Abuse
Total 23 Posts
Impact journalism from Truth & Transparency regarding the cases of abuse within religious institutions.
Court Documents Reveal Mormon Bishop’s Failure to Report Led to Continued Abuse and an Additional Victim
The following article discusses sexual abuse and child pornography Sometime in 2010 or 2011, Paul Adams went to his Mormon bishop and confessed to not only molesting his young daughter, but also videotaping those sexual encounters and distributing them on the internet. What happened next, or rather what didn’t
Court Documents Show Local Mormon Leaders Failed to Report the Manufacturing of Child Pornography Following Confession
In early February 2018, a twenty-year-old man named Benjamin Alyk contacted the Davis County Attorney’s Office in Utah and informed them that he was prepared to confess to having manufactured and distributed child pornography when he was 15 and 16 years old. Alyk met with Brent Baggs, Investigator for
Director of Mormon Temple Videos Charged with First Degree Sexual Abuse of a Child
On April 2, 2019, Sterling Van Wagenen, noted film director and producer, was indicted in Utah on a single count of aggravated sexual abuse of a child. An arrest warrant was issued on April 4 and Van Wagenen posted bail of $75,000 on April 8. The charge is a
Sandy Police Investigating Van Wagenen for Second Instance of Sex Abuse
A document received through an open records request by Truth & Transparency from the Sandy Police Department has revealed that Van Wagenen is currently under investigation for a sex offense. In February, Truth & Transparency released a recording in which Sterling Van Wagenen, a noted executive producer and director of
BYU Religion Professor Guilty of Plagiarism; University Yet to Take Action
In 2003, Alonzo Gaskill joined the faculty of the Department of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University’s (BYU) College of Religious Education. Gaskill had just completed eight years working at the Mormon Church’s Institute of Religion, part of the Church Educational System (CES), in Palo Alto,
Interview With Police Reveals Small Discrepancy in Sterling Van Wagenen's Story
Days after molesting David, Van Wagenen’s son's friend, Sterling Van Wagenen turned himself into police at the Salt Lake County Sheriff's office. In a transcript obtained by Truth & Transparency, Van Wagenen implies he was encouraged to turn himself in by his therapist in Provo, Utah. The name of
California State Senator Proposes to Remove State’s Clergy Exemption from Mandatory Reporting Laws
California State Senator, Jerry Hill has proposed California Senate Bill 360 removing a sweeping clergy exemption from the State’s mandatory reporting laws of child abuse and neglect. The proposal comes after discussions between the Senator’s staff and the Truth & Transparency Foundation (TTF) in November and December 2018.