Mormon sexual abuse cases: new updates

• Wade Gordon Oborn
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  • Wade Oborn (1959 – ) was a Mormon church member and school teacher in Mesa, Arizona; 2002 admitted to sexually abusing a student in his classroom at a charter school; convicted in 2004, sentenced in 2004; is a registered sex offender living in Gilbert, AZ
  • Convicted: 2004,
  • Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison,
  • Alleged church actions: unknown,
  • View report »
• Leo Lyston Lopshire
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  "He is still allowed to attend his ward and while the local leaders are aware of his crimes, they have not warned or told adults with young children in his ward about him."
  — a FLOODLIT source familiar with Lopshire, July 2026
  June 30, 2026: arrested and charged with four felonies related to child sex abuse
  • Leo Lopshire (1945 – ) was a Mormon church member in Utah, Iowa and South Carolina; arrested June 30, 2026 and charged with multiple felonies related to child sexual abuse; a source told FLOODLIT that the church excommunicated Lopshire in the 2010s
  • Positions: Boyscouts, Church employee, Elders Quorum President, high priest president, Young Mens Leader,
  • Alleged church actions: Church officials accused of failure to warn ward members, Excommunicated,
  • View report »
• Cristifer Kalen Biggs
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  • Cristifer Biggs (1999 – ) was an LDS returned missionary and BYU-Idaho student; convicted in July 2023 of one first degree felony count of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor; sentenced to five years to life in prison; as of July 2026, is a registered sex offender incarcerated in the Utah State Correctional Facility
  • Convicted: 2023,
  • Positions: Missionary,
  • Criminal case(s): Convicted, Pleaded guilty, Registered sex offender,
  • Alleged church actions: Unknown church action,
  • View report »
• Kevin Phillips
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  • Kevin Phillips was a Mormon church member in England; video recorded masturbating in a public park dressed in his police uniform while on duty; convicted; fined 500 Euros; resigned from his job with Met’s Roads and Transport Policing Command; was an LDS member of the Wandsworth England Stake (Clapham Common ward)
  • Convicted: 2022,
  • Positions: Unknown position,
  • Criminal case(s): Unknown result,
  • Alleged church actions: unknown,
  • View report »
• Borzin Mottaghian
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  • Borzin Mottaghian (1983 – ) was a Mormon church member in Provo, Utah; convicted of 8 various counts of sexual abuse; pretended to be a doctor posted ad on Craigslist for women needed for anatomy measurements for medical study; sexually assaulted 2 women with metal rod; police learned about it and sent in undercover police officer as volunteer for study; arrested; convicted in 2021; incarcerated in Utah Correctional Facility
  • Convicted: 2021,
  • Criminal case(s): Convicted, Found guilty, Prison,
  • Alleged church actions: unknown,
  • View report »
• Jared Lamb
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  • Jared Lamb was a Mormon church member in Chorley, Lancashire, United Kingdom; 2024 attempted to meet with 5-year-old girl after chats online with person he thought was the girls father, it was the police undercover; arrested July 20, 2024 when he showed up in Sheffield to abuse the child; pled guilty;sentence 5 years & 6 years for "licence and made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order"
  • Convicted: 2024,
  • Criminal case(s): Convicted, Pleaded guilty,
  • Alleged church actions: unknown,
  • View report »
• Kenneth Ray Copple
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  • Kenneth Copple was a Mormon church member in Arizona; found guilty of child sexual abuse and sentenced in 2019 to prison
  • Alleged failure to report
  • Convicted: 2019,
  • Positions: Unknown position,
  • Criminal case(s): Convicted, Found guilty, Jury trial, Prison,
  • View report »
• Karey Clark Zimmerman
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  "After sexually abusing PLAINTIFF when she was around the ages of seven to nine, PLAINTIFF reported the abuse to [MZ] who then reported the ongoing sexual abuse to the presiding bishop within the Utah Ward that PLAINTIFF’s family attended. However, the bishop and the ward did nothing to protect PLAINTIFF or report to law enforcement the sexual abuse that had occurred."
  — allegations in civil complaint filed Jan. 31, 2025, Nevada civil case 2:25-cv-00206
  a Mormon bishop failed to report child sexual abuse to civil authorities, the 2025 lawsuit alleged
  • Karey Zimmerman (1962 – ) was a Mormon church member in Utah and Nevada; in 2025, was accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse that allegedly took place in Nevada and Utah; the Mormon church was also named as a defendant; the lawsuit said a Utah bishop failed to report abuse allegations to police; as of June 2026, the civil case was proceeding through pre-trial motions
  • Alleged failure to report
  • Positions: Missionary,
  • Criminal case(s): Never charged, Not convicted,
  • Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Ongoing,
  • Alleged church actions: Ward official accused of failure to report,
  • View report »
• Darrell Rae McNeill
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  • Darrell McNeill was an LDS church member; accused of sexual abuse by Aaron Vargas; Feb. 2009 Vargas confronts McNeill in his home; shoots and kills McNeill; tells police he was molested by McNeill starting at age 11 when they were neighbors in Oregon; Vargas sentenced to 9 years in prison in California
  • Criminal case(s): Never charged, Not convicted,
  • Alleged church actions: unknown,
  • View report »
• Willa Beth Ray
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  • Willa Ray (1941 – ) was a Mormon church member and wife of Richard Kenneth Ray "Kenny" listed on FLOODLIT; sentenced to two years around 1984.
  • Criminal case(s): Convicted, No contest,
  • Alleged church actions: unknown,
  • View report »
• Richard Kenneth Ray
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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
  • Alleged failure to report
  • Church paid $unknown
  • Positions: Missionary,
  • Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison,
  • Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement,
  • Alleged church actions: Excommunicated,
  • View report »
• Nicholas Alahverdian
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  "The guilt is heavy because [...] I may have been one of the first of his victims, if not the first. [...] He is a monster. It sickens me that not only did everyone turn a blind eye, but he went on to become a member at other LDS churches when the whole point of alerting the church was to excommunicate him and that hadn't been done."
  — Abuse survivor, 2025
  • Nicholas Alahverdian (1987 – 2026) was an LDS church member in Rhode Island and Orem, Utah; allegedly sexually assaulted a 19-year-old woman in Rhode Island in 2006; she told Floodlit in 2025 that she reported to Mormon officials, and that two missionaries overheard; Alahverdian was convicted in two rape trials in 2025
  • Alleged failure to report
  • Convicted: 2008, 2025,
  • Positions: Not active LDS,
  • Criminal case(s): Convicted, Found guilty, Prison,
  • Alleged church actions: Ward official accused of failure to report,
  • View report »
• Virgil Dean Larson
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  • Virgil Larson was a Mormon church member and first counselor in an LDS ward bishopric in Chubbuck, Idaho; arrested in September 2024 and charged with sexual abuse of five boys, ages 12-15; he knew the boys from LDS ward activities and was their priesthood leader; as of March 2025, a jury trial was scheduled for April 8
  • Alleged failure to report
  • Positions: Bishopric counselor, Youth leader,
  • Criminal case(s): Ongoing,
  • View report »
• Connor Allapowa Hammond
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  • Connor Hammond was a Mormon church member and BYU student in Utah; in 2019, pleaded guilty to rape of a child and was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison; was released to the community in 2023 in Oregon; reportedly seen recently in Eugene, Oregon
  • Convicted: 2019,
  • Positions: Missionary,
  • Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison,
  • View report »
• Stephen Paul Sanders
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  "Stephen Paul Sanders denied he was a homosexual and said he had a “father-son” relationship with a student who is accusing him of sexual misconduct."
  — Elko Daily Free Press, 1991-05-02
  • Stephen Sanders (1950 – 2010) was a Mormon church member and Elko High School music teacher in Elko, Nevada; charged with 2 felony counts of committing homosexual acts, 1 count of soliciting a minor to engage in infamous crimes against nature, 1 count of abuse of a minor resulting in substantial mental harm; convicted in 1991 of 1 count of abuse or neglect of a child causing substantial mental harm for abusing his student
  • Convicted: 1991,
  • Positions: Missionary,
  • Criminal case(s): Convicted, guilty,
  • Alleged church actions: unknown,
  • View report »
• Nathan Mark Law
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  • Nathan Law was a Mormon church member in Idaho Falls, Idaho; pleaded guilty to attempted sexual exploitation of a minor child June 2023; in federal prison in Minnesota; prison release date is scheduled for August 5, 2031.
  • Convicted: 2023,
  • Positions: Nursery,
  • Alleged church actions: unknown,
  • View report »
• Robert Bruce Howell
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  "Over the next several months Dr. Howell and the victim exchanged over a thousand text messages discussing personal and religious matters. This also included known phone calls where the two would read scriptures together. "
  — P.C. Affidavit
  Howell's website called him "A Dentist You Can Trust"
  • Robert Howell (1956 – ) was a Mormon church member and a professional dentist for over 30 years in New Jersey and Orem, Utah; arrested in June 2026 pending formal charges of object rape, a first-degree felony, and forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony, for allegedly manipulating and sexually abusing a high school student who was working as his intern
  • Positions: Elders quorum ministering secretary, executive secretary, Missionary,
  • Criminal case(s): Ongoing,
  • Alleged church actions: Unknown church action,
  • View report »
• Chad Daniel Christensen
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  • Chad Christensen (1961 – ) was a Mormon church member in Kaysville, Utah ; convicted of 3 counts of ENTICE SOLICIT SEDUCE OR LURE A MINOR BY INTERNET OR TEXT 3rd degree felony and 1 count ENTICE SOLICIT SEDUCE OR LURE A MINOR BY INTERNET OR TEXT a 2nd degree felony in 2017; is a registered sex offender living in Brigham City, Utah; reportedly actively attends LDS ward
  • Convicted: 2017,
  • Positions: Boyscouts, librarian,
  • Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty,
  • Alleged church actions: excommuncated, Excommunicated, Rebaptized,
  • View report »
• John Kendall
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  • John Kendall was a Mormon church member in Madison county, Kentucky; arrested in June 2026 and charged with sexual abuse and sodomy involving minors.
  • Alleged church actions: unknown,
  • View report »
• Stewart Leroy Singley
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  • Stewart Singley (1937 – ) was an LDS church member in Ohio; convicted in 1975 of child molestation that occurred in 1974; in 1997, convicted and sentenced to one year in jail or prison; as of 2024, is a registered sex offender; lives in East Waterford, Pennsylvania
  • Positions: Unknown position,
  • Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Registered sex offender, Released,
  • View report »

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