UK CHARITY INVESTIGATED WTBS IN 2007

 UK Charity Commission Investigated WBTS For Abuse in 2007 

When standing before the Australian Royal Commission, Governing Body member, Geoffrey Jackson, expressed appreciation for the investigation and professed ignorance of protective child abuse policies. In 2001, I wrote a letter that was sent by certified mail to the Service Department detailing the reason for my resignation as an elder because of the bad policy of two eye witnesses on child abuse. In that same year the organization Silentlambs was founded to support victims of abuse and to present their stories for the world to see. In 2002 Dateline USA offered a program featuring several abuse survivors that were victims of this policy.  Two months later the BBC Panorama presented an hour long program that featured a Governing Body member, Ted Jaracz making the comment on camera, “We will not go beyond the things written” when again asked about the bad policies on child abuse. Following that year, over a dozen other countries had documentaries each featuring victims all having the exact same issues of abuse not being reported to proper authorities with multiple children molested.  For those reasons it is with great suspicion that it could be accepted that Mr. Jackson’s comments were genuine or truthful. The Governing Body have been well informed for well over fifteen years there is a massive problem of abuse pervading the organization and they are purposefully avoiding taking meaningful action. Previous investigations are being conducted in other countries regarding the international policy that has hurt Jehovah’s Witness children around the world  Time and again the organization has been pressured to make meanignful changes to protect children and each time they have resisted. In January 2002, this page was posted on the Silentlambs website that stated, " WT Policy: What needs to change?" It has been there for fourteen years and not one of those three recommendatoins have been enacted to this day. They are simple things and they could have protected thousands of lives.

In 2014 Silentlambs reported the dismissal of key Branch members in UK following the shocking announcement of July 2014 that the organization [WBTS of Great Britain] was to be investigated by the UK Charity Commission and a similar investigation into New Moston Congregation was also to start soon thereafter. 

The investigation into Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Great Britain is to examine: 

1.  The charity’s handling of safeguarding matters, including the creation, development, substance and implementation of its safeguarding policy  

2.  The administration, governance and management of the charity by the trustees  and whether or not the trustees of the charity have complied with and fulfilled their duties and responsibilities as trustees under charity law 

3.  The charity’s safeguarding advice provided to congregation charities  

The WTBS GB response? As a defense the WTBS sacked [sorry retired] members of the main board in 2014 and put up a massive legal appeal and defense [hiring one of the most expensive and prestigious law firms in the UK] against the UK Charity Commission investigation as the WTBS GB remained defiant.  The Judge threw the appeal and defense out of court - twice. 

Now we know why 

In 2007 Silentlambs wrote an article called “Ron’s Rapists”, the article detailed the cover up of Ronald Drage the serving Branch Coordinator of WTBS Great Britain. 

While this was unknown to Silentlambs at the time, apparently it did not go unnoticed by the UK Charity Commission, which initiated an investigation into the practices and policies of Jehovah’s Witnesses with regard to child abuse. [this was undiscovered by Silentlambs till today]

Although the Mill Hill congregation was exonerated – the Trustees of WTBS were advised to do the following: 

17. The Commission met with the Trustees on 27th September 2007 and they explained that they had procedures for dealing with allegations of child abuse and how they dealt with the particular situation in respect of Mr. Porter.  

18. The Commission requested that the Charity produce a child protection policy, bringing together all the procedures they currently have in place to ensure they are formalized.  

19. The Charity is working with the national Jehovah’s Witnesses’ umbrella charity, Watch Tower, to produce a child protection policy. Once the document is agreed, it will be adopted by and binding on all the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ charities represented by Watch Tower.  

The WTBS Great Britain had been told and clearly warned seven years earlier about changing their child abuse policy and claimed to be undertaking to do so – and then did nothing.  

The result: 

Since that warning in 2007 was issued, thirty-one Jehovah’s Witness child molesters have been jailed, with some of them having four or five victims and in one case the elders were threatened with jail if they didn’t testify and tell the truth (Leighton) . One abuser was even allowed by the elders to summon his terrified victims for his own personal interrogation in front of the Elders (Rose , New Moston).

Below is the list of these abusers who have been jailed. 

Garry Moscrop --Jan 2015 – Brighton -- jailed for 10 years

Paul Aitkin  - July 2015 -- South Shields -- jailed 5 years

Kelly Richards -- June 2015 – jailed 2.5 years

Peter Stewart -- Sept 2015 – Elders denied all knowledge – victim won damages

William Rogers-- Feb 2014 -- Ipswich – jailed for 2 years

David Evans-- March 2014 -- Penpedairheol – jailed

Oliver Conner -- May 2014 -- jailed -Lancing

James O’Brien -- May 2014 -- jailed for 6 years

Anthony Burns -- May 2014 -- Wisbech -- jailed for 11 years – Judge commented on how JWs “covered it up”

Mark Sewall -- July 2014  Barry , Wales -- jailed for 14 years – Elders refused to help victim or the Police

David Dennis -- Nov 2014  Gunnislake -- jailed for 12 years

Barry Furlong -- Dec 2014 Bournemouth -- jailed for 5 years

John Telfer -- May 2013 Shotts -- jailed 2 years 3 Months 

Gordon Leighton – July 2013 -- jailed -- Newcastle  Judge ordered Elders Preyer, Logan and Scott to testify or they would be jailed

Kirk Lefcovitch -- August  2013 -- Sutton – attempted rape 11year old and an 8year old

Ian Web -- Sept 2013 -- jailed

William Abbott and Helen Ward --  Sept 2013

Jonathan Rose -- Nov 2013 -- Manchester -- jailed for 9 Months, interrogated his victims in front of the Elders

Dustin Gandley -- March 2012 -- jailed 2.5 years Bridgewater

John Drury -- March 2012 – jailed Colchester 

Paul Wood -- April 2012 -- jailed -- Sudbury

Robert Bill -- June 2012 -- jailed for 20 years – St Asaph

Geoffrey Massey – December 2012 – jailed -- Wallasey

Justin Leleux -- Jan 2011-- jailed -- Bradford

Merthyr Tydfil -- May 2011 -- jailed for 4 years

Willian Danga--  November 2011 – jailed - Beckenham

George Cockerill -- March 2010 -- jailed 6 years  - Senior Elder and a big mate of Ron Drage

Thomas Gold -- May- Oct 2010 --  Alloa -- jailed 6 years

Frank Bridge - Sept 2010 -- jailed -- Astley Bridge

Steven Bain -- Nov 2010 -- jailed  -- Southport

Daniel Simonetti -- July 2009 -- Wigan -- jailed 3 years

Wallasey-- Aug 2009  -- jailed 16 years

Eunice Spry-- July 2008 – Britain's most sadistic child molester jailed 5 years Gloucester

How long will your tax dollars continue to support the Pedophile Paradise?

 If the WTBS GB adopted the promised strategy, would some of the abusers victims have been spared?  

Would the Elders have protected Leighton for years had the child abuse protection policy been implemented?

Would Spry have been reported to authorities earlier and saved her victims suffering?  

Would Rose have been allowed to interrogate his innocent terrified victims?  

As Jehovah’s Witnesses have admitted, 1,006 abusers to the Royal Commission in Australia, some of whom have been reappointed as Elders – the UK Charities Commission clearly needs to take a firmer stance against the WBTS of Great Britain who have had their warning – have said they will do something, and have then ignored that warning and put children and lives at risk. The Royal Commission in Australia should take note that they will be laughed at and ignored by Mr. Jackson and his fellow Governing Body members as they believe they are above man’s law as they believe they are God’s law on earth.  It’s time for the UK Charity Commission to punish the WTBS Great Britain for recklessly putting children in danger, protecting child molesters, while snubbing their noses at those who require them to take action.   

It is time to enforce that warning, remove the “Pedophile Paradise” from being supported by your tax dollars by taking away their religious tax exempt status and stop this travesty of justice against innocent children