JW lawsuit on CNN!!!

By KEN RITTER
Associated Press Writer

January 11, 2003, 12:14 AM EST

LAS VEGAS -- Four women sued the Jehovah's Witnesses claiming they were molested by a church leader in Nevada over several years beginning in the early 1970s and that church officials covered up the abuse.

Dawn Bradley, Amanda Cirone, Annette Reed and Donna Wilkes claim in the lawsuit filed Thursday in Las Vegas that they were abused by Daniel Steven Fitzwater, a former Jehovah's Witnesses congregation leader, from 1974 until the 1990s.

In seeking at least $30,000 from various Jehovah's Witnesses entities, the women -- now in their 20s and 30s -- allege church officials knew of the abuse but took no action.

"Outcries were made and they were not reported, and because they were not reported to law enforcement other children were molested afterward," said the women's lawyer, Kim Norris.

Fitzwater was arrested in 1997 and charged with lewdness with children in an unrelated case. He was convicted of two counts of sexual lewdness in 1998 and is eligible for parole in 2005. Fitzwater couldn't be reached for comment and it wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney.

Church spokesman J.R. Brown said he couldn't comment specifically on the lawsuit. However, he said the church deals appropriately with reports of abuse.

"Our church policy protects children, not molesters," Brown said. "Molesters are punished, generally the most severe way, which is disfellowship or public reproof."

The plaintiffs came forward after encouragement from Silentlambs, a nonprofit organization founded by William Bowen, a former Jehovah's Witness who collects complaints about the church on an Internet site.

The church puts its membership at 6 million worldwide, including 1 million U.S. residents.

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On the Net:

Jehovah's Witnesses: http://www.watchtower.org

Silentlambs Web site: http://www.silentlambs.org

jimbob

"Our church policy protects children, not molesters," Brown said. "Molesters are punished, generally the most severe way, which is disfellowship or public reproof."

Public reproof is a severe punishment for child abuse?? Give me a f***ing break! Gee, maybe I should go rob some banks, or maybe work for Enron as an accountant, because I'll only be reproved. Does he realize how stupidly asinine this comment sounds. Is somebody who's not a JW gonna feel that dfing or reproving someone for molestation is a severe punishment? Try and tell that to the parents of the abused. What a joke! Gee, if a child's abuser is publicly reproved, I'm sure the parents will feel justice has been served. If JR Brown was a public spokesperson for a REAL corporation, he would've been fired a long time ago!!

Golden Girl

Our "CHURCH" policy is pretty outstanding! I wonder who put that in?..Would love to know if the JW's are calling themselves a "Church" now so people will understand better..Not many know what a "Kingdom Hall " is....Or if the newspaper or reporter did that?..Anyone know?

Snoozy...

MacHislopp

Hello VeniceIt and Gerard,

thanks for the information! Great, more skeletons are comingout of the

WTBS secret cupboards..

Jimbob: good comment about J.R. Brown .."Church spokesman ",

i do like that but he should rather be called...father J.R.Brown!

Golden Girl: Good point! I wrote about this sometime agao and I

can assure you that 98/ of the JW don't know that the WBTS

refers in the Press and in front of "secular authorities" as

- a CHURCH - !

This new and the similar event that ais going on TV

show in Germany...Europe will more informed.

Greetings, J.C.MacHislopp

waiting

Congratulations to the women involved - including Attorney Kim Norris.

In seeking at least $30,000 from various Jehovah's Witnesses entities, the "At least" $30,000......is that the totality of the amounts for all women against all of the "various Jehovah's Witnesses entites"? Or is this stating the "at least $30,000"......but not limited to?

"Our church policy protects children, not molesters," Brown said. "Molesters are punished, generally the most severe way, which is disfellowship or public reproof."

When a jw's publically reproved, I was under the impression that they would have to do works "befitting repentance" - which a large part of that is public time in field service & meeting attendence. Afterall, what other works do jw's do?

Of course, when publically reproved, elders do announce that "....... has been reproved." Severe, eh? Now THAT surely warns unsuspecting jw parents,eh?

Publically reproved persons might have their "right to comment" during meetings taken away.....but they can always sing along. Of course, they can't have "responsibilities" in the KH, but then, a sister never had that in the first place, now did she.

I'm sure the public at large will rest easier knowing that a confirmed molester can't comment during the Watchtower Study, but confirmed molsters are strongly encouraged to come knocking on their door and say "howdy" to their small children - to "prove their spirituality."

Btw, Brown's quote included the word "generally." Which means......molesters could also NOT be "severely punished" - even by the *dreaded* public reproof. And....is punishment the outcome wished for......or the stopping of molesters?

waiting

Edited by - waiting on 12 January 2003 19:4:53

JW lawsuit on CNN!!!

VeniceIT

VeniceIT

Gerard

jimbob

Golden Girl

MacHislopp

waiting

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