Mormon Life - Crime tag

Charges dismissed against Mormon bishop accused of not reporting sex abuse

Fri, 11 May 2012 08:22:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

A judge dismissed all charges Thursday against an LDS bishop accused of telling a teenage girl not to seek a protective order and failing to report the girl's disclosure that she had been sexually abused by a teenage relative.

Bishop Gordon Moon was charged in 8th District Court last August with witness tampering, a third-degree felony, and failure to report abuse, a class B misdemeanor.

On Thursday, Judge Lyle Anderson dismissed those charges in the middle of a hearing at the request of Duchesne County Attorney Stephen Foote. The prosecutor's request came after Moon testified under oath that he should have handled his interview with the girl differently and should have contacted a legal hotline operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Pair arrested after stealing LDS fast offerings, police say

Wed, 09 May 2012 10:16:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: Sad! Can you believe this world? A man and a woman have been arrested after allegedly stealing from two teenage boys who were collecting LDS fast offerings.

Brent King, 27, and Hannah Huckabee, 25, drove up to two boys Sunday who were going door to door collecting fast offerings in a neighborhood near 300 East and 500 South in American Fork, said American Fork Police Sgt. Gregg Ludlow.

The 5 Browns' sisters speak at victims of violent crimes conference

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:13:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Two female members of The 5 Browns piano quintet encouraged victims of violent crime speak out and offered advice on how to help those victims Thursday at the crime victims conference.

Deondra and Desirae Brown, sisters who make up two-fifths of the sibling piano group, said it took them years to come to terms with sexual abuse they experienced as children. Their father was sentenced last year to at least 10 years in prison for abusing his daughters.

New vision for Utah: ‘safest place for families’ in nation

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 10:00:00 -0600

source: sltrib.com

For Peg Coleman, it was like nothing she had ever experienced before.

It was March 31, Coleman’s first day in Salt Lake City, and she’d spent it exploring the city on foot. As she walked near Temple Square, Coleman suddenly found herself in a tide of men making their way toward the LDS Church’s Conference Center for the semiannual Priesthood meeting that is part of the faith’s General Conference — though, as a newcomer, Coleman didn’t know that.

What she did know is this: Here she was, a lone woman, surrounded by thousands of men. And she felt perfectly safe, completely at ease.

Guarding the faith: The ups and downs of ministering to the incarcerated

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:31:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

There are errands to be run and a big stack of mail that needs his attention, but Lonn Buckley doesn't hesitate when the woman, short and stout with earnest brown eyes, asks to chat for a minute. "I've been sitting on this for a while, but it's been bugging me," she says, taking a seat in his office, a small room with cinder block walls, bare except for few crookedly hung pictures of Christ. "I just had to tell someone."

She fiddles with a ballpoint pen as she tells him about her problems. A Bible rests in her lap, partially covering the "i" in the word "inmate," which is printed vertically down the leg of her maroon scrubs. Buckley leans forward in his seat, listening intently. This is one of his favorite parts of his job as a chaplain at the Utah State Prison.

LDS bishop allegedly defrauded Connecticut investors, members

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:58:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: This is so disappointing. A federal grand jury has indicted a former leader of a Trumbull church on charges he cheated investors including members of his congregation out of more than $400,000, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Julius Blackwelder of Utah, who was bishop of the Bridgeport Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is accused of using the money to pay back earlier investors in the pyramid scheme, build a waterfront home in Stratford and repay personal bank loans.

Arsonists light LDS missionaries' car on fire

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 12:02:00 -0600

source: stgnews.com

Mormon Life says: Police aren't sure if it's a religious or hate crime, but they're not ruling it out. Two missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints were awoken abruptly when their hostess, Madge Carpenter, knocked on their door crying, “Elders, elders – you need to get up, … your car’s on fire.”

Matthew Robinson and his fellow missionary are staying with the Carpenters at their home in the Middleton neighborhood.

Robinson said they went running downstairs and out the door where they saw police cars and firemen, fire hoses and the car being sprayed down.

Teen pleads guilty to setting fire to LDS church, sentenced

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 07:29:00 -0700

source: sltrib.com

One of two teens accused of burglarizing and then setting fire to an LDS church in Santaquin has pleaded guilty.

A 16-year-old boy entered a plea of guilty to arson in 4th District Juvenile Court late last week and was sentenced to a juvenile work camp, authorities said.

Attorney for Mormon bishop challenges constitutionality of mugshots

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 10:46:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

If there's anything worse than a driver's license photo, it's a mugshot.

The Internet is filled with the jailhouse images of the famous, the infamous and even the average Joe.

But the defense attorney for an LDS Church bishop accused of failing to report a teenage girl's disclosure of sexual abuse is trying to keep his client from suffering a similar fate.

LDS Church sues over wildfire at Nevada ranch

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:45:00 -0700

source: standard.net

The business arm of the LDS Church is suing a contractor over a wildfire that damaged a church recreational property northeast of Las Vegas in July 2010.

Trial set for Mormon bishop accused of failing to report abuse

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 10:13:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

A one-day jury trial has been scheduled for an LDS Church bishop accused of telling a teenage girl not to seek a protective order and failing to report the girl's disclosure that she had been sexually abused by a relative.

Bishop Gordon Moon is charged in 8th District Court with witness tampering, a third-degree felony, and failure to report abuse, a class B misdemeanor. Moon was arraigned on the charges Thursday, entering not guilty pleas to both counts.

BYU recovers stolen painting from Swiss baron's estate

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:31:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: A real-life mystery! What an interesting story. The painting simply vanished.

A beautiful oil and canvas painted by the hand of an American master, it was stolen sometime between 1970 and 1985.

Once a persistent detective determined it was missing, it was too late to know whether it had once graced a cultured professor's wall or waited patiently in a corner for the day it would be showcased to the masses.

Certainly no one could say who took it. And to this day, nobody knows how "The Silver Chalice with Roses" slipped into the shadows of the art world's international black market.

At least nobody is telling.

Affinity fraud a pernicious crime, church representative says

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:55:00 -0700

source: Newsroom.lds.org

Mormon Life says: Click on the forwarding link to read Michael Otterson's entire address. Affinity fraud is a despicable crime plaguing communities by preying "on the weak and unsuspecting," a representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) told an anti-fraud conference sponsored by the Utah-based Fraud College.

Beware of affinity fraud 'predators' who exploit trust, LDS spokesman warns

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:46:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

An LDS Church spokesman weighed in on the state's fight against affinity fraud Wednesday, comparing perpetrators of fraud to child molesters.

Fraud is not a new problem, and leaders of various churches and other public figures have warned their communities for years to be wary of those who would entice them to part with their savings without great care and careful assessments, said Michael Otterson, managing director of public affairs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Event counting on LDS Church message about scams

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:19:00 -0700

source: sltrib.com

Organizers of an event on Wednesday aimed at educating Utahns about avoiding financial scams hope that an LDS Church representative will deliver a strong message to help stem the tide of scams that have rolled over Utah in recent years.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is sending Michael Otterson, its managing director of public affairs, to the Fraud College at the University of Utah, where he is scheduled to speak at 11 a.m.

LDS bishop ordered to stand trial for witness tampering, failure to report abuse charges

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:19:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: The bishop is accused of failing to notify police about a 17-year-old girl's disclosure that she had been sexually abused by a teenage relative. A judge has ordered an LDS Church bishop to stand trial on charges of witness tampering and failure to report abuse.

But the defense attorney for Bishop Gordon Moon called the judge's order "a far cry from a ringing endorsement of the prosecution's case."

"I think anyone who reads the bindover order can see that," attorney David Leavitt said Wednesday. "From our perspective, the bindover was something we expected because the burden of proof is so low."

Tragic end for family — Josh Powell's final act of control kills him, 2 sons

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:23:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: Absolutely heartbreaking. Although the story isn't necessarily LDS-themed, Powell and his family were members so we thought it was appropriate for this forum. Josh Powell sent an email to his attorney Sunday with a simple message: "I'm sorry, goodbye." Minutes later he accepted his sons into his home, kept the social worker who delivered them there at bay, and ignited a fire that killed himself and his two boys.

The Graham, Wash., home was ripped apart by a fire, described first as an explosion, shortly after noon just after the social worker had called her supervisors to report that she could smell gas in the home. The house was destroyed, and so too the family embroiled in loss, deceit, investigation and finally, death.

Dead are Charlie and Braden Powell, ages 7 and 5. Their mother, Susan Powell, remains missing. And 29-year-old Josh Powell, at the center of the investigation into his wife's December 2009 disappearance, is now accused of killing his sons and taking his own life.

Keeping missionaries safe in the midst of violence

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:19:00 -0700

source: abc4.com

Mormon Life says: Every year, 3 to 6 LDS missionaries die, which is significantly lower than the average number for their age group. ABC 4 uncovered new information on how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is keeping missionaries safe after two Baptist missionaries were killed in Mexico.

LDS Church being sued by gallery owner over Teichert painting

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:04:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: I hope this was just a misunderstanding and no real malice was intended. A Minerva Teichert painting known as "The Law on the Plates of Brass" is at the heart of a legal dispute pitting a downtown art gallery against the painting's one-time owner, and the LDS Church.

Thomas Alder, owner of Williams Fine Art Gallery, contends two unnamed representatives from the Church History Museum showed up with paperwork to "borrow" the painting from his business and never returned it. Instead, his lawsuit alleges the painting's owner breached their consignment contract and sold the painting to a member of the museum's acquisition committee without Alder's knowledge.

LDS Church joins effort to stop fraud, scams in Utah

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:14:00 -0700

source: sltrib.com

Mormon Life says: This is the first time the LDS Church will give an official statement on the matter. Concerned about the tidal wave of fraud sweeping over Utah that has reached an estimated $2 billion in purported scams, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is stepping up to participate this year in an event that aims to erect a protective wall.

After skipping the first Fraud College conference in 2010, the church, whose members have been battered as victims of fraud, is sending Managing Director of Public Affairs Michael Otterson to speak at the Feb. 15 conference.