In California there have long been laws requiring immediate reporting of any suspected child rape, molestation, pornography, or physical abuse.
Reporting guidelines are tougher for some categories, like teachers, emergency room managers, social workers and others (primarily civil servants). They are supposed to report any "suspected" cases of abuse (child tells teacher "mommy's boyfriend plays with my peepee") or injury (child covered with unexplained bruises or other injuries).
I was a deputy sheriff in California in the early 1980s. On occasion I would go along with a social worker to someone's home to check things out. One of the first questions we would ask was "exactly when did this injury occur?" Failure to immediately report such an injury would result in at least a misdemeanor charge of "failure to report." Things have only become more strict with higher penalties. Most states add to child abuse laws every year and penalties have increased as well.
My understanding of the law (at least as it was in California in the mid-1980s) is that any third party suspecting or learning of pedophilia or other child abuse MUST contact police or child protection services as soon as possible. In some cases, witnesses or family members aware of such potential criminal activity would call their attorneys first for guidance, but that did not relieve them of making a timely report. In some cases their attorney would call the police and make the report for them - but the report still had to be made. The reason for timely reporting is to effectively stop potential criminal activity and to protect the child(ren) from further harm.
The Watchtower took the position that elders learning of such criminal activity should call the Service Department or Watchtower Legal for guidance. In too many cases, elders were told that WT headquarters would take care of it. The way the WT took care of it was to make an in-house report and file it away. If the elders took it upon themselves to report the incidence to the police either before (as per the law) or after (the minimum action they should have taken) then the Watchtower would come down on them like a load of bricks.
Aside from the fact that these men were elders, under California law they were required to make a report to the police as United States and California state CITIZENS. If you were an elder and you saw a horrible car crash outside of the Kingdom Hall and one of the injured had come to the door for help - would you call WT Legal or Service departments first? or would you call police and an ambulance, get help for the injured, and then maybe call WT HQ?
The logic the Watchtower used then and now is backwards. "Call us first and report later (if we instruct you to do so)" does not agree with California law and it certainly did not in the mid-1990s. It's always been "report the crime or injury first, and then call your attorney for further guidance, if necessary."
The Watchtower did not have a leg to stand on in 1985, 1995, 2005, or now by requiring their elders to "call WT Legal or Service departments first for instructions." By their very written words, in California they were directing the elders to COMMIT A CRIME by not immediately reporting any suspected child abuse directly to the police as soon as they learned of it or suspected it.
Cedars, I think you are fine and don't need to change a thing. Yes, the court case was a civil one and it is unlikely that any criminal charges will come out of this case. But the entire reason for the case and the jury's verdict was because it was determined that the local elders, and by extension the Watchtower, committed crimes by not properly reporting Candace Conti's abuse immediately to local police or child protection authorities.
JV
