Pedophilia at the Witnesses of Jéhovah

The Témoins of Jéhovah were confronted in their center with businesses of pedophilia . Opponents of this fundamentalist religious movement highly criticized the way in which its members treated during years these cases of pedophilia.

Attitude of the movement with respect to the pedophilia

The Pédophilie is contrary with the values morals of the Témoins of Jéhovah. They think that this practice concerns what the Bible calls the pornéia in Greek, i.e. a sexual relationship out of the framework of the marriage. They consider this practice a Péché serious likely to fall under the blow from a excommunication on behalf of that which is devoted to it.

In its publications, the religious movement explains why the pedophilia constitutes a “old plague which took today enormous proportions the effects can be devastators”, and precise that one “cannot excuse the bad conduct” of the people who misuse the children sexually. She deplores also silence to which the victims are often forced by their torturer and recommends to the parents to educate their children in this field with an aim of preventing the aggressions. It is in particular recommended to learn how to them to push back the marks of affection which are moved or which badly put them at ease, and to encourage the child to show what it would do, that by putting it mentally, in the form of play, in the situation. Even the works intended for the children mention the question of the sexual abuses about minors from a preventive point of view.

Treatment of the pedophilia

Moral scandal

Nevertheless, criticisms on the treatment of the Pédophilie at the Witnesses of Jéhovah appeared a few years ago. The business made surface mainly at the end of the Années 1990 when Bill Bowen, old of a congregation American and scandalized answer of Béthel following one of its requests concerning a pedophilia case which it treated within its congregation , the press alerted, and went up a Web site baptized Silentlambs , which collected tens of testimonys going in the same direction in little time. This mobilization involved several television programs as well with the the United States, as in Australia, England, with the Denmark and in Sweden. However, according to Barbara Anderson, old enquiring on behalf of the Editorial board of the world seat, the debate took seat with the more high level in the beginning of the Années 1990.

It is reproached to them for having treated for a long time in-house the businesses of Pédophilie, without to have informed the legal authorities of these countries of them, “not to throw the opprobrium on the Organization of Jéhovah”. In addition to the misprision of these crimes encouraged by the organization, the internal rules of punishment of the paedophiles raised criticisms:

• One needs two witnesses of the acts paedophiles, or the consents, so that the Témoin paedophile of Jéhovah is excommunicated, and that by basing on biblical verses such as Deutéronome 19:15 which declared: “Only one witness will not be able to draw up himself against a man in connection with a fault or of an unspecified sin, for an unspecified sin which it can make. It is only on saying it of two witnesses or saying it of three witnesses whom the business will hold. ”
• When two eyewitnesses are not found, which often arrives in a business of Pédophilie, a confrontation between the victim and the presumedly guilty one is necessary to prove the facts. It poses the problem of the psychological after-effects however that this confrontation can produce on the victim. On this subject, the Société Watchtower was condemned recently to the Canada to have obliged this confrontation.
• So in spite of confrontation, the defendant does not recognize the facts, the business is classified. This fact is illustrated by the case of a young person of Brussels pertaining to a Témoin family of Jéhovah, which had been deceived during one year and half by one of them, when it was 9 years old. The old , informed, had organized a confrontation between the imposter and his victim, but as there were not two witnesses of the business, this one had been choked. In 2003, this young woman went to deposit felt sorry for with the police force against its torturer, right before the regulation.
• By basing on the biblical passage of 1 Corinthians 6:1 - 8, the Church recommends not to carry felt sorry for near one of its co-religionists, and even when this last is excommunicated, it is necessary to abstain from making it if that is likely “to throw discredit upon the congregation”, as in the event of Pédophilie.
• the guilty paedophiles recognized, but repenting, are not identified near the faithful ones, which involved repetitions. So certain dangers exist, the old are held to take the precautionary measures necessary: these precautionary measures would consist in advising with the paedophiles repenting to be more in liaison with children. On a purely comparative basis, a paedophile judged as such by a truth Tribunal is obviously known of all except if he moved for another area, he is put out of state to harm during a time by a custodial sentence and it is sometimes asked to him to follow a medical care.
• Of former Témoins paedophiles of Jéhovah can still make door-to-door if the old consider that they showed their amendment.
• the paedophiles found guilty by the committees of religious discipline and not showing a repentance were excommunicated of the movement; the old ones considering thus to have returned the justice of God. However, those not having denounced them with the authorities not to throw the opprobrium on the organization of Jéhovah, it happened that some of them continue to deceive children until they are denounced with the authorities by other people. In a business judged in Norway, a paedophile who had sexually maltreated children of his congregation during 23 years, ended up being excommunicated of the Witnesses of Jéhovah after an internal survey with the movement, but denounced forever with the authorities. It continued with to deceive children, after the revelation of its sexual abuses and its exclusion of the religious movement. He thereafter was denounced by the parents of boy a nine year old and was condemned on five facts of action obscene, but its old crimes, prescribed, could not be considered for the sentence.
• Often, the victims of sexual abuses not having declared the business with the authorities did not profit from a psychological support by specialists in health.

According to Bill Bowen, the seat of the Church would have in its files the real or supposed cases of pedophilia of which the number would reach: 23,720; this list not being communicated to the authorities. For this reason, it qualified the Church of “paradise for paedophiles”.

In a television report, the ex-member Alain Berrou explained that the procedure in the event of sexual abuse on minor was not defined in a way typed in the book intended for the old Prenez guard with yourself and for all the herd , but that each supervisor was to write in the margins of the book to word for word the recommendations of the organization at meetings intended for old. It was recommended in first to contact the internal legal department and to cut off themselves behind the denominational secrecy. In finality, the old ones would judge the situation by taking of account the interests of the organization. Bill Bowen for its part declared that its association received 7.000 descriptions of acts paedophiles at the time of the seven last years, and that 300 of them were brought back to the police force. He explained why one month before, from the negotiations by amicable agreement had been concluded between the Société Watchtower and 16 victims which had been compensated, and of which the movement required to be keep silent and to give up the continuations.

It seems that with regard to the misprision with the legal authorities, the movement became aware of its errors in 1998, while continuing to publicly deny to have covered knowingly with the acts of Pédophilie. In France, according to the Witnesses of Jéhovah, since creation in 1994 of an office of the religious affairs, the Ministers for the Culte are obliged to deal with the denunciations with the justice of serious facts, if those would not be done by the parents. However, in the business of Pézenas (Herault), the facts of Pédophilie accused had taken place of 1985 with 1996; the old which had excommunicated the culprit had asserted “seal of confession” not to have denounced the facts and had been condemned to: 3,000 francs of Fine by the Court of Appeal of Montpellier. Moreover, in the case of an other business judged by the Magistrates' court of Dijon, the old having learned in May 1995 that a member of their congregation imposed sexual relationships on his daughter it had considered to be in-house without denouncing it with the authorities. They had explained in front of the court why being Ministers for the Culte Witnesses of Jéhovah, they estimated to be held with the secrecy because of their state; they had been condemned for misprision of crime to three months of suspended sentence. One can nevertheless find surprising that a movement which does not practice the Confession precisely advances the argument of the secrecy of this one to justify the misprision with the police force.

French legislation and professional secrecy

From a purely legal and nonmoral point of view, let us specify that the French Législation does not impose on a minister a Culte held by the Professional secrecy to denounce facts constitutive of penal offenses learned within the framework from a confession or come to their knowledge because same of their quality of minister of the Culte. In theory, the revelation of information in secret matter by a person who in is agent is liable to a penal judgment. But in the particular cases of the attacks or serious maltreatment inflicted with a minor of less than 15 years or with a particularly vulnerable person, the denouncer would not incur any continuation for violation of the Professional secrecy. However, the articles of the penal code which sanction to it not denunciation of such crimes provide expressly that this obligation does not apply to the people obligations with the Professional secrecy. Legally, the Ministers for various the Culte S are thus in right to denounce of such crimes to the competent authorities in spite of the Professional secrecy, but they do not have any obligation to make it when that their is revealed by confession or spontaneous confidence.

Nevertheless, jurisprudence had to specify the limits of the Professional secrecy, fault of being mentioned explicitly in the Loi. At the end of the Years 1990, decisions of Justice showed that the qualification of “Professional secrecy” depends on qualities (Minister for the Culte, friend, relative, mediator) as well as conditions (confession, voluntary confidence, investigation) under which a Minister for the Culte learned information. Thus, in the business of non-denoncation of a Priest paedophile by Mgr Pican, the Magistrates' court of Caen (September 4th 2001) considered that the facts known following an internal survey carried out to its request, and not via a Confession or of any other spontaneous confidence, do not enter any more the field protected by the Professional secrecy. One can thus note that in the businesses of Pézenas (1999) and of February 25th 1998 with Dijon.

In any event, a person obligation with the professional secrecy is subjected to article 223-6 of the penal code on the “Non-assistance with anybody in danger”, although the obligation to carry assistance necessarily does not involve like protection measure the denunciation with the legal authorities, it does not exclude it when there are not other solutions.

Independently of these elements of legal order, one can be astonished to note that these businesses, blaming unfolding interns committees of religious discipline were born; whereas in same time, the publications intended to be diffused near many people, encouraged the parents to denounce this kind of crime to the authorities. Barbara Anderson, ex-enquiring on behalf of the Editorial board of the world seat of the Witnesses of Jéhovah, evokes a combat interns opponent certain members rigorous of the Central College (the leading body of the Witnesses of Jéhovah) and of the Committee of Service (charged to regulate the internal businesses with the congregations of which problems of Pédophilie) to more open members of the Editorial board, charged to write the articles of the reviews of the Witnesses of Jéhovah where are been published with the wire of the years several articles for the defense of the victims of the acts paedophiles.

Reaction of the movement to the charges

Following an American emission called Dateline revealing their policy on the matter, the Witnesses of Jéhovah have, on their English official site, affirmed several points in connection with their treatment of the pedophilia:

• In their eyes the Pédophilie is a “abomination” and is “unacceptable”.
• They pointed out their way of proceeding if one of their members is suspected of sexual abuses on minors (investigation of old, confrontation indicter/shown and required of two witnesses in the event of negation of the facts on behalf of supposed guilty…), as well as the fact that they send a report/ratio of these charges to the subsidiary company of the Witnesses of Jéhovah of the country if the laws allow it.
• They declare that if it is obligatory to bring back the charges, when well even this one are not confirmed or without bases, the old concerned ones must cooperate; on its side, the victim would completely have the right to bring back the business to the authorities if such is its wish.
• They recall that even if the rapist is repenting, it will not have any privilege of service in the congregation.
• Lastly, they recognize that their treatment of these businesses is not perfect and had to be refined with time, but they think of being always supported of their better on the Bible.

This recent media recognition, given full details, and only on their Web site in English, for the moment was not followed acts at the legal level: each victim having required accounts of the Société Watchtower for its management of the businesses of Pédophilie vigorously was fought judicially and spiritually (excommunication) by the movement.

Moreover, in a recent mail addressed to the Prime Minister in France, the Witnesses of Jéhovah bring an answer to the charges published in the report/ratio 2005 of MIVILUDES on this subject. After having recalled that they vigorously condemn all kinds of aggresions against the minors and that they have supported the prevention for more than thirty years, they explain why they have as an ethics to announce such facts and to protect the children who are victims. They in particular announce “creation in 1994 of an Office of the Religious affairs as well as the instructions of their Institution nuns well before these painful societies' problems do not draw the attention of the Média S”. In comparison, it is only in August 1997 which the State education gave of the instructions to manage this kind of businesses. They also point out that the legislator added the case of the sexual offenses inflicted with a fifteen year old minor in the penal code among the omissions of denunciation only in 1998. Lastly, they consider that the Ministers for the Culte do not intervene that within the framework of pastoral work, like others Religion S, but which they do not intend to replace the Justice courts.

Some mediatized businesses

The examples reported below do not constitute an exhaustive list of the cases of Pédophilie within the Témoins of Jéhovah, but make it possible to illustrate the policy of the Church in this kind of situation as well as the legal consequences which rose from it.

; Australia

• Business To refuel. August 5th, 2000, a judge of Wollongong tackled the congregation of the Witnesses of Jéhovah de Balgownie, showing the old absence of denunciation of sexual abuse on child. Goldring judge declared that old congregation were informed sexual abuses by Souter in 1990 and that it was excommunicated five years later without additional action. The 46 year old defendant pled guilty of a fact of Sodomie and four indecent attacks. The judge condemned it to five years of prison for sexual abuses on two teenagers, 20 years ago of that. The judge declared, with the address of the congregation: “The moral punishment imposed by a church is not the punishment required by the law” and “the Church can have a spiritual responsibility but it does not exceed the authority of the state”.

; Belgium

• Deborah Business, August 26th, 2005, Brussels. A 30 year old young woman was deceived when it was 9 years old by a Witness of Jéhovah. The facts lasted during one year and half, then she spoke about it with a friend at the school which was Témoin of Jéhovah. This one spoke about it with his/her parents who spoke about it with old. They organized a confrontation between the imposter and his victim, but as there were not two witnesses of the business, this one was without continuation. In 2003, Deborah went to deposit felt sorry for with the police force against its torturer, right before the regulation.

; Canada

• Business Vicki Boer against Gower Micrometer caliper (Toronto, 1998 - 2006). A Witness who attacked his own daughter sexually was condemned to a two years sorrow minus one day. Mrs. Boer, 34 years (2006), was attacked whereas it had between 11 and 14 years. According to it, the old ones said to him not to announce the aggressions nor to solicit of outside assistance, and they would have also forced it to take part in a confrontation with his/her father to allow him repentance of its sins, a process which it found traumatisant. According to the lawsuit, the local leaders informed the social service well, in accordance with the directives provided by national management in conformity with the Loi on the descriptions of abuse on minors. They obliged on the other hand well the victim with a confrontation with its attacker, and the Watchtower company was condemned for that to pay with the victim: 5,000 Canadian dollars.

; The United States

• Business Berry (2000 - 2005, Nashua, New Hampshire). A Witness ministerial assistant which raped his/her daughters by alliance of 1983 with 1989, whereas they was old at that time from respectively 3 to 10 years, and for the other from 3 to 6 years, was condemned to 57 years of prison for 17 facts of sexual abuses. The mother having alerted old her congregation saw herself asking by them to keep this business within the Témoins of Jéhovah. The Société Watchtower brought its legal aid to shown and, because of the laws of the New Hampshire protecting the Clergé and although continued to have to encourage the victim not to reveal the business with the police force, it was not worried. Indeed, the Loi forces the religious authorities to reveal all businesses of Pédophilie from which they would come to be informed, but it makes an exception for the revelations made to the religious ministers at the time of a Confession. The Société Watchtower would have spent in this business: 500,000 dollars in court fees. This business started a campaign in favor of the revision of the Loi on the secrecy of confession in the event of sexual abuses.
• Business Beliz (1998, Othello, Washington). A Witness violated in the Années 1990 Erica Garza, for the first time when it had 5 years and thereafter each week during four years. He was condemned to eleven years of prison. He was initially excluded from the Témoins of Jéhovah at the time of the first lawsuit in 1998, then reinstated in 2001 old like at the time of the reopening of the lawsuit, because the defendant had made break the first lawsuit for the directed choice of the juries, the judge having wanted to exclude the choice from the young girls. According to Erica Garza, she was threatened of exclusion by the old ones of her movement if she testified with the police force. With the two lawsuits, tens of Witnesses of Jéhovah produced letters of support for the defendant. The Société Watchtower was not continued because of the “statute of limitation” of the business.
• Business Timothy Silva (2003, County of Yolo, California). A Witness of Jéhovah recognized the Viol of an young child. He was not excluded from the Church, but only taken again. The child violated like two others affirming to be also violated by the same individual, attack in justice the Société Watchtower, the congregation and the rapist for misprision of the facts to the police force. According to the charge, although with the current of a first fact of rape, the Société Watchtower named old Silva in the congregation and let it act during ten years on several teenagers before he pleads guilty in 2001 for facts of Viol.
• Business Edward Villegas (2005, Napa, California). Three plaintiffs show the Société Watchtower and the congregation of Napa not to have done anything whereas they were with the current Viol S allegedly perpetrated on them enters 1970 and 1980 by faithful of the Church. In this business, the Société Watchtower already lost two motions: that where she affirmed that the first amendment of the constitution of the the United States protected it from legal proceeding, and that in which she affirmed that she could not be held responsible for the intrigues of her members.
• Business Ronald Broadard (2005, Rochester). A judge recognized that a Church of Témoins of Jéhovah could be continued for failure with its legal duties in a business of Viol on minor, whereas the aforementioned Church affirmed the opposite. The judge however drew aside the continuations against the Société Watchtower in the absence of proof as what it could know about the business. According to the charge, R.Broadard, ministerial assistant of the congregation of Colombus Park, raped his/her small cousin (9 to 11 years at the time of the facts) several times during two years, at the time of a biblical study. Although with the current, old of the congregation whose proper father of marked named it pioneer. Once the mother with the current of the business, the old ones required of him to let them act and to request. The paedophile was stopped, considered to be irresponsible thereafter judicially and was thus not continued. On their side, the old of the congregation have reprimand the interested party without dislocating it his responsibilities. The victim became suicidal and made several stays in psychiatric hospital since the facts. The continuations of the continuations against the Church are not known yet.
• Business Ralph Héroux. Shown in January 2003 to have raped three children in the Years 1970, a ministerial assistant (at the time) initially denied the facts. The denunciation came from the congregation which, to conform to the news Loi on the denunciation of the crimes on children by the Clergé, denounced the rapist. A few months afterwards, this one recognized the facts and bailed out one year of prison. The victims since decided to continue the congregation and the Société Watchtower which at the time their had according to them prohibits to carry felt sorry for. The Société Watchtower wanted to stop the procedure while arguing on the separation of the Church and the State, nevertheless a judge authorized the continuation of the business.
• Business Daniel Fitzwater. An old was recognized guilty of two sexual assaults on minor but an internal document with the Témoins of Jéhovah affirms to know 17 different complaints of children. It excluded forever from the Witnesses of Jéhovah because it there forever have two witnesses for each of the 17 known charges of the Pilot of Jéhovah. When the daughter-in-law of Fitzwater started to speak about manners of her father-in-law, it was excluded from the movement for Apostasie. In 2003, four of the supposed victims carried felt sorry for against the Société Watchtower not to have revealed the facts with the police force and to have allowed that other victims undergo their fate.

; France

• Business of Dijon. February 25th 1998, the magistrates' court of Dijon gave a judgment in a business blaming three old shown misprision of crime (Viol on minor), whereas it “was still possible to prevent or limit the effects”. These Ancien S had been constituted in “religious jurisdiction”, but had not alerted the authorities. The rapist had continued to prevail one year during. The old ones were condemned, for misprision of crime, in three months of suspended sentence. With bases, the Witness of Jéhovah rapist had bailed out 12 years of prison.
• Business of Pézenas. Ten Witnesses of Jéhovah of the area of Pézenas are put in examination for misprision ill treatments at minors of 15 years and must be judged into correctional with Béziers. One of them, father, is prevented multiple sexual aggressions on minors. The old have it excluded, but the business was translated into justice only after being become public following the depositions of the girls of the principal defendant. The others would assert “seal of confession” not to have denounced the facts. The paedophile was condemned on November 27th, 1998 to five years of prison closes including one with deferment by the Magistrates' court of Béziers for sexual assaults on three young girls of which he is the uncle. Four Witnesses of Jehovah who had collected the consents of a paedophile without denouncing it, were condemned to: 3,000 francs of fine by the Court of Appeal of Montpellier. The parents of the one of the children, them so Pilot of Jehovah, were condemned to: 3,000 francs of fine with deferment for non-assistance with anybody in danger. The accused facts had taken place with Pézenas of 1985 with 1996.
• Court of appeal of Paris. December 7th, 2005, the court declares inadmissible the civil constitution as left UNADFI within the framework of a procedure in which a woman claims to be violated during a round of preaching where it made team with an young man much older than it. The local managers learned the Viol, but treated some the consequences only within the organization by the means of a structure called “legal committee”. The parents of the victim admitted not to have deposited not felt sorry for in order not to attack the image of the Witnesses of Jéhovah.
• Business of Pontoise. May 22nd, 2006 with Pontoise opened a “lawsuit which will give a blow of projector on a “Church which acts as margin of the institutions, in the secrecy, until dissimulating during thirteen years, with the eyes of justice, a supposed rape… ”, according to the newspaper Parisian the . The Witnesses of Jéhovah had you it rape of Laura, which had occulted it during years before carrying felt sorry for, on the councils of its psychologists.

; Norway

• September 16th, 1996: A Witness of repenting Jehovah acknowledged with the police force which he had sexually maltreated of the children of his congregation during 23 years. The police force could not continue this 61 year old man, the facts being prescribed. In its confession, he told how he had misused sexually ten children from 6 to 14 years. Certain indices show that the man, when he was a Witness of active Jéhovah, could misuse sexually 35 to 50 children (mainly of the contacts whose term of limitation is shorter). After an internal survey with the movement, the man was excommunicated, but denounced forever with the authorities. According to the chief of the police force, if the Witnesses of Jéhovah had announced the case, the man could have been condemned for certain of his crimes which were not prescribed yet. The decision to denounce came from a personal initiative, the feeling paedophile crushed by the culpability because the Bible condemns this kind of aggression. He hoped by a sincere repentance to return in his congregation. The man continued to deceive children after the revelation of his sexual abuses and his exclusion of the religious movement. Three years after its consents with the police force, he was denounced by the parents of a nine year old boy. , The sexual crimes were this time not prescribed. The man was condemned on five facts of action obscene, but its old crimes, prescribed, could not be considered for the sentence.

; The United Kingdom

• Business Atwell (1968 - 1997, Burnham-One-Sea). In 1997, a Witness of Jéhovah ministerial assistant and pioneer acknowledged and was recognized guilty of 12 facts of indecent acts on children as well as Inceste made between 1968 and 1982, following a lodged complaint by his/her children. It forever be excommunicated of the Church. During the lawsuit, it was moved in another city by the Témoins leaders of Jéhovah, where the individual continued with évangéliser without whoever not knowing what it had done. His/her children stated to have been also victim of the Church.
• Business Cousins (1997 - 2002, Steventson, Ayrshire). A Witness of Scottish Jéhovah was condemned to 5 years of prison for indecent acts on three girls. He forced his daughter whereas she had between 13 and 16 years. The rapist confessed his acts to the old as of 1997 but nothing was done. In 1999, his/her daughter complains with old, claiming neither not to be helped, nor advised to go to the police force; one of old thinks the opposite, without being affirmative. A former member of the congregation, Paul Wynn, claims that the old ones tried “to bleach” the situation, and that they even tried to oblige it to treat the rapist like a “brother” and to greet it. Two other victims alerted the old ones, but nothing was done, apart from removing with the rapist his responsibilities for ministerial assistant. The police force however did not continue the congregation, the Watchtower company diligenté a new supervisor-president on the spot.

See too

Internal bonds

• Pilot of Jéhovah

• Controversies related to the Witnesses of Jéhovah
• Pedophilia
• Confession
• Professional secrecy