16 matching Mormon sex abuse cases

      • 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
      • Mathew Arrington was a Mormon church member and foster child advocate in Arizona; found guilty of child sexual abuse; sentenced in 2021 to 15 years in prison
      • Scott Darrington was a former LDS bishop and assistant school principal in Fallon, Nevada; convicted of possession of child pornography, spent a year in prison
      • Robert Davis was a Mormon church member in Eugene, Oregon; convicted of 5 counts of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree and sentenced to 75 months in prison
      • Larry Deutsch was a Mormon bishop in Missouri; arrested in 2020 and charged with possession of child pornography (child sexual abuse material, or CSAM) and accused of luring an underage teenager from Arizona to Missouri; pleaded guilty; sentenced in 2021 to 12 years in federal prison plus a lifetime of supervised release; in 2024, the victim filed a civil lawsuit against the LDS church
      • John Doe was an LDS church member in Adelaide, Australia; sentenced in 2021 to 10 years in prison for child sexual abuse
      • Anthon Ellsworth was an LDS bishopric counselor and returned missionary in Arizona; in 2021, pleaded guilty to three felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and was sentenced to seven years in prison
      • Melvin Hansen was a Mormon church member, school music teacher and former Tabernacle Choir member in Utah; convicted in 2021 in Utah of first degree felony attempted aggravated child sexual abuse; also accused of sexual abuse in Arizona
      • Elwood Haws was an employee and vice president of an LDS church-owned trust company in Utah; charged in 2020 with 13 second degree felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor (related to possession of child pornography); admitted that he viewed child pornography 3-4 times a week over a 3-4 year span; in 2021, pleaded guilty to three counts and was sentenced to 180 days in jail; in 2023, violated probation
      • 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
      • Spencer Kartchner was an LDS church member in Utah; convicted of sex crimes in 2009 and 2021
      • Eric Knight was an LDS church member; former physician; pleaded guilty in 2021 in New Hampshire to two felony counts of second-degree assault in a plea deal that would allow him to get his medical license back and avoid the sex offender registry
      • 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
      • Matthew Shepard was an LDS church member in Salt Lake City, Utah; In October of 2019 chatted with online 13year old persona to try and meet for sex; found guilty to 3 counts of entice a minor by internet or text; currently in jail in Duchesne, Utah
      • Jason Smith was an LDS church member in Indiana; in 2019, confessed to sexually abusing a child; pleaded guilty and was sentenced in 2021 to 728 days of probation for battery against a child under 14 years old
      • Christopher Warnock was a Mormon church member in Waukesha County, Wisconsin; pleaded guilty to two counts of 1st Degree Sexual Assault of Child and one 2nd Degree Sex Assault-Intoxicated Victim

    View the Mormon Sexual Abuse Map

    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.

    Browse the Mormon Sexual Abuse Database

    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.