West Valley City, Utah – A West Valley City man has been arrested on charges of sexually abused minors while in a church mission abroad for several years.
William James Purdy, 28, was indicted on July 16 and arrested Thursday.
According to court documents, Purdy went to Tonga in 2017, where he worked on a mission with the Jussion Christ of Lastate Saints. There, prosecutors said he sexually abused multiple underage boys.
Purdy returned to Tonga in late 2019 to teach at a school in the area, but allegedly embellished and sexually abused many male students, even living with some victims and providing them with gifts and money to abuse.
In 2022, Puri was arrested by Tonga police when an 8-year-old boy revealed that he was sexually assaulted during a counseling session. Detectives said Pudi continued to abuse children after being released.
Purdy fled Tonga before the March 2023 trial and used her assumed identity and returned to Utah.
Prosecutors believe they have identified 14 victims in the case.
“In this case, the defendant chose to travel abroad under the guise of goodwill, and then sexually exploited and abused children are trusted in his care,” said Matthew Galeotti, acting assistant attorney general for the Criminal Department of Justice. “He fled back to the United States when foreign authorities tried to hold him accountable. The United States would not export child exploitation. The Department of Justice is committed to judicial justice for children exploited overseas when Americans commit these heinous acts.”