Systemic abuse in a religious sect has riddled not only the Catholic Church. In the past years, the Jehovah’s Witness (JW) has also been under hot water for child sexual abuse (CSA). JW has been accused of covering up for their elders in the sect with threats of disfellowshipping and other punishments.

Despite JW’s claims of having policies in place for addressing allegations of sexual abuse, the sect was exposed to have ordered their elders and leaders to keep CSA confidential. And, as they have done in order to circumvent serving the military and saluting the flag, Jehovah’s Witness is now using the same strategies to defend predators in their system. 

In 2018, a jury ordered JW to pay $35 million to a woman who reported her abuse as a child to the elders. The case records show that The Watchtower and Tract Society of New York, the national organization of JW, commanded the elders to keep the allegations from the local authorities. The abuser, Maximo Reyes, was disfellowshipped in 2004 but was reinstated a year later at his request.

According to one of the victims, Reyes abused her in as early as 9 years old. She reported it to the elders in 1998 but the elders did nothing following their two-witness rule. The other victim would later reveal that she had been sexually abused by Reyes on a nearly weekly basis for the next two years after his reinstatement. The Montana Supreme Court, however, reversed the $35 million verdict citing the reporting exceptions of clergies under the State law. 

In 2014, a San Diego judge awarded a Jehovah’s Witness child sexual abuse victim $13.5 million. During the six-day trial, the judge denied The Watchtower to put on a defense after ignoring the judge’s order to produce documents for the case. The judge issued a default ruling of $10.5 million punitive damages and $3 million compensatory damages. The abuser, Gonzalo Campos, was kept in the ranks and had actually become an elder despite accusations until he fled to Mexico around 2010 after having been reported to the authorities.  

The 2014 case revealed that the JW had documents of the abuse in its US congregation. One of their Senior Official, Richard Ashe, stated that they had organized and scanned decades of known sexual abuse documents in their system. Ashe contended that their filing system of over 3 million documents must be sorted to find the said data.

There are other cases ongoing against the JW. Settlements have also been made to keep abuse cases from courts. A former JW member and now an open critic of the congregation has made a portal specifically tuned in to sexual abuse cases and updates against the Jehovah’s Witness.

 

The Atlantic reported that in 1997, The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society sent its 10,883 congregations a letter laying out directives on how to deal with a known predator. The letter instructed writing a detailed report answering 12 questions. The congregations were then tasked to send a copy to the national organizations, filing it in their own systems, and keeping it from everyone. This became what might be the world’s largest database for child molesters, all stored in a Microsoft Sharepoint database. 

Despite numerous courts ordering the release of the said documents, JW has ignored court orders and paid over millions to protect the said database. They have done so while maintaining their innocence against numerous surfacing CSA cases. 

Jehovah’s Witness abides by a two-witness rule. Two material witnesses must be present to substantiate claims in the absence of a confession. This may entail witnessing two instances of abuse against one child or two separate incidents. 

This policy, however, is predicated on the fact that the abuser must be caught abusing two victims or abusing a victim more than once. This substantially undermines initial reports of abuse until the perpetrator is once again caught or reported to have been abusing another victim. On top of this, both the congregation and state laws anchor on each other for reporting cases of sexual violence. JW refrains reporting from authorities unless required by the state laws, and some state laws exempt religious organizations from reporting to authorities respecting discretionary practices in the sect.

In so far as 1989, The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York have issued directives to keep abuse cases confidential internally, effectively silencing and discouraging abuse victims from coming forward. A 2012 memo from The Watchtower outlines that:

Not every individual who has sexually abused a child in the past is considered a 

“predator.” 

The most recent letter published in 2014 ordered to keep potential criminal activities internally. 

 

 

A portion of unreported abuse in JW is not only fueled by the sect’s view and treatment of abuse but of the victim’s conflicting faith. Because members are pressured into silence, victims are subsequently forced into submission under duress through their families and fellow Witnesses. Keep in mind, however, that with the lack of support from your own sect, justice can easily evade you. 

With state laws across the country overturning cramped statute of limitations, victims of child sexual abuse may now pursue their cases even decades later. The next step in holding abusers accountable is seeking reliable and aggressive legal counsel. 

 

Our attorneys here at America’s Consumer Lawyer work hard to foster an environment of privacy and nonjudgment. This allows our clients to safely share intimate details about their cases. We strive to provide accessible and quality legal counsel in pursuit of justice as we face powerful 

 

We see you as a person, not just a client – and that makes us better at what we do. We listen. We learn your story. And, as we help you get the money you deserve, we go above and beyond in a way most law firms never could and never would. Because we’re not just lawyers. And you’re not just a client. We’re friends, neighbors, family. We’re all people and here at America’s Consumer Lawyer, we put people first. 

 

Our unique formula has earned us over 1,050 outstanding client reviews on our website, an A+ BBB rating, and over 150 five-star reviews on Google. Call 888-572-0176, e-mail us at michael@agrusslawfirm.com or schedule a meeting with us here. We’re here 24/7.