
- What happened to the spirit or gift of discernment in these cases?
