4,128 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.
Have any info on this or other Mormon sex abuse cases? Contact us.
As an independent newsroom, FLOODLIT relies on your generous support to make thousands of reports of sexual abuse in the Mormon church available. If you find our work helpful, please consider donating! Thank you so much for helping us shine a light.
-
- 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,
-
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:
-
- 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 »
-
- 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."
-
- 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-
- Michael Simms was a Latter-day Saints (LDS) church member, organist and music teacher in Oregon; accused in a 2009 civil lawsuit against the LDS church of sexually abusing a boy about 100 times between 1974 and 1976; case settled in 2010 in federal court
- Alleged crime: 1970s,
- Alleged crime state:
Oregon,
LDS positions: Unknown position, Criminal case(s): Unknown result, Civil case(s): Unknown result, Alleged failure to report-
- George Lee (1943 – 2010) was a Mormon general authority in Utah; member of the First Quorum of the Seventy from 1975 to 1989; in 1994, pleaded guilty to attempted sexual abuse of a child, a third-degree felony; registered sex offender; died in 2010
- LDS positions: General authority, Mission president, Other leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Registered sex offender, Unknown result,
- Alleged failure to report
- View 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 »
-
- 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 »
-
- 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?"
-
- 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-
- Kenneth Johnson was a Mormon church member and home teacher in Beaverton, Oregon; a victim filed a $55.7 million lawsuit against the Mormon church saying Johnson had sexually molested him when Johnson was his home teacher; the alleged sexual abuse took place as often as twice a week for two years between 1987 and 1989
- Alleged crime: 1980s,
- Alleged crime state:
Oregon,
LDS positions: Ministering/home teacher, Criminal case(s): Unknown result, Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Unknown result, 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, -
- 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 »
-
- 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-
- Franklyn Curtis (1903 – 1995) was a Mormon church member in Pennsylvania and Oregon; excommunicated in 1983 in Pennsylvania for sex abuse; rebaptized in 1984; molested five boys in Oregon; local LDS bishop knew but didn't report to police; convicted in 1995 in Oregon of sexual abuse; died in 1995
- Crime: 1970s, 1980s, 1990s,
- Crime state:
Oregon, Pennsylvania,
LDS positions: High priest, Sunday school, Criminal case(s): Convicted, Civil case(s): Lawsuit v. LDS church, Settlement, Alleged failure to reportFilters
Select one or more criteria from the dropdown menus below to refine results.
Are you near a Mormon sex offender?
See 750+ places where LDS church members allegedly perpetrated sex crimes and where LDS sex offenders live.
View the Floodlit MapBrowse the Mormon Sexual Abuse Database
Browse the Mormon sexual abuse database »
Help Floodlit obtain court documents as we investigate and report on the topic of sexual abuse in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Donate