Documentary record Bound by Fear
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Other Christian institutions & contexts Latter-day Saint movements Livermore, California, USA · 2026

United States: former LDS bishop and boys' youth-group leader charged with abusing four boys over a decade

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Charged

Authority role

bishop, Livermore LDS ward, leader, church-affiliated boys' youth group

Organization

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Livermore ward)

Spiritual nexus

Prosecutors allege Morris used his combined authority as bishop and as the boys' youth-group leader — dual roles giving him both congregational standing over the families and direct unsupervised custody of the boys during group activities — to select and isolate the four alleged victims.

  • Pastoral or clerical authority

Evidence structure

Proceedings

  1. 2026-05-21 · charged, arraigned, pending trial

    Alameda County Superior Court, California, USA. Michael Morris, 76, was charged on 21 May 2026 with 18 counts of child sexual abuse against four alleged victims, arising from conduct alleged to have occurred between approximately 1991 and 2001 while he served as an LDS bishop in Livermore and supervised a church-affiliated boys' youth group. He was arrested 15 May 2026, posted roughly $1 million bail, and was arraigned; a further court date for entry of plea was set for 10 June 2026. No trial verdict exists as of this record.

Documented coercion mechanisms

  • combined bishopric authority and direct supervisory control of a church youth group of boys, alleged to have been used to select and isolate victims

Primary record

Sources

regional broadcaster court reporting charging report KTVU FOX 2, 'Ex-Mormon bishop in Livermore charged with sexually assaulting boys over decade.'

Bay Area broadcaster's report on the charges, arrest, and arraignment, citing the Alameda County District Attorney's announcement.

regional broadcaster court reporting charging report CBS News San Francisco, 'Former Livermore LDS bishop charged with sexually abusing minors decades ago.'

Corroborating regional-broadcaster report on the same charges.

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