Jehovah's Witnesses child sexual abuse?

Question

What do you think about this Jehovah's Witnesses
what does this say about your religion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLAC9kS_EqM

Answer 1

youtube?

Forget it man I thought you had something for real.

I don't believe it just because it is on youtube

Answer 2

Hello, I just bought a book *The Secret of Family Happiness*. There is a chapter 5 Train Your Child From Infancy. Now reading this chapter that this book was published by Watchtower Bible and Tract Society; I cannot even think or understand why a parent would want to abuse their child like that. It reads "Since experience shows that children who know little about sex are especially vulnerable to child molesters, a major preventative step is to educate the child, even when they are still young etc.... This chapter 5 tells the parents how important it is to raise your child in knowing Jehovah. If a Jehovah's Witnesses parent would go against this teaching then I will come to the conclusion that they were not faithful from the start and is way to crazy to go against the Supreme God once they KNOW the truth and the consequences. I am so happy to have bought 5 books that I can read and learn from now. Thank you to the person that gave it to the library.

Answer 3

It is tragic. None of JWs ever claim to be perfect, we just try to be as good as we can. Being human, we are as imperfect and suseptable to everything anyone else is.

The difference is our making an effort to change our daily attitude to match God's way of thinking as revealed in the Bible. That is completely different from the world that expects God to adapt to our attitudes.

Most of the time we almost make it while sometimes we fail big time. A few individuals among 18 million baptized and those studying to be is not enough to condemn the entire thing.

Answer 4

Pedophiles are very good at what they do, luring children and fooling adults. As parents, we are the first and best defense in protecting our children. I think that this is a good reminder for all parents, no matter what their faith is, that we have to be diligent in training our children to be aware of the lures abusers use and teaching them to never be afraid to tell us if someone--anyone makes them feel uncomfortable in any way. Then we, as parents, have to believe our children, and have the courage to act in defense of our children.
http://www.watchtower.org/e/19931008a/article_02.htm

Answer 5

I have reported abuse (not sexual), myself. I was told, however, that they (the police) could do nothing, unless & until the child reported it himself.

JWs are instructed to report abuse that they have learned of to the authorities. The individual who first learns about it has both the legal & moral obligation to report it. If they don't, & they have been instructed to, how is this the responsibility of those who heard of it 3rd person? The organization of JW tteach to follow the law, & reporting child abuse is included.
Any individual who does not follow that law is guilty, but his instructors are innocent, as they have told him to report it. If this has happened, they probably were given to think that it had already been taken care, of before they were informed.

JWs don't move molesters from location to location to protect them. They instead remove them from any position of authority that they may have had in the congregation, & they are never again allowed to have such, world-wide.

A lot of what is on the news is payed advertising.
A lot of what really goes on is not shown also, because it pays them to keep it quiet. Child molesters can be very 'smooth', so that not even their wives they live with know what'S going on. And many would blame the organization itself, who never even met him, but had instructed (under such circumstances) to turn him in, immediately...?

EDITED IN:

America's Most Wanted reports:

"Detectives believe that by moving from one Kingdom Hall congregation to another, McLean was able to keep his crimes mostly hidden for 25 to 30 years, before finally being "outed" to the general public and "disfellowshipped", or expelled, from the religion."

"Authorities maintain that he may have changed his physical appearance and purchased a new set of identity documents. He is also believed to have armed himself with a gun."
http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=35566

He was evidently in hiding, & moving from place to place, possibly changing names & appearance with each move, so that authorities couldn't catch up with him... but somehow you expect JWs to see through & catch him... Or, are you simply looking to blackball JWs...?

These give the facts:

Jehovah's Witnesses' Response to Inquiries on Child Abuse http://jw-media.org/vnr/2122827332/713173.htm

Examining The WT Child Abuse Policy http://thirdwitness.com/childabuse/default.html

Answer 6

For those who are really interested in the Witnesses' side of the story;

Official response;
http://www.jw-media.org/vnr/2122827332/713173.htm

Other source;
http://www.thirdwitness.com/

Answer 7

You have some undesirables in every religion, and in every walk of life, I know of another religion that I will not call by name, because I don't want to offend any body, but they don't believe in dating outside their religion, they live in a community that is predominately of the same oponion, so who do they date? each other, some are family members, so you can't start throwing stones at just one, look at what's happening with the others, I am not of that religion I spoke of, I am christian. I believe in fairness too all.

Answer 8

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

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 December 2007 Watchtower has paid exactly $0 in abuse judgments.

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

Answer 9

Every woman I've met who grew up in that faith says she was sexually abused. Not a random sample, I know... but striking nonetheless.

Answer 10

It is a bigger problem than we dare to imagine. Horrible.