1006 cases of alleged abuse and not one turned over to the police? It's obvious they weren't concerned about the children....they were concerned about covering their own a$$ and protecting their reputation
Media headline:Jehovah's Witnesses did not report 1006 alleged sex abusers to police, royal commission told
by fulltimestudent 25 Replies latest jw friends
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umbertoecho
They keep repeating the party line about calling the legal department. No matter how they try to squirm out of it. In the end it comes down to saying just that. They cannot deny it as the Royal Commission has the "book" right there infront of them and refer to it for information. For those who are defending the WT view, it's a hard one to get out of. They can't lie, not really, for it they do that then they lose credibility straight away. It's interesting in a legal sense.
Jacksons callousness is so evident in his voice. I always remember wondering why he was taken off the circuit in 2011-12. Now I see why. He was aware of impending investigation and was taken out of the lime light. That is my opinion only
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Splash
These elders are just now getting a taste of what it's like to be sat in front of a JC.
The difference is that there are sound rules in place here, and not just the whim of untrained men.
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Vidiot
Splash - "These elders are just now getting a taste of what it's like to be sat in front of a JC."
Damn, I never even thought of that, but you're right on the money.
Good catch.
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FadingTruth
This is amazing, and I'm curious...
How is it that the elder & ex-Co appeared before this commission? Were they legally required to? How come no JW lawyers were there, I'm quite surprised by that. I'm glad the commission was able to ask blunt and frank questions without JW council weasel-wording their way out of it. How come the GB was able to avoid subpoenas in other court cases? And finally, where did they get the 1,000 abuse records from? Didn't the WT always withhold those files when pressed forthem?
So many questions, but it gives me hope something like this could happen in the US
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antes8080
Am sure one of the main reasons mr tony gave his child abuse spill last broadcast was because they new this would come out.
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Londo111
1006 cases just in Australia…there are only 70000 JWs there. Imagine in the US, where there are over ten times that many. -
Mephis
Fading Truth - in countries like Australia and the UK, a commission like this has powers to force people to appear and testify, as well as to demand any and all documents related to the inquiry. The penalty for failing to do this can be imprisonment and/or fines. There is no legal way out of this, beyond some very specific exemptions. It's more akin to Congressional investigative hearings than a civil court case.
The records come from two requests made in February 2015 by this commission. They evidently were held by the Australian branch.
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FadingTruth
Thanks for the response, Mephis!
Still to give testimony at this commission:
- Rodney Spinks is the senior Service Desk Elder who has served in the Service Department since January 2007.
- Terrence O’Brien is the Coordinator of the Australia Branch and a director and Secretary of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Australia. He has actively served with the Jehovah’s Witness Church for 40 years
- Vincent Toole is a solicitor who has, since 2010, overseen the operation of the Legal Department within the Church’s Australia Branch Office. M
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Vidiot
LostGeneration - "I posted this on another thread, but check google news for 'Jehovah's Witnesses'. I see six stories at the top of my feed already, a new one from "The Guardian" just posted. Tons of JWs are gonna see this! Its about time! I don't think even Tony's little rant earlier this month is gonna prevent JWs from seeing this."
Here's an idea for the more vengefully-minded XJWs out there...
...put together a trolly featuring newspapers from around the world discussing this, and set it up wherever you find JW trollies and info-tables.