Jehovah's Witnesses accused of mishandling abuse in Montana
Source: Associated Press
Matt Volz, Associated Press
Updated 5:44 pm CDT, Wednesday, September 19, 2018
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Two women who say they were sexually abused as children have alleged that the Jehovah's Witnesses failed to report their abuser to authorities in Montana and instead punished him internally by expelling him from the congregation until he repented the following year.
A trial begins Monday in the tiny city of Thompson Falls for one of dozens of lawsuits filed nationwide in the last decade over claims of child sexual abuse in Jehovah's Witness congregations. Worldwide, there have been more allegations of mismanagement and cover-ups of sexual abuse by Jehovah's Witness clergy and members, including cases in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.
"It appears to be a widespread issue within the Jehovah's Witnesses," said Devin Storey, an attorney whose San Diego law firm has handled about three dozen sex abuse lawsuits against the Christian religious organization. "Less is being reported than should be."
. . .
The New York-based religious organization has 8.5 million members and 120,000 congregations around the world. The number of abuse lawsuits surged at about the same time as similar allegations of abuse and cover-ups within the Roman Catholic church, but the Jehovah's Witness cases haven't received the same national attention.
Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Jehovah-s-Witnesses-accused-of-mishandling-abuse-13242172.php
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Well, at least they weren't celebrating a holiday, or anything really sinful like that...
