HYRUM, Cache County (AP) — A 51-year-old former physical education teacher has been indicted following accusations of sexual contact with a 17-year-old girl.
Gordon Brent Bodily, of Hyrum, met the girl in a religion-oriented chat room on the Internet and lured her to fly from North Carolina to Salt Lake City to have sex with him, according to documents filed in federal court Wednesday.
Bodily — who was a Mormon bishop when the alleged incident occurred — worked for 14 years at the South Cache Center teaching mainly physical education classes, according to Kirk McRae, director of human resources for the Cache County School District. McRae said Bodily was suspended at the beginning of the year because of the charges.
A spokeswoman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints confirmed Bodily was a bishop at the time of the alleged incident.
"Because of his violation of his sacred trust, Bishop Gordon Bodily was released from his position . . . and has been excommunicated from the church," she said.
Murray Police detective Rob Hall said the teen apparently told a friend about her meeting with Bodily. An investigation showed Bodily and the girl met at a Murray hotel room between June 13 and 20, Hall said.
Because the alleged incident included traffic over state lines, the FBI assisted in the investigation and Bodily was indicted by a federal grand jury.