Hometown Betrayal

A Tragic Story of Secrecy and Sexual Abuse in Mormon Country

By: Emily Benedek

Narrated by: Maria McCann

No one believed it could happen in their town. But it did.

Valarie Clark Miller seemed to have it all. Smart and beautiful with a wealthy, successful husband and growing family, Valarie appeared to be the picture-perfect Mormon wife. But it was all a façade. Inside, she was crumbling from the pressures of long-repressed memories of a childhood filled with sexual and physical abuse.

In Hometown Betrayal, author Emily Benedek brings you behind the closed doors of the remote Mormon community of Clarkston, Utah. With the help of hundreds of individual stories, she pieces together not only what happened to Valarie, but also the conditions and culture that allowed it. Hometown Betrayal culminates in an account of the Miller family’s fight to hold accountable the men—including the local cop—who abused Valarie and controlled the systems designed to look the other way.

©2024 John Miller (P)2025 John Miller

Awareness

I had no idea this was happening! Thank you for sharing this story. My heart has really been opened, as my heart💔😢🙏

Compassionate and heartbreaking

This book was unexpectedly well written. I was born and raised in Utah and very familiar with the Mormon teachings. I’m very impressed with the research the author did regarding the Mormon history and the settlement of the town where the horrific events took place. It is not the town but rather the people and their mindset that is disturbing. No one held the rampant bad behavior of the men accountable. Rather the bad behavior continued to breed with younger generations of boys. The good men of the community seemed naive and weak to the underlying evil happening in this town and failed to protect the women and children of being victimized. As the author describes in her acknowledge, there were many more victims that were interviewed. But, this was about Valerie. My heart goes out to the Milker family. Thank goodness for John Miller and the kids to continue their quest to get this story out in the memory of Valerie.

Well written and very eye-opening

This book has great insight into the lives of too many women who been silenced over the years by abuse. I appreciated the author style respect and clarity for this case, for the community and for the Mormon religion.

So sad and real

Sad there are true stories like this

Great read and eye opening

Wished things like this didn’t happen in the world

Very disappointing

I am very sad for Valerie and what she went through. I know this book is supposed to help others that have had similar trauma. But I can’t see this book being helpful to them. In fact I think it would make them even more discouraged. I felt its purpose came out more to make Clarkston look like a horrible place. There are many good people in Clarkston!! Also it tried to make the LDS church to blame for what went on. I was a child at the time this was taking place. People, especially women didn’t know how to talk about sex. Or how to handle a situation like this. And it was not just an LDS thing!! Things like this go on all over the world. It is sooo sad, but they do. Clarkston is a good place with wonderful people!!!