What are the charges against John Goodrich? Former Mormon bishop arrested in Virginia months after initial investigation

John Goodrich, a former bishop from a Mormon church, was arrested by law enforcement in Virginia this week. Goodrich, who was associated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or the Mormon Church), was indicted on charges of s*xually abusing his daughter.

Trigger Warning: The following articles contain references to s*xual abuse. Reader discretion is advised.

In December 2023, the Associated Press released an investigative report about how the Mormon church protected itself from child abuse victims. Per the article, the church employed a "risk management playbook" that helped keep such cases a secret. It referenced allegations brought by Goodrich's daughter Chelsea, who accused her father of s*xual abuse in their home as well as a school field trip back in 1999.

Following the report, a grand jury in Williamsburg indicted Goodrich after they found probable cause that he committed four felonies on January 17. John Goodrich is charged with r*pe by force, threat or intimidation, forcible sodomy, and two counts of felony aggravated s*xual battery by a parent of a child.

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John Goodrich was first arrested in 2016 after Chelsea and her mother Lorraine reported him to Idaho police

John Goodrich was first arrested in 2016 after Chelsea and her mother, Lorraine, reported him to the Idaho police. The charges were dropped after another bishop, Michael Miller, to whom John made a spiritual confession, refused to testify. John was excommunicated from the church.

According to the AP, which obtained audio recordings of Chelsea’s 2017 meeting with Utah-based attorney Paul Rytting, the latter was the head of the church’s Risk Management Division at the time. According to the article, Chelsea reached out to him for help getting Miller to testify.

Rytting, while expressing concern about John Goodrich’s “significant s*xual transgression,” stated that the bishop could not testify, citing a “clergy-penitent privilege.” Without a testimony, the prosecutors were left with no choice but to drop the case.

The attorney reportedly also offered Chelsea and her mother $300,000 in exchange for them signing a confidentiality agreement and destroying the recordings of their meetings that they had made. Following the news of his arrest, Chelsea, currently in her mid-30's told AP:

"I hope this case will finally bring justice for my childhood s*xual abuse. I’m grateful it appears that the Commonwealth of Virginia is taking one event of child s*xual assault more seriously than years of repeated assaults were treated in Idaho."

Goodrich, a practicing dentist, went into hiding following the January 17 announcement. Police and federal authorities spent two weeks searching for John Goodrich before he turned himself in to the Williamsburg Police Department. He is currently out on bail and free to leave the state during the trial.

Neither Goodrich nor his attorney, Tommy Norment, have released any statement about the case.