UTAH
Gephart Daily
PROVO, Utah, July 9, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — Formal charges now have been filed against a former Mapleton bishop for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who stands accused of two counts of forcible sexual abuse against minors and one count of witness tampering.
Erik Wayne Hughes, 51, on Friday was charged in Fourth District Court with the two second-degree felony charges and one third-degree felony charge.
According to a probable cause statement by the Mapleton police officer who investigated the case, the first count of forcible sexual abuse charges stems from two or more incidents that reportedly happened in or near June 2014.
The statement alleges that Hughes repeatedly touched the penis of a then-17-year-old boy in order to gain sexual gratification. Hughes served as a bishop of the boy’s LDS ward, so was trusted by the teen, the probable cause statement indicated. The alleged victim is now 21.
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