hey enough with the jokes. it isn't appropriate here so stay on topic please.
fleaman uk
LL with respect, did that list really exist? It wasnt just to add drama to a tv programme? Im not being controversial for the sake of it, Im genuinely convinced there is false information out there that really helps nobodys cause.
The list is real. Very Real. When an elder calls in to make a report about an accusation teh WTS has them fill out a form called a telememo. You can see that at
http://www.silentlambs.org/answers/documents/slabusetelememo.doc
See what Bill Bowen says about the list
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.
http://www.silentlambs.org/answers/23720.cfm
That list is now 10 years old. I bet there are far too many new names added to the list.
Near the emd of Barb Anderson's work at Brooklyn Bethel she wound up with an interesting box of data.
Within the inner sanctums of congregations and circuits, dirty little secrets continued, and, for some unknown reason, protection of abusers was business as usual. One particularly nasty secret concerned personal instructions sent out in 1992 from one of the Governing Body members, who Harry was certain was Ted Jaracz, to a few very well-known circuit and district overseers to meet with and compel abuse victims to remain silent about their abuse or be disfellowshipped. In Harry Peloyan’s office in 1994, I, along with my husband, Joe, thumbed through a file folder full of complaining letters, which came to headquarters from across the country about the situation. Interestingly, the name of one intimidating circuit representative mentioned frequently in those letters is now a member of the Governing Body. http://www.watchtowerdocuments.com/barbara-anderson.html
Now that is scary. One of the GB is a sexual abuse? They know how to cover themselves. And what a position to be in if you don't want your dirty secrets to come out.