Jehovah's Witnesses: When Elders are approached with an issue of child sexual abuse,?

Question

Why are they instructed to report the abuse to the legal counsel at Bethel, and not the police first?

http://www.silentlambs.org/education/UKlettertoallcong.cfm

To that end they are instructed to contact the legal dept at Bethel whenever they receive information from even one person who alleges that child abuse has occurred. When a report is received guidance is given by the legal dept to ensure that:

1. The alleged victim and other potential victims are protected from possible abuse.

2. The council is given to report crime to the proper authorities and to comply with any additional legal requirements.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ao0E.N40hAmkhWRH1YZvByPsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20071103185748AA2MXsY

Aerohead...???A JW LAYER....to take CARE of the abused?????

Answer 1

It is a very sad affair and seems to be rife in all mainstream religions, I just hope that these mongrels are dealt with to the full extent of the law..
Blessed Be... )O(

Answer 2

actually, I do not know where you got your information, but the law requires us to report any abuse IMEDIATELY! But we also report it to the counsel because they can send a JW lawyer to help out the abused if needed. We take care of our own very well.

Answer 3

I'm sensing a theme in your questions. x3

Keep going, I'm curious as to the answer.

I know what they'll say...and I know what I've SEEN happen in congregations.

Answer 4

I see this as an other form of control. That keeps people in scare of what is going to happen and what kind of take the organization is going to have on the issue.

Answer 5

Watchtower lets every victim and family decide whether or not to report abuse, unless the family doesn't seem to have the victims best interests at heart or when the law requires mandatory reporting. Most JW elders aren't lawyers, so they check with a Watchtower lawyer about which laws apply. JW elders are careful to obey the law, but first they need to find out what the law is!

Once they know the law in thier area, the elders obey it.

If Watchtower policies resulted in abuse, they'd certainly have to worry about lawsuits by abuse victims. Of course, Watchtower has been sued regarding alleged abuse, but with what result?

http://thirdwitness.com/childabuse/default.html

To date, the Watchtower Society hasn't ever been found negligent in any abuse case in any court of law. In one case an elder was found personally liable for his own mistakes so the elder was ordered to pay $5000 to the abused complainant, but the abused complainant (!) was ordered to pay Watchtower $137,000 for her frivolous case against it!

Again, Watchtower has paid exactly $0 in abuse judgments.

For a major religion, is that better than average or worse than average? Quotes from the news:

"A man, 28, who was recovering from epileptic seizures in his apartment when he was attacked, will receive $300,000 in damages from the Sierra Vista Baptist Church for the sexual assault by John Adams Marshall in April 1991. Marshall performed oral sex and fondled the weakened man while pinning him down. The jury found the church 40% liable for Marshall's assault and negligent in retaining him as minister. Marshall did not lose his ordination to be a minister elsewhere." (Inland Valley Daily Bulletin 1/15/94)

"Miami, FL. CHURCH TO PAY MILLIONS FOR MINISTER'S ABUSES. Wayside Baptist Church in Miami received a $6.7 million judgment for negligence in hiring and retaining Keith Geren as youth minister. The church did not do background or reference checks, nor did Geren even fill out a job application, though Geren did admit urges to molest boys. He sexually molested nearly a dozen teenage boys." (Sarasota Herald-Tribune 2/6/94)

"Denver, CO. Bohrer was awarded more than $700,000 in her civil suit in Denver District against former minister Daniel DeHart and the United Methodist Annual Conference (the equivalent of a diocese). She alleged DeHart seduced her into a sexual relationship when she was 13 and he was youth minister at First Methodist Church in Greeley." (Rocky Mountain News, 8/2,29/92)

"In a civil suit filed by three sisters, now 19,16,and 13; their mother and another 13 year-old girl a Kenai jury awarded nearly $430,000 in damages to the four girls sexually molested by Tickel. The jury also found that Trickel; his wife, Debbie; and the Salvation Army responsible for their abuse." (http://www.adn.com/alaska/story/4752362p-4698974c.html)

"...a Church of Christ church and & its former 59 year-old minister agreed to pay $300,000 to a man whom the former minister sexually assaulted during family counseling sessions. Earlier, a boy, now 17, was awarded $450,000 by a jury for similar charges." (The Rocky Mountain News)

"$450,000 jury award against UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF ILLINOIS upheld by Judge Stuart Shiffman involving REV. WILLIAM FYFFE, who molested 3 brothers in Macon, 1982. The church was held responsible because it knew Fyffe had molested boys at Taylor Ridge parish, 1975, but still ordained him, expunged records of counseling for molestation, and transferred him into a community unaware of the episodes." (Quad-City Times, 9/7/89; 10/18/89)

"One of the largest settlements to date in Protestant churches involved the case of former Lutheran minister Gerald Patrick Thomas Jr. in Texas, where a jury several years ago awarded the minister's victims nearly $37 million. Separate earlier settlements involving Thomas cost an additional $32 million." (Insurancejournal.com)

"Two college-age sisters have been awarded $4.2 million in a lawsuit against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a judgment prompted partly by the way a bishop dealt with sexual abuse committed by their stepfather while they were children."

"John Charles Blome This civil case was filed in Montgomery County, Texas and went to jury trial. The case settled for $4 Million after the Mormons were found negligent. A 13 year old boy who was molested by a Mormon Church youth leader in Magnolia Ward was awarded more than his own lawyers sought October 8, 1998. Blome molested many other boys from the same area and in other areas. Sheriff's deputies were upset that the Mormon Bishop tipped Blome to the pending investigation, and he burned evidence before it could be seized. In an earlier case against Blome the Mormon Church was also found negligent." (Houston Chronicle)

"Michael Rex Shean This case arose in Santa Maria, California. Shean was an attorney and Mormon Church leader who used his position as coach, attorney, and religious teacher to groom boys for seduction. The Stake President in the case was an FBI agent, Nolan Phillips, who should have been much more alert to the problem of a predatory pedophile in his flock. The Mormon Church was found negligent and settled for an undisclosed amount." (Geocities.com)


In summary, as of October 2007 Watchtower has paid exactly $0 in abuse judgments.

http://thirdwitness.com/childabuse/default.html