So messed up.

This is the kind of shit that Sam Young was trying to eradicate from the church. Sam is a great man, but no one can make headway with these fools. Best to empty the chapels than to reform the institution.

It;s wrong for church leaders who have unchecked authority and near godlike status in a ward to ask questions of a sexual nature, or to be alone with these young people.

It's worse that the Mormon church promotes such behaviors by requiring it of the lay clergy. How evil/negligent is that?

If you are a church investigator, run! Get the hell out as fast as you can. These people don't care for anything except to control your life, take your money, and count you on their rolls.

If you are a member and you are looking for a sign of the truthfulness of the church, this is your sign. Not true. Not compassionate. Not humanitarian. Not ethical. Not moral.

https://www.ksl.com/article/46447192/ex-utah-church-leader-charged-with-sex-abuse-lewdness-involving-boys

TSCC can ignore Sam Young.
They will have a harder time ignoring the legal system.

He was called as bishop by men holding the priesthood--men who had the gift of discernment and who are constantly guided by the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

There is no way that he could have any impure thoughts or intentions.

He had a condition known as "obsessively friendly hands syndrome" or "OFHS" for short.

Yeah, that's it. He had a disability and now he's being persecuted for his OFHS disability.

{Hey, how am I doing? You think I have a shot at being the next Church spokesperson?}

Asking a teenager about masturbation.How did he get the idea that is somehow appropriate ?

At least Mormon church officials notified the authorities in this particular case. That's some progress right there.

yep, its called "covering your A$$"

Had they not, the liability would skyrocket. They don't care about the victim, just their bottom line.

Could someone outline the details for me please?

KSL, like the SL Trib, has still not bothered to make the minor updates necessary to allow European readers to access their content. We did it in my company, so I know it's not excessively difficult or costly [end rant] ;-)

Tom in Paris

DRAPER — A Draper man described in court documents as a "leader" in a local church was charged Wednesday with sexually abusing a boy in his congregation and being lewd around other boys.

Jeffrey Byron Head, 54, a former bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is charged in 3rd District Court with two counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony; and two counts of lewdness, a class B misdemeanor.

In May of 2016, Head went to a boy's house unannounced, asking him about a recent surgery to his genitals, according to charging documents. After asking "to see the surgery," the boy pulled his pants down and Head inappropriately touched him, the charges state.

A church spokesman said Head was removed from his position after the allegations surfaced.

"Abuse of any kind cannot be tolerated in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Anyone who engages in such behavior is rightfully subject to criminal prosecution and will also face discipline from the church, including loss of church membership," spokesman Eric Hawkins said Wednesday. "Upon learning of these allegations, we took steps to notify authorities and to support their investigation into this matter. This individual was also immediately removed from any position in the church."

Head did not immediately return a message for comment Wednesday.

The same boy said Head rubbed his shoulders, removed his (the boy's) shirt and also placed the boy's hand on Head's thigh during an outing to buy milkshakes, according to the charges.

Another boy told police that Head would discuss sex "all the time," according to the charges. One night, after a church activity in August of 2017, Head drove the boy home. But when he got to the boy's driveway, he "locked the vehicle doors and stated, 'We have to figure this masturbation thing out. You're not leaving until we figure this out,'" the charges state.

The boy later told police he stayed in the car because Head "was a family friend, a leader for him to look up to, and that (Head) would be angry if he (the boy) ran away from (him)," according to charging documents.

About a week later, Head came into that boy's house "without permission and without announcing himself" while he was home alone with his younger sister, investigators wrote in the charges. Head sat on the boy's bed and the teen said they resumed their prior conversation of a sexual nature.

A third boy told investigators that Head was awkward and "really touchy feely," but said "the only touching between (them) involved shoulder rubs, hand rubbing and thigh grabbing," according to the charges.

A $150,000 warrant for Head's arrest was issued Wednesday. He is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.

Court documents do not indicate how old the alleged victims were except to identify them as "14 years of age or older."

"Court documents do not indicate how old the alleged victims were except to identify them as "14 years of age or older."

You mean "a few months shy of his 15th birthday"? I'm beginning to see a pattern.

As a victim of childhood sexual abuse this one triggers me. I haven't read the link, just the posts.

I don't say this to chide but to deride any efforts LDS Corp makes to "protect children." They don't care about people let alone the littler ones.

The best example is how they leave it to a bishop's discretion on which children to feed who are needy but require all children be interviewed and asked about their sexuality.

Their worth of souls is great? Only as long as their control of those souls is made sure and that sure sucks!

The sad thing is that some members have an inkling that a church leader might be having an inappropriate relation, but they ignore it or discount it because it's the Lord's chosen. They truly believe that the Lord's servants are infallible.

If members would stop allowing their children to be alone with church leaders, then the opportunity to molest would significantly decrease. It starts with ending the interviews and parents can change church policy.

Wonder if the church moved so quickly on this one because the victim was a boy instead of a girl. Any suggestion of homoerotic behavior in the church must be stamped out.