Christopher Michael Jensen — Latter-day Saint ward, Berkeley County, West Virginia
A congregational babysitter convicted in 2013 and sentenced to 35 to 75 years. Families sued, alleging church leaders had warnings from 2004 and did not act; the church settled in 2018, and a federal judge wrote in 2025 that it 'had multiple opportunities to act and failed to do so.'
Latter-day Saints Convicted (2013)
- Person
- Christopher Michael Jensen (known as Michael Jensen)
- Role
- Member; congregational babysitter
- Institution
- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — Berkeley County, West Virginia ward
- Location
- Berkeley County, West Virginia
- Status
- Convicted (February 2013)
- Sentence
- 35 to 75 years; classified a violent sexual predator
Case in brief
Tier 1 · Court-proven
Christopher Michael Jensen — called Michael Jensen, his middle name, throughout the civil litigation and most reporting — was the son of a prominent local Latter-day Saint family and was recommended within his Berkeley County, West Virginia congregation as a babysitter. His father, Christopher (“Chris”) Jensen, was a co-defendant in the families’ civil suits described below; the son is the man convicted, and this file does not use the father’s name for him. He was convicted in February 2013 of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of sexual abuse of two young boys and sentenced to 35 to 75 years; the judge classified him a violent sexual predator. At least 22 victims alleged abuse, per FLOODLIT’s case timeline, but only two could testify — the allegation count and the trial count are kept separate in this file, as always.
Six families sued the church. The church settled in 2018 after the trial began, on confidential terms (a $32 million figure was reported; the church’s own later insurance litigation confirmed a large settlement it sought to have insurers cover). In April 2025, a federal judge ruling against the church in that insurance suit wrote that the church “had multiple opportunities to act and failed to do so.”
The institution
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (local ward and church leadership). The families’ civil suits alleged that church leaders received multiple warnings and reports about Jensen from as early as 2004 — when he was arrested as a juvenile — failed to warn families or report, and that he was placed or coordinated to live with church families. Those are the suits’ allegations; the 2025 judicial statement above was made in the church’s insurance litigation and is quoted as reported.
The record
Tier 1 · Court-proven
| Item | Record |
|---|---|
| Conviction (February 2013) | First-degree sexual assault; two counts of sexual abuse (two young boys) |
| Sentence | 35 to 75 years; violent-sexual-predator classification |
| Civil | Six families sued; church settled in 2018 after trial began, terms confidential ($32M reported) |
| Later ruling (April 2025) | Federal judge, in the church’s insurance suit: the church “had multiple opportunities to act and failed to do so” |
Status
Conviction and sentence of record (2013). Civil settlement confidential (2018).
Records requested & responses
This archive has not filed records requests in this case. The file rests on the published sources below and will be updated if court or institutional records are obtained, or if that changes.
Sources
- ABC News-based account (2013 conviction; 35–75 years): kvnutalk.com
- Case summary (2018 settlement; reported $32M; 2025 judicial finding): mormonismexplained.org
- Criminal appeal (captioned Christopher M. Jensen; conviction and 35–75-year sentence affirmed on direct appeal): State of West Virginia v. Christopher M. Jensen, No. 13-1088 (W. Va. 2014): law.justia.com
- Civil appeal (gives his full legal name and distinguishes his father, Christopher “Chris” Jensen): C.S. v. Grow et al., No. 22-ICA-141 (W. Va. Intermediate Ct. App. 2023): law.justia.com
- Civil appeal (calls him Michael throughout): Jane Doe-1 v. Corp. of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, No. 16-0008 (W. Va. 2017): law.justia.com
Correction, October 22, 2026: this file first carried him as “Michael Jensen” only. Court records establish his full legal name as Christopher Michael Jensen; he is called Michael — his middle name — in the civil litigation and most reporting, and his father is also named Christopher (“Chris”) Jensen. The title, factbox, and opening were corrected accordingly; the conviction record itself was never in question.
Filed October 18, 2026, from the published sources below. Minor victims are never named or identified in this file.