Former Kasson Church Leader Guilty of Sex Abuse

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Mantorville, MN (KROC-AM News) -A former Kasson church leader has been found guilty of sex abuse charges.

A Dodge County Jury this afternoon returned the guilty verdict against 37-year-old Michael Davis of Dodge Center. Davis was convicted of two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, and a felony count of indecent exposure.

He was charged in 2019 as a result of an investigation that began in March of that year after an investigator with the Dodge County Sheriff's Office was informed about a traffic stop that occurred while Davis was driving with a 13-year-old passenger even though he was designated as a Level 3 sex offender by authorities in Utah.

The criminal complaint says the investigator learned Davis served as a youth leader in the Church of the Latter-Day Saints in Kasson where the teenager attended services. The juvenile initially denied anything sexual occurred between himself and Davis a later told his mother that he had been sexually abused by him. The 16-year-old victim then gave a statement to investigators detailing the abuse.

The case has raised questions about how Davis was hired by the Kasson church in light of his status as a registered sex offender for crimes committed in Utah.

A sentencing hearing for Davis has yet to be scheduled.