The scope of the Pennsylvania attorney general's office's investigation into the Jehovah's Witnesses is unclear.īut the office has significant experience investigating sexual abuse at religious organizations. When he was released, Nicholson moved to New Jersey where, according to the lawsuit, he was reinstated as a Jehovah's Witness. Her abuser, Donald Nicholson, was convicted of sexual abuse and served 3 1/2 years in prison in New York, according to Department of Corrections and Community Supervision records. Steele worked with law enforcement anyway. According to the lawsuit, the sexual abuse began when she was 2. In August, Heather Steele sued several Jehovah's Witnesses entities in New York, claiming religious leaders in 1982 tried to discourage her family from cooperating with a criminal investigation there into an elder who had been molesting her for eight years. That was not the first time the organization argued it has no duty to report suspected abuse. In its opinion, the court said the Jehovah's Witnesses were exempt. Last month, the Montana Supreme Court ruled in the organization's favor, finding that the lower court erred when it said Jehovah's Witnesses had a duty to report. The Jehovah's Witnesses appealed the case. ![]() The defense argued in court records that the elders were exempt from Montana's mandatory child abuse reporting law because of an exception that allows clergy members to keep certain communications confidential. The man continued to abuse Nunez until 2007, according to the lawsuit. The elders expelled the abuser from the congregation but then reinstated him, court records state. Two others told elders in 2004 that they had been abused by the same man, according to court records, but the elders never reported it to authorities. In 2018, a Montana jury awarded $35 million to Alexis Nunez, who said she was sexually abused for years by a member of the Thompson Falls Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Lawsuits filed across the country since the 1990s have accused the Jehovah's Witnesses and their legal corporations - including the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York Inc. - of failing to report child abuse. "We welcome an opportunity to explain our beliefs and practices to government officials and look forward to any recommendations they may have as we continue to focus on educating and equipping parents to protect their children from the horrible crime of abuse." "Any suggestion that Jehovah’s Witnesses foster or enable abuse is false," the statement continued. Branch in WallKill, New York, provided a statement to USA TODAY, saying the organization "care(s) deeply about children" and always tries to follow the law. 2018: Jehovah's Witnesses culture shrouds child sexual abuse in Pennsylvania "And the reality is that they’re harming people." "Witnesses believe that they’re obeying God, that they’re putting God’s law ahead of man's law," he said. O'Donnell said he doesn't want to destroy anyone's faith He wants transparency. ![]() ![]() He also outlined the chain of events in a new post he wrote Saturday for JW Survey, a website critical of the Jehovah's Witnesses. O'Donnell said he testified again in December. 22 about his experiences as a Jehovah’s Witness and the structure of the governing body and congregation.Ī former Jehovah's Witness elder testified next, O'Donnell said. O'Donnell said he first testified before the grand jury for more than two hours on Aug.
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