Brother of LDS apostle (Christofferson) charged with attempting to sexually exploit children in Utah and Ohio

[Res Ipsa]

The information we have is pretty sketchy. The Trib said it was omitting how the perp knew the victims to protect their identity. My WAG is that the victims are the perp’s grandchildren (or some other family members). That’s why the two fathers were talking to each other.

We also don’t know what the church spokesperson meant when he refers to the church being informed and the church reporting. If the Utah dad is a bishop, do his acts count as acts of the church? Would it if he had any other calling? We also appear to have information from Ohio LEOs about the original reporting there, but I haven’t seen anything from Utah LEOs. We don’t know what they were doing.

It seems possible that the church could have been first notified through the hotline. The text indicates the perp had or was going to confess to his bishop. We just don’t know.

I’m not saying that additional information will make everyone involved look good. Just that it will likely make what we know make a little more sense.

We “know” from the reporting that Wade Christofferson was caught red-handed grooming and sexually coercing a minor by that minor’s father during a personal phone call. So that’s not an offence in a Church setting. We know that Utah father called another father in Ohio as his first action. We know that the Utah father did not report to the police because the police report that they were informed by “the church”. We know that the Ohio father did report to police 24 hours later after a phone call(s) with Wade Christofferson during which Wade confessed to multiple further offences.

If we want to reason to plausible conclusions, we have to be clear about what what we know and what we surmise. In particular, can you quote where the sources say:

1. The first thing the Utah father did after learning of the abuse was call the Ohio father;
2. The police say that the church made the first report to law enforcement in Utah;

A criminal information contains the facts needed to get a judge to find probable cause that defendant committed a crime. It isn’t intended to be a complete recitation of facts that you and I are interested in. Prosecutors don’t show all their cards in an information, so drawing any inference from the absence of information is highly likely to be wrong.

The first external contact, based on the reporting, was to “the Church”, despite this offending taking place outside of, and being discovered outside of, any Church-governed setting whatsoever. And it was “the Church” that informed the police of the offending in the first instance. If there are some facts that undermine that summary, I’ve missed them.

“According to the reporting” is the point. Have you met reporting? Reporters generally do their best to get facts from people who may have reasons not to be totally candid. They can be easily misled by factual omissions.

Your constructed timeline ignores the text that the perp sent to Utah father about contacting his bishop. It is perfectly plausible that the “church” first learned of the abuse was through confession. We just don’t know. “The church” is a broad term that could encompass a whole lot of different people. Were I a reporter, I’d be asking about specific individuals every time someone said the church.

In fact the timeline is worse than I thought. This is from the Trib article quoted unthread

The federal prosecutors allege Christofferson had been using this secret language to shield his sexually explicit requests of the young girl in letters he had been sending her from Ohio for at least six months. The Utah father discovered the code on Nov. 5, prosecutors say, after he overheard a FaceTime conversation between his daughter and Christofferson and began asking them questions.

Police started investigating a week later after a man in Ohio — who knew about the alleged abuse in Utah — reported that Christofferson had allegedly sexually abused his daughter, too.

This timeline was detailed in a charging document that The Salt Lake Tribune obtained Thursday from the federal prosecutors’ office in southern Ohio.

The Utah father discovers the offending on November the 5th. But the police aren’t informed until November the 12th, a week later. The Ohio father goes straight to the police, immediately, but it’s 7 days after the offending was first discovered in Utah. Which suggests, if the timeline of events is accurate, that the Utah father kept it quiet from the Ohio father for a week, as well as keeping it from the police.

I think you are conflating Utah police with Ohio police. We have a date of reporting for Ohio police, but none for reporting to Utah police other than the church rep’s statement. We do not know what the Utah father did with respect to notifying Utah authorities. We just don’t. We also have no evidence that the Utah father learned of the other victim on the 5th.

[Res Ipsa]

It looks like we have crimes committed in Ohio (letters and face time call with Utah victim and molestation of Ohio victim) and Utah (molestation of Utah victim). Only the Ohio crimes have been charged. The crimes charged are under federal law, attempted exploitation of a minor and coercion and enticement of a minor. I’m not sure those charges cover the actual sexual contact the perp confessed to, and the Ohio court shouldn’t have jurisdiction over abuse that occurred in Utah. I suspect more charges are coming. The FBI is in charge, and they’ve credited two Utah law enforcement agencies with assisting the investigation.

The FBI affidavit provides more detail than the newspaper accounts. The victims are family members of the perp. The two fathers are brothers. Utah dad called a telephonic family meeting on November 6, during which he informed the participants about what he had learned about the perp and his daughter.

The Ohio father learned that his daughter had been molested on Nov. 11, when he went to the perp’s house and confronted him as to whether the perp had abused any of his kids. The perp confessed that he had. Ohio dad went to the cops the next day.

We still do not know whether or when Utah Dad contacted law enforcement. It would be relevant to the abuse that occurred in Utah, but not to the Ohio case.

Here’s my wild ass guess. The perp was in Ohio on the 5th, when he was caught on the face time call. His letters referenced the fact that he was planning to visit Utah soon and abuse the Utah victim. He was arrested on the 25th in Utah.

I’m guessing that Utah law enforcement and the FBI were already involved and planned to arrest the perp when he came for his visit. Otherwise, why not cancel the visit? I have no idea why the FBI elected to charge only the Ohio crimes in November. Perhaps there is additional investigation to be done in Utah. It will be interesting to see if the abuse in Utah that the perp confessed to is charged.

(I had trouble attaching the affidavit from my phone. I’ll try from my desktop in the morning.)

[I Have Questions]

If we want to reason to plausible conclusions, we have to be clear about what what we know and what we surmise. In particular, can you quote where the sources say:

1. The first thing the Utah father did after learning of the abuse was call the Ohio father;
2. The police say that the church made the first report to law enforcement in Utah;

From floodlit

“The Salt Lake City-based church said in a statement Friday that one of its leaders in Ohio ‘learned of abuse allegations against Wade Christofferson’ involving an alleged victim in Utah on the evening of Nov. 6, and the church reported to law enforcement the following day. It learned of an additional alleged victim in Ohio on Nov. 11, the church said, and reported to law enforcement the next day.

From this we can deduce that the Utah didn't do anything other than contact the Ohio Father. We know that Wade Christofferson sent a text to the Utah Father following the incident on the 5th that stated he (Wade) had contacted his Bishop (presumably the Ohio Church Leader in question) to start the repentance process. Ohio has mandatory reporting.

Your constructed timeline ignores the text that the perp sent to Utah father about contacting his bishop. It is perfectly plausible that the “church” first learned of the abuse was through confession.

This has now been confirmed via the Church statement.

In fact the timeline is worse than I thought. This is from the Trib article quoted unthread The Utah father discovers the offending on November the 5th. But the police aren’t informed until November the 12th, a week later. The Ohio father goes straight to the police, immediately, but it’s 7 days after the offending was first discovered in Utah. Which suggests, if the timeline of events is accurate, that the Utah father kept it quiet from the Ohio father for a week, as well as keeping it from the police.

I think you are conflating Utah police with Ohio police.

I'm not, I've just phrased it badly.

We have a date of reporting for Ohio police, but none for reporting to Utah police other than the church rep’s statement. We do not know what the Utah father did with respect to notifying Utah authorities. We just don’t. We also have no evidence that the Utah father learned of the other victim on the 5th.

There is nothing (so far) to suggest that the Utah father who caught Wade red-handedly abusing his daughter, did anything other than contact family. The first law enforcement contact (that's been reported) was in Ohio on the 12th November. Here is the Floodlit timeline

October 2025: Wade’s brother Todd Christofferson becomes second counselor in the LDS First Presidency.
Nov. 5, 2025: According to 2025 charging documents, Wade Christofferson is FaceTiming a girl in Utah [Victim 9] and asks to see her to see “snow” and “friends.” Her father enters the room to find her lifting up her shirt to the camera. The Utah girl later tells investigators that Christofferson touched her inappropriately in the past and told her “she would like it when she got older,” the 2025 charges say.
Nov. 6, 2025: Wade Christofferson allegedly admits abusing Victim 8 and Victim 9 to their fathers, according to the charging document, and tells the Utah father in a text message: “I am deeply sorry for what I have done and will be meeting with my bishop to start the repentance process.”
Sometime in November 2025: Wade Christofferson looked online about leaving the United States, according to the charging document.
Nov. 11, 2025: Wade Christofferson texts an Arizona family member to ask if he can come there for “an open-ended stay” starting on Nov. 13, according to charging documents.
Nov. 12, 2025: Dublin, Ohio police start investigating after the Utah man’s brother in Ohio (Victim 8‘s father) reports that Christofferson had allegedly sexually abused his daughter, too.
Sometime in November 2025: Police in Dublin, Ohio search Wade Christofferson’s home, and a review of his phone allegedly reveals a search history for criminal defense attorneys in Ohio and Utah, as well as the phrase, “In Ohio do clergy have to report child abuse confessions.”

The time gap between them discovering the abuse on the 5th and 6th of November, and the Ohio father contacting law enforcement on the 12th is troubling. The other question I have is that the Church statement above says that "one of its leaders in Ohio" reported the abuse to law enforcement in Ohio on the 7th November, but law enforcement in Ohio say they start investing after the Ohio father reports the abuse to law enforcement on the 12th.

[I Have Questions]

It looks like we have crimes committed in Ohio (letters and face time call with Utah victim and molestation of Ohio victim) and Utah (molestation of Utah victim). Only the Ohio crimes have been charged. The crimes charged are under federal law, attempted exploitation of a minor and coercion and enticement of a minor. I’m not sure those charges cover the actual sexual contact the perp confessed to, and the Ohio court shouldn’t have jurisdiction over abuse that occurred in Utah. I suspect more charges are coming. The FBI is in charge, and they’ve credited two Utah law enforcement agencies with assisting the investigation.

The FBI affidavit provides more detail than the newspaper accounts. The victims are family members of the perp. The two fathers are brothers. Utah dad called a telephonic family meeting on November 6, during which he informed the participants about what he had learned about the perp and his daughter.

The Ohio father learned that his daughter had been molested on Nov. 11, when he went to the perp’s house and confronted him as to whether the perp had abused any of his kids. The perp confessed that he had. Ohio dad went to the cops the next day.

We still do not know whether or when Utah Dad contacted law enforcement. It would be relevant to the abuse that occurred in Utah, but not to the Ohio case.

Here’s my wild ass guess. The perp was in Ohio on the 5th, when he was caught on the face time call. His letters referenced the fact that he was planning to visit Utah soon and abuse the Utah victim. He was arrested on the 25th in Utah.

I’m guessing that Utah law enforcement and the FBI were already involved and planned to arrest the perp when he came for his visit. Otherwise, why not cancel the visit? I have no idea why the FBI elected to charge only the Ohio crimes in November. Perhaps there is additional investigation to be done in Utah. It will be interesting to see if the abuse in Utah that the perp confessed to is charged.

(I had trouble attaching the affidavit from my phone. I’ll try from my desktop in the morning.)

The time gaps and mixed messaging about who contacted police and when is still confusing to me. The Church is claiming that an Ohio Church Leader reported the abuse on the 7th November after learning about it on the evening of the 6th (Why didn't he report it straight away on the 6th? Aren't police available 24/7 in Ohio?). Then we have Ohio (or Federal?) law enforcement saying their first contact with the Ohio allegations was the Ohio Father on the 12th.

[I Have Questions]

Floodlit are asking for help

URGENT: Please contact Floodlit.org if you are a survivor or know a survivor of alleged sexual abuse by Wade Christofferson, if you have any information about his leadership/membership history in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or if you knew him personally. We (Floodlit.org) are currently helping several abuse survivors to assemble information they can give to civil authorities or service providers. Thank you so much!

Since breaking the news on Nov. 20 of pending child sexual abuse charges against Wade Christofferson, Floodlit.org communicated with several alleged abuse survivors and their relatives, helping some of them contact each other and giving them contact information of civil authorities investigating the case.

One alleged victim said she was “sickened that it is 40 years later” and asked, “How many more people were harmed that didn’t need to be?!” Another victim’s relative said, “I’ve been waiting for years for this to happen and for justice to be served,” adding that they were “disgusted” when the Mormon church made Wade Christofferson’s brother, Todd Christofferson, an apostle in 2008. The church is led by fifteen apostles; Todd Christofferson is the second counselor in the First Presidency, its presiding governing body.

Today, Floodlit updated our case report on Wade Christofferson. So far, we have identified at least nine alleged child sex abuse victims in this case, dating back to 1985. We need your help to confirm details that may aid accountability and help survivors heal.

Some historic allegations:

One survivor told Floodlit she was sexually assaulted by Wade Christofferson in the summer of 1990, during a sleepover at his home in Crystal Lake, Illinois. She was 13. Several months later, he became a counselor in her ward’s bishopric. Upset, she told Bishop Lee Donaldson that Christofferson had sexually assaulted her. As months went by, she waited for Christofferson to be released from his bishopric position. “It never happened,” she said. A few years later, another bishop approached her as she was preparing to leave for college and asked her if she ever had an “uncomfortable experience” with Wade Christofferson because “some other girls had come forward.” She told him about the alleged 1990 incident, ultimately leading to Wade Christofferson’s excommunication.
At a sleepover at Christofferson’s home in 1991 or 1992, he allegedly attempted to sexually assault another girl, her relative later told Floodlit. At two o’clock in the morning, while pretending to look for the family cat, Christofferson approached the girl, who “got out of the situation” and called her parents to come pick her up, the relative recalled. The alleged victim’s father told Bishop Donaldson about the incident; Donaldson said he would “take care of it,” and Christofferson was soon released as counselor but kept attending church, the relative told us.
An alleged victim and a relative of another alleged victim told Floodlit that, in the mid-1990s, Wade Christofferson took photographs of underage girls in his LDS ward, but did not share the photos with them afterwards.

Lee Donaldson has some questions to answer.

[Equality]

This all makes D. Todd's talk "A Sense of the Sacred," a BYU devotional address that the Brethren were so enamored with that they published it in the New Era (and which I have discussed in more detail in the thread on the new First Presidency) even more creepy in retrospect. This is how the brother of Wade Christensen started that talk aimed at the youth of the church:

A while back a young woman from another state in the United States came to live with some of her relatives for a few weeks. On her first Sunday she came to church dressed in a simple, nice blouse and knee-length skirt set off with a light, button-up sweater. She wore hose and dress shoes, and her hair was combed simply but with care. Her overall appearance created an impression of youthful grace.

Unfortunately, she immediately felt out of place. It seemed like all the other young women her age or near her age were dressed in casual skirts, some rather distant from the knee; tight T-shirt–like tops that barely met the top of their skirts at the waist; no socks or stockings; and clunky sneakers or flip-flops.

A predisposition to ogling (at the very least) children seems to be a characteristic D. Todd shares with his brother Wade.

[Res Ipsa]

Here is a link to the affidavit: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72 ... tofferson/ It was originally sealed, but was unsealed on 12/8.

[Xenophon]

Here is a link to the affidavit: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72 ... tofferson/ It was originally sealed, but was unsealed on 12/8.

The less evolved person within me can only think "grab the rope" when I read things as appalling as that.

[Doctor Steuss]

The time gaps and mixed messaging about who contacted police and when is still confusing to me. The Church is claiming that an Ohio Church Leader reported the abuse on the 7th November after learning about it on the evening of the 6th (Why didn't he report it straight away on the 6th? Aren't police available 24/7 in Ohio?).

I certainly can't speak for how things are in Ohio, but as someone who has tried to help an individual report a sexual assault (rape) outside of regular station hours, it's nearly impossible here in the Vegas valley.

Unless it's an active emergency (i.e. the assault is happening at that moment), you might (big on *might*) be able to get an officer to come and take an incident report, but you're more than likely going to have to wait until a substation's main office is open to the public (here, it's M-F 9-5) in order to report an assault/abuse.

[Equality]

Here is a link to the affidavit: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72 ... tofferson/ It was originally sealed, but was unsealed on 12/8.

The less evolved person within me can only think "grab the rope" when I read things as appalling as that.

It's absolutely disgusting.

And every Mormon who raises their arm to the square and sustains D. Todd Christofferson is complicit in the church's cover-up of child sexual abuse.

Every Mormon who pays tithes or offerings to the LDS church is complicit in the church's legal attacks on child sexual abuse survivors.