Former Kaysville bishop of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be sentenced Wednesday after admitting guilt to child pornography charge

Timothy James Hallows. Photo: Davis County

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Nov. 17, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — A former bishop of a Kaysville ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty in Federal Court to one count of possession of child pornography.

Timothy James Hallows, 62, faces a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a maximum of five years of supervised release. Any violation of the terms of his supervised release could require he be returned to prison, according to information from the Department of Justice, District of Utah.

Hallows also must register as a sex offender, the DoJ statement says.

Hallows’ plea deal required he provide a statement of guilt. His statement says that in 2019, he knowingly possessed explicit images of children believed to be younger than 12.

“These images included depictions of prepubescent children being sexually assaulted by adults,” Hallows’ statement says in part. He also admitted to sending the explicit images to a woman in the Philippines, the DoJ statement says.

Investigators in the case said early on that they found thousands of images of pornography, including some depicting child sexual abuse.

Hallows originally pleaded not guilty in state court to all charges. Officials later decided to move the case to Federal Court.

Church officials confirmed shortly after Hallows’ arrest on May 8 of this year that he had been released from his leadership position. The LDS Church statement issued by spokesman Eric Hawkins said the following:

“The allegations against this individual are serious and deeply troubling. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has no tolerance for abuse of any kind, including child pornography, and teaches its members and leaders that such behavior is offensive to God and to His Church.

“When local leaders learned of these allegations, this individual was immediately removed from any position that would place him in close contact with youth or children. This is done to ensure the safety of others and to allow this individual to address these serious allegations.”

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