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{{short description|Controversy regarding Jehovah's Witnesses' handling of sexual abuse cases}}
{{Jehovah's Witnesses}} {{Jehovah's Witnesses}}
Various individuals, courts and the media around the world have raised concerns about the manner in which cases of ] are handled when they occur in congregations of ].<ref name="TheGuard2016">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/aug/12/jehovahs-witnesses-under-pressure-over-handling-of-sexual-abuse-claims |title=Jehovah's Witnesses under pressure over handling of sexual abuse claims |author=Alice Ross |newspaper=] |location=London, UK |date=12 August 2016}}</ref> An independent 2009 study in Norway was critical of how Jehovah's Witnesses dealt with cases of child sexual abuse but stated there is no indication that the rate of sexual abuse among Jehovah's Witnesses is higher than found in general society.<ref>{{cite book | chapter=Individet i gruppen: en psykologisk tilnærming til det å være et Jehovas vitne | last=Ringnes | first=Hege Kristin | language=no | title=Jehovas vitner — en flerfaglig studie | publisher=] | place=Oslo | year=2009 | page=101 | isbn=978-82-15-01453-1 | editor1-last=Ringnes | editor1-first=Hege Kristin | editor2-last=Sødal | editor2-first=Helje Kringlebotn}}</ref> The organization's stated position is that it abhors child sexual abuse.<ref>{{cite report |author=Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse |date=28 November 2016 |title=Report into Jehovah's Witness organisations released |url=https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/media-releases/report-jehovahs-witness-organisations-released |page=10 }} <span style="font-size:85%;">(PDF)</span>.</ref>
As with other religious organizations, ] have been obliged in recent years to develop child protection policies to deal with cases of ] in their congregations. Critics of the ], the legal entity responsible for Jehovah's Witnesses publishing, claim the Society's policies do not properly protect members of Jehovah's Witnesses, pointing to the 2012 Candace Conti trial court verdict (currently in appeal court) as evidence.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jehovah's Witnesses ordered to pay more than $20 million to woman who said she was sexually abused|url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/06/15/12225753-jehovahs-witnesses-ordered-to-pay-more-than-20-million-to-woman-who-said-she-was-sexually-abused?lite|publisher=MSNBC}}</ref> Watchtower society states that incidence of this crime among Jehovah’s Witnesses is rare.<ref> November 21, 2007 </ref>


In 2015, it was disclosed that the Australia Branch of Jehovah's Witnesses had records of 1,006 alleged perpetrators of child sexual abuse, relating to more than 1,800 victims since 1950, none of which were reported to police by the group.<ref name="rcsub" /> Some media and courts have reported that Jehovah's Witnesses employ organizational policies, which the group says are Bible-based, that make the reporting of ] difficult for members.<ref name="Brekke2015">{{cite news |last=Brekke |first=Kira |title=Investigation Claims Jehovah Witnesses' Watchtower Is Hiding Child Sexual Abuse Claims |website=The Huffington Post |date=18 February 2015 |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/18/jehovahs-witness-child-sex-abuse_n_6705852.html |access-date=28 September 2016}}</ref><ref name="another1">{{cite news |url= http://www.cbsnews.com/news/another-church-sex-scandal/|title= Another Church Sex Scandal |website=cbsnews.com |author= Bootie Cosgrove-Mather |date=4 April 2003 |access-date=24 February 2014}}</ref><ref name="today1">{{cite web |url= http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/march5/11.23.html/|title=Sex Abuse: Witness Leaders Accused of Shielding Molesters|website=christianitytoday.com |author= Corrie Cutrer |date=5 March 2001 |access-date=24 February 2014}}</ref><ref name="cover1">{{cite web |url= http://sgp1.paddington.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/cover_stories/article_1920.asp?s=1|title= Cover Stories: The Year in Review |website=paddington.ninemsn.com.au|author= Jana Wendt|date=27 November 2005 |access-date=24 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130503025231/http://sgp1.paddington.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/cover_stories/article_1920.asp?s=1 |archive-date=2013-05-03}}</ref><ref name="panorama1">{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/panorama/2119903.stm|title= Secret database protects paedophiles |website=BBC News|access-date=24 February 2014|date=July 12, 2002}}</ref> Some victims of sexual abuse have said they were ordered by local elders to maintain silence to avoid embarrassment to both the accused and the organization.{{r|another1|today1|cover1|panorama1}}
Details of the Society's ] policies have been published in Jehovah's Witnesses' publications, although more specific guidelines are only made available to elders, or on request. Press releases issued by the Watch Tower Society's Office of Public Information confirm that if a person accused of molestation repeatedly denies the charges of his victim, and there is no other witness to the incident, "the elders cannot take action within the congregation at that time", however would report to authorities if required.<ref name="jw-media.org">&mdash;Jehovah’s Witnesses Official Media Website]</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">Letter to All Congregations in Britain, July 11, 2002</ref>


In 2002, Jehovah's Witnesses' Office of Public Information published its policy for elders to report allegations of child abuse to the authorities where required by law, even if there was only one witness.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/2124380.stm |title=Child abuse policy |website=BBC News - Panorama|date=July 12, 2002 |access-date=August 12, 2016}}</ref> In 2016 a UK judge upheld a ruling against the Jehovah's Witnesses for failing to protect a victim of child sexual abuse, and the ] rejected an attempt by the Watch Tower Society to block a ] inquiry into how the organisation's charity handles allegations of abuse. This was the culmination of two years of legal proceedings in five different courts and tribunals. The commission's attorney said, "WTBTS has at every stage relentlessly challenged the legal basis and scope of the Charity Commission's inquiry".<ref name=TheGuard2016 />
==Policies==


<!--Needs more context and should be in body-->In 2019, elders in New Zealand were told to destroy documents, causing survivors of child sex abuse to fear that cases will be covered up. The organization maintained that documents relevant to cases of abuse would not be destroyed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/116681237/royal-commission-jehovahs-witnesses-elders-told-to-destroy-documents|title=Royal Commission: Jehovah's Witnesses elders told to destroy documents|author=Phil Pennington of RNZ|date=October 18, 2019|access-date=October 18, 2019}}</ref>
===Advice to members===
The Watch Tower Society has published information on how to protect children from sexual molestation, such as the articles, '''' in the October 8, 1993 edition of ''Awake!'', '''' in ''Awake!'' of August 8, 1997, the series, ''Keep Your Children Safe'', in the November 2007 edition of ''Awake!'', and in the book, ''Learn from the Great Teacher''. However, these articles focus on prevention, and do not specifically state that a child or its parents should contact the police in the event of molestation. They even suggest that, in some lands, "the legal system may offer little hope of successful prosecution." Whether or not a victim seeks professional treatment from ]s, ]s or ]s is suggested as being the personal decision of the victim (or the parents), but such ones are warned to "make sure that any such professional will respect your religious views."<ref>Letter to All Bodies of Elders, March 23, 1992</ref><ref>'']'', October 8, 1991, page 9; ''The Watchtower'', September 1, 1996</ref>


<!--Needs more context and should be in body-->The UK ] was critical of Jehovah's Witnesses' policy that there must be two witnesses to cases of abuse before elders would consider the allegation. ] maintained the policy overlooks the fact that "child sexual abuse is most often perpetrated in the absence of witnesses".<ref> '']''</ref>
==='Two witnesses'===
Jehovah's Witnesses' ] policies require the testimony of two ] to establish a perpetrator's ] in the absence of confession,<ref></ref> based on their interpretation of scriptures such as Deuteronomy 17:6 and 1 Timothy 5:19. The organization considers this policy to be a protection against malicious accusations of sexual assault. The Watch Tower Society's Public Information Department maintains that this two-witness policy is applied solely to congregational discipline and has no bearing on whether a crime is reported to the authorities. However, critics argue that by failing to insist that authorities should be contacted in all instances, the Society allows the potential for some pedophiles to escape investigation.


==Policies==
The Society also argues that it is not necessary for both witnesses to have observed the same instance of child molestation to establish guilt. As of 1991, statements by two victims of separate incidents by the same perpetrator may be deemed sufficient to take action and impose internal sanctions.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref>Jehovah's Witnesses Office of Public Information, Press Release "Jehovah's Witnesses and Child Protection," 2003.</ref><ref>''Pay Attention to Yourselves'', page 111</ref> However, critics argue that such an approach to determining guilt overlooks the seriousness of the initial abuse, and effectively allows a pedophile to go unpunished until he or she abuses a second child. DNA evidence, medical reports, or information from forensic experts or police that proves sexual abuse is also accepted as a valid "second witness",{{citation needed|date=May 2013}} however critics argue that, without mandatory reporting for all accusations of abuse regardless of the local laws, such evidence could remain undetected.


==='Two witness rule'===
In cases where there is only one eye-witness&mdash;the victim&mdash;to an allegation of child abuse, elders may monitor the accused individual closely, or even suspend any conspicuous congregation duties&mdash;but only if there is evidence based on the testimony of more than one witness to suggest that the alleged perpetrator has abused children.<ref>''The Watchtower'', November 1, 1995, page 28</ref> In some instances where there is only one Witness to molestation, elders may discreetly inform parents in a congregation not to allow their children to spend time with someone accused of child abuse provided such a person has been deemed a "predator" by the local branch office based on the elders' observations.<ref>Letter to All Bodies of Elders, October 1, 2012, par. 12</ref>
Jehovah's Witnesses' ] policies require the testimony of two ] to establish a perpetrator's ] in the absence of confession. The organization considers this policy to be a protection against malicious accusations of sexual assault and states that this two-witness policy is applied solely to congregational discipline and has no bearing on whether a crime is reported to the authorities in countries where this is mandatory.<ref>Kristine Hirsti and Kathrine Hammerstad (12 December 2012): {{in lang|no}} ]. Retrieved 23 September 2013</ref> DNA evidence, medical reports, or information from forensic experts or police that proves sexual abuse may possibly be accepted as a valid "second witness",<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/02/18/ex-elder-challenges-jehovahs-witnesses-on-child-abuse/6adbfd21-20ca-4ebd-8993-f71fae88fc5f/|title=Ex-Elder Challenges Jehovah's Witnesses On Child Abuse|newspaper=The Washington Post
|quote=corroborating evidence can be used instead of a second witness to prove wrongdoing}}</ref><ref>{{cite report|url=https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/file-list/Case%20Study%2029%20-%20Transcript%20-%20Jehovahs%20Witnesses%20-%20Day%20152%20-%2004082015.pdf|title=Public Hearing - Case Study 29 (Day 152)|page=67,72|website=Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Australia
|quote=in the absence of a confession or circumstantial evidence or other indicators, would we act judicially on one witness as the courts would do, the answer would be no, and I don't see that changing, in harmony with the scriptures. ... Q. Insofar as a second witness is concerned, is that requirement covered by, for example, scientific evidence? A. Certainly. Q. So if there was some external forensic scientific or direct evidence which is not of an observer to the incident, but someone who observes some corroborative aspect to the incident, that would be sufficient, would it? A. The answer is yes... we, as the case files will show, have disfellowshipped people for being in an inappropriate setting where there is some allegation.}}</ref><ref>{{cite report|url=https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/file-list/Case%20Study%2029%20-%20Transcript%20-%20Jehovahs%20Witnesses%20-%20Day%20155%20-%2014082015.pdf|title=Public Hearing - Case Study 29 (Day 155)|page=44,45|website=Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Australia}}</ref> however critics<ref name="new" /> argue that without mandatory reporting for all accusations of abuse regardless of the local laws, such evidence could remain undetected.<ref name="new" /> This approach has also been criticized for its focus on determining guilt overlooking the seriousness of the initial abuse and allowing a pedophile to go unpunished until they have been caught abusing multiple victims.<ref name="new">{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna21917798|title=New Evidence in Jehovah's Witness allegations|website=nbcnews.com/|year=2007 |access-date=16 February 2014}}</ref>


===Questioning the victim=== ===Questioning the victim===
A Watch Tower Society representative testified that the organization does not consider itself responsible for the "physical protection" of children in the community.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1-kuAnYMTU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/B1-kuAnYMTU |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Richard Ashe deposition|website=]|date=13 February 2015 }}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/leaders-jehovahs-witnesses-cover-child-sex-abuse/|title=Did leaders of Jehovah's Witnesses cover up child sex abuse?|website=PBS NEWSHOUR|others=RICHARD ASHE, Watchtower Supervisor: Well, within the congregation, ours is a spiritual protection. When we’re talking about physical protection, that’s up to the secular authorities to provide.|date=16 February 2015}}</ref> Victims of abuse are required to provide details of their abuse to a group of male elders, which may cause additional trauma;<ref>"Case Study 29", ''Submissions of Senior Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission'' p. 131, ''Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse'', July 2015, "The number of people to whom a survivor of child sexual abuse is required to divulge the detail of her complaint exacerbates the trauma already suffered by a survivor of such abuse."</ref><ref></ref> Elders are directed that a victim must not be required to face their abuser to present an accusation, however, adult victims may do so if they wish.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/jehovahs-witnesses-face-child-sex-abuse-investigation-in-australia/2015/08/14/d8a58eda-406e-11e5-9561-4b3dc93e3b9a_story.html|title=Jehovah's Witnesses face child sexual-abuse investigation in Australia|date=14 August 2015|first=A. Odysseus|last=Patrick|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=25 September 2018|quote=Church elders need to secure a confession or the testimony of two credible witnesses to the same incident, two witnesses to separate incidents of the same kind, or strong circumstantial evidence testified to by at least two witnesses. The accuser also has to justify his or her allegations to church elders, often in the presence of the alleged perpetrator.}}</ref>
In instances of a child reporting abuse, elders are instructed to not ask probing or intimate questions, with elders' immediate concern to "do what they reasonably can to protect children from further abuse."<ref>''Pay Attention to Yourselves and to All the Flock'', ©1991 Watch Tower, page 93</ref> Elders are instructed that, however surprising the allegations, they should not indicate disbelief, nor should they criticize the complainant,<ref>Letter to All Bodies of Elders in Britain, December 1, 2001</ref> as elders are regarded as 'spiritual shepherds' only, and have no professional training to investigate or evaluate allegations of child abuse. Testimony based on ] is not considered reliable enough to form the basis for internal action. Elders are encouraged to treat persons reporting this type of memory with kindness, but not to pursue the case unless further proof is found. They also are required to report alleged abuse cases to the secular authorities, but only if instructed to do so by the local branch or depending on the local laws. Abuse victims may be required to face their abuser to make an accusation, as stated on the Society's official website: "If the accused denies the charge, the two elders may arrange for him and the victim to restate their position in each other’s presence, with elders also there."<ref name="jw-media.org"/>

===Congregation discipline===
Jehovah's Witnesses have a disciplinary system that applies to all congregation members who commit child abuse, rather than only to members in positions of authority.<ref></ref> Their policy states that child sex victims be immediately protected from further abuse, and that abusers convicted under the 'two witnesses' rule be prevented from finding additional victims.<ref>Letter to all Bodies of Elders in Britain, December 1, 2000</ref> If allegations of child abuse are deemed to have a sound basis, satisfying the organization's religious tenets, an internal judicial committee is formed, and the accused individual may potentially be relieved of positions of responsibility in the congregation. Anyone found to have sexually molested a child and failing to demonstrate repentance is to be ] from the congregation.<ref name='Organized 152-153'>{{cite book | last = n/a | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Organized to do Jehovah's Will | publisher = Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York | year = 2005 | location = Brooklyn, New York | pages = 152–153 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = }}</ref> If an accused individual denies wrongdoing, but later due to evidence presented in a court of law, it is proven that he or she was involved in child abuse, the individual is disfellowshipped.


===Reproof and restrictions=== ===Reproof and restrictions===
Former child molesters, including those who molested children before becoming Jehovah's Witnesses, those eventually reinstated into the congregation, and those who were deemed repentant, are subject to a number of restrictions. Commenting on the effect of these restrictions, Jehovah's Witnesses' legal representative, Mario Moreno, stated that these restrictions alert members that the individual "lacks spiritual maturity."<ref>Paducah Sun, January 28, 2001</ref> An abuser who is judged repentant by a committee of elders is given a 'public reproof', wherein it is announced to the congregation that the named individual "has been reproved", though the specific reason for reproof is not stated. A few weeks later, a talk may be given to the congregation, discussing the type of sin and the need to be on guard against it, but the reproved individual is not named in connection with this talk. It is the intention that the talk about the type of sin, and the previously made announcement of reproof, should allow other congregation members to interpret what type of sin had been committed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2015/1722.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723161525/http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2015/1722.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2019-07-23|title=A v Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (Trustees of) & Ors EWHC 1722 (QB) (19 June 2015)|others=They would not have been told specifically that Peter Stewart had sexually assaulted a child, but it was intended that the conjunction of the two announcements should cause the congregation to understand that Peter Stewart was a sex abuser of young children.}}</ref>
An abuser who is judged repentant by a committee of elders is given a 'public reproof', wherein it is announced to the congregation that the named individual "has been reproved", though the nature of their crime is not stated.<ref name='Organized 152-153' /> Such a person is automatically debarred from serving in any appointed position in the congregation, however privileges can be restored in the future depending on whether he or she is deemed by the branch office to be a "known molester".<ref name="ReferenceB">"To All Bodies of Elders", October 1, 2012 par. 15 and 22</ref> Some time later, a talk may be given to the congregation, discussing the type of sin and the need to be on guard against it, but the reproved individual is not named in connection with this talk.<ref>''The Watchtower'', December 1, 1976, page 735</ref> When reprimanded, sex offenders may not offer public prayers, read paragraphs during congregation studies, or be given even minor responsibilities in the congregation, such as handling microphones or distributing literature in the ].


Sex offenders are still permitted to participate in the congregation's house-to-house preaching. According to the Watch Tower Society's spokesperson, J. R. Brown, such ones are only allowed to preach when accompanied by a responsible adult.<ref>Louisville Courier-Journal, 1-4-01.</ref> In 2016, a convicted child sex offender was filmed going door-to-door for the denomination.<ref>{{Cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180609133031/http://www.koaa.com/story/32799137/news-5-investigates-sex-offender-going-door-to-door|archive-date=June 9, 2018|url=http://www.koaa.com/story/32799137/news-5-investigates-sex-offender-going-door-to-door|title=News 5 Investigates: Sex offender going door-to-door as a Jehovah's witness}}</ref> The sustained participation in the group's activities has resulted in sexual predators remaining in good standing in the congregation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://canlii.org/t/1hl17|title=V.B. v. Cairns et al.|quote=Mr. Cairns and Mr. Brown indicated that Mr. G.P. had demonstrated repentance and improved spirituality by being more active in the faith and spending time "in service" (spreading the word about Jehovah's Witness to others outside the faith).}}</ref> Elders are instructed that if a child abuser moves from their congregation to another, they must send a letter to the body of elders in the new congregation outlining the offender's background, although these letters sometimes fail to mention these confessions of abuse.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.revealnews.org/article/jehovahs-witnesses-use-1st-amendment-to-hide-child-sex-abuse-claims/|title=Jehovah's Witnesses use 1st Amendment to hide child sex abuse claims|date=14 February 2015}}</ref>
All baptized members of Jehovah's Witnesses are considered by the religion to be ], and sex offenders are still permitted to participate in the congregation's house-to-house preaching. According to the Watch Tower Society's spokesperson, J. R. Brown, such ones are only allowed to preach when accompanied by a responsible adult.<ref>Louisville Courier-Journal, 1-4-01.</ref> However, critics argue that the responsible adult assigned to work with such an individual, if not an elder, would be oblivious to the fact that he or she is a pedophile, meaning they would not be in a position to offer protection to members of the public.


== Comparison with other religions ==
For a considerable period of time, a reproved individual is not permitted to participate in meetings by commenting in group discussions or making presentations from the platform.<ref>''The Watchtower'', September 1, 1981, page 27</ref> A 1997 issue of '']'' article stated: "For the protection of our children, a man known to have been a child molester does not qualify for a responsible position in the congregation. Moreover, he cannot be a pioneer or serve in any other special, full-time service."<ref>{{cite journal|title=Let Us ABHOR What Is Wicked|journal=The Watchtower|date=1997-01-01|first=|last=|coauthors=|volume=|issue=|pages=27–29|id= |url=http://www.watchtower.org/e/19970101/article_01.htm|accessdate=2010-03-13 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jw-media.org/aboutjw/article23.htm |title=Jehovah’s Witnesses and Child Protection |accessdate=2010-03-13 |year=2001 |work=Jehovah’s Witnesses Official Media Web Site |publisher=Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania }}</ref> Elders are advised to give "kindly cautions" to the abuser in regards to "not alone with children," "refrain from holding children or displaying other forms of affection for them," and "not allowing children (other than his own) to spend the night in his home, not working in field service with a child, not cultivating friendships with children, and the like."<ref name=eldersletter></ref>
''The New York Times'' commented:<ref>Laurie Goodstein, , ''The New York Times,'' August 11, 2002.</ref>
{{blockquote|The shape of the scandal is far different than in the Catholic church, where most of the people accused of abuse are priests and a vast majority of the victims were boys and young men. In the Jehovah's Witnesses, where congregations are often collections of extended families and church elders are chosen from among the laypeople, some of those accused are elders, but most are congregation members. The victims who have stepped forward are mostly girls and young women, and many accusations involve incest.}}


In 2008, the Watch Tower Society of Britain, in discussions with the UK Charities Commission, undertook to produce a Child Protection Policy and update its procedures to bring them into line with other religious and secular bodies.<ref>"Work of the Charity Commission in 2008-09", ''Minutes of Evidence Taken Before Public Administrative Committee (House of Commons)'', Thursday 10 December 2009, </ref>
Former child molesters, including those who molested children before becoming Jehovah's Witnesses, those eventually reinstated into the congregation after being disfellowshipped, and those who were deemed repentant, are subject to a number of restrictions. Commenting on the effect of these restrictions, Jehovah's Witnesses' legal representative, Mario Moreno, stated that these restrictions alert members that the individual "lacks spiritual maturity."<ref>Paducah Sun, January 28, 2001</ref> 'Privileges' may be restored to known child sex offenders if "considerable time has passed," at the discretion of local elders.<ref>"To All Bodies of Elders", October 1, 2012 par. 23</ref> A fax sent by Jehovah's Witnesses' Office of Public Information to the producers of the ]'s '']'' television program stated that at least twenty years must have passed before an individual who committed an act of child sex abuse could even be considered for appointment to a responsible position in the congregation, if ever.<ref>Fax sent to Betsan Powys, BBC Panorama, May 9, 2002</ref>


===Cover-up allegations===
If a former child abuser moves to another congregation, elders from the previous congregation must send a letter to the body of elders in the new congregation, outlining the offender's background<ref>Our Kingdom Ministry, October 1999, page 7</ref> and whether the abuser is still subject to 'restricted privileges'. Previous communication from the organization's Branch Office regarding the abuser is not forwarded to the new congregation.<ref>"Letters of Introduction", to All Bodies of Elders, July 1, 2006</ref> Other members of the new congregation are not made aware of the abuser's past.
In some cases, members of Jehovah's Witnesses have been prevented or deterred from reporting child molestation to civil authorities.<ref name="settlement">{{cite news |first1=Rose |last1=French |first2=Allison |last2=Hoffman |title=Jehovah's Witnesses Settle Abuse Cases |date=May 11, 2007 | publisher=] |agency=] |url=http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=6499357 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222162902/http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=6499357 |archive-date=December 22, 2007 |access-date=December 25, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jehovahs-witness-child-abuse-victims-told-not-to-go-to-police-2n6x5hprx|title=Jehovah's Witness child abuse victims told 'not to go to police'|last=Burgess|first=Kaya|date=2017-11-20|work=The Times|access-date=2017-11-20|issn=0140-0460|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Particularly since around 2000, the Jehovah's Witnesses organization has been accused of covering up cases of child molestation committed by its members. In March 2001, '']'' printed an article reporting allegations that Jehovah's Witnesses' policies made reporting sexual abuse difficult for members, and did not conform to typical treatment of such cases. The article also included a response by representatives of Jehovah's Witnesses.<ref name="ctlibrary.com">"Sex Abuse: Witness Leaders Accused of Shielding Molesters" by Corrie Cutrer, ''Christianity Today'', March 5, 2001, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223064627/http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/2001/march5/11.23.html |date=2012-02-23 }}</ref> The Australian Royal Commission heard that an elder discouraged an abuse victim from going to the Commission by saying, "Do you really want to drag Jehovah's name through the mud?"<ref name="rcsub">{{Cite web|url=https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/downloadfile.ashx?guid=10908a67-70c5-4103-94cc-dac096fdb585&type=openingaddresspdf&filename=case-study-54,-march-2017,-sydney-opening-address&fileextension=pdf|title=Australia Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse - Submissions of Senior Counsel|date=March 2017|page=12|website=Child Abuse Royal Commission|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922002645/https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/downloadfile.ashx?guid=10908a67-70c5-4103-94cc-dac096fdb585&type=openingaddresspdf&filename=case-study-54,-march-2017,-sydney-opening-address&fileextension=pdf|archive-date=September 22, 2017|url-status=live|access-date=5 October 2017}}</ref> In Ireland in 2016, two Jehovah's Witness elders were removed from their positions as punishment for reporting a child molester to the police after the London Branch legal department told them not to.<ref name="TheSundayBusinessPost2017">{{Cite news|url=https://www.businesspost.ie/news/failure-bear-witness-401306|title=A failure to bear Witness? — The Jehovah's Witnesses religion is coming under mounting criticism for its handling of sexual abuse allegations in Ireland|first=Barry J|last=Whyte|date=29 October 2017|work=The Business Post|access-date=11 November 2017}}</ref>


The ] reported allegations of a cover-up in July 2002, in an episode of '']'' entitled "Suffer the Little Children".<ref name=suffer>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/2114320.stm | title=Suffer the Little Children | author="] |date=July 14, 2002 | work=BBC News | access-date=January 5, 2010}}</ref> The report revealed that the headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses, the Watch Tower Society, requires all congregations to submit details of child abuse allegations and maintains an internal database on all cases of child abuse reported to them.<ref name="panorama1" /> It described one case where a child came forward to the elders of her congregation to report sexual abuse by her father but was sent home, despite their having known for three years that her father was an abuser. When the girl eventually went to the police, her father was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.<ref name=suffer/>
===Positions of responsibility===
When a member is recommended for a position of responsibility such as elder or ministerial servant, the individual is asked directly whether he has ever committed child sexual abuse; if it is revealed that he has, the proposed appointment is annulled and the branch office is advised.<ref>''"Shepherd the Flock of God"'', chapter 3, p. 34&ndash;35</ref> It is therefore left to the candidate to admit whether he has previously abused children or not. If an appointed individual later admits to having committed abuse, the Watch Tower Society's policy requires that the individual be removed from their position.


According to Witness spokesman J. R. Brown, Jehovah's Witnesses are not required to report crimes to elders before calling civil authorities. Victims and their families are free to call police, he said, although some don't choose to.<ref name="ReferenceD">Tubbs, Sharon (Aug. 22, 2002), , ''St. Petersburg Times''.</ref> The Watch Tower Society maintains a policy with no explicit requirement for elders to report all child abuse cases where such is not required by law. Elders are instructed to "leave matters in Jehovah's hands" if an abuser denies the accusations and there is no second witness available.<ref name="settlement" /><ref name="ctlibrary.com"/>
The January 1, 1997 issue of ''The Watchtower'' stated, "For the protection of our children, a man known to have been a child molester does not qualify for a responsible position in the congregation. Moreover, he cannot be a pioneer or serve in any other special, full-time service."<ref>{{cite journal|journal=The Watchtower|title=Let Us Abhor What Is Wicked|page=29|date=1 January 1997}}</ref> However, whether or not a child abuser is deemed a "known molester" is left to the discretion of the local branch. The October 1, 2012 letter to elders states, "the branch office, not the local body of elders, determines whether one who has sexually abused a child is considered a known child molester" and adds, "It cannot be said in every case that one who has sexually abused a child could never qualify for privileges of service in the congregation."<ref name="ReferenceB"/>


===2014 investigations in the United Kingdom===
In 2010, the Watch Tower Society clarified how its policy is applied where a member in a position of authority is learned to have committed serious wrongdoing in the ''distant past'', "more than a few years ago." The elders' handbook ''"Shepherd the Flock of God"'' explained that such a person might be allowed to remain in their position if "he has been serving faithfully for many years, has evidence of God's blessing, and has the respect of the congregation," noting that, "the nature of the sin may reflect greatly on his qualifications to serve. For example, the sin may involve past child abuse, and this would likely disqualify him for many years." It added, "If the wrongdoing occurred ''within the past few years while he was serving'' as an elder or a ministerial servant, he is disqualified from serving as such" (emphasis in original).<ref>''"Shepherd the Flock of God"'', chapter 3, p. 38&ndash;39</ref>
In 2013 at the Jehovah's Witnesses congregation of ], England, church elder and convicted child sex offender Jonathan Rose, following his completion of a nine-month jail sentence for paedophile offences, was allowed in a series of public meetings to cross-examine the children he had molested.<ref name=quizzed>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/jehovahs-witness-abuse-victims-quizzed-by-their-attacker-at-church-9421040.html|title= Jehovah's Witness abuse victims 'quizzed by their attacker' at church|newspaper=]|date=2014-05-22|access-date=2014-07-03}}</ref><ref name=MEN>{{cite news|url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/convicted-paedophile-jonathan-rose-grilled-7151197|title= Convicted paedophile allowed to grill his victims at Jehovah's Witness meeting|newspaper=]|date=2014-05-21|access-date=2014-07-03}}</ref> Rose was disfellowshipped after complaints to the police and the ].<ref name=quizzed/>


In a separate incident, prior to the trial and conviction for rape and sexual assault in June 2014 of Mark Sewell, an elder of the congregation in ], ], the church conducted an internal investigation of the allegations, where the women and children had to face their alleged abuser in judicial committee hearings.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/jehovahs-witness-church-leader-facing-3778955|title=Jehovah's Witness church leader facing jail after being convicted of rape|newspaper=]|date=2014-06-28|access-date=2014-07-02}}</ref> A child victim, for whom Sewell was later convicted of rape, alleged that she was questioned closely by church elders when she came forward years after the attack and was required to describe the incident to them in intimate detail, with Sewell present, but her claims were dismissed by the committee and not taken to the police for further investigation.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-28151300|title= Jehovah's Witnesses criticised over handling of sex abuse|work=]|date=2014-07-03|access-date=2014-07-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/jehovahs-witness-mark-sewell-jailed-7339113|title= 'There were 12 elders and not one of them stood up – not one': Victim of Jehovah's Witness rapist describes torment |publisher=Western Mail|date=2014-06-29|access-date=2014-07-02}}</ref> In June, Sewell was jailed for fourteen years for the rape and sexual abuse of parishioners, including children.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-28127683|title= Jehovah's Witness Mark Sewell jailed for abusing girls|work=]|date=2014-07-02|access-date=2014-07-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/jehovahs-witness-elder-mark-sewell-7357318|title= Jehovah's Witness elder jailed for raping a fellow worshipper and sexually abusing vulnerable schoolgirls |publisher=]|date=2014-07-02|access-date=2014-07-02}}</ref> All but one of Sewell's fellow elders who investigated claims against him declined to give evidence in his Crown Court trial. They also provided no assistance to police and prosecutors in their investigation, despite dis-fellowshipping Sewell 20 years previously, and destroyed evidence showing claims against Sewell dating back more than 20 years.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/jehovahs-witnesses-destroyed-documents-showing-7340603|title= Jehovah's Witnesses destroyed documents showing child abuse allegations against church elder |publisher=Western Mail|date=2014-06-29|access-date=2014-07-02}}</ref> In June 2014, Sewell was sentenced to fourteen years in prison for eight sex offenses; in December 2014 he appealed unsuccessfully for a reduction of his sentence.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/jehovahs-witness-church-elder-who-8265109|title=Jehovah's Witness church elder who was jailed for 14 years for eight sex offences fails to get his sentence cut|publisher=Western Mail|date=10 December 2014|access-date=10 December 2014}}</ref>
==Reporting to civil authorities==
A press release issued in 2003 by Jehovah's Witnesses' Office of Public Information stated: "The elders may be required by law to report even uncorroborated or unsubstantiated allegations to the authorities. If so, we expect the elders to comply."<ref>Jehovah's Witnesses Office of Public Information, press release "Jehovah's Witnesses and Child Protection," 2003</ref> ''The Watchtower'' has outlined the following policy: "Depending on the law of the land where he lives, the molester may well have to serve a prison term or face other sanctions from the State. The congregation will not protect him from this."<ref></ref> A 2002 memo to all congregations stated: "Our position is that secular authorities deal with crime while elders deal with sin."<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Even where there is no mandatory reporting requirement, victims or others having knowledge of an incident of sexual abuse must not be discouraged from reporting it.<ref>''The Watchtower'', August 1, 2005, page 14</ref> Critics argue that not discouraging reporting is not the same as encouraging it. Their position is that the Society's approach to child abuse as a sin first-and-foremost potentially inhibits criminal investigation, particularly in the Society's insistence that elders should contact the branch office before speaking to the authorities. They insist that, if child abuse is truly to be considered a crime, it is best to involve the authorities immediately whenever it is alleged to have been committed, with judicial issues being resolved later.


In June and July 2014, the ] announced that it was formally investigating both the Moston<ref name=quizzed/> and Barry<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/jehovahs-witness-elder-mark-sewell-7350691|title= Jehovah's Witness elder guilty of sex abuse: Now charity watchdog launches investigation|publisher=Western Mail|date=2014-07-01|access-date=2014-07-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/jehovahs-witness-elder-mark-sewell-jailed-14-years-sex-crimes-1455020|title= Jehovah's Witness Elder Mark Sewell Jailed for 14 years for Sex Crimes|newspaper=]|date=2014-07-02|access-date=2014-07-04}}</ref> congregations over their child protection policies, to be conducted independently of two statutory inquiries opened the previous month into Jehovah's Witnesses charities in relation to issues including child protection.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/charity-commission-opens-case-jehovahs-witnesses-congregation-member-found-guilty-sex-offences/governance/article/1301524| title=Charity Commission opens case on Jehovah's Witnesses congregation after member found guilty of sex offences|publisher=Third Sector|date=2014-07-02|access-date=2014-07-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/charity-commission-opens-statutory-inquiries-jehovahs-witnesses-governing-body-congregation/governance/article/1298240| title= Charity Commission opens statutory inquiries into Jehovah's Witnesses governing body and congregation |publisher=Third Sector|date=2014-06-10|access-date=2014-07-03}}</ref> The Charity Commission noted that it had "serious concerns" about the Manchester New Moston Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, having most recently opened a case into it in December 2013.<ref name=quizzed/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/news/charity-commission-investigates-jehovahs-witnesses-charities/|title=Charity Commission investigates Jehovah's Witnesses charities|publisher=]|access-date=2014-07-04}}</ref> The Watch Tower Society subsequently sought ] of the Charity Commission's enquiry; this was denied on 12 December 2014, on the grounds that the ] required all other legal avenues to be exhausted prior to application for judicial review.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2014/12/17/jehovahs-witnesses-and-judicial-review-being-a-last-resort/|title=Jehovah's Witnesses, and judicial review being a last resort|work=UK Human Rights Blog|date=17 December 2014}}</ref> Subsequent appeals against the investigation by the New Moston Congregation and the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain to the Charity Commission's tribunal were rejected in April 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/charity-commission-continue-statutory-inquiry-jehovahs-witnesses-congregation/governance/article/1342350|title=Charity Commission to continue statutory inquiry into Jehovah's Witnesses congregation|date=13 April 2015|work=Third Sector|access-date=15 April 2015}}</ref>
The ''New York Times'' commented:<ref>Laurie Goodstein, , ''The New York Times,'' August 11, 2002.</ref>
{{quote|The shape of the scandal is far different than in the Catholic church, where most of the people accused of abuse are priests and a vast majority of the victims were boys and young men. In the Jehovah's Witnesses, where congregations are often collections of extended families and church elders are chosen from among the laypeople, some of those accused are elders, but most are congregation members. The victims who have stepped forward are mostly girls and young women, and many accusations involve incest.}}


In two separate cases in ] in December 2014, a Jehovah's Witness in ] and a Jehovah's Witness elder from ] were convicted and sentenced for the sexual abuse of children.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/11682357.UPDATE__Jehovah_s_Witness_jailed_for_five_years_for_indecently_assaulting_young_girls/|title=UPDATE: Jehovah's Witness jailed for five years for indecently assaulting young girls|author=Will Frampton|work=]|date=22 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Mother-reveals-torment-Jehovah-s-Witness-jailed/story-25741246-detail/story.html|title=Mother reveals torment as Jehovah's Witness is jailed for sexually abusing her daughter|work=]|date=22 December 2014|access-date=2014-12-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222195244/http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Mother-reveals-torment-Jehovah-s-Witness-jailed/story-25741246-detail/story.html|archive-date=2014-12-22|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Congregation elders are required to first contact the organization's legal department in cases of alleged abuse to establish whether there is a legal duty to report the sex crime to the civil authorities or not.<ref name=privilege></ref> In Canada, elders were advised:<ref>To All Bodies of Elders in Canada, July 29, 1988</ref>
{{quote|There is a duty to report when one has reasonable and probable grounds to believe that there is abuse or a substantial risk of abuse and parents have failed to protect the child. The report shall be made forthwith to the local child welfare authorities. Elders must be aware, however, that once they have knowledge, they have an obligation. They cannot just hope that someone else will report. They must follow through quickly, and be sure that it is done."}}


===2015 Australian royal commission===
The elders' previous manual, ''Pay Attention to Yourselves and to All the Flock'', stated: "Though it is not the responsibility of the Christian congregation to enforce Caesar's laws, the very nature of some crimes demands that they be reported to secular authorities."<ref>{{cite book | last = | first = | authorlink = Watch_Tower_Bible_and_Tract_Society | coauthors = | title = Pay Attention to Yourselves and to All the Flock | publisher = Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania | year = 1977 | location = Brooklyn, New York | pages = 138 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = }}</ref> A 1995 memo to elders stated: "Many states make it mandatory that elders report an accusation to the proper authorities but other states do not. In those states where such is required, oftentimes the parent, the guardian, or the accused person himself can do the reporting."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unelueur.org/forthechildren-August-1-1995.htm |title=To all Bodies of Elders in the United States |accessdate=2010-03-13 |date=1995-08-01 |publisher=WTBS }}</ref> This stance was made public on the Society's official website in 1997,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jw-media.org/aboutjw/article23.htm |title=Jehovah’s Witnesses and Child Protection |accessdate=2010-03-13 |year=1997 |work=Jehovah’s Witnesses Official Media Web Site |publisher=Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania }}</ref> however, the website has since been replaced by JW.org.<ref name="The Official Website of Jehovah's Witnesses">{{cite web|url=http://www.jw.org/ |title=Jehovah’s Witnesses—Official Website: jw.org |deadurl=no |accessdate=2013-03-17}}</ref>
]]]
The handling of child sexual abuse cases in Australia by Jehovah's Witnesses was examined by the ]. The commission was established by the federal government in 2013 to investigate how institutions such as schools, churches, sports clubs and government organizations have responded to allegations and instances of child sexual abuse. Their "case studies showed that it was a common practice of religious institutions to adopt 'in-house' responses when dealing with allegations of child sexual abuse."<ref></ref> In July and August 2015, it held a series of public hearings to present the accounts of two female sex abuse victims and also question seven elders and a circuit overseer associated with the congregations where the abuse took place. The commission also questioned two senior members of the Watch Tower Society Australian branch as well as Geoffrey Jackson, a member of the New York-based Governing Body.


The hearing was told that in response to a summons issued by the commission, the Watch Tower Society had produced 5,000 documents relating to 1,006 case files of allegations of child sexual abuse reported to Jehovah's Witness elders in Australia since 1950—each file for a different alleged perpetrator of child sexual abuse, including 579 cases in which the perpetrator confessed. The "case study regarding the Jehovah's Witnesses showed that the organisation dealt with allegations of child sexual abuse in accordance with internal, scripturally based disciplinary policies and procedures."<ref></ref> The documents showed that of the alleged perpetrators, "not one was reported by the Church to secular authorities". The commission was told: "This suggests that it is the practice of the Jehovah's Witness Church to retain information regarding child sexual abuse offences but not to report allegations of child sexual abuse to the police or other relevant authorities."<ref></ref><ref></ref> Officers of the Royal Commission "referred information in relation to 514 alleged perpetrators to police", adding that "of the remaining 492 alleged perpetrators identified in the case files, officers at the Royal Commission determined that there was either insufficient evidence in the case files to warrant referring matters to police or that the matters had already come to the attention of police".<ref name="rcsub" />
===Country-specific reporting rules for the UK===
In 2000, elders in Great Britain were instructed that in the event of an accusation of child abuse, they "should always include advising the complainant that the congregation cannot take over the God-given responsibility of the ‘superior authorities’ in dealing with crime." The letter went on to add: "Accordingly, the complainant should consider his or her responsibility to report the matter to the authorities without delay. (Compare Romans 13:4, James 4:17) Such authorities might include the family doctor, the head teacher of the child’s school, the social services, the NSPCC, or the police. The elder should explain to the complainant that he himself might have a duty to report the matter to the proper authorities."<ref>To All Bodies of Elders in Britain, December 1, 2000</ref><ref>Letter to All Bodies of Elders, December 1, 2000</ref>


An elder from the Australian branch office said that when not required by law to report abuse allegations to authorities, the church left the decision to report to authorities with the victim and his or her family.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/case-study/636f01a5-50db-4b59-a35e-a24ae07fb0ad/case-study-29,-july-2015,-sydney.aspx |title="Case Study 29: Transcript (day 152)", page 24-26, ''Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse'', July 2015. |access-date=2015-07-31 |archive-date=2017-11-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171120164934/http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/case-study/636f01a5-50db-4b59-a35e-a24ae07fb0ad/case-study-29,-july-2015,-sydney.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> The commission found that the Watch Tower Society's legal department routinely provided incorrect information to elders based on an incorrect understanding of what constitutes a legal obligation to report crimes in Australia.<ref>{{harvnb|Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse|2016|page=62}}: "The Royal Commission heard evidence that, before the public hearing of this case study, the Jehovah’s Witness organisation did not consider that concealment offences were independent of obligations under mandatory reporting laws to report child sexual abuse."</ref><ref>"Case Study 29", Day 153 p.16, 41&mdash;44, ''Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse'', July 2015.</ref> In March 2017, the Royal Commission reported that since its initial 2015 investigation, the Watch Tower Society reported 15 of the 17 allegations it received from members to authorities, indicating that the remaining two were not reported at the request of adult survivors of historical abuse.<ref name="rcsub" />
In 2008, the Watch Tower Society of Britain, in discussions with the UK Charities Commission, undertook to produce a Child Protection Policy and update its procedures to bring them into line with other religious and secular bodies.<ref>"Work of the Charity Commission in 2008-09", ''Minutes of Evidence Taken Before Public Administrative Committee (House of Commons)'', Thursday 10 December 2009, </ref> This Child Protection Policy is available for congregation members to view, but only on request.


The Australian Royal Commission found that "We do not consider the Jehovah's Witness organisation to be an organisation which responds adequately to child sexual abuse. ... The organisation's retention and continued application of policies such as the two-witness rule in cases of child sexual abuse shows a serious lack of understanding of the nature of child sexual abuse."<ref>{{cite report|url=https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/file-list/Case%20Study%2029%20-%20Findings%20Report%20-%20Jehovahs%20Witnesses.pdf|title=Report of Case Study No. 29: The response of the Jehovah's Witnesses and Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Australia Ltd to allegations of child sexual abuse|publisher=Commonwealth of Australia|year=2016|page=77}}</ref> In its final report, the Royal Commission added, "As long as the Jehovah's Witness organisation continues to ... ... in its response to allegations of child sexual abuse, it will remain an organisation that does not respond adequately to child sexual abuse and that fails to protect children."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/religious-institutions|title=Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse&mdash;Religious institutions&mdash;Final Report|publisher=Commonwealth of Australia}}</ref>
===Cover-up allegations===
Critics claim that in many cases, members of Jehovah's Witnesses have been prevented from reporting child molestation to civil authorities.<ref name=history >{{cite web|url=http://www.silentlambs.org/historyofsl.htm |title=The History of Silentlambs |accessdate=2008-12-25 |last=Bowen |first=William |publisher=Silentlambs }}</ref><ref name=settlement >{{cite news | first=Rose French, Allison Hoffman | last= | coauthors= |authorlink= | title=Jehovah's Witnesses Settle Abuse Cases | date=May 11, 2007 | publisher=News Channel 5 | url =http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=6499357 | work =Associated Press | pages = | accessdate = 2008-12-25 | language = }}</ref>


===New Zealand abuse allegations===
Doctrinally, Jehovah's Witnesses handle all matters internally, which in recent years prompted accusations and lawsuits of a systematic sex offender cover-up. Policies sent to elders in 2002 state:<ref>Letter To All Bodies of Elders in the United States, February 15, 2002</ref>
In early June 2023, the Australasia branch of the Watch Tower Society filed for legal action for Jehovah's Witnesses to be exempted from the ]'s investigation into sexual and other abuse by faith-based institutions. It argued that the denomination was not responsible for caring for children, young people, or vulnerable people. Survivors Network spokesperson Steve Goodlass expressed concern that other churches would use judicial reviews to avoid accountability for abuses.<ref>{{cite news |title=Jehovah's Witness church seeks exemption from royal commission abuse in care inquiry |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/491206/jehovah-s-witness-church-seeks-exemption-from-royal-commission-abuse-in-care-inquiry |access-date=7 August 2023 |work=] |date=2 June 2023}}</ref> In mid-August 2023, ] said there were 11 active Jehovah's Witness members in New Zealand with child sex abuse convictions or serious allegations made against them. The Australasia branch office for Jehovah's Witnesses released a statement saying Jehovah's Witnesses abhor child abuse and that elders did not dissuade victims and their parents from reporting abuses to the authorities.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bradley |first1=Anusha |title=RNZ investigation reveals 11 alleged paedophiles active within the Jehovah's Witnesses |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/495727/rnz-investigation-reveals-11-alleged-paedophiles-active-within-the-jehovah-s-witnesses |access-date=18 August 2023 |work=] |date=14 August 2023}}</ref>
{{quote|Child abuse is a crime. Never suggest to anyone that they should not report an allegation of child abuse to the police or other authorities. If you are asked, make it clear that whether to report the matter to the authorities or not, is a personal decision for each individual to make and that there are no congregation sanctions for either decision. That is, no elder will criticize anyone who reports such an allegation to the authorities.}}
This has been the Watch Tower Society's position since 1993, when a memo to elders stated: "It is also a personal decision if the alleged victim chooses to report such accusations to the secular authorities."<ref>Letter To All Bodies of Elders in the United States, February 3, 1993</ref> However, critics maintain that not dissuading victims from approaching the police differs significantly from encouraging them to do so in all such cases.


In late October 2023, the High Court in Wellington rejected the Australasian branch of the Jehovah's Witnesses' bid to be excluded from the Royal Commission's investigation.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bradley |first1=Anusha |title=Jehovah's Withess' bid to be excluded from abuse inquiry dismissed |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/500982/jehovah-s-witness-bid-to-be-excluded-from-abuse-inquiry-dismissed |access-date=26 October 2023 |work=] |date=25 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025052019/https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/500982/jehovah-s-witness-bid-to-be-excluded-from-abuse-inquiry-dismissed |archive-date=25 October 2023|url-status=live}}</ref>
Particularly since around 2000, the Jehovah's Witnesses organization has been accused of covering up cases of child molestation committed by their members. In February 2001, ''Christianity Today''&mdash;an evangelical journal that disagrees with the theological perspective of Jehovah's Witnesses&mdash;printed an article reporting allegations that Jehovah's Witnesses' policies made reporting sexual abuse difficult for members, and did not conform to typical treatment of such cases. The article also included a response by representatives of Jehovah's Witnesses.<ref name="ctlibrary.com">"Sex Abuse: Witness Leaders Accused of Shielding Molesters" by Corrie Cutrer, ''Christianity Today'', March 5, 2001, </ref>


==Lawsuits==
The BBC reported on the controversy around Jehovah's Witnesses child abuse in July 2002, in an episode of ''Panorama'' entitled "Suffer the Little Children"<ref>{{cite web | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/2114320.stm | title=Suffer the Little Children | author="] | last=Powys | first=Betsan |date=July 14, 2002 | work=BBC News | accessdate=January 5, 2010}}</ref> Jehovah's Witnesses headquarters published their response to many of the allegations made in the program, much of which is found in an article on their official website.
===Canada===
In 2004, a Canadian court awarded CAD$5000 to a ] for the ] of an elder who failed to follow the official policy of the church. However, the court dismissed charges against the Watch Tower Society and directed the plaintiff to pay the Watch Tower Society's legal fees amounting to CAD$142,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.religionnewsblog.com/4653/woman-who-won-5000-in-a-sex-abuse-suit-against-church-must-pay-legal-costs|title=Woman who won $5,000 in a sex abuse suit against church must pay legal costs|date=30 September 2003|access-date=16 November 2014|publisher=Religion News Blog}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2012/07/02/landmark_us_verdict_against_jehovahs_witnesses_may_prompt_canadian_sex_abuse_lawsuits.html|title=Landmark U.S. verdict against Jehovah's Witnesses may prompt Canadian sex abuse lawsuits|date=2 July 2012|access-date=14 April 2015|newspaper=Toronto Star}}</ref>


On September 15 2017, an application was filed in the ] for a class action lawsuit on behalf of victims of sexual abuse by a Jehovah's Witness in Quebec. Three corporations of Jehovah's Witnesses were named as defendants: The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Canada, The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania and The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-court-asked-to-approve-sexual-abuse-class-action-lawsuit-against-jehovah-s-witnesses-1.4293138|title=Quebec court asked to approve sexual abuse class-action lawsuit against Jehovah's Witnesses|work=CBC News|access-date=2017-09-22|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/class-action-against-jehovahs-witnesses-644694513.html |title=Class Action against Jehovah's Witnesses |publisher=] |location=Montreal, QC |date=September 15, 2017}} .</ref> In 2019, the Superior Court granted permission for the class action to proceed.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/jehovahs-witness-watchtower-canada-sexual-abuse-lawsuit-1.5044157|title=Quebec class action alleging sexual abuse in Jehovah's Witnesses can proceed|work=CBC}}</ref> Watchtower's request for appeal was granted by the ].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1173405/temoins-jehovah-crimes-sexuels-appel|title=Collective Action for Sexual Crimes: An Authorized Appeal for Jehovah's Witnesses|work=Radio Canada - The Canadian Press}}</ref>
According to Witness spokesman J. R. Brown, Jehovah's Witnesses are not required to report crimes to elders before calling civil authorities. Victims and their families are free to call police, he said, although some don't choose to.<ref>Tubbs, Sharon (Aug. 22, 2002), , ''St. Petersburg Times''.</ref> However, this position has yet to be stated clearly in the Society's literature. Furthermore, critics argue that Jehovah's Witnesses often approach elders first through fear of facing repercussions for 'taking their brother to court', based on their interpretation of 1 Corinthians 6:1&ndash;7.


In 2017, it was also reported that a ] law firm subsequently began an investigation for a national class action lawsuit against the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Canada for cases related to child sexual abuse.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.higgertylaw.ca/class-action-lawsuits/jehovahs-witness-child-sexual-abuse-class-action-lawsuit/|title=Jehovah's Witness Child Sexual Abuse Class Action Lawsuit {{!}} Higgerty Law firm {{!}} Calgary Lawyers|website=www.higgertylaw.ca|language=en-US|access-date=2017-09-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106171548/http://www.higgertylaw.ca/class-action-lawsuits/jehovahs-witness-child-sexual-abuse-class-action-lawsuit/|archive-date=2018-11-06|url-status=dead}}</ref> Subsequently, a nationwide class action lawsuit was filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2019/2019onsc3069/2019onsc3069.html#document|title=Gutierrez v. The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Canada et al., 2019 ONSC 3069 (CanLII)|work=Canadian Legal Information Institute}}</ref>
A circular sent to elders in the ] stated: "In those states where such is required, oftentimes the parent, the guardian, or the accused person himself can do the reporting. In this way the confidentiality protected by ] is not violated."<ref>To all Bodies of Elders in the United States, August 1, 1995</ref> The Watch Tower Society maintains its existing policy, without an explicit requirement for elders to report all child abuse cases where such is not required by law.<ref name=history /><ref name=settlement /> In one case, elders urged a perpetrator himself to go to police.<ref></ref> However, in their official guidelines, elders are instructed to "leave matters in Jehovah's hands" if an abuser denies the accusations and there is no second witness available.<ref name="ctlibrary.com"/><ref>''"Shepherd the Flock of God"'', p. 72</ref>


===United Kingdom===
==Sex offender database==
In 2011, UK attorney ] and US lawyer Jeff Anderson, through their partnership with AO Advocates, brought the first successful civil claim in the UK against ]s of Jehovah’s Witnesses for child abuse.<ref>A v Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (Trustees of) & Others EWHC 1722 (QB), https://www.casemine.com/judgement/uk/5a8ff74f60d03e7f57eab238</ref> In June 2015, the ] in ] awarded damages to the victim (a woman known as 'A') of £275,000 for the failure of Jehovah's Witnesses to protect her from a known pedophile, Peter Stewart. 'A' alleged Stewart abused her from the age of four and threatened that she would be "damned as a sinner" if she told anyone about the abuse. The elders became aware of the abuse in 1990 and announced that Stewart had been given a disciplinary reproof without specifying the reason. The abuse ended only when Stewart was arrested for offenses against another child in 1994. The court held that the elders failed to adequately warn the members of the congregation about their knowledge of past abuse by Stewart.<ref name=Bailii2015>{{cite web |url=http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2015/1722.html |title=A v The Trustees of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society and Ors |publisher=Queen's Bench Division of the High Court |website=British and Irish Legal Information Institute |date=19 June 2015}} <span style="font-size:85%;">(RTF)</span>.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-33201010 |title=Jehovah's Witnesses to compensate woman over sex abuse |work=] |location=London, UK |date=19 June 2015}} See also .</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jun/19/woman-abused-jehovahs-witness-minister-damages |title=Woman abused as child by Jehovah's Witness minister wins £275k damages |author=Damien Gayle and agency |newspaper=] |location=London, UK |date=19 June 2015}}</ref> The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain sought several times to appeal against the judgement, but the ], holding "fair just and reasonable" to order the organization to pay the awarded damages, refused permission to appeal and upheld the ruling to pay to the victim £275,000 in compensation, in addition to the legal costs of the case, estimated at approximately £1 million.<ref name=TheGuard2016 /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/jehovah-s-witnesses-face-1m-legal-bill-after-young-girl-was-sexually-abused-by-one-of-its-members/story-29491614-detail/story.html |title=Jehovah's Witnesses face £1m legal bill after young girl was sexually abused by one of its members |publisher=] |location=Leicester, UK |date=8 July 2016 |access-date=11 January 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160926173418/http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/jehovah-s-witnesses-face-1m-legal-bill-after-young-girl-was-sexually-abused-by-one-of-its-members/story-29491614-detail/story.html |archive-date=26 September 2016}}</ref>
The headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses, the Watch Tower Society, requires all congregations to submit details of child abuse allegations and maintains a database on all cases of child abuse reported to them. A spokesperson for the Watch Tower Society stated in May 2002, "Apart from being legally needed, they have been very helpful to us in our efforts to protect the flock from harm. Christian parents can rightly feel secure in the knowledge that such efforts are made to screen out possible child abusers from appointment to responsible positions within the congregation."<ref>Fax from J. R. Brown, Office of Public Information, to Betsan Powys, dated May 9, 2002.</ref> This database is not shared with authorities, nor can inquiries be made regarding the contents of the database. Critics argue that its very existence represents an effort to shield pedophiles from the authorities. In July 2012 the ] group ] threatened to hack into the database and make its contents public, but they have yet to produce any evidence of having done so.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}}


==Support groups== ===United States===
In 2007 during a ] in the ] court against the Watchtower Society, victims' lawyers convinced the court that ']' does not supersede the legal obligation of clergy to report child sex abuse to secular authorities. The Watchtower Society paid an undisclosed amount without admitting wrongdoing in an out-of-court ] with 16 unnamed victims of alleged sexual abuse. According to court documents obtained by ], one plaintiff was awarded over US$780,000.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna21917798|title=New evidence in Jehovah's Witness allegations|work=]|author=] and Richard Greenberg|date=21 November 2007|access-date=16 November 2007}}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|id= QLAC9kS_EqM|title= NBC Jehovah's Witnesses child sexual abuse}}</ref> '']'' newspaper reported in 2008 that ]ed elders declined to testify against accused ]s, citing the confidentiality of ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.pe.com/localnews/murrieta/stories/PE_News_Local_N_witness28.471157c.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100921030310/http://www.pe.com/localnews/murrieta/stories/PE_News_Local_N_witness28.471157c.html|archive-date=21 September 2010|title=Convicted molester sentenced to 45 years to life|work=]|date=27 June 2008|quote="Elders John Vaughn and Andrew Sinay balked at testifying against Simental, when subpoenaed by Strunsky. They cited the confidentiality afforded by the penitent-clergy privilege."}}</ref> However, the elders did not object to testifying once the court found that "the privilege of penitential communication did not apply".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.leagle.com/decision/incaco20090810046 |quote="the communications were not intended to be confidential and the elders in this case felt they had no duty to keep the confession confidential." |title=People v. Simental |author=]|publisher=Leagle, Inc. |date=10 August 2009 |access-date=14 January 2018}}</ref>
In December 2011, a group of former Jehovah's Witnesses in Indiana began a support and information service reaching out to help those who were abused as children by members of Jehovah's Witnesses. The group initiated an information campaign calling for enforcement of "No Trespassing" signs and holding Jehovah's Witnesses accountable for trespass, as a result of child abuse allegations made in Indiana.<ref></ref>


In June 2012 the Superior Court of ], ], ordered the Watchtower Society to pay US$21 million in punitive damages, in addition to compensatory damages, holding that the Society's policy to not disclose the child abuse history of a member to parents in the congregation or report abuse to authorities contributed to the sexual abuse of a nine-year-old girl.<ref name="nyt1">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/18/us/28-million-awarded-in-jehovahs-witnesses-abuse-case.html|title=Jehovah's Witnesses Told to Pay in Abuse Case|date=2012-06-17|access-date=2014-07-04|newspaper=]}}</ref> The court held that congregation elders, following the policies of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, contributed to the abuse. It held that the elders as agents of the Watchtower Society failed to disclose to other parents regarding the confession of the molester who inappropriately touched his step-daughter, adding that the degree of reprehensibility was of "medium range". Based on the ratio between the compensatory and punitive damages, the court subsequently reduced the Watchtower Society's total liability to US$10 million,<ref>{{cite web|title=Alameda district court document |url=http://apps.alameda.courts.ca.gov/domainweb/service?ServiceName=DomainWebService&PageName=itree&Action=27747936 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202110020/http://apps.alameda.courts.ca.gov/domainweb/service?ServiceName=DomainWebService&PageName=itree&Action=27747936 |archive-date=February 2, 2014 }}</ref> Lawyers for the Society appealed the ruling, calling the decision "unprecedented" and denying responsibility for abuse.<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202110018/http://apps.alameda.courts.ca.gov/domainweb/service?ServiceName=DomainWebService&PageName=itree&Action=27594149 |date=February 2, 2014 }}</ref><ref name="Conti" /> In April 2015, the appeal court reversed the punitive damages, finding that the congregation had no duty to warn the parents or members about the history of offences committed by other members. However, the court concluded that the Watchtower Society was negligent in preventing the abuse and upheld the trial court's decision on compensatory damages amounting to US$2.8 million to be paid by the Watchtower Society and the congregation. The Watchtower Society appealed against the negligence verdict to the Supreme Court of California and the case was settled for an undisclosed amount during appeal.<ref name="Conti">{{cite web |url=http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.gov/search/case/mainCaseScreen.cfm?dist=1&doc_id=2025979&doc_no=A136641&request_token=NiIwLSInLkg9W0BJSSJNSEhIMFw6UVxfICM%2BXz5TICAgCg%3D%3D |title=Jane Doe (Candace Conti) v. The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York Inc. et al.|publisher=] |date=April 13, 2015}} <span style="font-size:85%;">(PDF)</span>.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.gov/search/case/mainCaseScreen.cfm?dist=0&doc_id=2109889&doc_no=S226656&request_token=NiIwLSInLkg9W0BJSSJNSE5JUDw0UDxTISM%2BXz9SUCAgCg%3D%3D |title=Conti v. The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York |access-date=14 January 2018 |year=2015 |publisher=]}}</ref>
==Lawsuits==
In a press release dated November 21, 2007, Jehovah's Witnesses' Office of Public Information stated:<ref></ref>{{quote|In the United States, over 80,000 elders currently serve in over 12,300 congregations … During the last 100 years, only eleven elders have been sued for child abuse in thirteen lawsuits filed in the United States; In seven of these lawsuits against the elders, accusations against the Watchtower Society itself were dismissed by the courts.}}


In October 2014, a case was heard in ], about the sexual abuse of Jose Lopez by Gonzalo Campos. Witness elders were aware that Campos had confessed to the abuse of at least one other child in 1982, but in 1986 they recommended Campos as an instructor to Lopez. Campos moved to another congregation in 1987 and became an elder in 1993. Campos later confessed to abusing at least eight children between 1982 and 1995 and subsequently fled to Mexico. Campos was subsequently disfellowshipped in 1995. For failing to protect Lopez from a known offender and for its subsequent refusal to cooperate with the court, the Watchtower Society was ordered to pay US$13.5 million to the plaintiff. The Watchtower Society appealed the ruling.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-abuse-california-idUSKBN0IL2O320141101|title=Jehovah's Witnesses to pay $13.5 million in California sex abuse ruling|date=1 November 2014|access-date=16 November 2014|work=]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/135M-Awarded-to-Bible-Teacher-Gonzalo-Campos-Alleged-Abuse-Victim-Jose-Lopez-281031832.html|title=Jehovah's Witnesses Ordered to Pay $13.5M to Bible Teacher's Alleged Victim|work=] NBC San Diego|date=3 November 2014|access-date=16 November 2014}}</ref> The appeal court vacated the judgment, granting that lesser sanctions might compel the Watchtower Society to comply with the court's requirements.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.gov/search/case/mainCaseScreen.cfm?dist=41&doc_id=2083576&doc_no=D066388&request_token=NiIwLSInLkg9W0BJSSFdXEpIQDg6UkxbJSM%2BSzJRMCAgCg%3D%3D |title=Lopez v. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. |publisher=] |date=April 14, 2016}} <span style="font-size:85%;">(PDF)</span>.</ref> While the document discovery dispute was still in progress the case was settled out of court in January 2018.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2018/jan/12/ticker-jehovahs-witnesses-settle-sex-abuse-case|title=Jehovah's Witnesses to settle sex-abuse case|date=12 January 2012}}</ref> In a separate case involving another victim of Gonzalo Campos, the Watchtower Society produced redacted copies of documents related to child sexual abuse in the United States from 1997 until 2001. The Watchtower Society asserted that it had no access to more recent documents held by the ], a separate subsidiary of the Watchtower Society. The court sanctioned Watchtower $4,000 for each day that it did not submit the documents. Watchtower unsuccessfully appealed against the ruling, and the court of appeals directed Watchtower to pay fines (US$48,000 by the time of the appeal) and submit to the court order.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/D070723.PDF |title=Padron v. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. |year=2017 |publisher=California Court of Appeal, 4th district |access-date=2017-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171219155939/http://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/D070723.PDF |archive-date=2017-12-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.gov/search/case/dockets.cfm?dist=41&doc_id=2150357&doc_no=D070723&request_token=NiIwLSInLkg9WyBBSCI9TE1JQDw6UkxbJCJeWzhTQCAgCg%3D%3D |title=Padron v. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. |year = 2017 |publisher=California Court of Appeal, 4th district | quote=Appellant's counsel responded, establishing that sanctions pursuant to the order had accrued in the amount of $48, 000 by the time of the filing of the notice of appeal, therefore exceeding the $5, 000 threshold}}</ref> The case was settled out of court in February 2018.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2018/mar/02/ticker-watchtower-done-looking-other-way|work=San Diego Reader|title=Watchtower done looking the other way?|date=2 March 2018|access-date=4 March 2018}}</ref> In 2015, another California trial court ] Watchtower and ordered it to pay US$4 million to the plaintiff after its failure to produce documents. Watchtower subsequently offered to produce documents on a rollout basis{{clarify|reason=What is a rollout basis?|date=February 2021}} and appealed the decision to California appellate courts, but lost the appeal.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/E066555.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222052124/http://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/E066555.PDF |url-status=dead |archive-date=2018-12-22 |title=J.W v. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc (E066555). |year = 2019 |publisher=California Court of Appeal, 4th district, Division 2 }}</ref> Watchtower's further appeal to the ] was denied in October 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/19-40.html |title=Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., Petitioner v. J. W., a Minor|year = 2019 |publisher=Supreme Court of United States}}</ref> In 2014, it was reported that the law firm representing these lawsuits filed similar cases in ], ],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-jehovah-witness-lawsuit-20141001-story.html|title=Siblings Sue Jehovah's Witnesses Over Alleged Child Sex Abuse|work=]|date=1 October 2014|access-date=18 November 2014}}</ref> ], ] and ].<ref name=oregonian1>{{cite news|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2014/12/jehovahs_witnesses_under_fire.html|work=]|title=Jehovah's Witnesses under fire from former congregants who say child sex abuse was hushed|date=1 December 2014|access-date=11 December 2014}}</ref>
In 2004, a Canadian court awarded CAD$5000 to a plaintiff for the negligence of an elder who failed to follow the official policy of the church. However, the court dismissed charges against the Watchtower Society, and directed the plaintiff to pay the Watchtower Society's legal fees amounting to CAD$142,000.<ref></ref>


In 2016, the Delaware attorney general sued Watchtower claiming that elders failed to report an unlawful sexual relationship between a 35-year-old woman and a 14-year-old boy, both of whom were disfellowshipped by elders. The court ruled that while communication between the adult perpetrator and elders was protected by penitent-clergy privilege, the communication with the minor was not. Watchtower reached a settlement with the state, paying $19,500 in fines without admitting guilt or liability. The elders were to participate in a training program provided by the State of Delaware.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://delawarestatenews.net/news/judge-refuses-to-dismiss-lawsuit-against-jehovahs-witnesses/|title=Judge refuses to dismiss lawsuit against Jehovah's Witnesses|website=delawarestatenews.net|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://law.justia.com/cases/delaware/superior-court/2016/n14c-05-122-mmj-0.html|title=State of Delaware v. Laurel Delaware Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, et al|website=law.justia.com|language=en}}</ref>
In 2007 during a ground-breaking trial motion in the ] court against the Watchtower Society, victims' lawyers convinced the court that ']' does not supersede the legal obligation of clergy to report child sex abuse to secular authorities. The Watchtower Society paid an undisclosed amount without admitting wrongdoing in an out-of-court settlement with 16 unnamed victims of alleged sexual abuse within the religion.<ref></ref> According to court documents obtained by ], one plaintiff was awarded over US$780,000.<ref>News video: </ref>


In 2018, a jury in Thompson Falls, Montana, awarded $35 million to a victim of sexual abuse, claiming that the Jehovah's Witnesses church failed to protect her. The case was reportedly focused on the 'two witness rule' and the failure of congregation elders to turn the information over to secular authorities.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/montana-jehovah-s-witness-sex-abuse-case-underscores-church-s/article_fddc41e5-536b-5843-af30-200cc14892d8.html|title=Montana Jehovah's Witness sex abuse case underscores church's worldwide reckoning|last=Larson|first=Seaborn|website=missoulian.com|date=30 September 2018 |language=en|access-date=2019-02-06}}</ref> The Watchtower Society argued that elders had no legal obligation to report abuse cases in Montana<ref>{{cite web |url=https://supremecourtdocket.mt.gov |title= Watchtower v. 20th Judicial District (Petition for writ of supervisory control and motion for stay of trial court proceedings)|year = 2018 |publisher=Supreme Court of Montana }}</ref> and appealed the ruling.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://supremecourtdocket.mt.gov |title=Nunez v. Watchtower (Notice of appeal). |year = 2019 |publisher=Supreme Court of Montana }}</ref> In January 2020, the Supreme Court of Montana reversed and remanded the judgement in favor of Jehovah's Witnesses holding that the confidential communication elders received is specifically exempt under mandatory reporting statute.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://supremecourtdocket.mt.gov |title=Opinion:Alexis Nunez and Holly McGowan vs Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc et al (case number: DA 19-0077)|year = 2019 |publisher=Supreme Court of Montana| quote ="We hold that Jehovah’s Witnesses are excepted from the mandatory reporting statute under § 41-3-201(6)(c), MCA, because the undisputed material facts in the record show that Jehovah’s Witnesses canon law, church doctrine, or established church practice required that the reports of abuse in this case be kept confidential. We therefore reverse the District Court’s grant of summary judgment to Alexis and remand for entry of summary judgment in favor of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Because this issue is dispositive, we do not reach the punitive damages award or the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ other arguments." }}</ref>
Newspapers have reported that subpoenaed elders decline to testify against accused ]s, citing the confidentiality of ].<ref></ref> However elders did not object to testifying once a specific matter of penitent-clergy privilege had been adjudicated.<ref></ref>


In July 2023, a circuit court in ] awarded $40 million in damages to a plaintiff identified as "N.D.", based on allegations that she was raped and sexually assaulted by Keneth L. Apana, a church elder when she was 12 years old in 1992. The process, initiated in 2020, that indicted Apana and the Makaha Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, as well as other entities associated with the Jehovah's Witnesses church, also found that Apana abused other girls for 23 years. Apana admitted to many of the facts alleged by the plaintiff. The Jehovah's Witnesses part of the case was settled before the $40 million judgment against the perpetrator.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=KITV Web |date=2023-07-20 |title=Abuse victim in Hawaii awarded $40 million in church sex assault case |url=https://www.kitv.com/news/crime/abuse-victim-in-hawaii-awarded-40-million-in-church-sex-assault-case/article_03cd8864-276c-11ee-87e7-cf15d4d4d96e.html |access-date=2024-02-15 |website=KITV Island News |language=en}}</ref>
In June 2012, a California court ordered the Watch Tower Society to pay more than US$20 million in compensation and punitive damages to a woman who, as a child, was allegedly abused by a member. The court found that congregation elders, following the policies of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, contributed to the abuse. In the post-trial motion, the Watch Tower Society's attorney stated in a court memorandum that no United States court has previously found its conduct or policy regarding sex abuse to be unlawful, claiming that the Watch Tower Society's reprehensibility is "very low" if any.<ref>{{cite web|title=Alameda district court document|url=http://apps.alameda.courts.ca.gov/domainweb/service?ServiceName=DomainWebService&PageName=itree&Action=27688124}}</ref> The court reduced the Watch Tower Society's total liability to US$10 million, stating that the elders as agents of the Watch Tower Society failed to disclose to other parents regarding the confession of the molester who inappropriately touched his step daughter, adding that the reprehensibility is of "medium range".<ref>{{cite web|title=Alameda district court document|url=http://apps.alameda.courts.ca.gov/domainweb/service?ServiceName=DomainWebService&PageName=itree&Action=27747936}}</ref> Lawyers for the Society had appealed the ruling, calling the decision "unprecedented" and denying responsibility for abuse.<ref>http://apps.alameda.courts.ca.gov/domainweb/service?ServiceName=DomainWebService&PageName=itree&Action=27594149</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Jury awards $28M to woman who said Jehovah’s Witnesses allowed church member to molest her|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/jury-awards-28m-to-woman-who-said-jehovahs-witnesses-allowed-church-member-to-molest-her/2012/06/16/gJQAQsMnhV_story.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Jehovah's Witnesses ordered to pay more than $20 million to woman who said she was sexually abused|url=http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/15/12225753-jehovahs-witnesses-ordered-to-pay-more-than-20-million-to-woman-who-said-she-was-sexually-abused?lite}}</ref><ref></ref><ref></ref>


==See also== ==See also==
{{Portal | Crime | Human sexuality }}
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*] ; Sexual abuse cases in church
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; Other related topics
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==References== ==References==
{{reflist|2}} {{Reflist|2}}


==External links== ==External links==
*
* of an interview with an abuse victim
*, an investigative journalism podcast by ]
* , Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Australia, 3 January 2017


{{Sexual ethics}}
===Critical===
{{Abuse}}
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{{SACC}}
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{{Pedophilia|state=expanded}}
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* of an interview with an abuse victim

===Supportive===
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Latest revision as of 11:53, 11 January 2025

Controversy regarding Jehovah's Witnesses' handling of sexual abuse cases
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Various individuals, courts and the media around the world have raised concerns about the manner in which cases of child sexual abuse are handled when they occur in congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses. An independent 2009 study in Norway was critical of how Jehovah's Witnesses dealt with cases of child sexual abuse but stated there is no indication that the rate of sexual abuse among Jehovah's Witnesses is higher than found in general society. The organization's stated position is that it abhors child sexual abuse.

In 2015, it was disclosed that the Australia Branch of Jehovah's Witnesses had records of 1,006 alleged perpetrators of child sexual abuse, relating to more than 1,800 victims since 1950, none of which were reported to police by the group. Some media and courts have reported that Jehovah's Witnesses employ organizational policies, which the group says are Bible-based, that make the reporting of sexual abuse difficult for members. Some victims of sexual abuse have said they were ordered by local elders to maintain silence to avoid embarrassment to both the accused and the organization.

In 2002, Jehovah's Witnesses' Office of Public Information published its policy for elders to report allegations of child abuse to the authorities where required by law, even if there was only one witness. In 2016 a UK judge upheld a ruling against the Jehovah's Witnesses for failing to protect a victim of child sexual abuse, and the Supreme Court rejected an attempt by the Watch Tower Society to block a Charity Commission inquiry into how the organisation's charity handles allegations of abuse. This was the culmination of two years of legal proceedings in five different courts and tribunals. The commission's attorney said, "WTBTS has at every stage relentlessly challenged the legal basis and scope of the Charity Commission's inquiry".

In 2019, elders in New Zealand were told to destroy documents, causing survivors of child sex abuse to fear that cases will be covered up. The organization maintained that documents relevant to cases of abuse would not be destroyed.

The UK Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse was critical of Jehovah's Witnesses' policy that there must be two witnesses to cases of abuse before elders would consider the allegation. IICSA maintained the policy overlooks the fact that "child sexual abuse is most often perpetrated in the absence of witnesses".

Policies

'Two witness rule'

Jehovah's Witnesses' congregational judicial policies require the testimony of two material witnesses to establish a perpetrator's serious sin in the absence of confession. The organization considers this policy to be a protection against malicious accusations of sexual assault and states that this two-witness policy is applied solely to congregational discipline and has no bearing on whether a crime is reported to the authorities in countries where this is mandatory. DNA evidence, medical reports, or information from forensic experts or police that proves sexual abuse may possibly be accepted as a valid "second witness", however critics argue that without mandatory reporting for all accusations of abuse regardless of the local laws, such evidence could remain undetected. This approach has also been criticized for its focus on determining guilt overlooking the seriousness of the initial abuse and allowing a pedophile to go unpunished until they have been caught abusing multiple victims.

Questioning the victim

A Watch Tower Society representative testified that the organization does not consider itself responsible for the "physical protection" of children in the community. Victims of abuse are required to provide details of their abuse to a group of male elders, which may cause additional trauma; Elders are directed that a victim must not be required to face their abuser to present an accusation, however, adult victims may do so if they wish.

Reproof and restrictions

Former child molesters, including those who molested children before becoming Jehovah's Witnesses, those eventually reinstated into the congregation, and those who were deemed repentant, are subject to a number of restrictions. Commenting on the effect of these restrictions, Jehovah's Witnesses' legal representative, Mario Moreno, stated that these restrictions alert members that the individual "lacks spiritual maturity." An abuser who is judged repentant by a committee of elders is given a 'public reproof', wherein it is announced to the congregation that the named individual "has been reproved", though the specific reason for reproof is not stated. A few weeks later, a talk may be given to the congregation, discussing the type of sin and the need to be on guard against it, but the reproved individual is not named in connection with this talk. It is the intention that the talk about the type of sin, and the previously made announcement of reproof, should allow other congregation members to interpret what type of sin had been committed.

Sex offenders are still permitted to participate in the congregation's house-to-house preaching. According to the Watch Tower Society's spokesperson, J. R. Brown, such ones are only allowed to preach when accompanied by a responsible adult. In 2016, a convicted child sex offender was filmed going door-to-door for the denomination. The sustained participation in the group's activities has resulted in sexual predators remaining in good standing in the congregation. Elders are instructed that if a child abuser moves from their congregation to another, they must send a letter to the body of elders in the new congregation outlining the offender's background, although these letters sometimes fail to mention these confessions of abuse.

Comparison with other religions

The New York Times commented:

The shape of the scandal is far different than in the Catholic church, where most of the people accused of abuse are priests and a vast majority of the victims were boys and young men. In the Jehovah's Witnesses, where congregations are often collections of extended families and church elders are chosen from among the laypeople, some of those accused are elders, but most are congregation members. The victims who have stepped forward are mostly girls and young women, and many accusations involve incest.

In 2008, the Watch Tower Society of Britain, in discussions with the UK Charities Commission, undertook to produce a Child Protection Policy and update its procedures to bring them into line with other religious and secular bodies.

Cover-up allegations

In some cases, members of Jehovah's Witnesses have been prevented or deterred from reporting child molestation to civil authorities. Particularly since around 2000, the Jehovah's Witnesses organization has been accused of covering up cases of child molestation committed by its members. In March 2001, Christianity Today printed an article reporting allegations that Jehovah's Witnesses' policies made reporting sexual abuse difficult for members, and did not conform to typical treatment of such cases. The article also included a response by representatives of Jehovah's Witnesses. The Australian Royal Commission heard that an elder discouraged an abuse victim from going to the Commission by saying, "Do you really want to drag Jehovah's name through the mud?" In Ireland in 2016, two Jehovah's Witness elders were removed from their positions as punishment for reporting a child molester to the police after the London Branch legal department told them not to.

The BBC reported allegations of a cover-up in July 2002, in an episode of Panorama entitled "Suffer the Little Children". The report revealed that the headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses, the Watch Tower Society, requires all congregations to submit details of child abuse allegations and maintains an internal database on all cases of child abuse reported to them. It described one case where a child came forward to the elders of her congregation to report sexual abuse by her father but was sent home, despite their having known for three years that her father was an abuser. When the girl eventually went to the police, her father was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.

According to Witness spokesman J. R. Brown, Jehovah's Witnesses are not required to report crimes to elders before calling civil authorities. Victims and their families are free to call police, he said, although some don't choose to. The Watch Tower Society maintains a policy with no explicit requirement for elders to report all child abuse cases where such is not required by law. Elders are instructed to "leave matters in Jehovah's hands" if an abuser denies the accusations and there is no second witness available.

2014 investigations in the United Kingdom

In 2013 at the Jehovah's Witnesses congregation of Moston, Manchester, England, church elder and convicted child sex offender Jonathan Rose, following his completion of a nine-month jail sentence for paedophile offences, was allowed in a series of public meetings to cross-examine the children he had molested. Rose was disfellowshipped after complaints to the police and the Charity Commission for England and Wales.

In a separate incident, prior to the trial and conviction for rape and sexual assault in June 2014 of Mark Sewell, an elder of the congregation in Barry, Wales, the church conducted an internal investigation of the allegations, where the women and children had to face their alleged abuser in judicial committee hearings. A child victim, for whom Sewell was later convicted of rape, alleged that she was questioned closely by church elders when she came forward years after the attack and was required to describe the incident to them in intimate detail, with Sewell present, but her claims were dismissed by the committee and not taken to the police for further investigation. In June, Sewell was jailed for fourteen years for the rape and sexual abuse of parishioners, including children. All but one of Sewell's fellow elders who investigated claims against him declined to give evidence in his Crown Court trial. They also provided no assistance to police and prosecutors in their investigation, despite dis-fellowshipping Sewell 20 years previously, and destroyed evidence showing claims against Sewell dating back more than 20 years. In June 2014, Sewell was sentenced to fourteen years in prison for eight sex offenses; in December 2014 he appealed unsuccessfully for a reduction of his sentence.

In June and July 2014, the Charity Commission for England and Wales announced that it was formally investigating both the Moston and Barry congregations over their child protection policies, to be conducted independently of two statutory inquiries opened the previous month into Jehovah's Witnesses charities in relation to issues including child protection. The Charity Commission noted that it had "serious concerns" about the Manchester New Moston Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, having most recently opened a case into it in December 2013. The Watch Tower Society subsequently sought judicial review of the Charity Commission's enquiry; this was denied on 12 December 2014, on the grounds that the Charities Act 2011 required all other legal avenues to be exhausted prior to application for judicial review. Subsequent appeals against the investigation by the New Moston Congregation and the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain to the Charity Commission's tribunal were rejected in April 2015.

In two separate cases in England in December 2014, a Jehovah's Witness in Bournemouth and a Jehovah's Witness elder from Plymouth were convicted and sentenced for the sexual abuse of children.

2015 Australian royal commission

Case Study of Jehovah's Witnesses in Australia's Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

The handling of child sexual abuse cases in Australia by Jehovah's Witnesses was examined by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The commission was established by the federal government in 2013 to investigate how institutions such as schools, churches, sports clubs and government organizations have responded to allegations and instances of child sexual abuse. Their "case studies showed that it was a common practice of religious institutions to adopt 'in-house' responses when dealing with allegations of child sexual abuse." In July and August 2015, it held a series of public hearings to present the accounts of two female sex abuse victims and also question seven elders and a circuit overseer associated with the congregations where the abuse took place. The commission also questioned two senior members of the Watch Tower Society Australian branch as well as Geoffrey Jackson, a member of the New York-based Governing Body.

The hearing was told that in response to a summons issued by the commission, the Watch Tower Society had produced 5,000 documents relating to 1,006 case files of allegations of child sexual abuse reported to Jehovah's Witness elders in Australia since 1950—each file for a different alleged perpetrator of child sexual abuse, including 579 cases in which the perpetrator confessed. The "case study regarding the Jehovah's Witnesses showed that the organisation dealt with allegations of child sexual abuse in accordance with internal, scripturally based disciplinary policies and procedures." The documents showed that of the alleged perpetrators, "not one was reported by the Church to secular authorities". The commission was told: "This suggests that it is the practice of the Jehovah's Witness Church to retain information regarding child sexual abuse offences but not to report allegations of child sexual abuse to the police or other relevant authorities." Officers of the Royal Commission "referred information in relation to 514 alleged perpetrators to police", adding that "of the remaining 492 alleged perpetrators identified in the case files, officers at the Royal Commission determined that there was either insufficient evidence in the case files to warrant referring matters to police or that the matters had already come to the attention of police".

An elder from the Australian branch office said that when not required by law to report abuse allegations to authorities, the church left the decision to report to authorities with the victim and his or her family. The commission found that the Watch Tower Society's legal department routinely provided incorrect information to elders based on an incorrect understanding of what constitutes a legal obligation to report crimes in Australia. In March 2017, the Royal Commission reported that since its initial 2015 investigation, the Watch Tower Society reported 15 of the 17 allegations it received from members to authorities, indicating that the remaining two were not reported at the request of adult survivors of historical abuse.

The Australian Royal Commission found that "We do not consider the Jehovah's Witness organisation to be an organisation which responds adequately to child sexual abuse. ... The organisation's retention and continued application of policies such as the two-witness rule in cases of child sexual abuse shows a serious lack of understanding of the nature of child sexual abuse." In its final report, the Royal Commission added, "As long as the Jehovah's Witness organisation continues to ... ... in its response to allegations of child sexual abuse, it will remain an organisation that does not respond adequately to child sexual abuse and that fails to protect children."

New Zealand abuse allegations

In early June 2023, the Australasia branch of the Watch Tower Society filed for legal action for Jehovah's Witnesses to be exempted from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care's investigation into sexual and other abuse by faith-based institutions. It argued that the denomination was not responsible for caring for children, young people, or vulnerable people. Survivors Network spokesperson Steve Goodlass expressed concern that other churches would use judicial reviews to avoid accountability for abuses. In mid-August 2023, Radio New Zealand said there were 11 active Jehovah's Witness members in New Zealand with child sex abuse convictions or serious allegations made against them. The Australasia branch office for Jehovah's Witnesses released a statement saying Jehovah's Witnesses abhor child abuse and that elders did not dissuade victims and their parents from reporting abuses to the authorities.

In late October 2023, the High Court in Wellington rejected the Australasian branch of the Jehovah's Witnesses' bid to be excluded from the Royal Commission's investigation.

Lawsuits

Canada

In 2004, a Canadian court awarded CAD$5000 to a plaintiff for the negligence of an elder who failed to follow the official policy of the church. However, the court dismissed charges against the Watch Tower Society and directed the plaintiff to pay the Watch Tower Society's legal fees amounting to CAD$142,000.

On September 15 2017, an application was filed in the Superior Court of Quebec for a class action lawsuit on behalf of victims of sexual abuse by a Jehovah's Witness in Quebec. Three corporations of Jehovah's Witnesses were named as defendants: The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Canada, The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania and The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. In 2019, the Superior Court granted permission for the class action to proceed. Watchtower's request for appeal was granted by the Quebec Court of Appeal.

In 2017, it was also reported that a Calgary, Alberta law firm subsequently began an investigation for a national class action lawsuit against the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Canada for cases related to child sexual abuse. Subsequently, a nationwide class action lawsuit was filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

United Kingdom

In 2011, UK attorney Ann Olivarius and US lawyer Jeff Anderson, through their partnership with AO Advocates, brought the first successful civil claim in the UK against ministerial servants of Jehovah’s Witnesses for child abuse. In June 2015, the High Court of Justice in London awarded damages to the victim (a woman known as 'A') of £275,000 for the failure of Jehovah's Witnesses to protect her from a known pedophile, Peter Stewart. 'A' alleged Stewart abused her from the age of four and threatened that she would be "damned as a sinner" if she told anyone about the abuse. The elders became aware of the abuse in 1990 and announced that Stewart had been given a disciplinary reproof without specifying the reason. The abuse ended only when Stewart was arrested for offenses against another child in 1994. The court held that the elders failed to adequately warn the members of the congregation about their knowledge of past abuse by Stewart. The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain sought several times to appeal against the judgement, but the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, holding "fair just and reasonable" to order the organization to pay the awarded damages, refused permission to appeal and upheld the ruling to pay to the victim £275,000 in compensation, in addition to the legal costs of the case, estimated at approximately £1 million.

United States

In 2007 during a trial motion in the Napa, California court against the Watchtower Society, victims' lawyers convinced the court that 'ecclesiastical privilege' does not supersede the legal obligation of clergy to report child sex abuse to secular authorities. The Watchtower Society paid an undisclosed amount without admitting wrongdoing in an out-of-court settlement with 16 unnamed victims of alleged sexual abuse. According to court documents obtained by NBC News, one plaintiff was awarded over US$780,000. The Press-Enterprise newspaper reported in 2008 that subpoenaed elders declined to testify against accused penitents, citing the confidentiality of penitent-clergy privilege. However, the elders did not object to testifying once the court found that "the privilege of penitential communication did not apply".

In June 2012 the Superior Court of Alameda, California, ordered the Watchtower Society to pay US$21 million in punitive damages, in addition to compensatory damages, holding that the Society's policy to not disclose the child abuse history of a member to parents in the congregation or report abuse to authorities contributed to the sexual abuse of a nine-year-old girl. The court held that congregation elders, following the policies of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, contributed to the abuse. It held that the elders as agents of the Watchtower Society failed to disclose to other parents regarding the confession of the molester who inappropriately touched his step-daughter, adding that the degree of reprehensibility was of "medium range". Based on the ratio between the compensatory and punitive damages, the court subsequently reduced the Watchtower Society's total liability to US$10 million, Lawyers for the Society appealed the ruling, calling the decision "unprecedented" and denying responsibility for abuse. In April 2015, the appeal court reversed the punitive damages, finding that the congregation had no duty to warn the parents or members about the history of offences committed by other members. However, the court concluded that the Watchtower Society was negligent in preventing the abuse and upheld the trial court's decision on compensatory damages amounting to US$2.8 million to be paid by the Watchtower Society and the congregation. The Watchtower Society appealed against the negligence verdict to the Supreme Court of California and the case was settled for an undisclosed amount during appeal.

In October 2014, a case was heard in San Diego, California, about the sexual abuse of Jose Lopez by Gonzalo Campos. Witness elders were aware that Campos had confessed to the abuse of at least one other child in 1982, but in 1986 they recommended Campos as an instructor to Lopez. Campos moved to another congregation in 1987 and became an elder in 1993. Campos later confessed to abusing at least eight children between 1982 and 1995 and subsequently fled to Mexico. Campos was subsequently disfellowshipped in 1995. For failing to protect Lopez from a known offender and for its subsequent refusal to cooperate with the court, the Watchtower Society was ordered to pay US$13.5 million to the plaintiff. The Watchtower Society appealed the ruling. The appeal court vacated the judgment, granting that lesser sanctions might compel the Watchtower Society to comply with the court's requirements. While the document discovery dispute was still in progress the case was settled out of court in January 2018. In a separate case involving another victim of Gonzalo Campos, the Watchtower Society produced redacted copies of documents related to child sexual abuse in the United States from 1997 until 2001. The Watchtower Society asserted that it had no access to more recent documents held by the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, a separate subsidiary of the Watchtower Society. The court sanctioned Watchtower $4,000 for each day that it did not submit the documents. Watchtower unsuccessfully appealed against the ruling, and the court of appeals directed Watchtower to pay fines (US$48,000 by the time of the appeal) and submit to the court order. The case was settled out of court in February 2018. In 2015, another California trial court defaulted Watchtower and ordered it to pay US$4 million to the plaintiff after its failure to produce documents. Watchtower subsequently offered to produce documents on a rollout basis and appealed the decision to California appellate courts, but lost the appeal. Watchtower's further appeal to the United States Supreme Court was denied in October 2019. In 2014, it was reported that the law firm representing these lawsuits filed similar cases in Connecticut, Vermont, California, Oregon and New Mexico.

In 2016, the Delaware attorney general sued Watchtower claiming that elders failed to report an unlawful sexual relationship between a 35-year-old woman and a 14-year-old boy, both of whom were disfellowshipped by elders. The court ruled that while communication between the adult perpetrator and elders was protected by penitent-clergy privilege, the communication with the minor was not. Watchtower reached a settlement with the state, paying $19,500 in fines without admitting guilt or liability. The elders were to participate in a training program provided by the State of Delaware.

In 2018, a jury in Thompson Falls, Montana, awarded $35 million to a victim of sexual abuse, claiming that the Jehovah's Witnesses church failed to protect her. The case was reportedly focused on the 'two witness rule' and the failure of congregation elders to turn the information over to secular authorities. The Watchtower Society argued that elders had no legal obligation to report abuse cases in Montana and appealed the ruling. In January 2020, the Supreme Court of Montana reversed and remanded the judgement in favor of Jehovah's Witnesses holding that the confidential communication elders received is specifically exempt under mandatory reporting statute.

In July 2023, a circuit court in Hawaii awarded $40 million in damages to a plaintiff identified as "N.D.", based on allegations that she was raped and sexually assaulted by Keneth L. Apana, a church elder when she was 12 years old in 1992. The process, initiated in 2020, that indicted Apana and the Makaha Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, as well as other entities associated with the Jehovah's Witnesses church, also found that Apana abused other girls for 23 years. Apana admitted to many of the facts alleged by the plaintiff. The Jehovah's Witnesses part of the case was settled before the $40 million judgment against the perpetrator.

See also

Sexual abuse cases in church
Other related topics

References

  1. ^ Alice Ross (12 August 2016). "Jehovah's Witnesses under pressure over handling of sexual abuse claims". The Guardian. London, UK.
  2. Ringnes, Hege Kristin (2009). "Individet i gruppen: en psykologisk tilnærming til det å være et Jehovas vitne". In Ringnes, Hege Kristin; Sødal, Helje Kringlebotn (eds.). Jehovas vitner — en flerfaglig studie (in Norwegian). Oslo: Universitetsforlaget. p. 101. ISBN 978-82-15-01453-1.
  3. Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (28 November 2016). Report into Jehovah's Witness organisations released (Report). p. 10. Read the full report (PDF).
  4. ^ "Australia Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse - Submissions of Senior Counsel". Child Abuse Royal Commission. March 2017. p. 12. Archived from the original on September 22, 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  5. Brekke, Kira (18 February 2015). "Investigation Claims Jehovah Witnesses' Watchtower Is Hiding Child Sexual Abuse Claims". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  6. ^ Bootie Cosgrove-Mather (4 April 2003). "Another Church Sex Scandal". cbsnews.com. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  7. ^ Corrie Cutrer (5 March 2001). "Sex Abuse: Witness Leaders Accused of Shielding Molesters". christianitytoday.com. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  8. ^ Jana Wendt (27 November 2005). "Cover Stories: The Year in Review". paddington.ninemsn.com.au. Archived from the original on 2013-05-03. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  9. ^ "Secret database protects paedophiles". BBC News. July 12, 2002. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  10. "Child abuse policy". BBC News - Panorama. July 12, 2002. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  11. Phil Pennington of RNZ (October 18, 2019). "Royal Commission: Jehovah's Witnesses elders told to destroy documents". Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  12. Religious groups in UK failing children over sex abuse, report says BBC
  13. Kristine Hirsti and Kathrine Hammerstad (12 December 2012): Tidligere ledere — Jehovas vitner dysser ned overgrep mot barn (in Norwegian) NRK. Retrieved 23 September 2013
  14. "Ex-Elder Challenges Jehovah's Witnesses On Child Abuse". The Washington Post. corroborating evidence can be used instead of a second witness to prove wrongdoing
  15. Public Hearing - Case Study 29 (Day 152) (PDF). Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Australia (Report). p. 67,72. in the absence of a confession or circumstantial evidence or other indicators, would we act judicially on one witness as the courts would do, the answer would be no, and I don't see that changing, in harmony with the scriptures. ... Q. Insofar as a second witness is concerned, is that requirement covered by, for example, scientific evidence? A. Certainly. Q. So if there was some external forensic scientific or direct evidence which is not of an observer to the incident, but someone who observes some corroborative aspect to the incident, that would be sufficient, would it? A. The answer is yes... we, as the case files will show, have disfellowshipped people for being in an inappropriate setting where there is some allegation.
  16. Public Hearing - Case Study 29 (Day 155) (PDF). Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Australia (Report). p. 44,45.
  17. ^ "New Evidence in Jehovah's Witness allegations". nbcnews.com/. 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  18. "Richard Ashe deposition". YouTube. 13 February 2015. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21.
  19. "Did leaders of Jehovah's Witnesses cover up child sex abuse?". PBS NEWSHOUR. RICHARD ASHE, Watchtower Supervisor: Well, within the congregation, ours is a spiritual protection. When we’re talking about physical protection, that’s up to the secular authorities to provide. 16 February 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  20. "Case Study 29", Submissions of Senior Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission p. 131, Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, July 2015, "The number of people to whom a survivor of child sexual abuse is required to divulge the detail of her complaint exacerbates the trauma already suffered by a survivor of such abuse."
  21. Jehovah's Witnesses accused of silencing victims of child abuse
  22. Patrick, A. Odysseus (14 August 2015). "Jehovah's Witnesses face child sexual-abuse investigation in Australia". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 September 2018. Church elders need to secure a confession or the testimony of two credible witnesses to the same incident, two witnesses to separate incidents of the same kind, or strong circumstantial evidence testified to by at least two witnesses. The accuser also has to justify his or her allegations to church elders, often in the presence of the alleged perpetrator.
  23. Paducah Sun, January 28, 2001
  24. "A v Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (Trustees of) & Ors [2015] EWHC 1722 (QB) (19 June 2015)". They would not have been told specifically that Peter Stewart had sexually assaulted a child, but it was intended that the conjunction of the two announcements should cause the congregation to understand that Peter Stewart was a sex abuser of young children. Archived from the original on 2019-07-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  25. Louisville Courier-Journal, 1-4-01.
  26. "News 5 Investigates: Sex offender going door-to-door as a Jehovah's witness". Archived from the original on June 9, 2018.
  27. "V.B. v. Cairns et al". Mr. Cairns and Mr. Brown indicated that Mr. G.P. had demonstrated repentance and improved spirituality by being more active in the faith and spending time "in service" (spreading the word about Jehovah's Witness to others outside the faith).
  28. "Jehovah's Witnesses use 1st Amendment to hide child sex abuse claims". 14 February 2015.
  29. Laurie Goodstein, Ousted Members Say Jehovah's Witnesses' Policy on Abuse Hides Offenses, The New York Times, August 11, 2002.
  30. "Work of the Charity Commission in 2008-09", Minutes of Evidence Taken Before Public Administrative Committee (House of Commons), Thursday 10 December 2009, Retrieved 2014-12-23
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  105. "Opinion:Alexis Nunez and Holly McGowan vs Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc et al (case number: DA 19-0077)". Supreme Court of Montana. 2019. We hold that Jehovah's Witnesses are excepted from the mandatory reporting statute under § 41-3-201(6)(c), MCA, because the undisputed material facts in the record show that Jehovah's Witnesses canon law, church doctrine, or established church practice required that the reports of abuse in this case be kept confidential. We therefore reverse the District Court's grant of summary judgment to Alexis and remand for entry of summary judgment in favor of Jehovah's Witnesses. Because this issue is dispositive, we do not reach the punitive damages award or the Jehovah's Witnesses' other arguments.
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