Sterling Gray Van Wagenen (born July 2, 1947) is an American film and stage producer, writer, director, and convicted

sex offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crime ...

. He is a

co-founder An organizational founder is a person who has undertaken some or all of the formational work needed to create a new organization, whether it is a business, a charitable organization, a governing body, a school, a group of entertainers, or any other ...

of the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

, and, in association with former brother-in-law

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the List of awards and nominations received by Robert Redford, recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award from four nomi ...

, he was the founding executive director of the

Sundance Institute Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and composers f ...

. In 2019, Van Wagenen was convicted of child sexual abuse and sentenced to six years to life in prison.

Career

He has directed four feature films as well as several documentaries and television episodes, and has produced over fourteen feature films, documentaries, and television series, including the Academy Award winning ''

The Trip to Bountiful ''The Trip to Bountiful'' is a 1985 American drama film directed by Peter Masterson and starring Geraldine Page, John Heard, Carlin Glynn, Richard Bradford and Rebecca De Mornay. It was adapted by Horton Foote from his 1953 play of the same na ...

'', co-produced with

Horton Foote Albert Horton Foote Jr. (March 14, 1916March 4, 2009) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He received Academy Awards for his screenplays for the 1962 film ''To Kill a Mockingbird'', which was adapted from the 1960 novel of the same name ...

and starring

Geraldine Page Geraldine Sue Page (November 22, 1924June 13, 1987) was an American actress. With a career which spanned four decades across film, stage, and television, Page was the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Acade ...

and John Heard. He collaborated again with Foote on ''

Convicts A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...

'', starring

Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...

and

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...

. In 1986, he and Foote were nominated for an Independent Spirit Award as producers of ''The Trip to Bountiful'', and in 1987 they won a Wise Owl Award for the film. In 1992, he won a Crystal Heart Award as director of ''Alan and Naomi''. From 1999 to 2004, he served as Director of the School of Film and Digital Media at the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

. He was later Producer-in-Residence and faculty member at the University of Utah. Van Wagenen was the director of three films that were used in rotation from 2013 though January 2019 during the Endowment Ceremony in temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Personal life

He is married to Marilee Jeppson, and they had six children and 20 grandchildren. Their first child, Sarah Ella Van Wagenen, born August 17, 1973, died on March 1, 2014 from cancer.

Sexual abuse conviction and imprisonment

On January 4, 2019, The Truth & Transparency Foundation, a nonprofit group formerly known as "MormonLeaks"
posted audio in which Sterling Van Wagenen holds a conversation with a man identified by the alias "David."
In the recording, Van Wagenen confesses to molesting the 13-year-old "David" in 1993 during a sleepover. At the time, Van Wagenen confessed the incident to his

Stake President A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine h ...

and a detective. According to a police report, no charges were filed in the case because the victim's parents declined to pursue them. Van Wagenen was

disfellowshipped Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

for 2 years by the

LDS Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

. On April 2, 2019, Van Wagenen was charged with the felony aggravated sexual abuse, in Salt Lake City, where he was released on a $75,000 bond. Van Wagenen is alleged to have molested a young girl some time between 2013 and 2015. The Sundance Institute issued a statement, saying: "Recent reports in the press have made us aware of allegations of sexual abuse by Sterling Van Wagenen, who played a role in founding both the Festival and the Institute. He has no current connection to either entity, and hasn't since he left our Utah Advisory Board in 1993. Sundance Institute categorically denounces his behavior as described in recent reports, and we stand in solidarity with those whose brave truth-telling shines light on abusive behavior." On April 30, 2019, Van Wagenen pleaded guilty to one charge of aggravated sexual abuse of a child. He was jailed for six years to life on July 2, 2019.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Wagenen, Sterling 21st-century American criminals American film directors American film producers American Latter Day Saints American people convicted of child sexual abuse Criminals from Utah Film festival founders Living people Sundance Film Festival 1947 births People from Utah Prisoners and detainees of Utah