Asked to be Punished for Child-Sex
Jehovah’s Witness confessed assault on children, but avoids prosecution
By Freddy Kongsberg (The Newspaper Verdens Gang, Sept 16th, 1996) Translated By JanH
A repentant Jehovah’s Witness confessed to the police that he for 23 years had sexually abused children in the congregation. But his request for punishment was not answered.
He was disfellowshipped from the controversial sect which has its own court, but the leaders of the congregation were silent about the shocking sexual abuse of the congregation’s children.
When he two years later on his own initiative went to the police, he asked in vain to be punished for his sexual desires and crimes:
Vestoppland police district dismissed the case against the 61 year old man. The repentant sinner repented too late.
– A couple of the incidents were close to the line, but most of them were legally obsolete, says Chief of Police Tore Vigen.
Several Years
In his own confession he told the police how he got release for his dark sides by sexually abusing ten children in the ages from 6 to 14 years. He named nine of the children who were victims of his sexual desires, which came with unresistible force. Some of the children he abused for several years.
There are indications that the man as an active Jehovah’s Witness may have sexually abused as many as 35 to 50 children.
Among other things, the sex-victims tell in their explanations to the police that they know about several others they mean were sexually abused by the man.
Also the closest-of-kin to the man, who now no longer want anything to do with him, have in conversations with Secretary General Ola Ødegaard in Landsforeningen Rettferd for Taperne (The Society Justice for Losers), given similar information.
– We therefor have all reason to believe that a shocking number of children have been defenseless victims of a man who will not have to be called to justice, says Secretary General Ola Ødegaard.
Regrets
Chief of Police Vigen can only regret that it was not possible to prosecute the man.
Even if the police, after what VG knows, according to their documents showed the man content of the punishment act’s paragraph 195, Vigen says it was never really the idea to accuse the man after this provision.
The punishment act’s paragraph 195 about "sexual relations to minors" have a time limit of wholly 15 years.
– The man’s sexual abuse was mostly palpation, which has a much shorter time limit, says Vigen.
Vigen means the police handled the case in a proper way. The named victims and their relatives were all questioned.
Wanted to settle
– I have taken the case up many times to see if there is anything we could have done differently. My conclusion is that we could not, says Chief of Police Vigen.
Vigen confirms, however, that the decision not to prosecute – despite the man’s confession and the offended’s explanation, partially was justified by the stand of evidence.
– But the decision not to prosecute was caused mainly by limitations.
The man explain to the police he wanted to settle this, hoping to go back to the congregation.
But his prayer for punishment was not answered.
Yakki Da
Kent
"The only difference between a fool and the JW legal department is that a fool might be sympathetic ."
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