Denmark Media Calls JW's "Satan's Witnesses"Read why- Day 2
For a three year period, the little girl had to put up with sexual advances when the family visited grandpa and grandma. In January she put a stop to it. Grandpa has now been reported to the police, but Jehovah's Witnesses don't do anything to stop him. Follow Ekstra Bladets revelations about Satan's Witnesses
11-year old sex-abused by her Jehovah’s Witness-grandfather
Jehovah-grandfather abused 11-year old grandchild for three years.
http://ekstrabladet.dk/VisArtikel.iasp?PageID=247454
By Han s-Henrik Hare - 9:00 - 1. maj. 2004
The world fell apart for the 35-year old man from North Jutland when his eleven year old daughter told him that her grandfather through the last three years had fondled her genitals.
The girl’s father had been a Jehovah's Witness most of his life.
- I immediately believed my daughter and my father also soon admitted what he had done, the man says.
- If he had actually penetrated my daughter in any way I would have killed him, he says.
The man immediately reported his father to the police. The grandfather was showed a video where his grandchild was questioned, and then he reacted in a way that was very surprising to his son.
’BY GOD NOTHING HAPPENED’
- He saw the questioning of my daughter on video, he didn’t react with shame, and he became angry and irritated. My daughter had stated that it all went on for three years. He claimed that she lied, it was only two years, the man tells us, who out of concern for his daughter don’t want to reveal his identity.
Aarhus police acknowledge that the Jehovah-disciple is charged with sex-abuse of the little girl. Ekstra Bladet attempted to make contact with the accused that lives in a little village outside Aarhus , but the man don’t want to talk to the reporter and hung up the telephone.
Ekstra Bladet has for the last couple of days reported other incidents of abuse of a sexual nature from Jehovah's Witnesses. The charged brought against the man for abusing his granddaughter seems to have no influence on his continued membership in the sect, the son claims.
- “Nothing is happening; they protect each other,” he states, strongly irritated.
He is pleased though that his father’s employer Aarhus tram lines will take action.
- “I hope he will lose his job as a driver,” he says.
WANTED TO AVOID MORE ABUSE
The abuse took place when the family regularly visited the grandparents in their home outside Aarhus . It was before another of those visits in the beginning of the new year that his daughter didn’t want to go.
- “I think she had had enough,” he says.
- “We have never allowed my children to go on holidays alone with my parents, I have neve r r eally trusted him,” he says and tell us that if there has existed a chilly relationship with his parents, it is now ice cold.
The little girl says that he has been afraid that her parents would become angry with her that’s why it took so long for her to finally tell them. She is now in therapy, but she is according to her father a strong girl.
- “I have made it clear to my father that if he ever tries to contact my family again I will crush him.”
- “He wanted to ask my daughter forgiveness, but I won’t allow him to do that.” The man says.
- Out of eight siblings he is the only Jehovah's Witness. And his father is just little louse in the sect, says the son
Second Article
It is unacceptable
The Minister of Justice finds the behavior of the Jehovah-sect discouraging.
By Jan Kjærgaard - 8:05 - 30. apr. 2004
The Minister of Justice Lene Espersen (K) describes Jehovah's Witnesses’ secrecy in cases of incest and child abuse as “completely unacceptable”.
- “It is completely unacceptable. Jehovah's Witnesses should of course go to the police in such cases. It is deeply, deeply discouraging that there exist groups or parts of groups in our society holding the opinion that they can stay outside of the lawful society. Cases like this must be handled by professionals and the courts. Anything else is untenable and unacceptable,” says the Minster to the Ekstra Bladet
http://ekstrabladet.dk/VisArtikel.iasp?PageID=247360
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Third Article
Incomprehensible
by jkj - 8:05 - 30. apr. 2004
The chairman of the Justice Committee Anne Baastrup (SF) requests that Jehovah's Witnesses urgently change the sect’s internal rules for handling sexually abused children.
- "Jehovah's Witnesses neglect the children. It is seriously wrong morally. As adults one has to act in such sensitive cases. It can’t be right when Jehovah's Witnesses instead concentrate on protecting the adults, to avoid gossip. It is also very wrong that Jehovah's Witnesses use their elders to handle such cases. Those are best left to professionals," the Chairman emphasized.
- "If Jehovah's Witnesses doesn't voluntarily change their current practice, the minister must impress upon them that a unanimous National assembly has decreed that there is no limitation period for crimes like incest or the sexual abuse of children. Jehovah's Witnesses must be made to understand that these matters must be taken far more serious," says Baastrup to the Ekstra Bladet.
http://ekstrabladet.dk/VisArtikel.iasp?PageID=247361
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Fourth Article
Serious Crimes
By Niels Westberg - 8:05 - 30. apr. 2004
State Prosecutor Peter Broendt Joergensen takes a very serious view of the attitude that the Jehovah’s Witness movement displays toward the alleged sexual abuse of children - i.e. the rules used by the sect in order to cover up accusations of sex abuse in the organization.
- “This is unacceptable because sexual abuse of children is a serious crime and because the price of hushing up that kind of act can have serious consequences for the victims.”
- “If the cases aren’t solved and the abused children receive professional help it means that an unknown number of people are walking around with painful suppressed traumas,” says the State attorney in Viborg.
- From the viewpoint of the State P rosecutor it seems rather peculiar that a movement which would like to see itself as a mainstream religion is capable of nourishing the kind of attitudes to sexual abuse of minors that has been described by the Ekstra Bladet.
’HALLUCINATIONS’
Ekstra Bladet in an article on Thursday explained how the rules used by the Jehovah’s Witnesses for sealing allegations of sexual abuse that has occurred earlier in a person’s life, consist of keeping your mouth shut and maintaining strict confidentiality.
The sect consistently use the term ’hallucinations’ about children’s repressed memories of sexual abuse that later surface.
Such ’hallucinations’ one is not allowed as a Witness to tell anyone outside the sect, particularly not to the police or social authorities. Even if one suspects that the perpetrator is still actively abusing children.
Only when it comes to definite ongoing cases of sexual abuse of children are Jehovah-disciples permitted to report the case to the police but only if the perpetrator has already confessed.
• “We seek to avoid gossip campaigns about sexual abuse. Such campaigns are terribly harmful,” says Branch Committee overseer Joergen Larsen.
http://ekstrabladet.dk/VisArtikel.iasp?PageID=247358
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Fifth Article
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Keep Silent about sex abuse
By Niels Westberg - 7:30 - 29. apr. 2004
Sex-abuse of children is a taboo among Jehovah's Witnesses.
Jehova-boss nr. 1 i Danmark, Jørgen Larsen
The more then 20,000 registered Witnesses are sworn to strict silence about sex-abuse inside the organization, if the abuse happened a long time ago.
Only if a Jehovah’s Witness child has been victim of a very recent case of sexual abuse that can be confirmed here and now, are parents recommended to report it to the authorities.
- That’s right, we differ sharply between a case of actual abuse, which is proved here and now and the so-called ‘repressed memory’ cases about sexual abuse in the past, says the spokesman for Jehovah's Witnesses Erik Jorgensen.
- ‘We don’t want any campaigns of slander about such matters. That is why we have certain firm procedures,” says the Branch Committee Overseer in Denmark , Joergen Larsen, to the Ekstra Bladet.
FORGOTTEN
Sex-abuse of a child, that later surface in the child’s consciousness, is termed ‘hallucinations’ or ‘repressed memories’ i.e. false memories by the Jehovah-organization.
- If we are facing such a problem, we apply the rule that was formulated in our Watchtower magazine in 1995, acknowledge the public relations spokesman Erik Joergensen.
In the article ”Comfort for Those With a “Stricken Spirit” Jehovah-members are firmly discouraged from going to the police and report an ab user even though one suspect the ab user of still continuing to abuse children sexually.
If a person believes that he or she was sexually abused by another Jehovah’s Witness member one should not draw “hasty conclusions” and report it to the police but rather go to the elders in the congregation.
The article also states that “Eventually, you may be content to let the matter drop”
CONFIDENTIAL
A Jehovah’s Witness member that has ’hallucinations’ about an earlier sex abuse should keep the name of the ab user strictly confidential.
If the ab user denies the allegations, there is nothing the elders can do and the ab user is thereby ‘innocent’, the article says.
Even if the acc user can produce another person who has been abused by the same person, the Jehovah-organization refuses to do anything.
In other words the police will never get any knowledge of such a case.
- “We do not have any confidence in ’repressed memories’ about sex-abuse,” says the PR spokesman Erik Joergensen.
- “We do on the other hand recommend going to the police if one of our members confesses to actual abuse. We do also recommend going to the social authorities if there is a firm suspicion of a child being sexually abused.”
- “We do strongly condemn sexual abuse of children,” says the Jehovah’s Witness spokesman.