This post was online so it is on a public forum. I hope they don't mind I re post here, I can't help but to be moved....
You can guess who I am the big mouth...(forgodsakes)......however, this Chandler charater is a vile JW, who from his own lips said the most horrible things I will not post here..... From what I've seen on various sites, I cannot believe the evil that come from a JW's mouth. I know this is not a rule of thumb witness, but I see it in a lot of threads and most common.....
comeuppance fromLebanon, MO on Topix to a JW: http://www.topix.com/forum/religion/jehovahs-witness/TUI5QOJO08FCOA8GN/p9
@Chandler- You were talking of looking at the whole picture. That's what I am doing. Looking beyond this court case and this situation to others I know of personally. Since I haven't been to silent lambs, and steer clear, to keep an open mind, in light of my own past, that is limited to a few. And I confine myself MOST OF THE TIME only to what I do know personally of, because of the debates it brings, in which I can't know all the details. No one can. So, I have to give a certain amount of reasonable trust to how court cases are judged. I do have experience in a courtroom, and I know that most court cases provide a pretty sufficient amount of evidence. I have been involved in cases that were adjudged to hundreds of thousands of dollars, but not millions. I have seen how much evidence those cases require.
But the few abuse incidents I do have personal information of, within the WTS, have all been similar, and in different congregations, and they were all handled with the same bad protocol. So, when I make statements, as to changes I think that should be made, I'm looking a bigger picture than this specific case. I feel that in all probability, Ms. Conti had valid claims, because of how I have observed other cases being handled. Whether this one was exact or completely honest, I don't know. I do know that the silencing of victims, of both child sexual abuse, adult sexual abuse and marital abuse have been to 'keep the law out of it.' This is something I see as a big problem. As you have pointed out, they are not police, they are not lawyers, they are not judges. But they do take on the job of being, police, lawyer, judges and executioners much of the time.'Executioner?' You might ask. Yes, they consider a disfellowshipped person to be spiritually dead, so yes, executioner. They should not be handling things themselves without the education and skills to do so, to say nothing of the legalities when it comes to reporting laws. If they are going to be in oversight in a congregation, they should make it their business to know what the laws in their state are, and the GB should expect compliance with the laws. Anyone will only try to bar the law, if they have something to hide.
And yes, when it IS known that there is a predator in their midst, they should have a system of providing reasonable protection. I know that in my state, a sex offender of children, is not to be within so many yards where children can be expected to be, and if there are children present they are to leave. This doesn't even allow them in to the meetings. Do they have a right to worship? Yes. But if the congregations can manage ways for disabled people to listen in, surely they could do the same for a sex offender, and protect the children. They can direct parents to the sex offender registry. There is a lot they could do, that they don't.