SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
The Bellingham Herald [Bellingham, WA]
March 5, 2025
By Sara Schilling
A former church leader is accused of raping a teen girl in his congregation more than 20 years ago, prosecutors in Utah said.
Armando Flores, now 69, is charged with one count of first-degree felony object rape and two counts of first-degree felony rape, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office said in a March 4 news release.
Flores was a “local church president” in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the time, according to a court filing provided by prosecutors.
A defense attorney wasn’t listed in court records the morning of March 5.
McClatchy News reached out to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on March 5 and was awaiting a response.
Flores is accused of assaulting the girl on three different occasions between 2002 and 2004, when she was about 14, prosecutors said.
In one instance, he drove her to a park and raped her on a bed he’d placed in his truck, according to prosecutors.
He then drove her to school, prosecutors said.
The teen’s family was new to the church, and Flores was “prevalent in her life,” according to prosecutors.
At some point, she wrote Flores a letter offering thanks “for the things he had done for her family” but confronting him about the sexual assaults, the filing said.
She told police “that Flores told her that he put her letter in a box where he keeps his ‘naughty treasures’ that he keeps hidden from his wife,” per the court filing.
District Attorney Sim Gill said “the youth in our community should be able to trust the adults in their lives. We are here to help them flourish as they grow into adulthood, not hurt them and take advantage of their trust. We appreciate the courage the victim-survivor had to come forward. We will provide her with all the support this office can offer,” per the release.