JUSTICE #16, MOLESTERS UNDER EVERY ROCK – Part 1 of 2
I chose this title not just because of the shear numbers of molesters that potentially exist within the organizations and congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses, but the insidious impact they continue to have, when you least expect or realize what is happening. This is about a situation that directly affected my own family. Even though I had inside knowledge as an Elder, and Secretary holding the Judicial files, aware of the file contents, I was still blind-sided by this situation, a molester seems to be under every rock.
Now Enters Brother Gentle(G): He was a tall man, large in frame, heavy construction worker. He was the most soft-spoken man I have met. He had the kind of voice that you would not tire of. He listened well, but when he spoke it was easy to listen to him. He was well known in the area, and I believe at one time served as an Elder, but may have been an MS. He lived in another territory nearby and was not very active and hardly attended any meetings. He chose for some reason to start attending our congregation. Oddly enough, when he moved in I didn’t recall receiving any Letter of Introduction from his old congregation. He was not commenting at meetings, but I figured that he was shy being new, or that he might have a restriction or two.
I soon learned that he and his wife were having difficulties. She was inactive and not going to meetings. She was enrolled in college and wanted to pursue a degree and a professional career. She was kind of semi-shunned, and as JWs we figured that her lack of interest in the JW religion was the cause of the strain. We did not shun her, but when we got together with their family and other JWs, some would shy away from her.
His children soon started attending meetings with him at our Hall. Eventually, he and his wife separated and he moved to our town. His children eventually moved in with him, and became part of the congregation. They were well liked and seem to fit in.
The Book Study: The body of elders had just reworked the Book Study groups. Brother G and his family were assigned to attend my Book Study. An another Elder notified me that he was not to give prayer or make comments. I was worried at first because I had not seen the make-up of the Book Study and did not know if I had any ‘qualified’ brothers to use for prayer and reading. I did not want Brother G to be embarrassed by having a sister do the reading. Fortunately I was assigned an MS and a couple of other brothers who could give prayer and read.
The JC File Emerges: One evening another Elder dropped by to talk to Brother G in a confidential setting. After their discussion, the Elder handed me some notes to be placed in a JC file. In my experience the Elders on JCs almost never properly prepared the JC file, and just handed it off to me to do it right. So, in addition to reorganizing JC files and having to read them, I also saw notes from new JC actions before they were placed in a dark sealed envelope by me.
I looked at the noted after the Elder left, because he gave no instructions, and I didn’t think to ask. So, I had to determine if this would be an ongoing file, or one that would be sealed and closed until the 5 year limit passed wherein they could be destroyed. The notes of the Elders were all there, but one caught my notice because the Elder made notes in a diagram fashion, much like we used to diagram sentences in English classes. What I read shocked me beyond belief, and to this day I still find it hard to believe that I didn’t go to the authorities.
What was in the file? It seems that when Brother G moved into our congregation, he was also feeling guilty about some sins and wanted to get a clean slate with God and the organization. He met with the Elders on the JC to disclose some sins. The Elders on the JC, at least one of them was a stickler for detail. When a JW faced him on the JC he would get the person to ‘fess’ up every detail, every event. This required many JC meetings to document everything. I can see why he would diagram his notes to save time.
[If for example, a brother said he smoked, and was sorry and would not do it again, this was not good enough for this Elder. He would ask how many cigarettes, when, where, with whom, and so on. He would ask the brand smoked, or if pipes or cigars were smoked, and if any snuff was chewed. And he would ask about other sins, such as ‘did your also masturbate while you smokes? Did you use the drug tobacco to get your sexual impulses excited? Did you also then buy and view pornography? And so on. I was an Elder, but he scared the devil out of me. It was like an interrogation to face this guy.]
But, in this case, maybe it was good, I don’t really know. Anyway, Brother G had confessed to a few acts of masturbation and reading pornography. But as the JC session continued he was confessing to picking up hookers. Then before long it turned out that he had molested children, picking up minor girls and boys to have sex with in his car. The Elder wanted names, dates and places. They wanted Brother G to confess each and every act ever committed, be it sexual, drugs, or whatever. So, Brother G gave in and listed act after act after act.
[The civilian authorities will likewise try to find out each and every victim of molestation from a pedophile. They do this because they need to know how to prosecute on how many counts and the degree of the acts, forced violence, assault, etc. But they also need to contact the families so that each victim can be given opportunity to seek counseling.]
So, in this sense, what the JC was documenting with Brother G was good. Normally I cringe at the interrogation tactics used, but this man had done a lot and needed to deal with it. The file would have made excellent documentation for the civil authorities.
As I continued to read the file: My eyes were opening wide. The Elders continued to press for details. Did Brother G pursue these children or did they just happen to come to his house? Did he touch their private parts? Did they touch his private parts. Was there any sexual contact, sexual intercourse? Did he fondle them in acts of masturbating the children? Did they fondle and masturbate him?
He could not recall each and every situation, but confirmed that many of these types of events took place in many different situations. The Elders pressed him as to how many children he molested and how many hookers he picked up. He started giving names, dates and places, but begin to get lost in the details and could not recall all the specifics. The Elders pressed him for some number of victims, and were they JWs or ‘worldly’ people. Some were JWs but most were not. He could not give a number, so they asked for an approximate number. He was not sure but thought that is was dozens of victims over a period of several years.
Shocked: I could not believe what I was reading. I could not understand how this man got away with all this for so long and never got caught by the authorities. What was also shocking was that he was given the usual restrictions, no commenting, no reading, no talks, and no parts in meetings, but he could still engage in field service.
I prepared the JC file, and it was held open because they were scheduling more meetings with Brother G. So, it went into the file drawer. No, at the time I did not think to call the authorities. I was stunned, but since I was not on the JC, I felt that the Elders who were would properly handle the matter, and I decided as a good JW to leave it alone. [Later on I became vocal about making such reports to the authorities, and eventually went to the authorities. But at this particular moment, I did not consider doing that.]
Watching Brother G: He seemed to be very humble and worked closely with the JC. He complied with all the restrictions without question or any grief. He regularly attended all the meetings, got out in service, and in all other respects to a rank and file JW, he appeared to be making progress and strides in proving himself. Brother G and his family (wife excluded) was invited to many homes and he had people over at his place to enjoy meals and association. No one in the congregation would even have a clue about the deeds that Brother G committed or whether these would continue.
In time, some restrictions were lifted from Brother G, and he enjoyed commenting and a few other things. His children seem to do well for a while, but eventually they both ended up getting DF’d. I think that one of the children got pregnant and eventually married, and reinstated. I never learned whether the son was reinstated.
How my family was affected?: Even though Brother G was not a direct threat to my family because I was aware of his past and could take protective measures, I could still not see other possibilities. And in this, I was blind-sided, but when you hear the rest of the story, you will see why I titled this, Molesters Under Every Rock. Tomorrow or the first of the week, I will post Part 2. I am leaving for BRCI on Friday and will return Sunday night. - Amazing