Mormon Leader Pleads Guilty To Child Sex Charges

July 22, 2023 Crime, Racism

Harrisburg’s ABC affiliate reports:

Shawn Gooden has now pleaded guilty in Virginia to four sexual assault charges involving a child less than 14 years old. Police in Virginia told abc27, the alleged incidents happened in the late 1990s and involved a child who was already in Godden’s life. Years later, he lived in Palmyra and was a Boy Scouts leader, an LDS church leader, and a lawyer with a Harrisburg law firm. Gooden was arrested last September in Lebanon County and extradited to Virginia to face the charges.

From the outlet’s September 2022 report:

Police in Virginia say Gooden is under investigation for the alleged sexual assault of a child between 1997 and 2000. They say the child was between 9 and 13 years old at that time. During an investigation, detectives say Gooden also allegedly assaulted another victim who was between 8 and 12 years old.

Police in Virginia say these were not random victims and they were already in Gooden’s life prior to the dates of the alleged assaults.

Social media posts by the Harrisburg stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints depict Gooden holding a series of leadership positions over the years, including president of its Lebanon Ward. abc27 news has learned that Gooden’s involvement with the Boy Scouts was tied to his church leadership role.

The group linked below tracks sexual abuse by leaders of the Mormon Church.



Tags

© joemygod.com 2025