Former Mormon missionary arrested in Pittsburgh, accused of sexually abusing minors
William James Purdy, 28, of West Valley, Utah, was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 16 on charges related to the exploitation of minors outside the United States.
Court documents say Purdy traveled to Tonga in 2017 for his mission with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While there, he allegedly sexually abused multiple underage boys, according to a media release from the Department of Justice. Purdy then returned to Tonga in late 2019 to teach at a school in Nuku'alofa.
Purdy is alleged to have groomed and sexually abused "numerous" male students over several years.
He allegedly provided gifts, including electronic devices and internet access, food, toys, and money, in exchange for performing sexual acts, authorities say. Purdy is also alleged to have recorded underage boys in his bathroom at his various Tonga apartments without their knowledge.
Purdy was arrested by Tonga police in October 2022, when an eight‑year‑old boy disclosed that Purdy sexually assaulted him during a tutoring sessions. When Purdy was released from jail, he allegedly continued to sexually abuse children. In March 2023, just before his scheduled trial, Purdy fled Tonga using an assumed identity and returned to Utah.
https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/...sex-abuse/
William James Purdy, 28, of West Valley, Utah, was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 16 on charges related to the exploitation of minors outside the United States.
Court documents say Purdy traveled to Tonga in 2017 for his mission with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While there, he allegedly sexually abused multiple underage boys, according to a media release from the Department of Justice. Purdy then returned to Tonga in late 2019 to teach at a school in Nuku'alofa.
Purdy is alleged to have groomed and sexually abused "numerous" male students over several years.
He allegedly provided gifts, including electronic devices and internet access, food, toys, and money, in exchange for performing sexual acts, authorities say. Purdy is also alleged to have recorded underage boys in his bathroom at his various Tonga apartments without their knowledge.
Purdy was arrested by Tonga police in October 2022, when an eight‑year‑old boy disclosed that Purdy sexually assaulted him during a tutoring sessions. When Purdy was released from jail, he allegedly continued to sexually abuse children. In March 2023, just before his scheduled trial, Purdy fled Tonga using an assumed identity and returned to Utah.
https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/...sex-abuse/
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
