53 matching Mormon sex abuse cases

      • Terry Allen was an LDS church member in California; in 1987, was found guilty of sexual abuse of a child and was sentenced to six years in prison; was assigned to multiple trusted church positions, including Sunday school president, despite the Mormon church being aware that he had raped a teenager; LDS leaders were accused of hiding his abuse from local church members; as of 2024, lives in Grapevine, Texas
      • Mark Anderson was a Mormon church branch president and dentist in Woodland, California; accused by 27 former female patients of touching them inappropriately in office visits; found guilty in 2009 of 11 felony counts and one misdemeanor count of sexual battery for sexual abuse of several of his female patients; sentenced to six years in prison; required to register for life as a sex offender
      • Michael Antrobus was a former Mormon branch president (similar to a bishop) and bishop in Connersville, Indiana for 10 years (approximately 1974-84); convicted of child sexual abuse charges (9 counts, 6 victims) in Sacramento County, California in 2021-2022; sentenced to 8 years in San Quentin State Prison; died by suicide in prison in September 2023; allegedly had at least a dozen victims
      • Christian Bearnson was a Mormon church member in Los Angeles, California in the early 1990s; molested a 13-year-old girl; in 1993, the Mormon church was found liable for child sexual abuse by a jury in a civil lawsuit; the LDS church then settled with the two plaintiffs, reportedly for millions of dollars (US), and had the court records sealed
      • David Bennett was an LDS church member and scout leader in California and Korea; convicted in 1987 in California of child sexual abuse; moved to Korea; was assigned to be an LDS young men's president and scoutmaster; was accused of molesting several boys; disappeared in 1991; FLOODLIT is attempting to locate him
      • Wyman Blankenship was a Mormon church member; scout leader, pleaded guilty to molesting boys
      • Douglas Bowen was an LDS church member and Boy Scout leader in Washington, California, Utah and Idaho; was convicted of attempted aggravated sexual abuse of a child
      • George Brown was a Mormon church member in Benicia, California; accused of sexually abusing an infant until age 4, and of creating/having CSAM on computer; allegedly attempted sexual abuse on a second infant
      • Paydan Bussey was a Mormon church member in Washington and Utah; convicted of child sexual abuse charges while a minor in Washington; removed from sex offender registries in Washington and Utah; allegedly molested a child in 2019 while on a trip to Spain paid for by the Mormon church; charged in Washington and Utah in 2024 with child sexual abuse felonies; named in a 2025 lawsuit against the Mormon church
      • Dustin Cassady was a Mormon church member in the Sacramento, California area (Carmichael); accused of child sexual exploitation; pleaded guilty; as of March 2024, lives in Roseville, California as a registered sex offender
      • James Duffin was an LDS church member in California; accused of child sexual abuse; convicted in 2006; incarcerated 2006 to 2011; allegedly groomed female students ages 7-10 with attention and candy and then forcing sexual contact in his classroom after school
      • Todd Edwards was a Mormon bishop in Menifee, Riverside County, California; in 2013, sentenced to three years in prison for sexual abuse of one teenage girl in 2006 and another in 2012; was bishop at the time of the 2012 abuse; in 2024, two victims sued the LDS church in separate lawsuits; one said a stake president and LDS law firm Kirton McConkie hindered police
      • Scott Farr was an LDS church member in Ogden, Utah; found guilty in 1981 of forcible sexual abuse and 1991 of sex solicitation
      • Stephen Field was a Mormon church member in California; convicted of sexual abuse; sentenced to prison
      • Lawrence Gilbert was a Mormon church member and high priest group leader in California; convicted of sexually abusing three girls; sentenced to 10 years in prison
      • Jay Grant was a Mormon bishop of the Adams Ward in Los Angeles, California; charged in 1981, at age 79, with five counts of forcible sexual abuse; sexually assaulted three young girls; convicted of all five counts; died in 1988 in Orem, Utah; ran "Grandpa Grant's Memory Club," a neighborhood study group for up to 175 LDS children; Grant sometimes had "students" spend the night at his apartment
      • Harvey Harper was an LDS church member and deputy county district attorney in Los Angeles, California; arrested in 1984 and charged with child sexual abuse; jumped bail; found guilty; sentenced in absentia to 14 years in prison; lived secretly in Colorado for 20 months until federal investigators found him; local LDS church coverup alleged
      • Kenneth Harper was an LDS church member in California; accused of sexual abuse; convicted
      • Craig Harward was a Mormon ward executive secretary and former elementary "teacher of the year" in Santa Clara County, California; accused of sexual abuse of at least 10 children; pleaded guilty to charges related to sexual abuse of four children over a six-year period; sentenced to 14 years in prison; in 2024, a lawsuit said the LDS church failed to report abuse; as of 2024, lives in St. George, Utah
      • James Haskell was a former Mormon bishop and practicing attorney in Vacaville, California; charged with 14 felonies and three misdemeanors for allegedly sexually abusing four children; was an LDS stake high council member when charged; pleaded not guilty; in June 2024, found not guilty in a jury trial of 16 of 17 counts; jurors deadlocked on one count of felony injury upon a child
      • Christopher Hettinger was a Mormon church member in California; in 2005, found guilty of child sexual abuse and was sentenced to 30 years in prison
      • Christine Hubbs was an LDS church member in California; was charged with sexual abuse of two underage boys (ages 14 and 15); convicted in 2011, sentenced to five years in prison; violated parole
      • Hayden Hunter was a Mormon missionary in California; he was from Pleasant Grove, Utah; arrested in 2020 for distribution of child sexual abuse material (child pornography) while on his mission; convicted of possession of CSAM in 2021
      • Kenneth Jenks was an LDS church member in California (Milpitas Ward); was a ward executive secretary and ward librarian; charged with sexual abuse; convicted; served 14 years in prison for sexual abuse of a minor under duress; three victims sued the LDS church, claiming it knew about Jenks's abuse but allowed him to work with children
      • Thad Jesperson was an LDS church member in Murietta, California; accused of sexually abusing 8 of his elementary students at Toler Elementary School
      • Melvin Johnson was a Mormon seminary teacher and Brigham Young University (BYU) religion professor; accused by multiple victims of sexually abusing them when they were children; excommunicated and rebaptized; reportedly confessed to sexual abuse, but was not criminally charged; two victims filed lawsuits against him; one named the Mormon church as a defendant; it settled out of court
      • Kevin Kirkland was a Mormon seminary teacher and school teacher in the Redlands, California area; accused of sexual abuse; pleaded guilty in 2016 to molesting four female students from May 2015 to May 2016; sentenced to two years in jail; released in June 2017
      • William Knox was a Mormon church member and scout leader in California; accused of sexually abusing multiple children
      • Frank Lind was a Mormon church member in California; sentenced before the early 2000s to 30 years to life in prison for sexually molesting a child; in the 2000s, a Mormon bishop allegedly supported Lind's decision to be baptized into the LDS church despite his prior conviction; in 2022, again convicted of child sexual abuse; sentenced to three consecutive terms of 25 years to life in prison
      • Craig Mathias was a Mormon church member and scout leader in Granada Hills, California; was in the Northridge ward until 1983; convicted in 1987 of sexually molesting multiple boy scouts; sentenced to six years in prison
      • Maynard McFarland was an LDS church member in California and Minnesota; sentenced in 2005 to 32 years in prison for sexually abusing his daughter for many years; released from prison in 2020; as of 2024, lives in Chula Vista, California as a registered sex offender
      • Glen McGhie was a Mormon church member in Santa Clara, California; found guilty of lewd or lascivious act on a child age 14/15, a felony; lost his physical therapy license
      • Robert Metcalf was a Mormon in California, Arizona; convicted of child sexual abuse in 1974; sentenced in 1979 to six years in prison; excommunicated; after prison, was rebaptized, made a scout leader and allegedly molested a scout on a campout in about 1987, according to a 1990 civil lawsuit against the LDS church; sentenced in Arizona in 1989 to 37 years in prison; 2020 lawsuit vs. LDS church
      • John Midgett was a Mormon Sunday school teacher in the San Diego area, California; also was a Navy petty officer first class; accused of 43 felony counts of child molestation for allegedly sexually abusing eight girls, ages 5 to 10, in his Sunday school class; pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 years in prison; as of 2024, lives in Bountiful, Utah as a registered sex offender
      • Daniel Montoya was a Mormon church member and scout leader in Long Beach, California; pleaded guilty in 1986 to charges of child sexual abuse
      • Craig Nebeker was a Mormon church member in California and St. George, Utah; accused of sexual abuse and convicted of three counts of AGGRAVATED SEX ABUSE OF A CHILD and one count SODOMY ON A CHILD
      • Joseph Neipp was a former LDS bishop in San Jose, California; in 2021, pleaded no contest to four molestation counts and was given an 18-year prison sentence, with credit for the three years he spent in county jail prior to his sentencing; father of convicted Mormon child sexual abuser Samuel Neipp
      • Rand Newby was an LDS church member and scout leader in Washington, Oregon and San Francisco, California; had a career as a schoolteacher; charged in Oregon in 1986 with sexual abuse of two children; convicted of two counts, one class C felony and one class A misdemeanor; sentenced in 1987 to 5 years probation
      • Eric Olsen was an LDS church member and schoolteacher in Bakersfield, California; admitted to Ontario, California police that he had sexually abused between 200 to 300 girls, with as many as 30 victims in Kern County; convicted in 2007 in California of 6 felony counts of child sexual abuse; sentenced to five years in prison; lifetime registered sex offender; as of 2023, lives in Brigham City, Utah
      • Steven Paris was an LDS church member in Anaheim, California; accused in 1986 of sexual abuse of seven boys; pleaded guilty to abusing six of them; was scheduled to receive a 30-year sentence
      • John Parkinson was a Mormon stake president (1981-1991) and physician in Fairfield, California; sentenced to prison in 1997 for sexually abusing two female patients, but the judge delayed the sentence pending an appeal; his conviction was later reversed
      • David Phipps/Verity was an LDS church member and dentist in Sacramento, California; pleaded no contest in 1987 to two counts of misdemeanor sexual battery involving two of his patients; In 1994, also pleaded no contest to two counts of misdemeanor sexual battery; served time in jail and had dental license revoked
      • Nefi Rubalcava was a Mormon bishop in Norwalk/Cerritos in southern California; accused of child sexual abuse in two lawsuits filed against the Mormon church in 2025; he was the foster father of one of his alleged victims and the bishop of both of them; he allegedly participated in a sex trafficking ring involving at least one other bishop and a stake president
      • Eldon Saling was a Mormon church member in California and Utah; convicted in 1987 in California and in 1993 in Utah of charges related to sexual abuse; as of 2024, lives in Burley, Idaho as a registered sex offender
      • Dennis Schult was a Mormon church member and scout leader in southern California; pleaded no contest to two counts of child molestation as part of a plea agreement wherein six other molestation charges were dropped; sentenced in 1991 to eight years in prison for sexually abusing two of his scouts for several years; as of 2024, registered sex offender living in Granada Hills, California
      • Michael Shean 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
      • Neil Shumate was an LDS church member and scout leader in Pleasanton, California; was also a kindergarten teacher; arrested in 1994 and charged with molesting several of his students; convicted on all 16 counts; sentenced to 12 years in prison
      • Kent Staheli was an LDS church member in California and Utah; served as first counselor in a Mormon bishopric; convicted in federal court in 2010 of charges related to child sex trafficking
      • Thomas Thompson was an LDS church member in Oregon, California and Arkansas; convicted of sex crimes in Oregon in about 2002; as of 2024, was a registered sex offender living in Yellville, Arkansas
      • Thomas Waitman was an LDS church member in Cupertino, California; convicted of felony child sexual abuse in 1995 in California; as of 2023, registered sex offender living in Redmond, Washington
      • David Webb was an LDS church member and oral surgeon in Vacaville, California; accused of sexual abuse of multiple patients in 2021 and again in 2022; gave up his license to practice in 2023; got a license to practice dentistry in Idaho; as of March 2024, a criminal case and several civil cases in California are ongoing
      • George Willoughby was an LDS church member in California; sentenced to 24 years in prison for raping a five-year-old girl

     

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    International map of locations where active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints perpetrated or allegedly perpetrated sexual abuse or other sex crimes, or where LDS leaders failed or allegedly failed to help abuse survivors.

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    FLOODLIT.org has a free public database of hundreds of reports about people who committed or allegedly committed sex crimes, including sexual abuse, while they were active Mormon church members. You can browse the entire database by LDS church position, number of victims, places where crimes took place, criminal/civil case results, and other criteria.