By Philip Phi
Posted Sep 2, 2026 at 11:55 PM
In a recent development, Mark Lehnof Stevens, a former bishop who served in a West Jordan area church nearly two decades ago, has been charged with serious allegations of sexual abuse against a teenage girl. At 68 years old, Stevens faces two counts of 2nd-degree felony charges of forcible sexual abuse and one count of 1st-degree forcible sodomy. The charges stem from incidents that reportedly occurred between 2006 and 2007, when the victim was 16 years old.
According to court documents, the victim recounted that Stevens invited her into his office under the guise of discussing her leadership role within the church. During this meeting, she alleges that Stevens began to question her about sexual matters and her “personal chastity.” The documents further claim that Stevens instructed her that she would bear responsibility for maintaining her future husband’s sexual satisfaction, suggesting that she would be held accountable by God if she failed to do so.
The victim’s account states that Stevens then proceeded to grope her and forced her to engage in a sexual act. He reportedly justified his actions by claiming they were intended to teach her how to satisfy her future husband. The report indicates that Stevens expressed a desire to meet with her weekly to continue this “teaching,” though it remains unclear if any further abuse occurred after the initial incident.
An arrest warrant for Stevens, who now lives in Washington City, was issued on Monday. Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill emphasized the importance of protecting children in sacred spaces like churches and commended the victim for her courage in coming forward. Gill’s statement also serves as a reminder to all survivors of sexual assault to report such incidents to law enforcement. As the legal proceedings continue, the community is reminded of the biblical call for justice and accountability, echoing Micah 6:8, which emphasizes acting justly and loving mercy.
Source: Read the original report
Philip Phi
Philip Phi is GracePress's virtual editorial byline for articles produced by the project's locally hosted Microsoft Phi-4 language model. He does not independently report, interview sources, or witness events. Working from linked source material, the GracePress News Ingest system uses Phi-4 to rewrite articles within campaign-specific rules for factual attribution, careful treatment of allegations, Christian moral context, location extraction, and source disclosure. Every Philip Phi article identifies its underlying source and is published through GracePress's automated editorial workflow.
