Some thoughts on the recent BOE letter

by konceptual99 24 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

  • EdenOne
    EdenOne

    rip,

    That's why I also advocate that when a pedo (or ex-pedo) is reinstated, or when he is df'd, or when he moves into another congregation, all parents in the congregation should be privately informed, and the entire body of Elders and MS should be current with the situation.

    Also agree that there should be some common sense in cases when the offender was a minor and the victim was not a child, but a minor as well, as per the given example of a 16 year old boy that has consented sex with a 14 year old girl, as an example.

    Eden

  • konceptual99
    konceptual99

    The BOE letter allows for this information to be passed in the case that an individual is identified as a "predator".

    There are loads of glaring holes in this. The branch office will decide who is a predator. They may define the person as a "known child molester" which does not appear to require parents are notified. They may not define an individual as either. This allows for a potentially convicted pedophile to be in the congregation unknown to parents and with no real restrictions on what they do or how they may be percieved by the brothers.

    A known sex offender may only be spoken to by the elders...

    "strongly cautioning them to refrain from displaying affection for children, to avoid hugging or holding children on their lap, never to be alone with a child (other than their own), not to allow children to spend the night in their home, not to work alone in field service (hence, they should always be accompanied by another adult), and not to cultivate friendships with children."

    So what about their own children? What if the pedo ignores them? EDIT - Them being the elders - i.e. ignores the "counsel"

    A pedo could still be appointed.

    "It cannot be said in every case that one who has sexually abused a child could never qualify for privileges of service in the congregation. However, the elders will certainly want to be very cautious, especially when dealing with one who had repeatedly engaged in this kind of wrongdoing or who had been disfellowshipped for such an offense."

    There is more context on this in the letter which suggests that a convicted pedo would not be irrephensible in the community and therefore would not qualify but they way it's worded sends a very different message and is not along the lines of "never except in an absolutely exceptional circumstance". I would post more but don't want to cause any (C) issues....

  • rip van winkle
    rip van winkle

    The problem with it is that everyone remains silent And that silence, that secret puts every child that will come in contact with a pedo in danger.

    EdenOne said

    rip,
    That's why I also advocate that when a pedo (or ex-pedo) is reinstated, or when he is df'd, or when he moves into another congregation, all parents in the congregation should be privately informed, and the entire body of Elders and MS should be current with the situation.

    Yes, I understand. But, when this non-predatory pedophile is reinstated, he will be in the D2D work. And the unsuspecting people and their children that come into contact with him willnot have a clue!

    The WTS has no business deciding if a pedo is a predator. ALL PEDOS ARE PREDATORS!!!

    Also agree that there should be some common sense in cases when the offender was a minor and the victim was not a child, but a minor as well, as per the given example of a 16 year old boy that has consented sex with a 14 year old girl, as an example.

    Eden, I agree. However, the BOE Oct. letter is a clear example of how seriously deficient the WTS is in their judgement with crucial matters.

  • konceptual99
    konceptual99

    Yup...

    At the moment I can be sure there are no "predators" as defined by the "experts" in London in my cong 'cos no elder has come to warn me to keep my kids away from Bro. Pedo. What I don't know is if there are any people with convictions or even strong accusations against them. I don't know if there are any "known child molesters".

    The way the society is instructing the BOE means that if I asked then the elders would not be able to tell me. If one grew a pair and did tell me then they could lose their office for going against the instructions from above.

    No danger there then...

  • punkofnice
    punkofnice

    Koncept - Ugh! What a vile thing the elder told you. So. He was more concerned about HIS position than the safety of children??

  • konceptual99
    konceptual99

    Sorry punk,

    Slight misunderstanding. I've not spoken to elders. Just saying that if I was to ask an elder if there are any pedos he would not be able to tell me as there is no instruction in the BOE letter that allows for this in the case of a "known child molester" being in the cong, only a "predator".

    And we all know what happens to elders who do things differently to their instructions...

  • punkofnice
    punkofnice

    Koncept - OIC. Sounds so plausible though. I remember there was a paedo in one congregation I was in. He was at the same group study as my family but the elders told me secretly (I was just a publisher), and that they were keeping an eye on him.

    Pity they didn't just go to the police!!!!!

  • EdenOne
    EdenOne

    rip,

    I don't know, of all the known reports of pedo activity among the JW's, what percentage is of predators engaging its victims in the field service, D2D or bible studies. My perception is that such percentage is low. Nevertheless, it would be a good idea to NEVER allow such person to go on the field service alone, without supervision from another JW who knows about his situation, and never be allowed to conduct Bible Studies in households where there are children.

    Everything that goes beyond these reasonable measures becomes unreasonable and frankly unrealistic. If that person then goes and molests a child from his neighbors, or a relative's, is that to be blamed on the congregation? There's only so much a congregation can realistically do.

    Eden

  • Room 215
    Room 215

    What the GB fails to grasp is that pedophilia is a CRIME, not simply in the same class as a sexual misadventure between consenting adults ("sinful" in scriptural terms but entirely legal).

  • jgnat
    jgnat

    EdenOne, about the fear of mis-application of the registry. When I volunteer to work with children, I am required to complete two checks; a police check for prior convictions, and a child welfare registry check. I get a "hit" on the child welfare registry, as I asked for help when my son first showing signs of a major mental illness. On the registry check form, the worker describes the circumstances of the record. The check results are given to me and then I am free to share with whatever agency I am volunteering with. Just because I get a "hit" does not mean I am prevented from working with children. It is up to me to share or not.

    The experience of the volunteer agencies is that people will drop out on their own as soon as it is clear that a check will be done. For someone like me, the agency can look at my results and decide if I am a safe person or not.

    My church eliminated opportunities for any adult to have private, one-on-one time with any child, for instance, accompanying a child to the rest-room.

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