Is the LDS Church Placing a Convicted Child Offender in Leadership?
A detailed look at the verified case history of Raymond Casillas and the unconfirmed claim that he may have been placed in an LDS leadership position in Texas.
Make sure you take our poll in the article. Can a pedophile be redeemed enough to lead a church?
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Recent online reports have raised concerns about Raymond Casillas, a former Mormon bishop and convicted sex offender in San Antonio, Texas. According to those reports, Casillas may have been appointed to a new leadership role within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). While that claim remains unverified, it highlights a critical question for every Christian congregation: what does forgiveness look like when it comes to leadership and accountability?
This article is not written to attack the LDS Church or its members. I live among LDS neighbors, and I love them as I love myself. Mark 12:31 (ESV) says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” I believe that love includes speaking truth, learning from one another, and ensuring that every congregation is a place where the innocent are safe.
The Raymond Casillas Case: What’s Verified and What Remains Unconfirmed
In early 2014, San Antonio police arrested Raymond Casillas, a middle-school teacher and local bishop in the LDS Church. According to San Antonio Express-News reporting and official court filings, Casillas was charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child after a thirteen-year-old student told investigators he locked a classroom door and forced her to perform sexual acts. He resigned from Matthey Middle School that same year, citing “personal reasons.”
Two years later, in February 2016, Casillas accepted a plea agreement and entered a no-contest plea to indecency with a child by contact, a lesser felony. He was sentenced to eight years in state prison, fined $1,500, and ordered to register as a sex offender for life. In an October 2016 handwritten letter to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Casillas wrote that he had been serving as a bishop at the time of his arrest, confirming that detail in his own words.
Casillas was released from prison on parole in 2021 and completed supervision in early 2024. As of mid-2025, Texas Department of Public Safety records list him as a lifetime-registered sex offender residing in San Antonio. The registry cites the same offense, indecency with a child by contact, and notes the victim’s age as 13. The record also shows annual verification through the San Antonio Police Department, most recently updated in May 2025.
Unconfirmed Online Claims
In November 2025, the independent website Floodlit.org and a Reddit post in the r/exmormon community claimed that Casillas had been sustained as a stake high councilman in the Pecan Valley Stake of San Antonio during a recent LDS stake conference. Several Reddit users said they attended the meeting or had family in that area, asserting that leaders “set him apart” despite his criminal record. Others claimed to have contacted local media and LDS officials about the decision.
To date, no official LDS publication, local news outlet, or public church announcement has confirmed that appointment. No photographs, program listings, or statements from the stake presidency have been verified. At present, this allegation remains unsubstantiated.
Verified Facts Summary
Before we talk about the lessons we can learn from this, let’s go over what has been verified.
In January 2014, Raymond Casillas was arrested in San Antonio for aggravated sexual assault of a child. Two years later, he pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of indecency with a child by contact. According to court records and news reports, he was sentenced to eight years in prison, fined fifteen hundred dollars, and required to register as a sex offender for life.
In a letter written to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Casillas himself confirmed that he was serving as a bishop in the LDS Church at the time of his arrest. The Texas Department of Public Safety registry shows that he was released from prison in 2021 and remains a lifetime-registered sex offender living in San Antonio. Some online reports claim that he has since been appointed to a leadership position within the church, but at this time there is no independent confirmation of that claim.
Biblical Lessons and the Balance of Grace and Stewardship
As Christians, we believe in the transforming power of Christ’s forgiveness. Redemption is real, and God’s grace can reach anyone willing to repent. Yet repentance does not erase consequences. Scripture teaches that mercy and accountability walk hand in hand.
Forgiveness and Responsibility
Galatians 6:7 (ESV) reminds us,
“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”
Forgiveness is not the same as exemption from earthly results. A person can be forgiven by God and still carry the weight of their actions in this life. Leadership in the church must be handled with great care.
The Protection of the Innocent
Christ’s warning in Matthew 18:6 (ESV) is direct:
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”
Jesus leaves no room for confusion. Harming a child, or placing them in danger, is a sin that brings judgment. Churches are called to protect the vulnerable. The congregation must be the safest place on earth for children to grow in faith.
Qualifications for Leadership
The standard for anyone serving in church leadership is outlined in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 (ESV):
“The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.”
Paul makes it clear that moral character and reputation are not optional. Leadership is not a reward for repentance. It is a trust that requires being above reproach in both conduct and perception. A person with a conviction for harming a child can worship and serve, but leadership would violate this biblical qualification.
Law Enforcement Perspective on Redemption
In my thirty years of police work, I never met a child predator who appeared dangerous at first glance. They were polite, confident, and often well liked. That is how they gain access. These individuals study how to blend in and win trust. Repentance is between them and God, but wisdom must guide how we handle their involvement in the church. Forgiveness and love do not require putting children in harm’s way.
When a person has committed sexual abuse against a child, their repentance should be welcomed at the altar but never rewarded with leadership. Redemption belongs to God, but responsibility belongs to us.
Love for Our Neighbors
Christ commands in Mark 12:31 (ESV),
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”
That includes loving our LDS neighbors. The goal here is not to condemn them but to learn from what may have happened within their system and ensure our own churches never repeat it. Love means caring enough to tell the truth and to stand guard over those who cannot defend themselves.
A Call for Accountability and Courage
If the reports circulating online are accurate, the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in San Antonio must carefully and publicly reconsider this decision. Placing a man convicted of sexual contact with a child in a position of leadership or influence would betray both biblical wisdom and common sense.
This statement is not born out of anger toward the LDS Church or its people. It comes from concern for every believer who trusts their leaders to protect the congregation and reflect Christ’s character. If the claim is true, it reflects a lapse in judgment and responsibility. The role of leadership is not to test the limits of forgiveness but to model discernment and integrity.
If the claim turns out to be untrue, that should be clarified just as openly. Silence, in either case, breeds confusion and damages public trust. Transparency is not weakness; it is strength. Every church, no matter the denomination, owes its members honesty and protection.
True love corrects. Genuine forgiveness never ignores responsibility. Redemption should lead to service, humility, and changed living, but never to a return to authority where past sins could endanger others. The church of Jesus Christ, in every form and tradition, must be a place where both mercy and accountability live side by side.
You are spot on Keith. Among those scriptures you already shared, 1 Tim 3:8-10 is pretty clear. The Lord judges but keeping someone out of positions that give them access to and authority over children or anyone else is wisdom, not judgement.
I understand the concern and it is a very challenging question. I guess I come back to Paul and his transgressions against the Christian Community. I’m glad I don’t have to make that decision!!