Harry Holt - JW elder sexually assaulted 8 girls over 4 decades

by OrphanCrow 24 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

  • Nathan Natas
    Nathan Natas

    I have just recently become aware that mentioning a COUNTRY is an effective way of answering the question "WHERE?"

    OH! Scotland! Cleverly concealed down there at the end of the article. Nicely played!

  • Truthexplorer
    Truthexplorer
    I just downloaded the safeguarding policy of the united reformed Church. It's very clear and online so that Joe public can read. Where can we get a copy of the safeguarding policy for Jehovah's witnesses children and adults at risk??
  • HappyOutsideTheBox
    HappyOutsideTheBox

    I was so shocked to read that article.

    I have known him for over 30 years - albeit I haven't had contact for many years since leaving the 'truth'.

    I would never have thought it of him. He was a down to earth bloke who worked hard and was well liked.

    I remember speaking to him when he planned to move to Edinburgh. He told me there had been trouble in the kingdom hall which was being handled badly and he was moving to get away from it. He implied the BOE were at the route of it. I was so sympathetic as I knew how some BOE's could be horrible.

    Unlike Ian cousins (from the same circuit) who was jailed for abusing his daughter, Charlie was not a sleaze bag in any way that was apparent to me.

    I guess it goes to show - we never really 'know' anybody.

    HOTB

  • Vanderhoven7
    Vanderhoven7

    <<I guess it goes to show - we never really 'know' anybody.>>

    To go along with that -

    We had an evening radio program in Montreal entitled, "Lovers and Other Strangers".

  • careful
    careful

    Yeah, I laugh every time another article comes out about a JW being a pedophile and the 'official' response is always the same lying rhetoric. It reminds me of asking a kid if they ate the last piece of cake and they say "no" when they have chocolate icing all over their face.

    Made me lol due to it's being so spot on (though admittedly this is not really a laughing matter).

  • OrphanCrow
    OrphanCrow
    HappyOtB: I would never have thought it of him. He was a down to earth bloke who worked hard and was well liked....
    I guess it goes to show - we never really 'know' anybody.

    You are exactly right - we do not know what a person is really like until we meet them behind closed doors. And sometimes not even then.

    Sometimes the people who present themselves as the nicest are actually the most evil.

    Dr. Jekell and Mr. Hyde.

  • smiddy
    smiddy

    A church Elder said Child Abuse was a despicable crime and a sin , however Elders never inform Law Enforcement Agency`s or Child protection Authorities about these abuses when they come to light.and want to keep it in-house to protect Jehovah`s name.

    What hypocrites

    smiddy

  • stuckinarut2
    stuckinarut2

    YES!

    The Australian Royal Commission very straightforwardly pointed out the glaring problem in the society:

    There is no praise for simply 'expelling' a child abuser from the congregation, only to leave the rest of the community still at risk!

    As justice McClellan said to Toole, Jackson and O'Brien, that is NOT good enough. Every person has a responsibility to report any hint of abuse to the authorities, who can then investigate. If they find something to go on, then fine. BUT it is not up to untrained people in the cong to decide if someone is a risk!

    BUT The elders ADMIT that an offender is "guilty" by Disfellowshipping them...but have no regard for the community at large!

  • JWdaughter
    JWdaughter
    Facing expulsion is like a person accused in court is facing jail or divorce. It might happen, it might not. Apparently, it doesn't often happen for pedophiles, but smoke a joint and you are really anathema!
  • Vidiot
    Vidiot

    smiddy - "...want to keep it in-house to protect Jehovah's name."

    Ostensibly, yes, but that's really just a band-aid explanation.

    Many of us have come to suspect deeper, darker reasons, however...

    a) ...even if it were somehow kept from the congregations, abusers confirmed by an outside source would therefore be disqualifed them from serving in any capacity in local congregations, and anecdotal evidence suggests that the Org would experience a serious shortage of "qualified bothers" able (and willing) to administer the grassroots-level functioning of the Org...

    b) ...the problem - due to the Org's mismanagement - has become so widespread that if rank-and-file parents were to truly grasp that there are, for all intents and purposes, no congregations anywhere which do not have at least one resident sex offender, a significant number would simply throw up their hands, and say, "hell with it, I'm not taking my kids to the meetings and out in service anymore", and stay home with them (not to mention that it would be all the incentive any remaining fakers, faders, and fence-sitters needed to finally walk)...

    c) ...the problem - again, due to the Org's mismanagement - has become so institutionalized and endemic that if it were exposed in a way that the rank-and-file had no choice but to accept, it would severely undermine confidence that the WTS was a "spiritual paradise" with God's exclusive favor, and that cannot be allowed (because if it's not, there's virtually no incentive for any member to stay affiliated)...

    ...all of which would spell a crisis for the WTS that I think would make 1975 look like a f**king cakewalk.

    The Org's very survival could not help but be put at significant risk.

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