SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
KSL TV
April 30, 2019
By Annie Knox
A former Latter-day Saint bishop was convicted Monday of inappropriately touching a teenage family friend in his congregation and being lewd with other boys.
A jury found Jeffrey Byron Head, 54, of Draper, guilty of attempted forcible sexual abuse, a third-degree felony, and two counts of lewdness, a class B misdemeanor. Jurors also found him guilty of a lesser offense of sexual battery, a class A misdemeanor, instead of a more severe count of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony.
Prosecutors say Head went to one boy’s house in May 2016 and asked about a recent surgery to his genitals, then asked “to see the surgery” before the teen pulled his pants down and Head inappropriately touched him. The same boy said Head rubbed his shoulders and placed the boy’s hand on his own thigh during an outing to buy milkshakes in 2016.
At a preliminary hearing in February, the teen testified the behavior happened when he was 16 and 17. Head was his bishop and the teen sometimes attended church but was not very devout, he recalled.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said it removed Head from his position, notified police after the allegations surfaced and emphasized that abuse of any kind cannot be tolerated.
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