Former California bishop charged with sexually abusing minors decades ago
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Carlos E. Castañeda, KPIX
LIVERMORE, California (KPIX) — A former bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was charged with sexually abusing minors in Livermore during the 1990s and early 2000s, authorities said.
On Thursday, Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson announced that Michael Delar Morris was arraigned Wednesday on 18 felony counts of non-forcible sexual assault involving four separate victims. The alleged crimes happened approximately between 1991 and 2001 while Morris served as an LDS bishop in Livermore and supervised a church-affiliated boys’ youth group, according to a press release.
“This case involves deeply troubling allegations of abuse of trust and authority involving children,” Jones Dickson said in a prepared statement. “Our office remains committed to pursuing justice for survivors of sexual abuse, regardless of how much time has passed, whenever the law permits prosecution.”
According to the complaint, the charges include multiple counts of oral copulation of a person under 16, lewd acts upon a child, and sexual penetration by a foreign object. The crimes allegedly took place at victims’ homes, the defendant’s home, and at the LDS church on Hillcrest Avenue in Livermore.
Prosecutors have filed several special allegations alongside the primary charges. These include claims that the offenses involved great violence or cruelty, targeted particularly vulnerable victims, and were carried out with deliberate planning, the complaint said.
The DA’s Office said that the case was investigated by more than one law enforcement agency in coordination with the office. The circumstances of Morris’s arrest, including the day and location, were not immediately disclosed.
The Livermore Police Department directed all requests for information about Morris’s arrest to the District Attorney’s Office. CBS News Bay Area has contacted the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for comment.
Morris’s bail was set at $920,000, the DA’s Office said. The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office said Morris posted bail on Thursday. His next court date was scheduled for Friday at the East County Hall of Justice in Dublin.