Ex-mormon Bishop Admits Sex Crimes with Teen Church Members
By Sarah Burge
A former Mormon bishop pleaded guilty Wednesday, Nov. 13, to two felony sex crimes involving teen girls who attended his Menifee church. Todd M. Edwards, 49, who has been free since August on $65,000 bond, pleaded guilty to sexual battery and sexual penetration with a foreign object. The pleas were entered as part of an agreement with prosecutors. Under the plea deal, Edwards would receive three years in prison and be ordered to register for life as a sex offender at his sentencing, scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 11. He also is charged with dissuading one of the victims from reporting a crime, but that charge is expected to be dismissed. “I think it was a wise resolution,” defense attorney Sean Davitt said after the hearing. Edwards declined to comment as he left the Riverside courtroom alone Wednesday morning. Edwards, who was bishop of the Menifee Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was arrested May 28 at his home in Murrieta. Allegations against Edwards had been reported to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department in December. Prosecutor Amy Barajas said the sexual penetration incident occurred in November 2006 and involved a girl who was 16 at the time. The second incident was in February 2012 and the victim was 18, Barajas said. She declined to elaborate on the circumstances surrounding the assaults, except to say that they occurred at Edwards' home and in his car. Barajas said she did not want to release additional information to protect the privacy of the victims. Sheriff's officials have said Edwards was friends with the families of both girls. Investigators identified a possible third victim, but the statute of limitations on filing criminal charges had run out on that case, sheriff's officials said. Details about the date of that incident and the age of the girl involved were not disclosed. In the LDS church, a bishop is the leader of a congregation known as a ward. Bishops are volunteer lay clergy, not ordained. George Kramer, a spokesman for the Menifee Stake of the LDS church, said earlier this year that Edwards was removed from his position in the church when the allegations against him came to light. The date of Edwards' removal and the years he had served as bishop were not disclosed. “We are very saddened by the news surrounding the admission of sexual abuse by Todd Mitchell Edwards,” Kramer said in a written statement Wednesday. “As the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has zero-tolerance for any such conduct, we fully support the legal proceedings surrounding Mr. Edwards’ criminal prosecution and subsequent conviction. Our primary concern is for the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of the victims involved.” Follow Sarah Burge on Twitter @sarahkburge or online at blog.pe.com/crime-blotter
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