4,177 reports of sex crimes allegedly perpetrated by Latter-day Saints (statistics »). All reports rely on court proceedings, public records, news reports or academic journals as sources.
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- Ralph Neeley (1949 – 2020) was an LDS church member in the Beaumont, Texas area; was sentenced in January 1994 to life in prison in Texas for repeated sexual abuse of an 8-year-old girl in an LDS chapel during church meetings and in other locations; died in prison in 2020; the Mormon church reportedly paid several million US dollars in a settlement to the victim
Crime: 1980s, 1990s, 
Crime state:
Arkansas, Texas,
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LDS positions: Unknown position, 
Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Convicted, Prison, - Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement,
- Alleged failure to report
- View report »
Crime state:
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- 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
- Convicted:
2021,
- LDS positions: Bishop,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Jail, No contest, Prison,
- Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Unknown result,
- Alleged failure to report
- View report »
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- Chesley Pierson (1928 – 2021) was an LDS bishop, stake presidency counselor and stake patriarch in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; accused of sexually abusing multiple young men
- Alleged crime: 1970s,
- Alleged crime country:
Canada,
Alleged crime country:
LDS positions: Bishop, Elders quorum, Missionary, Other leader, Stake patriarch, Stake presidency counselor, 
Criminal case(s): Police investigation, Unknown result, 
Alleged failure to report-
- Byron Poelman (1934 – 2014) was a bishop and stake president in Utah and partner in a law firm that represented the LDS church; arrested in 1994 for soliciting a prostitute; pleaded guilty to a class B misdemeanor charge of patronizing a prostitute
- Crime: 1990s,
- Crime city:
UT - Salt Lake City,
- Crime county:
UT - Salt Lake,
- Crime state:
Utah,
Crime city:
Crime county:
LDS positions: Bishop, Bishopric counselor, Mission president, Missionary, Stake high council, Stake president, Sunday school, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Unknown result, Alleged failure to reportThe woman was taken to jail, while Poelman was released immediately.
"President and sister Poelman's lives need to be private now. [...] We are a family. A family keeps things private. A family draws close together. These things are to be kept private."
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- Richard Ray (1942 – 2019) was an LDS church member in Arizona; sentenced in 1984 to 61 years in prison for molesting five girls; allegedly had more than 30 victims; the LDS church was involved in a lawsuit regarding clergy-penitent privilege; the church settled out of court for an undisclosed amount just before trial
- Crime: 1970s, 1980s,
- Crime state:
Arizona,
LDS positions: Missionary, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison, Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement, Alleged failure to report-
- Prescott De Jean (1955 – ) was a Mormon church member and scout leader in Texas; accused of sexual abuse; convicted between 1991 and 1997 of indecency with a child by contact; victim was 6 years old at the time of the abuse; convicted in 2013 of third degree felony failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements; as of March 2024, lives in Port Lavaca, Texas as a registered sex offender
- Convicted:
2013,
- LDS positions: Scout leader, Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison, Probation, Registered sex offender, Violated parole/probation,
- Alleged failure to report
- View report »
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- William Gillespie (1936 – ) was an LDS church member in Montgomery, Alabama; accused of reaching inside the swimsuits of two girls and fondling them in his backyard pool in 1987; convicted in 1988 of three charges of first-degree sexual abuse and sentenced to one year in prison, plus four years of probation; conviction was reversed on appeal, then upheld; was allegedly excommunicated from the Mormon church
- Crime: 1980s,
- Crime state:
Alabama,
LDS positions: Unknown position, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Overturned/reversed, Prison, Probation, Unknown result, Alleged failure to report-
- Scott Gollaher was an LDS church member in Utah; sentenced to prison for child sexual abuse
- LDS positions: Missionary, Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison,
- View report »
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- Kenneth Good (1950 – ) was a Mormon church member in Georgia; accused of molesting 4 underage girls; pleaded guilty of child sexual abuse; sentenced in 1991 to 8 years in prison; released on parole in December 1993; as of 2023, lives in Taylorsville Utah
- Crime: 1980s, 1990s,
- Crime state:
Georgia,
LDS positions: Scout leader, Youth leader, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison, Released, -
- Steven Hammock (1941 – ) was an LDS church member in Utah; pleaded guilty in 1983 to two counts of forcible sex abuse of a child and served six months in an inpatient treatment facility; the LDS church excommunicated him, but during a civil suit filed in 1989 by the victim, it refused to divulge information that Hammock gave to church officials; in 1997, a federal judge awarded $150,000 in damages to the victim
- LDS positions: Scout leader, Sunday school,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty,
- Civil case(s): Judgment for plaintiff,
- Alleged failure to report
- View report »
landmark abuse case in Utah
"When is everyone going to realize that this shit's got to stop?"
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- Clayton Hildreth (1952 – ) was a Mormon stake president in Butte, Montana; from Dillon, Montana; arrested in June 2004 by Boise, Idaho police for soliciting sex from a person he thought was a 14-year-old girl online; was stake president at the time of his arrest; pleaded guilty in October to a charge of interstate travel with intent to have sex with a minor; sentenced in 2005 to three years and five months in prison
- Crime: 2000s,
- Crime state:
Idaho,
Convicted:
2005, LDS positions: Bishop, Stake president, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison, Alleged failure to report-
- Arlo Atkin (1956 – ) was a former LDS bishop in or near Chandler, Maricopa County, Arizona; accused of raping and impregnating a 14-year-old girl in his ward while he was her bishop; pleaded guilty, spent 132 days in jail
- Crime: 1980s, 1990s,
- Crime state:
Arizona,
LDS positions: Bishop, Missionary, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Jail, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Probation, Violated parole/probation, Civil case(s): Dismissed with prejudice, Lawsuit v. LDS church, Unknown result, Alleged failure to report-
- Arthur Bishop (1952 – 1988) was a Mormon boy scout leader in Utah; was excommunicated in the 1970s; later molested multiple children and killed five young boys; was sentenced to death by lethal injection in 1988
- Crime: 1970s, 1980s,
- Crime state:
Utah,
LDS positions: Missionary, Scout leader, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison, -
- Raphael Caccioppoli (1971 – ) was a Mormon Sunday school teacher, lawyer and Justice Ministry judicial officer in New Zealand; confessed sex crime behavior to a Mormon bishop in 1998; LDS leaders did not tell police or local parents of children he was left alone to supervise; turned himself in to police in 2007; sentenced to five years in jail for child sexual abuse and animal sex abuse (bestiality)
- Crime: 1990s, 2000s,
- Crime country:
New Zealand,
Convicted:
2008, LDS positions: Sunday school, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Jail, Alleged failure to report-
- Gordon Crawford was an LDS church member in Australia; accused of sexual abuse
- LDS positions: Unknown position,
- Criminal case(s): Unknown result,
- View report »
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- 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-
- Benjamin Covey (1792 – 1868) was a Mormon church member in the 1840s and 1850s; in 1848, was excommunicated for having sexual intercourse with two girls "less than Twelve years of age" who were his foster daughters; was rebaptized and soon thereafter was made bishop of the Salt Lake City Twelfth Ward from 22 February 1849 until 1856
- Crime: 1840s,
- Crime state:
Nebraska,
LDS positions: Bishop, Criminal case(s): Convicted, -
- Lynn Hill was a Mormon scoutmaster in Utah; worked from 1976 to 1984 as a financial auditor for the LDS church, including in Japan and other Asian countries; sentenced in 2004 to up to five years in prison for sexually abusing a 17-year-old developmentally disabled girl; Hill molested her while driving her to an LDS church activity for disabled children, and at her home, according to charging documents
- Crime: 2000s,
- Crime state:
Utah,
Convicted:
2004, LDS positions: Missionary, Scout leader, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Prison, Released, -
- Kevin Christensen (1960 – ) was a Mormon church member and judge in Brigham City, Utah; accused of receiving and distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to individuals he believed to be minor children; pleaded not guilty in July 2025
- Alleged crime: 2020s,
- Alleged crime city:
UT - Tremonton,
- Alleged crime county:
UT - Box Elder,
- Alleged crime state:
Utah,
LDS positions: Stake high council, Criminal case(s): Ongoing, Allegedly sent young child's LDS directory photo to adult for rape fantasy
"We can't have it in our lives. It's the only way I can protect my kids. [...] He was a judge. He was a member of the LDS Church. He was a father. He was a grandfather. I mean, he saw his grandkids and his kids every day."
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- Timothy Phelps (1961 – ) was a Mormon church member in Morgantown, Kentucky; convicted of sexual abuse
- Crime: 1990s,
- Crime county:
FL - Pinellas,
- Crime state:
Florida,
Convicted:
1995, LDS positions: Ward executive secretary, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Pleaded guilty, Filters
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