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Image: Logo of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; via Wikimedia Commons.
The Chicage Sun-Times/Chicago Public Media reported Monday that an Illinois woman who says she was sexually abused as a child by a former leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is questioning whether other children could have been protected if church officials had disclosed what they knew about him decades ago.
Michele Boehmke, who grew up in Crystal Lake, says Wade Christofferson sexually abused her when she was under 10 while he was involved with an LDS congregation in the northwest Chicago suburbs.
Christofferson was later excommunicated after church officials learned of sexual abuse allegations against him in the 1990s, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. He was subsequently rebaptized and eventually moved to Ohio, where he became involved with another LDS congregation.
He is now awaiting sentencing in an unrelated federal criminal case involving more recent sexual misconduct with minors.
Survivor Confronted Christofferson at His Ohio Home
Boehmke moved to Ohio years later and discovered that Christofferson was living about 20 minutes away.
In 2022, she went to his home and confronted him about what she says happened to her as a child. She secretly recorded the 26-minute conversation.
Christofferson did not directly admit sexually abusing Boehmke but acknowledged that he had done things earlier in his life that were wrong and said he had repented and changed.
Boehmke questioned whether other children had been harmed and told him she believed people should have been warned about his history.
After the encounter, she reported the alleged abuse to police in Illinois. McHenry County authorities determined that too much time had passed to prosecute the allegations involving her childhood, according to police records cited by the Sun-Times.
Christofferson Pleaded Guilty in Separate Federal Case
Christofferson was arrested in November 2025 on federal child exploitation charges involving two children in Ohio and Utah.
The victims were reportedly young relatives, and the conduct was not alleged to have occurred through an LDS congregation.
In June 2026, Christofferson pleaded guilty to coercion and enticement of a minor. The offense carries a minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a possible life sentence.
Boehmke says she plans to attend his sentencing and hopes to speak about her experience.
Survivors may have legal options when church leaders knew about alleged abuse, failed to report warning signs or allowed an accused person continued access to children.
Learn more –> LDS sexual abuse lawsuits, institutional liability and survivor legal options.
Former Church Participant Says Abuse Allegations Were Known in the 1990s
The case has also renewed scrutiny of what LDS leaders knew about Christofferson while he was living in Illinois.
Former Woodstock resident Edward Nachel said earlier this year that he participated in an LDS disciplinary proceeding involving allegations against Christofferson during the 1990s.
Nachel said Christofferson was excommunicated after the proceeding but that details of the allegations remained confidential.
Christofferson was later rebaptized and restored to church membership before moving to the Columbus, Ohio, area.
According to the Sun-Times, the congregation he later joined in Ohio was apparently not informed about the earlier allegations.
The watchdog organization Floodlit has reported that Christofferson has been accused of sexually abusing as many as 12 children in Illinois. He has not been criminally charged over those allegations.
Survivor Says Church Leaders Should Have Warned Others
Boehmke says she believes church officials who knew about the earlier allegations should have taken steps beyond internal church discipline.
She has questioned whether the children involved in Christofferson’s more recent criminal case might have been protected if his history had been disclosed to authorities or to later congregations.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has said Christofferson’s brother, D. Todd Christofferson, who is now a member of the church’s First Presidency, did not learn details of his brother’s alleged abuse history until around 2020.
According to a church statement, D. Todd Christofferson respected the wishes of adult survivors who did not want law enforcement contacted at that time. The church said he reported a later allegation involving a minor to authorities after learning of it.
Boehmke says she also approached church leaders herself in recent years and warned them that Wade Christofferson was a predator, but she believes her concerns were not adequately addressed.
Case Raises Questions About How Churches Handle Abuse Allegations
The allegations involving Christofferson raise a broader question that appears repeatedly in institutional sexual abuse cases: what should happen when a religious organization learns that one of its members or leaders may have sexually abused children?
Internal discipline such as removing someone from a church position or membership does not necessarily prevent that person from gaining access to children elsewhere.
Civil lawsuits involving churches can examine whether leaders received previous complaints, whether suspected abuse was reported to authorities, whether an accused person was allowed continued access to children and whether other congregations or institutions were warned.
For Boehmke, the concern is not limited to what she says happened to her decades ago. She says she came forward in part because she feared that other children could be harmed if Christofferson’s history remained concealed.
