Jehovah's Witnesses (WTS)
Reactions to child sexual abuse
by church leaders, members, etc.
Sponsored link.
Reactions by WTS leaders:
Mario Moreno, associate general counsel for the Jehovah's
Witnesses has said
that the WTS obeys state laws which mandate reporting of suspected cases
of child abuse. He said:
"If there is a law that mandates reporting, that takes
precedent over any confidentiality, whether in church policy or
statute....The laws of this country, as well as people's moral values, tell
you there are some things that should be kept private. That's why laws
protect confidential communications between clergy and their
flock....Parents are encouraged to do whatever they need to do to protect
their child."
He explained that in some cases, elders relocate the
victim to isolate them from the alleged perpetrator. Other times, the WTS
recommends that the victim's parent or guardian -- or even the accused
person themselves -- report the abuse to the police.
Other leaders feel that all suspected cases should be
reported. In his letter of resignation as presiding overseer (chief
elder), William H. Bowen of Draffenville, KY, wrote:
"I refuse to support a
pedophile refuge mentality that is promoted among bodies of elders around
the world. Criminals should be ousted, identified and punished to protect
the innocent and give closure to the victim."
Bowen later co-founded
a support and advocacy group for abuse victims with Barbara Anderson called:
Silentlambs.
Reaction by some WTS members:
Some members have reported an unsympathetic response by
their local elders when they reported instances of abuse:
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Sara Poisson of Claremont, NH felt like many Jehovah's
Witnesses that she should go to the elders with problems, rather
than to the authorities. She reported to the elders that her then-husband,
Paul Berry, had physically abused some of her children. She said:
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"Whatever
issues might arise that required guidance were to be handled within the
congregation by the body of elders...You have to understand the Jehovah's
Witnesses organization. Their life revolves around following the
direction of what the local elders and the organization say."
The elders
allegedly told her that she "needed to be a better wife"
and "needed to pray more." Poisson said that "Each time I spoke
to the elders I was sanctioned in some way...Some privilege was removed
because I had dared to usurp the authority of my husband." She
said that she was prohibited from speaking at some meetings and
restricted in the amount of door-to-door evangelism that she was allowed
to do. When her son was discovered at school with marks of abuse on his
skin, she was told by a social worker to either have her husband leave the home or lose
custody of her children. She did the former and was then shunned by the
congregation. She finally went to police after discovering that her former
husband had sexually abused her daughter from the age of 4 to 10. Stories
of aggravated sexual abuse and torture were revealed in court. At
Berry's trial, 29 fellow members of his congregation testified favorably
about his character. When sentencing Berry, Judge Arthur Brennan said the
WTS might have done more to help the victim.
"The church didn't help
her and the state didn't help her... Perhaps if somebody had spoken years
ago, if somebody had inquired, instead of relying perhaps on
Jehovah...maybe it would have been...a lot less cruel for that child."
The Hillsborough County Attorney's Office did not investigate
whether the elders violated the law, because more than a year had passed. The
legislation that mandates such reporting has a statute of limitations of
12 months.
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In a case in Houston TX, parents reported that their
teen-aged son was molesting his younger sister. When the elders visited
the home, they counseled the family and received assurances from the boy
that he would stop. Kelly Siegler, an assistant district attorney for
Harris County. "All they did is tell him to stop and they prayed about
it. They just blew it off. No one ever told the police." He continued
with his sexual abuse and was eventually charged and tried as a 22 year old for
abuse that he committed while an adult. He received a 40 year sentence for
aggravated sexual assault. The ADA mentioned that she would have
prosecuted the elders for violating Texas' mandated reporting law, except
that the two year statute of limitations had expired. The family sued the
WTS in a civil court and reached a settlement. Like most such cases,
the family is prohibited from discussing the details.
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In Augusta. ME, Larry Baker had confessed to elders that
he had sexually molested a boy. According to member Bryan Rees, the elders
secretly disciplined Baker, giving him "some real strict, severe
counsel...and that was essentially it." Alan Ayers, was one of the
elders, but he did not warn his stepson Rees he was at risk of abuse by
Baker. Later Baker and Rees went
evangelizing door-to-door together. Baker is reported to have admitted
that he molested Rees at least 30 times between 1989 and 1992 while Rees
was a minor. He was convicted of unlawful contact with a minor and served
about a 90-day jail term. Rees later won a $1.2 million judgment against
Baker. He attempted to sue the Witnesses in 1998 but was unsuccessful.
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In Keene, NH, the guardian of a 15-year-old girl sued a Witness
congregation in 1987, alleging that elders threatened the girl's parents
with "religious excommunication and eternal damnation" if they
they informed the police or obtained counseling for the victim, who was
sexually abused from 1975 to 1985. The perpetrator pleaded guilty to two
counts of aggravated felonious sexual and was given a sentence of from
three to eight years. WTS lawyer Mario Moreno said it would be "ridiculous"
for an elder to make such a threat, which would violate WTS policy. He
said: "That's not scriptural...We teach the Scriptures. The Scriptures
don't say, 'If you file criminal charges against an abuser you're going to
have eternal damnation.' The one in danger of eternal damnation is the
abuser." |
Reaction by child abuse specialists:The Courier-Journal, in Louisville, KY, reported the
comments of "David
Richart, of the National Institute on Children. He said that
:
"... a strictly spiritual approach to child molestation is inadequate
... The whole
idea of child sexual abuse is that it generally is an invisible kind of
crime and it generally doesn't go away without in some cases treatment and
in other cases imprisonment...The whole idea implicit in their
response is that somebody can be persuaded or guilt-tripped into changing
their behavior. It's generally a much more sophisticated problem than that.
Prayer can do a lot of things, and in the case of child sexual abuse it can
be a powerful instrument for change, but it's no substitute for a societal
intervention...A lot of churches deal internally with allegations of
child sexual abuse and refer to Scripture in ways which seem to encourage
the children to be compliant."
Sam Neal, an elder in the Witness congregation in Jeffersontown, KY and a
social worker said:
"Nobody has a right to keep matters that really put
other folks at risk secret. We're concerned about every member of the
organization, and their best interest, their welfare, their security and
safety are matters of concern...We don't feel we would be discharging our
spiritual responsibility if we held something secret that has a direct
impact on the safety and welfare of others."
Sponsored link:
Silentlambs protest group:
Silentlambs is a support group for people who have been discouraged by the
Jehovah's Witnesses from
getting help when they have been molested or abused. 1 They claim that the organization has established a child abuse policy that has
ignored abuse survivors, protected child molesters and disfellowshipped
those who have tried to support the victims. They have a hotline:
"... for victims of child abuse who need further
assistance, for anyone to call to present material to establish hard
evidence of Watchtower Abuse, [and] to provide information about where to go
to get help."
It is toll-free number:
1-877-WTABUSE or 1-877-982-2873. No record of the call will appear on your
telephone bill. It is only accessible by U.S. callers. Others can call via
long distance to 270-527-5350.
On 2002-SEP-3,
they sponsored a demonstration at the Witnesses' head office in Brooklyn NY.
Adults, and their advocates, who claim that they were molested in their
childhood by Jehovah's Witnesses
carried signs and 12 stuffed lambs to deliver as a symbol of innocence
lost. They delivered a formal request for a WTS hearing to
investigate possible criminal cover-ups by the denomination's governing
body. They held a news conference and announced a national march for
Witness' molestation victims scheduled later on 2002-SEP-27 September.
2
On 2002-MAY-7 The Jehovah's Witnesses is reported to have
started the process to excommunicate Bowen and three other outspoken
members. Bowen reported:
"Over one year ago when we first came forward,
the leaders of the organization said the problem did not exist; when we
produced over one thousand victims' stories on the
"silentlambs" website,
they [the victims] were called liars. After we filmed the Dateline program with extensive
proof, local congregations directed by home office now decide to disfellowship
lifetime members who have been filmed by Dateline shortly
before the program is set to air at the end of May first part of June?
Apparently it is being done to discourage church members to not tune in to
this expose' because Jehovah's Witness theology requires members not to
listen to anything disfellowshipped members have to say about their church.
If members refuse to obey, it could result in their being excommunicated as
well."
According to the Silentlambs web site:
"Barbara Anderson, was informed that she was being
accused of causing 'divisions' within the organization and summoned to
attend a judicial hearing or disassociate herself. Anderson is a former
researcher who worked for the Church's Writing Department, in Brooklyn, New
York. She was also featured on Dateline speaking out about child molestation
cover-ups that go all the way up to the denomination’s Governing Body. 'For
years the Governing Body (church leadership) has tried to silence abuse
victims, so they can protect the image of the church,' said Anderson. 'Now
they’re expanding their intimidation and cover up to include those of us who
are whistleblowers trying to protect kids.' " [Grammar
corrected]
The group alleges that there
are reports of 23,720 suspected child molesters on file at the Witness
headquarters. If true, then this would be a rate of known molesters of 0.4%
of the total Jehovah's Witnesses population.
That is a reasonable percentage. It is often estimated that about 1% of
girls are molested by their fathers, and a further 1% are sexually abused by
step fathers. Victimizing of boys is at a lower level. However, the WTS
denies the number. They state that "the total number of names in our
records is considerably lower." 3
Barbara and Joseph Anderson, were disfellowshipped from the WTS.
They later sued the denomination for $20 million, claiming defamation, fraud,
and intentional infliction of emotional distress. On 2007-JAN-22, the Tennessee
court of appeals dismissed the case, claiming that "... the First Amendment’s
protection of decisions of church tribunals on religious questions" prevented
the court from intruding. Barbara Anderson said:
"I went public about the fact that they were not reporting
child abuse. They punished me for something I was legally bound to do. I
came forward and showed their policies protect pedophiles. ... The
retribution was quite difficult. We lost out on family and friends. My son
shuns me." 4
JW Child Custody assistance group:
According to their web site's "About Us" page:
"Since 2001, JWCC and its associates have worked assisting
child custody cases internationally. We have been involved with many cases
regarding custody and various legal issues involving Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Advocates with our organization have worked as National Director in
religious research and child protection organizations, specializing in the
sociological, historical, doctrinal teachings, and policies of Jehovah's
Witnesses. They also serve on the board of directors for Silentlambs, Inc.,
The Healing Alliance, Rescue and Recovery International, assisting survivors
of childhood sexual abuse."
They offer a free consultation at 800-762-9227. This is a
toll-free number that is accessible from the U.S. and Canada. There web site is
at: http://www.jwchildcustody.com/
More information:One episode of the program Panorama, sponsored by the British
Broadcasting Corporation, (BBC) deals with the sexual abuse problem
within the WTS. They interview individuals in England, Scotland and the U.S. A
free 50 minute video is available online at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
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Silentlambs' web site is at:
http://www.silentlambs.org/
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"New Support Group Seeks Investigation of Church Hierarchy,"
Silentlambs news release, 2002-SEP-3.
- Letter: J.R. Brown, Director, Office of Public Information, WTS, to
Betsan Powys, Panorama program, British Broadcasting Corporation,
2002-MAY-9.
-
"Jehovah's Witnesses: Court dismisses case of ousted Jehovah’s
Witnesses," ReligionNewsBlog, 2007-JAN-22, at:
http://www.religionnewsblog.com/
More information:One episode of the program Panorama, sponsored by the British
Broadcasting Corporation, (BBC) deals with the sexual abuse problem
within the WTS. They interview individuals in England, Scotland and the U.S. A
free 50 minute video is available online at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
Copyright © 2002 to 2007 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written on: 2002-SEP-3
Last updated on: 2007-MAR-17
Author: B.A. Robinson
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