William James Purdy Facebook

A U.S. man serving as a Mormon missionary is accused of sexually abusing several boys in Tonga, and then returning to the island nation a couple of years later as a teacher to molest more children, according to federal prosecutors.

William James Purdy, 28, of West Valley, Utah, is accused of sexually abusing 14 boys before he fled Tonga as a fugitive in March 2023 and flew to Utah, as reported by The Sacramento Bee.

"Purdy groomed and manipulated these minor victims and their parents. ... Parents trusted him when he was serving as a Mormon missionary, and he took advantage of their goodwill and the fact that he was a member of the church," prosecutors wrote in court filings.

Purdy Raped the Boys on 'Church Property,' Groomed Them with Toys, Nintendo Switch, Snacks, Money and Phones

On July 16, a federal grand jury in Utah indicted Purdy on two counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual contact, his indictment shows.

The mission trip Purdy first traveled to Tonga in the South Pacific for a mission trip with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2017, according to the Justice Department. Tonga, which is made up of 170 islands, is a Polynesian kingdom in the South Pacific.

"He lived in remote, geographically isolated island chains that required a full-day boat trip to visit," prosecutors wrote in the detention motion. There, he raped four boys, some as young as 8, mostly on "church property," the filing says.

Purdy groomed children by giving them electronic toys, including a Nintendo Switch, as well as snacks, money and phones, according to prosecutors.

Purdy Molested Several Other Boys as a Teacher, Accused of Secretly Recording Boys in His Bathroom

In 2019, he visited Tonga again as a teacher in Nuku'alofa, the Justice Department said. He groomed and sexually molested multiple students, including some who lived with Purdy, prosecutors said. While teaching in Tonga, Purdy stayed in different apartments, where he is accused of secretly recording boys in his bathroom, according to prosecutors.

In October 2022, an 8-year-old boy being tutored by Purdy revealed that Purdy was sexually assaulting him, the Justice Department said. Authorities arrested Purdy and detained him, prosecutors said.

Purdy Assumed the Identity of a Mentally-Disabled Tongan Man and Fled the Country

Following his release from jail, he is accused of more sexual assaults against children in Tonga. Purdy was due in court for a trial in Tonga related to the sex abuse, but he escaped the county under a different identity, prosecutors said. He stole the identity of a Tongan man, who was mentally disabled, and obtained a passport in his name, according to the motion for his detention.

Security footage captured Purdy holding the passport at the Fuaʻamotu International Airport in Tongatapu, Tonga, the filing shows. In the motion, prosecutors wrote Purdy "preyed upon boys in remote communities, boys who did not have access to the same resources as he did."

"He chose boys who were unlikely to speak out about this abuse because of their conservative, religious culture and the stigma associated with male-on-male sexual abuse in their community, not to mention the shame normally associated with the disclosure of sexual abuse," the filing continues. Charges against Purdy are still pending in Tonga, according to prosecutors, who argue he is a serious danger to the public.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti, of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, said in a statement that Purdy "chose to travel abroad under the guise of good intentions and then sexually exploited and abused children who had been trusted to his care." "When foreign authorities sought to hold him accountable, he fled back to the United States," Galeotti added.