Crisis of Conscience within the Traralgon Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses? – Part 2
December 18, 2011
AUSTRALIA: Crisis of Conscience within the Traralgon Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses? – Part 2
December 18, 2011
JW NEWS
article by Steven Unthank
Victoria Police launch an investigation into the rape and molestation of a number of children within the Traralgon Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Church elders refuse to help or comfort child rape victims and their families.
JW NEWS can report that Victoria Police have launched an investigation into the rape and molestation of a number of children within the Traralgon Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses over the past two years. According to initial reports, the body of elders within the church were strictly ordered by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Australia to cover-up the multiple rapes of a number of children within the Traralgon Congregation allegedly committed by a fellow member of the Jehovah’s Witness religion. The elders were also instructed to NOT report the rapes to the police or the authorities.
The investigation is expected to widen to include numerous congregations within the Melbourne metropolitan area where the alleged child rapist has had regular unsupervised direct contact with potentially up to one hundred young children within the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses since the initial rapes were reported within the church. The alleged child rapist remains in “good standing” within the religion and continues to have regular public church meeting parts, despite allegedly confessing to raping and molesting a number of young children within the church, when he was confronted by several members of the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The parents of the child rape victims notified their local body of elders in the Traralgon Congregation and sought help and scriptural advice. “All we we were seeking was assistance from the elders in coping with the abuse,” stated the father of two of the abused children. “We needed some comfort, maybe a Scripture or two, perhaps a prayer, just something, anything. We desperately needed help and did not know what to do. Growing up in the religion [of Jehovah's Witnesses] we are taught to go to the elders when we have problems. Well, this was a problem, a big problem and we went to the elders. The elders in the Traralgon Congregation did absolutely nothing. They refused to help us. Three times we sort help. Nothing was forthcoming. They would not even tell my children that Jehovah or Jesus or even the congregation did not view them as dirty or unclean or even naughty children because of what happened. It’s not the kids fault that they were raped and the elders need to tell them that.”
One of the elders in the Traralgon Congregation, Jehovah’s Witness Chaplain Albert Helbling, is alleged to have asked the parents of the molested children to put their concerns and requests in writing. In commenting on this request the father of the children later stated in an interview with JW News, “We were literally being asked to put in writing our request for an elder to pray or share a Scripture with our family. They then wanted everything put in writing but still refused to offer any help. It took me a while to digest what the elders were really asking. So I asked who reads this information and is there a Privacy Policy we can read. If I wrote down what the intimate details of how my children were raped I wanted to know who has access to it. My concerns were met with silence. The elders refused to answer. They just turned their back on us and walked away.”
Australian headquarters for the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses and their administrative and publishing corporation the Watch Tower Society
Jehovah’s Witness church elders in Australia are instructed by church procedures to telephone a church appointed in-house corporate lawyer at the Australian headquarters in New South Wales prior to taking any action in relation to learning that a child member of their congregation has been raped or sexually abused. Elders are required to strictly follow the advice of internal church lawyers for the handling of the child molestation case. In this situation, as the actions of the elders in the Traralgon Congregation clearly show, the advice was to deliberately withhold help and assistance from those children that were raped and molested within the church and to decline to offer counselling and religious support to the parents.
“They just walked away from us. The shepherds refused to shepherd the flock. Instead they engaged a lawyer, Vincent Toole, to protect themselves and then followed his instructions,” stated one of the parents. This serious allegation is compounded by the fact that the alleged child molester is the son of a senior Jehovah’s Witness elder who is part of the Watch Tower Society’s legal team in Australia.
This course of action is in direct contrast with what the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses claim is what happens in matters involving child abuse within the church. Philip Brumley, General Counsel for Jehovah’s Witnesses, on behalf of the Governing Body claims that:
“Our top priority is to protect the victim. And we want to make sure that whatever steps need to be taken are taken, both by the elders, by the relatives, and by the congregation in general. Our second priority has to do with the perpetrator. We are concerned about their receiving the help they need. Our third priority is to see that the secular authorities are indeed informed of the accusation.”
Philip Brumley, General Counsel for Jehovah's Witnesses
Download official Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Response on Inquiries on Child Abuse.
“This Jehovah’s Witness response [from Philip Brumley] to their handling of child abuse is all lies,” according to one of the grandparents of the molested children within the Traralgon Congregation. The grandparent then added, “the Jehovah’s Witnesses outright refused to protect the victims. The elders in the Traralgon church did nothing. The parents of the molested children were too scared to speak up and no relatives of the abused children were notified as a result of this. I know this for a fact as none of them told me. The church elders and the Watchtower organisation did not see to it that the secular authorities were informed. I was never told because my family were too embarrassed that their church abandoned the kids and protected the [alleged] child rapist and the position of his father who is a senior church leader. The Jehovah’s Witnesses should pull their act together and actually start practicing what they preach.”
The religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and their administrative corporation, the Watch Tower Society, are the only mainstream church and religious organisation in the State of Victoria that has no formal child protection policy and no published code of conduct for ministers of religion and appointed elders in relation to direct contact with children within their church congregation arrangements. Parents within the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses have been met with silence by church officials when they have asked to see the churches formal child protection policy or working with children protocol.
Morwell Police Station, Victoria, Australia
The alleged rapes of a number of children within the Traralgon Congregation were reported at the Morwell Police Station in August 2011 by Steven Unthank who discovered the rape allegations while criminally prosecuting the entire religious and corporate hierarchy of the church of Jehovah’s Witnesses, including the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, over their refusal to comply with mandatory child protection laws as legislated in the Victorian Working with Children Act 2005.
The handling of this ‘child sexual abuse’ case within the Traralgon Congregation by the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses is now considered Solicitor-Client Privilege (Attorney-Client Privilege), in that everyone is now a client or defacto client of the Watch Tower Society’s in-house law firm Vincent Toole Solicitors—including the child abuser—and are thereby protected. Procedures put in place by the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses allows the Watch Tower Society to vigorously defend this claim of “Privilege” as their right even if it requires their appealing to the laws of the State of Victoria. By contrast there is no record that the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses have ever vigorously fought for the protection and rights any children within the religion who have been abused or molested by a fellow church member.
This Solicitor-Client Privilege (Attorney-Client Privilege) status does not apply to the young Jehovah’s Witness children that were sexually abused and nor does it apply to their parents as these have been abandoned and rejected by the church even though they are current active members. This is compounded in that one of the parents of the molested children was informed by the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses that “having approached the elders, you will have taken the matter as far as you can. Leave the problem in their hands.”
Almost immediately after the alleged rapes were reported within the church format, the alleged child rapist, along with members of his family were relocated by the headquarters of the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses to “serve” in another church congregation located within the Skye Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the southern suburbs of Melbourne. The alleged child rapist was formally introduced into the new congregation by a letter issued from the Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Australia and publicly read out from the church podium praising both the alleged child rapist and his family by referring to them as well respected members of the Faith who have volunteered to “serve where the need is greater.” The father of the alleged child rapist was immediately appointed a member of the body of elders in the new congregation. Members of the congregation have not been notified that they have an alleged child rapist within their congregation who bears a letter or recommendation from the headquarters of the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses and their administrative arm, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Australia.
Jehovah's Witnesses church - McClelland Drive, Skye, Victoria, Australia. Used by five different congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses.
On May 4, 2011, JW News carried a report on an act of religiously motivated persecution carried out against Steven Unthank by a senior Jehovah’s Witness church elder. This elder turned out be the father of the alleged child molester. The full story as reported in JW News stated:
WATCH TOWER SOCIETY LAUNCHES RELIGIOUS ATTACK ON STEVEN UNTHANK
A vicious personal attack and campaign of religious persecution has been launched by the Watch Tower Society in Australia against Mr Steven Unthank in retaliation for his lodging of Criminal Charges against the Watch Tower Society and the Committee of Management for the Religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court for alleged criminal offences committed against the Victorian Working with Children Act 2005, as it applies within “religious organisations”.
A Watch Tower Society legal officer and senior Jehovah’s Witness church Elder recently contacted a Gippsland-based construction company whom Mr Unthank has worked for over many years, and ordered the owner, a Jehovah’s Witness, that he ”must not employ Steven on any jobs and if he’s still working for you then this is wrong. You have to get rid of him for what he’s done.”
It is alleged that the Watch Tower Society legal officer then proceeded to religiously vilify and severely ridicule Mr Unthank to the owner of the construction company.
In commenting on the launch of this attack and the alleged accompanied religious vilification and ridicule, Mr Unthank said ”We have very strong laws in the State of Victoria that prohibit racial and religious vilification. These laws are to protect everybody, including myself and members of the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses. It saddens me that there are people in society, in respectable community positions, that feel the need to religiously vilify and persecute another. I do not believe the church of Jehovah’s Witnesses would support such an attack.”
Mr Unthank refused to comment on whether he has been sacked or had his work contract terminated but did reply ”there are a number of options open to me, including a civil lawsuit or the lodging of a formal complaint with the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission for investigation. However, a simple apology would suffice.”
Link to JW News report: http://on.fb.me/nDCs4J
On July 26, 2011, the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Faithful and Discreet Slave, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Australia, and the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Inc. were charged with a total of 35 criminal offences in relation to allegations of literally being an accessory to criminal activities being committed against children within the Traralgon Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses by the entire body of elders against some 20 children. Currently these elders are being actively protected by the Watch Tower Society and the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses. None have stood down and none have been removed even though their alleged criminal acts against children and their outright lawlessness are well known within the community. Simply put, the body of elders in the Traralgon Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses are not recognised by the local community as “upright and God-fearing men” who are “free from accusation.”
The next criminal court hearing is scheduled for February 21, 2012. See the below link to the Criminal Lisitings for the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria:
The Watch Tower Society refuses to speak to the parents within the Traralgon congregation and refuses to answer their legitimate questions, even though their children have been identified as victims of crime. The religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses remains silent over these child abuse allegations, child rape allegations and criminal charges.
The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses has repeatedly refused to answer to the “valid” criminal charges brought against them within the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria, Australia.
Truly a religion in crisis.
Postscript from Steven Unthank
For taking a stand on behalf of the children within the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses, to protect them, last year a four-year-old child came skipping up to me and whispered:
“Daddy says I’m not allowed to talk to you ’cause you don’t love ‘hovah!”
She then gave me a big hug and skipped away. She knew I did love Him.
A week later she gave a member of my family a picture she drew at pre-school and asked that it be given to me. She also said to tell me that it was:
“the sun to make you happy.”
I did not know it at the time, but this young child was one of the children within the Traralgon Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses that had been raped only the week before.
