Officers with the Mapleton Police Department arrested a man Wednesday on reports of sexually abusing two underage boys.
Police reports state on April 20, a now 18-year-old man told police he was sexually abused by a man about three years ago.
The young man said Erik Hughes, 51, was at first very friendly and provided him with what the male thought was melatonin to help him sleep. But it made him disoriented and Hughes told him he must’ve given him the wrong pill.
On another occasion, Hughes gave the young man a smoothie. The young man reported that the smoothie was bitter and after he finished drinking it, he felt woozy and disoriented, just like when he took the pills earlier.
http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/c ... a282b.html
Police reports state Hughes is a bishop of a ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was at the time of the reported abuse.
Remember, as another thread points out - LDS Bishops conduct one to one interviews with underage children during which they discuss matters of a sexual nature. In any other walk of life this would be deemed 'grooming'. At what point, how many of these kinds of cases (which must now run into the thousands) where an individual in a position of authority within the LDS Church has utilised that position to facilitate sexual abuse, is it going to take before someone at Church Headquarters decides something needs to change?
It's a pandemic. Abusers are utilising the Church to gain access to victims.
Here's another one.
Higa was arrested on Wednesday.
Higa became known for using karate to motivate young people and deliver LDS teachings. He encouraged young men to earn their Eagle Scout awards and serve missions for The Church of Jesus of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, according to stories profiling his work by the Deseret News and KSL-TV in 2012.
http://www.ksl.com/?sid=44741996&nid=148
Question for the FP - How many victims will it take before you take proper action to protect members children from being targeted by people appointed by "inspiration"?
I'll give you a simple and easy one to start with - immediately put in place a policy that no child/minor is to be interviewed by any leader unless accompanied by their parent or guardian. There's no theological or doctrinal barrier to that one, so the only reason that you wouldn't put such a policy in place is if you are wilfully negligent. With the wonders of modern communication you could have this in place by Sunday and have a letter read out over every pulpit informing all members of the new policy.
Note: The Church leaders won't put this policy in place, won't communicate etc. because that would be admitting a failure in the inspiration of choosing leaders, admitting the organization has a problem with abusers in positions of trust. They care more about that than they do about stopping the next incident of a members child being abused.
So sit back and watch nothing change, along will come more preventable incidents of this nature.