THE Mormon Church has expresses sadness over claims that a missionary sexually exploited young boys while he served on mission in Tonga.
William James Purdy was indicted last month on charges related to the exploitation of 14 boys outside the United States.
Court documents claim he travelled to the Tongan capital, Nuku’alofa, in 2017 for a one-year mission with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The then 20-year-old allegedly preyed on multiple male victims during his year with the church before returning to the US.
“Purdy returned to Tonga in late 2019 to teach at a school in Nuku’alofa, where, for years, he groomed and sexually abused numerous male students, some of whom lived with him,” court documents showed.
He was arrested by Tongan police in October 2022, after an eight-year-old school boy disclosed that Purdy sexually assaulted him during their tutoring sessions.
However, he continued to offend after being released on bail from prison and in March 2023, with a trial looming, fled the country using a fake passport.