June 27, 2004
By Hailie Brook
One of the ten men arrested for "enticing a child"
over the internet is a leader of the Mormon Church. He was arrested in an
Internet sex sting after allegedly arranging to meet a 14-year-old girl in
Idaho.
51-year old Clayton Hildreth is a stake president in
Butte, Montana.
Clayton faces federal charges after coming to Boise from
Montana to meet up with someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl.
Hildreth is now out of jail on $50,000 bond.
Over the past two months, police said, Hildreth
corresponded with Boise detectives posing as a 14-year-old girl in an online
chat room and sent explicit images of himself. ``We are disturbed by the
allegations that our local church leader may have engaged in improper conduct,''
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in a statement from Salt
Lake City. ``Individuals found to be so involved are released from
ecclesiastical responsibilities.''
