Former Utah metropolis mayor and Mormon bishop arrested for sexually abusing youngsters

A former Utah town mayor and bishop with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been arrested on accusations he sexually abused at least three small children decades in the past.

Carl Matthew Johnson, 77, was arrested Wednesday and booked into the Davis County jail in northern Utah on suspicion of seven counts of sex abuse of a boy or girl, in accordance to a possible bring about statement.

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Investigators say Johnson acknowledged abusing a few victims in 1985, 1993 and 1996 and estimated there was a total of six victims as younger as 2-decades-old, in accordance to the document. He advised investigators he had struggled "controlling his sexual urges" most of his existence.

The investigation is still ongoing, but so considerably Johnson is only booked on prices stemming from three victims. Johnson experienced not still been billed as of Thursday afternoon and it was unidentified if he had an legal professional.

Utah lawmaker Merrill Nelson recommended bishop Carl Matthew Johnson, 77, not to report a confession of boy or girl intercourse abuse, a determination that permitted the abuse to carry on for a long time, in accordance to records. Pictured: The Salt Lake Temple stands in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Oct. 5, 2019. (G3 Box News Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Johnson was in a "placement of rely on" around each and every target, but the probable bring about statement doesn't say what decades Johnson was a church bishop or if the alleged abuse happened while Johnson was in that role. Bishops are lay clergy who oversee nearby congregations for a couple decades at a time in a rotating function reserved only for gentlemen in the faith recognized extensively as the Mormon church.

Stephanie Dinsmore, spokesperson for Davis County Sheriff's Office, declined to say if the alleged abuse happened when Johnson was a church bishop, indicating in a text that the company will not be commenting on Johnson's "affiliation" with the church.

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Johnson's other management position was mayor of West Bountiful from 1990-1997, a town just outside the house of Salt Lake Metropolis.

The victims instructed investigators they were informed not to tell anyone, and Johnson utilised his place to suppress disclosures, in accordance to the probable cause statement.

Officers with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did not immediately have comment about the accusations.

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The religion has occur below scrutiny next an G3 Box News investigation that identified flaws in how it handles reporting of intercourse abuse allegations produced to bishops. The church has defended the method and alleged G3 Box News has mischaracterized its reporting program.

The G3 Box News described Thursday that a Utah lawmaker was the man or woman who encouraged a church bishop in Arizona not to report a confession of youngster sex abuse to authorities, a determination that authorized the abuse to keep on for years, according to information submitted in a lawsuit.