Jehovah's Witnesses settle sex abuse cases

The devastation of sex abuse is unbelievable. A victims' rights group has released documents that show the Jehovah's Witnesses recently settled civil suits with 16 people who claimed they were sexually abused by church elders or that church officials ... via The Courier-Journal

[silentlambs]

The sexual abuse crisis continues with no apologies from the leadership of JWs. Even when they silence sixteen more victims with gag orders for compensation, they refuse to acknowledge they are at fault. We can only hope that victims continuing to step forward will call for needed changes in the interest of protecting children. Serving God is a noble cause, using God's service to hurt children is something completely different.

[Danny Haszard]

Jehovah's Witnesses settle abuse cases
5/10/2007, 6:14 p.m. ET
By ROSE FRENCH
The Associated Press


NASHVILLE, Tenn.(AP)— A victims' rights group released documents Thursday that showed the Jehovah's Witnesses recently settled civil suits with 16 people who claimed they were sexually abused by church elders or that church officials failed to act on abuse allegations.


The group, called silentlambs, held a news conference in Nashville to demand that the denomination change its policy for responding to sex abuse reports.
Settlements were reached in late February and early March, according to court records obtained by silentlambs and posted to the group's Web site. Fourteen of the cases were filed in California; the other two were in Oregon and Texas.


Details about the settlement terms could not be disclosed under confidentiality agreements negotiated between the parties, said Stephen Owens, a plaintiffs' attorney involved in the California cases. Other cases are still pending, according to silentlambs, which couldn't say how many.
The Jehovah's Witnesses, whose headquarters are in Brooklyn, N.Y., said Thursday that they were pleased to see the lawsuits resolved, declining further comment.


William Bowen, silentlambs' founder, was a Jehovah's Witnesses elder from Kentucky who quit the denomination after he said it took no action against a molester. Bowen said the settlements were bittersweet.
"On one hand, we're glad a few victims are finally getting some financial help," he said. "On the other hand, we're sad and worried because they've essentially been forced to give up their right to protect others by speaking out about their abuse to the public."


Bowen's group has criticized the Jehovah's Witnesses' policy that if an accused abuser denies the charge, two credible witnesses are required to establish guilt — due to literal application of such Bible verses as Deuteronomy 19:15 ("only on the evidence of two witnesses, or of three witnesses, shall a charge be sustained").


If two witnesses are lacking, the accused is deemed innocent, charges remain confidential and — silentlambs says — parents who warn others are subject to disfellowshipping for slander.
Disfellowshipping is an extreme penalty that means a total cutoff of relationships by family members, friends and business associates who are Witnesses.
There are about 1 million Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States, and followers are known for distributing Awake! and Watchtower magazines door-to-door.


Bowen also said Jehovah's Witnesses have a long-standing policy of not reporting molesters to police. He claims that the denomination has a secret database of accused abusers that they have not shared with law enforcement officials.


"They keep putting innocent kids and unsuspecting families at risk of horrible crimes because they value their secrecy and reputations more than they value children's safety," Bowen said.


Since establishing silentlambs in 2001, Bowen says about 7,000 people who claim they were abused have contacted his group.
Angelique Taylor, 42, a silentlambs member from St. Louis, said she was molested by a Jehovah's Witnesses elder when she was about 12. Taylor said she told her father, who was also an elder, and he said she was making a big deal out of nothing.

"I want every elder, every Jehovah's Witness, whenever they suspect any abuse, they go to the police and tell them about the problems," Taylor said. "The devastation of sex abuse is unbelievable."
___
Associated Press reporter Allison Hoffman in San Diego contributed to this report.
___
On the Net:
silentlambs: www. silentlambs.org

[Danny Haszard]

Jehovah's Witnesses and the general public need to be warned about the Watchtower's two-witness policy for sexual abuse! It is destroying children's lives.

[Mike]

Thread for "Florida native" on settled cases to review

[Mike]

Mike wrote:

Thread for "Florida native" on settled cases to review

please click this link below for associated press Google News wire
http://www.google.com/search...

[MyTonyTiger]

Here's the truth: Jehovah's witnesses do not condone or permit any abuse of children. If there is an accusation of child abuse, the parents of these children need to go to the police, not the elders in the congregation. Child abuse is a police mater just as armed robbery is a police matter. A parent that goes to the elders first without going to the police isn’t putting the safety of their child first.

If the accusation is proven in a court of law, then the individual goes to jail or serves whatever sentence is passed down through the court. If the individual has responsibilities in the congregation, these are removed. The elders will likely want to talk to the offender (assuming he’s still going to meetings). At this point it is up to the brothers to decide if the individual is truly repentant or not. Disfellowshipping (Excommunicating is the term used by Catholics) is probable, but not every case is the same. In any event, the guilty party is serving his time.

What "Danny" says about Deuteronomy 19:15 is true. If I go to an elder and say so-and-so smokes tobacco, and the other guy denies it, then it's my word against his. In order for the elders to disfellowship, there needs to be evidence of the matter and an unrepentant attitude before spiritual discipline can take place.

Does that mean that mistakes have never been made? Absolutely not. Regardless of what you might think we believe of ourselves, we recognize we are imperfect. It is totally possible, even likely, that someone somewhere made the wrong call. That mistake falls on the individual or individuals involved, not the organization as a whole. The direction given to the brothers from the governing body on such matters is very clear. If there is endangerment, the proper authorities should be contacted. Child abuse is endangerment.

As for the victims, my heart goes out to them. No one should have to go through what they’ve gone through. I hope and pray that they can someday recover from the psychological damage done. I pray too that they realize that the abuse was from a sick individual, and know that neither Jehovah nor his organization tolerates such actions.

I know it can be difficult, once people are aware of the situation, to face the congregation again. Even though the friends are very loving, and supportive, you feel very self-conscious and uncomfortable of the whole thing. Sometimes changing congregation’s helps, new faces, new start, someplace to put the past behind you.

[Danny Haszard]

Danny Haszard wrote:

Jehovah's Witnesses and the general public need to be warned about the Watchtower's two-witness policy for sexual abuse! It is destroying children's lives.

Jehovah's Witnesses in CRISIS

Secrets of Pedophilia in an American Religion

Child abuse is abhorrent to us, is a commendable statement, and one Jehovah's Witnesses repeat often. Knowing there were documents that would prove their secret actions spoke louder than their public words, I committed to unveil what has been too long hidden in a religion which proclaims their child abuse policy is without equal in the religious community.

The goal of my project was to shine a bright light on the secret policies and procedures utilized by Jehovah's Witness leaders to manage victims, accusations of sexual abuse by Witness molesters. But to do so depended upon obtaining over 5,000 pages of court documents, which I did, and they revealed the truth.

Along with the documents put on a CD, I have provided a commentary meant to make it easier for readers to make sense of the thousands of pages of court records. My work is just a glimpse into the internal workings of Jehovah's Witnesses in the matter of child sexual abuse. I certainly have not provided all the information that can be gleaned out of the records. Now it is up to others to pick up the gauntlet and explore what is being provided in a new CD,

Secrets of Pedophilia in an American Religion, Jehovah's Witnesses in Crisis,by Barbara Anderson
WATCHTOWER COURT DOCUMENTS

http://www.watchtowerdocuments.com/

[Danny Haszard]

JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES ELDER SERIAL PEDOPHILE

He remains an elder in the religion.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/69...

Man escapes jail for sex attacks

BBC News - 1 hour, 42 minutes ago
A Jehovah's Witnesss gets a community sentence for a series of sex assaults on children and adults.
Man escapes jail for sex attacks
Porter was put on the Sex Offenders Register


A Jehovah's Witness has escaped a jail term after admitting a series of sexual assaults on children and adults in Clevedon.
Michael Porter, an elder in the religion, pleaded guilty to 24 counts of indecent assault and gross indecency on 13 victims aged 18 months and older.
Among the individuals were others involved in the faith.
Judge Crowther at Bristol Crown Court sentenced Porter to three years of community rehabilitation.

Many of the families involved have been completely traumatised
Det Con Lisa Finch
Porter's sister, Tina Hughes, said: "I am absolutely disgusted. He should not have walked free.

"He has lost nothing. We have to tell the victims we have got no closure. He is an evil person. He is not human."
Porter carried out the assaults between 1986 and 2000.
He was banned from working with anyone under the age of 18 and and put on the Sex Offenders Register.

Det Con Lisa Finch, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: "Many of the families involved have been completely traumatised. It has turned their lives upside down."
Porter declined to comment as he left court with his wife. He remains an elder in the religion.

He remains an elder in the religion.

[Danny Haszard]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/article...

Paedophile walks free after string of sex attacks over 14 years COMMENT
Daily Mail, UK - 39 minutes ago
Michael Porter, 38, used his trusted position as a ministerial servant in the Jehovah's Witnesses to prey on young children in Clevedon, Somerset over a ...



http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-20073902...
Judge spares 'evil monster' jail COMMENT
The Sun, UK - 53 minutes ago
Michael Porter, 38, used his trusted position as a ministerial servant in the Jehovah’s Witnesses to prey on young children in Clevedon, Somerset over a ...

[DevonMcBride]

This is unbelievable! Very tragic for past victims and a threat to future victims of this monster.

[diogenes]

What do ya bet that he was NEVER and elder and is currently df'ed and been that way for several years?

[RedhorseWoman]

diogenes wrote:

What do ya bet that he was NEVER and elder and is currently df'ed and been that way for several years?

Well, I'm sure that you will provide the proof of this....won't you?

[Foxydog]

Any paedophile JW or otherwise should be locked up for life. They are not curable and anyone who says they are is either too PC, deluded, or just blind to the facts.
This "two witness" idea is a sham, a deceitful evasion perpetrated by the JW's.

[Fred Franz]

Foxydog wrote:

Any paedophile JW or otherwise should be locked up for life. They are not curable and anyone who says they are is either too PC, deluded, or just blind to the facts.
This "two witness" idea is a sham, a deceitful evasion perpetrated by the JW's.

Actually it is from the Bible 1 Corn 13:1 but was an old testament commandment to keep the innocent from being stoned to death,never to evade wrongdoing.

Cheers,Freddy

[dee]

Fred Franz wrote:

<quoted text>
Actually it is from the Bible 1 Corn 13:1 but was an old testament commandment to keep the innocent from being stoned to death,never to evade wrongdoing.
Cheers,Freddy

You are talking about a death case which does not apply to paedophilia. I agree with Foxy, there is no cure. They will offend over and over if allowed free.Any time a child is harmed they should be locked up for life.period.

[Mary]

Foxydog wrote:

Any paedophile JW or otherwise should be locked up for life. They are not curable and anyone who says they are is either too PC, deluded, or just blind to the facts.
This "two witness" idea is a sham, a deceitful evasion perpetrated by the JW's.

True

[victim]

I to was a victim of such a terrible thing, and I was raised as a jw,it happened my whole life, but I never told any one till I got older and I still was not belived and when it did come out it was covered up longer. But even tho that happened its not Jehovahs fault and I would not blame the organigation, its just that people want to blame the jw for every thing or because something happened to them and they didnt like it.That is why Jehovah is going to destroy this system of things its run by satan the devil and if you are a Bible reader you would know that so lets keep the blame where it really belongs.

[dee]

victim wrote:

I to was a victim of such a terrible thing, and I was raised as a jw,it happened my whole life, but I never told any one till I got older and I still was not belived and when it did come out it was covered up longer. But even tho that happened its not Jehovahs fault and I would not blame the organigation, its just that people want to blame the jw for every thing or because something happened to them and they didnt like it.That is why Jehovah is going to destroy this system of things its run by satan the devil and if you are a Bible reader you would know that so lets keep the blame where it really belongs.

No one is blaming Jehovah but putting the blame on and org that covers it up to protect itself rather than a child and them blames the victim. They will be held accountable but in the meantime the children must be protected by bringing this abomination to light so people will not fall into their trap.

[victim]

Dee, I know what you are saying but what is not understood is the org. is under Jehovahs direction.And you are right tho the blame goes to those who dont go along in the right direction.I also agree that the ones in the cong. should the ones who have kids what is up,I know because my dad was a child molester and they but him in a book study where there were 8 kids that I didnt agree because the elder knew about my dad and he was the one to cover it up.

[dee]

victim wrote:

Dee, I know what you are saying but what is not understood is the org. is under Jehovahs direction.And you are right tho the blame goes to those who dont go along in the right direction.I also agree that the ones in the cong. should the ones who have kids what is up,I know because my dad was a child molester and they but him in a book study where there were 8 kids that I didnt agree because the elder knew about my dad and he was the one to cover it up.

How do you KNOW the org. is under Jehovahs direction? Is that in the bible? The org is the one that said that but that doesn't make it so, does it? Heck, I could say the same thing, in fact the Mormons say the same think? If you Know this is true please tell me how you know it?