The Mormon sex in chains case is a sobriquet which refers to a sex scandal involving a Mormon missionary in the United Kingdom.

Contents 1 History 2 Coverage in the media 3 Judicial proceedings 4 References

[edit] History

In 1977, in Ewell, Surrey, England, a young Mormon missionary named Kirk Anderson went missing, allegedly abducted from the steps of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there.^[1] A few days later a freed Anderson made a report to the police that he had been abducted, driven to Devon, and imprisoned against his will, chained to a bed in a cottage, where he alleged that Joyce Bernann McKinney (b August 1949), a former Miss Wyoming^[2] had abducted, attempted to seduce, and then raped him.^[3][4] The case became known by many sobriquets, including "The Mormon sex in chains case" and "The Case of the Manacled Mormon".

[edit] Coverage in the media

The coverage in British newspapers in the final months of 1977 was extensive and highly prominent.^[1] Many newspapers sought to obtain "scoops" on the story, and also to undermine other newspapers' when they managed to obtain and publish exclusive information. One example of this was the Daily Mirror, which researched McKinney's past and reported finding that she had been a nude model. It ran an exclusive story stating this for several days. The Daily Mail attempted to devalue the Mirror's reports by advertising itself as "The paper without Joyce McKinney."^[5]

Whitaker observes that the case provided "light relief" for the newspaper reading public, from more serious stories about politicians.^[5] Wilkes states that the coverage of the case "cheered Britain up no end".^[6] A Church of Scotland working party on obscenity in 1979 observed the "gusto" with which newspapers covered and followed the case, noting the accompaniment of the coverage by "the kind of illustration which a decade ago would have been under plain sealed cover".^[7]

The coverage was extensive in part because the case was considered so anomalous, involving as it did the issue of rape of a man by a woman. Backhouse and Cohen reported in 1978 that many men, privately, expressed their disbelief of such a possibility.^[8]

The case was documented in a book by Anthony Delano in 1978, Joyce McKinney and the Manacled Mormon.^[9]

[edit] Judicial proceedings

McKinney vigorously denied the charges, despite being arrested and taken to court. While being taken to Epsom for a court appearance, McKinney held up a notice stating "Kirk left with me willingly!" from the windows of the police vehicle.^[10] Press reports and McKinney's lawyer refer to the substantial size differential between McKinney, described as slightly built, and Anderson, described as substantially larger.^[11][12]

Along with alleged co-conspirator Keith May, McKinney jumped bail and fled the country.^[13] On 1979-07-18, they were both arrested by the FBI in the United States on charges of making false statements in order to obtain passports.^[14] They both received suspended sentences.^[15]

No extradition proceedings were instituted by Britain in the U.S. but McKinney was sentenced in her absence by the English court to a year in jail.^[16] Under the then current Sexual Offences Act 1956 there was no crime of rape committed, though Indecent Assault on a Man applied.^[17]

In 1984 McKinney was again subject of police action for allegedly stalking Anderson's workplace.^[18]

In 2008 the name Bernann McKinney hit the news for having her pet dog cloned in Korea. Journalists have attempted to tie the two incidents together in articles either noting or declaring some facial similarity. Some reports considered the two to be the same person.^[13] Some reports carried Bernann McKinney's denial that she is the 1977 alleged rapist.^[2][11][19] The International Herald Tribune carried an admission by McKinney that she is the person named in the 1977 case.^[12]

Anderson is, as of 2009, a real estate agent, and shies away from publicity. McKinney is reported to have become wheelchair bound, and lives in Newland, in the western North Carolina mountains.^[11][18]

[edit] References