Trigger warning: This discusses child abuse and sexual activity.
Think your kids are safe with women? Think again. Many people tend to think of predators being male, which is not always the case. When it comes to women, it is often presumed that they are going after teenage boys. That isn't always the case either.
Here are two cases of female youth leaders who lured young girls into their homes and seduced them. One of them molested at least two girls.
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Case #1: Kami Lee Chesnut, YW Teacher
https://floodlit.org/a/a688/https://kutv.com/news/local/utah-woman-accused-of-sexual-misconduct-seducing-teen-girl-while-lds-youth-leaderUtah woman accused of sexual misconduct with teen girl while LDS youth leader
A 41-year-old South Jordan woman is accused of having "unlawful sexual conduct" with two teenage girls in two separate cases.
Detectives with the South Jordan Police Department began investigating Kami Lee Chesnut after a mother reported her teenage daughter was given alcohol and molested by Chesnut, according to an indictment filed in 3rd District Court.
The woman told police her daughter and her daughter's girlfriend, both 17, went over the Chesnut's house in June "to get drunk," the indictment states. Chesnut's 23-year-old live-in girlfriend was reportedly also present, and has been charged with providing alcohol to minors.
"After drinking for a while, the Defendant [Chesnut] talked about all of the women showing their breasts," the indictment states. When the daughter pulled up her shirt, Chesnut is said to have fondled her breasts, and later gotten on top of her and kissed her on the lips, according to detectives.
The detective assigned to the case states in court documents that, while investigating Chesnut, she was contacted by a woman who said Chesnut had engaged in an unlawful sexual relationship with her in 2014, when the woman was 16. The woman told the detective that Chesnut worked "in the LDS young women's program," when Chesnut began a sexual relationship with her. She told police the two would have sexual intercourse in church parking lots, court documents state.
The woman was interviewed at the Children's Justice Center once when she and Chesnut were caught kissing in a church parking lot, she told the detective, but stated she lied during the interview. Chesnut and the woman were ordered not to have contact after the interview, but the woman told police Chesnut gave her a cell phone and they continued their relationship. The woman told police she moved in with Chesnut and her husband when she turned 18, and continued living with Chesnut after she and her husband divorced, until 2018.
Court documents state the detective interviewed Chesnut about the woman's allegations in July of this year, and that Chesnut admitted to having a sexual relationship with the woman before she was 18.
https://www.deseret.com/utah/2019/10/10/20908267/utah-woman-charged-with-illegal-sexual-conduct-with-2-underage-girlsKami Lee Chesnut, 41, was charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with unlawful sexual activity with a minor, a third-degree felony. She was also charged in a separate case with three class A misdemeanor counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and two counts of providing alcohol to a minor.
A woman recently told police that in 2014 when she was 16, she began a sexual relationship with Chesnut that continued after she turned 18. Chesnut and the girl’s mother “worked together at the church in the LDS young women's program,” according to charging documents.
The then-teenager said she “began helping the defendant (Chesnut) with those duties,” but soon began engaging in sexual activity in Chesnut’s car in church parking lots, the charges state.
In 2015, the girl told police the two were caught kissing in a church parking lot. The teen was interviewed at the Children’s Justice Center but “now says she lied during the interview and denied any sort of sexual relationship,” according to the charges.
After the interview, the two were told not to have contact, the charges state, but Chesnut bought the girl a cellphone “and they continued the relationship.”
The girl moved in with Chesnut and her husband when she turned 18, according to court documents. Chesnut got divorced, however, and the relationship between her and the girl allegedly continued until August 2018.
In the second case, a 17-year-old girl who worked for Chesnut said she went with a friend, also 17, to Chesnut’s house on June 15. Once there, Chesnut and her live-in girlfriend provided alcohol to the two girls, according to separate charging documents. Chesnut then encouraged the group to pull up their shirts and inappropriately touched the victim, the charges state.
The girlfriend, 23, was also charged with two counts of providing alcohol to a minor, a class A misdemeanor.
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Case #2: Anastasia Dawson, Youth Leader
https://floodlit.org/a/a522/Anastasia Dawson case details
born: 1993
alias Anastasia Blansett
Dawson was an LDS church member and ward youth leader in Missouri. She was arrested in 2023 and charged with multiple felonies related to sexual abuse of a female minor.
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UPDATE 2023-03-08:
“Setting – Prelim Hrg Scheduled
Scheduled For: 04/04/2023; 9:00 AM ; DAREN L ADKINS; Daviess
Hearing Continued/Rescheduled
State appears by PA A Gibson. Defendant appears in person, in custody and by attorney M Shipley. C Scott granted leave to withdraw. On motion of defendant, cause continued to 4/4/23 at 9:00 am for preliminary hearing setting. Defendant remanded to custody. DLA
Hearing Continued From: 03/07/2023; 9:00 AM Plea/Trial Setting ”
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from KTTN on 2023-02-15:
“A Hamilton woman faces multiple felonies after allegedly having sexual contact with a 16-year-old girl who worked on her farm. Anastasia Dawson was also reportedly the teen’s church youth leader.
Dawson has been charged with the felonies of second-degree statutory sodomy, second-degree statutory rape, abuse or neglect of a child, first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and two counts of fourth-degree child molestation. She has also been charged with misdemeanor second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Bond has been denied.
A probable cause statement accuses Dawson of paying the teen to work on her farm and tend to her children, enticing her to engage in sexual activity, and helping her run away from home.”
https://www.kttn.com/hamilton-woman-facing-multiple-felony-charges-after-having-sexual-contact-with-16-year-old-girl/