Inside sources reveal 23,720 reported/unreported child molesters on file at JW headquarters in NY
Inside sources reveal 23,720 reported/unreported child molesters on file at Jehovah’s Witness headquarters in New York
In the spring of 2002, silentlambs was contacted by three different sources who claimed to have connected with people inside the headquarters of the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York, located in Patterson , New York . These insiders provided silentlambs contacts with a computer data base number of 23,720 child molesters on file there. The files labeled as the “specialized shepherding arrangement” is a front for reporting child molesters to home office. Patterson is the location for the Service and Legal Departments of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, now calling itself the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses of New York, and it is in these two departments where these highly confidential files are kept. It is interesting to note the ramifications of this extraordinary number.
When a pedophile is revealed within a congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, the Body of Elders appoints two of their number to investigate the allegation to see if there is any substance to the charge. If the claim is established upon investigation, then the local Body of Elders appoints two of their number to call Watchtower's Legal Department to report the matter. The Legal Department representative then fills out a computerized form using a question and answer format over the telephone.
All details of the matter are recorded, including the date of birth of the pedophile; what occurred; the age of the victim; where, when, and how many times the victim was touched, etc.. These details are then put into a computer at home office for permanent record and can be recalled by those authorized at any time if there is a future infraction. At the end of a one to two hour interview, the spokesman in Legal then puts an in-house Watchtower attorney on the phone to determine if the State where the congregation is located is a reporting State. If it is, then the attorney will encourage the elders to request that parents, caregivers for the victim report the matter. If they do not want to do this, then the elders are required to do so. What if the molestation occurred in one of the thirty-six non-reporting States? Then the attorney will say, "Brothers your obligation has been fulfilled you are to remain neutral on reporting to law enforcement." At this point, in most cases, the matter is not reported.
The original brother will then list Body of Elders' letters discussing child molestation that the elders must review. He also gives instructions that if any new matters develop as to the accused, that is, if this person molests more children, the elders are to use the date of the first report as a reference point or the child molester's date of birth. This then means Watchtower's Legal Department can easily pull up the case on computer and add the new molestation information for the data base. In addition, this provides the reason the pedophile database exists, basically to protect the legal interests of the Watchtower Corporation. The current policy requires a twenty year waiting period with no "confirmed" reports (two-eye witnesses or confession) of abuse from the perpetrator before they can be re-appointed to authority positions within the congregation. Why? Legally this allows for the statue of limitations to be completely expired for criminal prosecution as well as frees the Watchtower Corporation from any legal liability to be prosecuted criminally or civilly in the courts. The database allows Jehovah's Witnesses to privately monitor their child molesters as they move from congregation to congregation or even leave the organization protecting the molesters’ identity and crimes from law enforcement while at the same time covering themselves from possible lawsuits.
The number of 23,720 is significant, to say the least. If we apply this to the entire worldwide organization, then the figure would be one Jehovah’s Witness out of two hundred and sixty is a child molester on file at their headquarters. Do you think Catholics have such a high ratio of pedophile priests among their priesthood? If we applied a similar ratio to the number of Catholics in the USA at 60,000,000, it would mean there are 230,769 Catholic child molesters in this country. It would appear unrealistic to believe this type of ratio could exist in the Catholic Church. Yet with Jehovah’s Witnesses the ratio could be far worse when you consider that many Jehovah’s Witness child molesters may not be reported to Watchtower Legal. If two elders who investigate an allegation are not able to establish the matter at the mouth of "two eye witnesses" will the “specialized shepherding arrangement” see anything recorded at Patterson , New York ? Please note in the letter to all Body of Elders in England , dated June 1, 2001 , this comment:
"There are, however, many other situations that are connected with the abuse of a child. For example, there may be just one eyewitness, and the brother denies the allegation. (Deuteronomy 19:15; John 8:17) Then again, a young child might be abused by someone who himself is a minor, perhaps in his pre- or early-teens. In these and similar cases no entry will be made on the Child Protection List. Rather, information should be kept in a sealed envelope in the congregation's confidential file as described below. When such individuals move, the Congregation Service Committee should write a letter addressed to the Society's Legal Department seeking advice as to whether to communicate the details to the new congregation."
This appears to indicate that the local congregations keep the information and only if the accused molester moves would any consideration be given to check with Watchtower Legal or even alerting the new congregation. Are these individuals considered part of the 23,720 molesters on file?
If not, then the logical conclusions would be that there are far more accused child molesters than the 23,720 on file who have either confessed or been convicted at the mouth of "two eye witnesses." Taking into account the number of 95,000+ congregations worldwide, a conservative estimate would mean one child molester for every four congregations, based on the 23,720 figure.
Do you think Jehovah's Witnesses have a problem with child molesters? How many unreported child molesters are operating within the organization and are yet to be revealed? This number will only grow and continue to expose children to danger since Watchtower's policy of keeping molester's names confidential has created a "pedophile paradise." Why do Jehovah's Witnesses keep a data base of child molesters that in large part is never reported to police? The protection of money not children is the basic reason. The purpose of the data base is to monitor and prevent persons Jehovah's Witnesses have determined to be child molesters in their membership from serving in official capacity in the congregation. This in turn protects Watchtower Inc. from facing litigation for negligence for putting molesters in a leadership positions which could cost the organization money in the courts. The protection of children remains the lowest priority as this data base remains confidential from the congregation and many of the people that are kept on file will continue to molest children with the protection of "church" confidentiality.
One can only wonder how the FBI would react if they knew that such files of criminal activity exist, and that the majority of molestation accusations are not reported to the authorities for investigation. Finally, how easily could the American justice system handle prosecution of several thousand Jehovah's Witness pedophiles? These questions, as well as others, will become a factor when the “Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses” is forced to reveal how many of the alleged 23,720 criminals are being protected by Watchtower policies.