Were you or someone you know sexually molested by a Jehovah's Witness ?

by flipper 381 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

  • brinjen
    brinjen

    Still reading through the thread and I came across Dinah's comment...

    Brinjin had sent me a link to a youtube video featuring a teenaged boy (12-13 Ithink) who was raped. The elders blamed him for it as well. They said he got what he wanted and called it an act of homosexual sex instead of rape. I wish I could remember the title of the video. This happened in Australia.

    The video is here...

    Silent Lambs Australia

    I think it was originally aired in 2005 on the 'Sunday' program (can anyone else remember this?). The external embedding has been disabled so you'll need to double click on the video which will open it in another tab. It's a long video (runs for around half an hour) and I will say up front, quite a difficult video to watch. If you feel you can handle it though, it is without a doubt one of the best I've ever seen. I was never molested personally but I have to say I was bawling my eyes out by the time it was finished. I'm ashamed that I was ever part of an organisation that treats people this way.

    hugsfor BigTex, AllTimeJeff and everyone else who was affected by the policies of an organisation which cares more about protecting itself than those who need protecting.

  • dinah
    dinah

    ((((((Brin))))))

    Yesterday's activity on here mad me sad. I kept thinking of our friends who have been hurt. You know me well, Brin, if you hurt my friends you have hurt me.

  • brinjen
    brinjen

    I know Dinah, I know.

    It's beyond comprehension how anyone can defend an org that treats victims in that manner. An 8 year old girl was raped in my congregation. The molester wasn't disfellowshipped for it and the same night they gave a 'local needs' talk on the safety of your child at the KH, (which most took as a 'keep your brats under control' talk) he was wrestling with some young boys, holding them down between his legs in the kingdom hall, right in front of the elders.

    For around ten years after I left, I thought I came from a particularly bad congregation... that the elders there were less loving than the norm and that if the WT society knew, they'd remove them. It wasn't until I came to sites such as this one that I realised how wide spread the problem was... that the elders in my congregation were no different than the norm and following standard watchtower procedure. I think that's what scares them the most about the net... and it should.

  • chellechelle
    chellechelle

    i have one question.. if reniaa is a witness. why is she on the website at all. wouldnt she be reproved for this...

  • chellechelle
    chellechelle

    as to anything else this thread has jsut made me so emotional. i dont know how anyone can deny this happening. this is why people are taking renia as a threat. if you say it happened to you then obviously it did. how could she possibly say witnessesd do not do these things when so many people here have had it happen to them or nknow of people its happened to. i jsut started talking to a friend of mine who was abused sexually and physically her entire marriage and the guy was made a ministerial servant. and she was difelloshipped because she refused not to get a divorce.

    and i have had my own experiances as many on here know..

  • isaacaustin
    isaacaustin

    I personally know of one molestation by a mentally challeneged JW to a young baby. Just mentioning this has made me sick to my stomach...so i am going to not elaborate any further, other than the fact that he was dfed.

  • AK - Jeff
    AK - Jeff
    i heard the warning, i edited my posts. what more do you want?

    Nope. I edited two of them. You mean there were more that you edited? I doubt that.

    Jeff

  • freddo
    freddo

    Here's how an elder can act incognito - he goes to the police/child protective services, he tells no-one he has done so, he tells the police that if he is known as helping them then he may be disfellowshipped. The police will respect the confidence. When elder JW's come asking because they are suspicious of him he uses "theocratic warfare". He can tell the police that HQ have got a list of pedo's. When the CO is suspicious and sends his "flunkies" to ask if he (the elder) knows anything about why the police have been to beth-hell he can use "theocratic warfare". (Act dumb)

    When the police go to HQ and grill the service desk and they sweat and hmmm and haww and hide behind legal and the service desk sends their flunky CO and local elders to sniff him out he uses theocratic warfare. That's as far as my experience goes.

    But if the elder was called to court he can refer to the article that says you tell the truth in court or say nothing. He would choose to speak truthfully before his God. Or if no longer believing in God, his peers.

    Removed as an elder? Df'd? If that's what happens when you protect kids then make a huge song and dance threaten to tell of every child molestation case you've heard of, (even if there are none) you go to the media, write to everyone you know and have known over the decades and make them wish they'd left you alone!

  • Lady Lee
    Lady Lee

    purps

    The info you mentionned about going to the police is in the PUBLIC information not for JWs. While some JWs may have read it there are some "principles" rules that over-ride the possibility of a JW going to the police

    1. saying things that bring shame on Jehovah's name or the organization/JWs
    2. the rule that if you have a problem with your "brother" you should approach him first, then go to the elders. If they say he is innocent then going to the police would be going outside the organization
    3. with no witnesses and an abuser who denies what happened the victim and the family risk being declared trouble-makers, and slanderers and be causing devisions which could lead a judicial committee and being disfellowshipped.

    Genrally this is what the keeps the JW quiet.

  • Big Tex
    Big Tex

    Additionally, to add to LL's post, elders are told in the Flock book that (1) they may ignore eyewitness testimony from a worldly person; (2) they may ignore testimony from a minor, including that of the victim.

    Flipper is right, their first directive is to call Brooklyn first. Do not call the cops, do not do anything else until Legal tells you what to do.

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