jwleaks

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Posts by jwleaks

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  18

  Australian journalists investigating abuse

  by Joel-ABC-730 in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  dear members,.

  i am an investigative journalist with the australian public broadcaster, the abc.

  we are currently gathering information from members of the jehovah's witnesses who experienced sexual abuse as children and adolescents in australia.

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  jwleaks

  Joel, Good background references can be found on this forum HERE.

  All posts are in order of when they were last posted, i.e. the most recent first. The posts go back 15 years, such as this one relating to Australia:

  A Wollongong judge yesterday launched a scathing attack on the Jehovah's Witness congregation at Balgownie, accusing elders of failing to report child sex abuse.
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  18

  Australian journalists investigating abuse

  by Joel-ABC-730 in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  dear members,.

  i am an investigative journalist with the australian public broadcaster, the abc.

  we are currently gathering information from members of the jehovah's witnesses who experienced sexual abuse as children and adolescents in australia.

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  jwleaks

  Check this Facebook page: JW Survivors in Australia

  I'll send you an email to touch base and introduce you to the right people.
  
  JW LEAKS
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  28

  Back in the Basement

  by LostGeneration in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  looks like the faithful jws are back in the basement, the oct 15th wt has this image on page 9. but now the lights have been turned out!

  i guess the persecution is really kicking in if the electric company has shut off their electricity, or the jws are really, really paranoid that the government is gonna get them if they have the lights on!.

  only one guy is smart enough to use his tablet (far right), the rest of the jws are old school, using a lantern to read their bibles in the dark!

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  jwleaks

  The official Watchtower description of the picture is:

  In an area where their work is restricted, Jehovah’s Witnesses hold a meeting in a dark basement.

  Interesting the all encompassing breadth of ethnicity in the very small group of JW's. Such an ethnic mix of JW's, and the styling of clothing, rules out nearly all present countries "where their work is restricted" including Central Asia, much of the Middle East, parts of Asia and North Korea. However, the inclusion of an entire Asian ethnic family with children limits the potential country even further, if not their own country then a country that would accept an Asian ethnic family, not being migrant workers, where the work of JW's is also restricted to the point of meeting in a "dark basement". Further the Revised New World translation is only available in printed form in a limited number of languages (at present it isn't even available in German, not even online) thereby limiting the nationalities of those present even further.

  If I was to guess I would have to say the country is Borghistan.

  
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  65

  WT October 15, 2015 - Don't believe Apostate Lies

  by Designer Stubble in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the last article in this new wt, shows me that the organization is dealing with much information that is damaging them.

  i am sure that the many recent lawsuits are being noticed by the r&f.. here are some gems from that article, titled the naive person believes every word.

  we must be very selective about what we consider worthy of our attention.

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  jwleaks

  Interesting that the cover features an image of a field service group in Australia given that the Child Abuse Royal Commission announced this week that they will be investigating the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of Australia in relation to the handling of child abuse.
  
  

  [Quote from WT] - "And what should you do if you find slanderous news about Jehovah’s organization on the Internet? Such material should be firmly rejected. Some feel that they must bring it to the attention of others to get their opinion, but all that does is propagate the malicious information. If we feel troubled about something we see on the Internet, we should ask Jehovah for wisdom and speak to mature brothers about it."

  
  "...remember that love is not unduly suspicious; nor is it naive or gullible. Above all, love refuses to believe malevolent insinuations about Jehovah’s organization or lies about our brothers that are circulated by people who are slaves to “the father of the lie,” Satan the Devil."

  Note the qualifiers 'slanderous', 'malicious', 'malevolent', 'lies'.

  
  
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  48

  Candace Conti Case

  by truthseekeriam in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  filed:.

  letter dated june 22, 2015, notifying the court that petitioners, watchtower and fremont congregation have reached a settlement with respondent, conti.. .

  click here to request automatic e-mail notifications about this case..

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  jwleaks

  Great news. Congrats Candace.
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  41

  Missed it by that much ----------23

  by John Aquila in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i almost had a freaking heart attack.

  i even threw my coffee cup at the wall and starting yelling like crazy when i got the the 5th number correct.

  i was checking my texas lottery ticket for this past saturday.

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  jwleaks

  StrongHaiku - Unlikely that my $5 bought me the winning ticket. But it did buy me 5 minutes of a fantasy where I take my winnings and set up a foundation to put ex-JWs through college. Priceless...

  
  
  
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  29

  Royal Commission into Child Abuse - Australia

  by biometrics in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  saw this in the paper today:.

  the jehovah's witnesses church in australia is the latest religious group to come to the attention of the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse.. the child sex abuse royal commission will hold a public hearing into controversial christian group the jehovah's witnesses, next month.. the inquiry, to be held in sydney, will hear from people who were allegedly sexually abused within the jehovah's witnesses church in australia.. it will examine how the jehovah's witnesses church and its company, the watchtower bible and tract society of australia, responded to claims of child sexual abuse within the organisation.. a victorian inquiry into how churches handle child sex abuse claims has previously taken submissions from former jehovah's witnesses who alleged instances of paedophilia, sexual assault, blackmail and death threats.. the organisation has 64,000 active "disciples" in australia but has also been described as a cult.. jehovah's witnesses believe their church is the one true religion and all others are wrong.

  they are among a number of religious groups which have been examined by the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse including the catholics, anglicans, australian christian churches and the salvation army.. the jehovah's witnesses australian headquarters has been contacted for comment about the inquiry which is scheduled to begin on july 27.. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/nsw/jehovahs-witnesses-to-appear-before-sex-abuse-royal-commission-20150622-ghue73.html.

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  jwleaks

  MEDIA RELEASE - CHILD ABUSE ROYAL COMMISSION

  Official Media Release: Public Hearing into Jehovah's Witnesses
  

  Public hearing into the Jehovah’s Witnesses

  22 June, 2015

  The Royal Commission will hold a public hearing in Sydney commencing on 27 July 2015 at 10:00am.

  The scope and purpose of the public hearing is to inquire into:

  1. The experience of survivors of child sexual abuse within the Jehovah’s Witnesses Church in Australia.

  2. The responses of the Jehovah’s Witnesses Church and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Australia Ltd to allegations, reports or complaints of child sexual abuse within the Church.

  3. The systems, policies and procedures in place within the Jehovah’s Witnesses Church and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Australia Ltd for raising and responding to allegations of or concerns about child sexual abuse within the Church.

  4. The systems, policies and procedures in place within the Jehovah’s Witnesses Church and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Australia Ltd to prevent child sexual abuse within the Church.

  5. Any related matters.
  
  Any person or institution who believes that they have a direct and substantial interest in the scope and purpose of the public hearing is invited to lodge a written application for leave to appear at the public hearing by 10 July 2015.

  Applications for leave to appear should be made using the form available on the Royal Commission website.

  The form and the submission should be lodged with the Royal Commission via: Email:[email protected]; or Mail: GPO Box 5283, Sydney NSW 2001.

  The public hearing will be streamed live to the public via webcast on the Royal Commission’s website.

  
  
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  36

  Small details...

  by Garrett in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a witness friend wanted to meet up recently and talk.

  since this person was a close friend and who i thought had a level head, i'd go ahead and speak with him.

  our conversation actually helped me figure a few things out not only for myself but also about the witnesses.. so we're talking and i'm telling him my experience and the doctrines that i disagreed with as well as the scandals that made me disgusted with the organization.

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  jwleaks

  Good analogy. Here's mine:
  
  I love mountain bike riding. Many years ago, 14 to be exact, I purchased a very expensive custom handmade (in the USA) carbon fiber bike from the US Olympic mtb team. Over the next decade plus I replaced every single major component on the bike at least three times and all the wear-and-tear parts at least once every two years. Tires I replaced once year, both summer and winter sets. Chains and cables I would have lost track of the replacements. Eggbeaters (pedals) rebuilt after two years and fully replaced every 5 years. The frame was resprayed once and then retired for a newer identical replacement frame. All the components were simply swapped over from the retiring frame to the replacement frame. Even my family never noticed the change.

  Is it the same carbon fiber mountain bike?

  Consider: My carbon fiber frame was the foundation for my bike. Just like the "faithful and discreet slave class" was the foundation for the JW religion. Both are gone. Replaced with something newer and similar, and leaner and cheaper.
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  10

  UK Abuse case full judgment online

  by Viva la Vida in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  you can find the full judgement at this link: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/ewhc/qb/2015/1722.html.

  judge compares wt with catholic church... .

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  jwleaks

  BBC REPORT: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-33201010

  A woman who claimed Jehovah's Witness elders failed to protect her from sex abuse carried out by a paedophile has won a £275,000 payout.

  The damages and an interim payment of £455,000 towards legal costs will be met by the Watchtower Society's trustees.

  
  

  The woman, now in her 20s, alleges she was abused as a child in Loughborough by ministerial servant Peter Stewart.

  She had argued at London's High Court that he used his role to abuse her.

  A judge ruled the organisation was liable for the abuse because it failed to take "safeguarding steps" after Stewart admitted abusing another child.

  Mr Justice Globe said he was "satisfied" the defendants should be "held responsible" for the abuse, which took place between 1989 and 1994.

  It is the first civil case in the UK of historical sexual abuse brought against the Christian-based religious movement.

  The organisation - which accepted that Stewart, who died before facing justice, sexually abused the claimant - said it was "disappointed" with the decision and would appeal.

  The victim said: "The procedures the Jehovah's Witnesses follow for dealing with child sexual abuse are the same as it was when I was abused.

  "Even having a ministerial servant sent to prison was not enough of an incentive for them to implement change. This sends a clear message about the importance Jehovah's Witnesses place on child protection."

  

  Analysis

  BBC legal affairs correspondent Clive Coleman

  This is the first civil case for damages for historical sexual abuse in the UK brought against the Jehovah's Witness organisation, and is thought to be the first brought against any non-mainstream religion.

  It illustrates how the law has expanded in recent years so that a person need not be employed by a religious body for it to be vicariously liable - ie responsible - for their actions.

  The court firstly asks whether the relationship is "akin to employment".

  It doesn't have to be an actual employment relationship (for example, priests are not "employed" but the Church can be liable for their actions), but the relationship has to share features which you might see between employer and employee (for example, where a Church exercises control upon what a priest can and cannot do).

  Secondly, the court asks whether the abuse was "connected" to that relationship. For example, if someone uses their position of responsibility as a means to abuse children, then vicarious liability is likely to result.

  Jehovah's Witness movement explained

  

  'Couldn't get away'

  The woman, known only as C during the case, says she was abused by Stewart between the ages of four and nine.

  At the time he was a trusted ministerial servant, whose role was to assist elders with religious and administrative duties.

  Shortly after C's abuse began, Stewart was found to have abused another child in the Jehovah's Witness community.

  He was removed as a ministerial servant in 1990 but because he told elders he had repented, he was allowed to continue with many of the activities he had performed in that role.

  C alleges he continued to abuse her for another four years.

  The abuse took place at a number of locations, including Kingdom Hall, a place of worship used by Jehovah's Witnesses, with Stewart forcing her to keep silent by telling her "she was sinning" and "she would not be saved".

  In 1995, Stewart was convicted of separate child sex offences, including rape and indecent assault, and jailed for five years.

  He died, aged 72, in 2001, shortly before police arrived at his home to arrest him for sexually abusing C.

  The court had heard C had "suffered hugely" as a result of the abuse, which had affected her education, career and relationships.

  She had symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and suffered from repeated nightmares. She also attempted suicide.

  
  

  C had claimed the trustees of the Loughborough Blackbrook Congregation and of the Loughborough Southwood Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, the successors of the Loughborough Limehurst Congregation, were vicariously liable for the assaults, and for the actions of the Limehurst elders.

  Speaking to the BBC ahead of the verdict, she said the Jehovah's Witness organisation saw child abuse as a "sin that can be dealt with within their organisation - they don't see that they have to look outside themselves in any way".

  "All they want to do is pray for you and promise you that God's going to wipe away all your pain. It's just unbelievable," she said.

  She said the organisation needed to "admit to themselves that there is a massive problem".

  "These [abuse victims] aren't apostates, these are people who have suffered from horrible, horrible crimes and had their lives completely wrecked," she said.

  "They're not out to destroy the organisation. This is a problem that needs to be dealt with."

  'Wake-up call'

  Kathleen Hallisey, lawyer at AO Advocates, said: "This should be a wake-up call to the Jehovah's Witness organisation that they need to implement better child safeguarding policies that are in line with modern day knowledge about child safeguarding and sexual abuse.

  "And I also hope that it's a wake-up call to members of the organisation that child sexual abuse is a problem within the organisation - and it's something that they need to do something about."

  Richard Cook, solicitor for the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain, said: "We are disappointed with the decision, particularly since the court accepted expert evidence that Jehovah's Witnesses in the late 1980s and early 1990s were ahead of their time in addressing the issue of child sexual abuse.

  "For decades we have warned congregants and parents of the dangers of child abuse and have published information to help parents safeguard their children. We will continue to do so."

  The damages and an interim payment of £455,000 towards C's legal costs will be met by the society's trustees.
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  10

  UK Abuse case full judgment online

  by Viva la Vida in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  you can find the full judgement at this link: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/ewhc/qb/2015/1722.html.

  judge compares wt with catholic church... .

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  jwleaks

  Shortlink to download Judgment: https://goo.gl/GUClFI