Saw this in another group wanted to pass it along
Lee Marsh I didn't see this posted in here so I hope you don't mind. Maybe some people here live close enough to this to help us get the community informed
I want to share a project I have been working on. After you read this -- and please read all of it--- please share it, like it, tweet it. If there are other congregations doing this I want to know about it.
A few days ago I was told that Jehovah's Witnesses in a small town in New York State have been taking a convicted sexual offender who is on the sexual offender registry into a community with them when the go preaching from door to door. I have no reason to doubt this possibility.
Please read on for more information.
Over at least the last 50 years the Watchtower Society, the governing corporation of Jehovah's Witnesses have had a policy of hiding incidents of sexual abuse not only from the community, police and social services but also from the people in their own congregation. In fact many victims have been ousted from the religion because they refused to remain silent about abuses perpetrated on them or on their children. I was one of those kids - 50 years ago. They covered it up then and they cover it up now.
They insist that any accusation of sexual abuse must meet a Biblical standard of having 2 eye witnesses to the abuse for them to do anything. And they won't do anything if they can hide it. The only times they do report allegations are when the abuser is NOT a Witness and has never been a Witness.
Even if a person admits that the allegations are true they still won't report it to the authorities if they can avoid it preferring to deal with it themselves.
About 12 years ago Dateline did an expose on the problems with how allegations are handled by the JWs. The congregation elders are to call headquarters before they call anyone else even the police.
Few Witnesses have any idea how wide-spread this problem is. Most have never heard of a case because it is so thoroughly covered up.
After doing a search in your area I discovered that you have several sexual offenders living in your community. Like most sexual offenders on parole they have rules about how close they can get to schools and places where children are present. Most likely being a door-to-door salesman wouldn't be high on the list of what is allowed.
But it seems that the local congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses believes there is nothing wrong with taking one of these convicted sexual offenders to your door while they are preaching. There are most likely conditions similar to what has been in place during the dateline expose. The convicted sexual abuser was not permitted to go door-to-door alone. he had to be with an elder in the congregation at all times. The problem was that Dateline got a video of this particular offender dressed up and going knocking on people's doors all by himself without an elder anywhere in sight.
So now the Witnesses in this area have a man who is going door to door in their community. He stands behind or to the side of the elder and can look over the elder's shoulder as he talks to you and check out their house; who lives there, and how old they might be. if it is cold and you don't want to be rude you might ask them to step inside while you talk. Guess what. You may have just let in a sexual predator.
In most cases like this because of the level of secrecy they afford abusers few Witnesses would know about this man's history. And if they did they would have to be silent about it or risk being expelled from the church and all their family and friends would no longer be able to speak to the. They would be shunned.
Those who know don't talk. Not to each other and most certainly not to people who are not Witnesses. They could be quite innocently escorting this man to your home or your grandchild's home, or nephew or niece or best friend. You have a small community and I expect that most people know the people around them.
I am not a Witness. I have not been one since 1985. But this practice offends me greatly. There is no excuse for it. None. There is absolutely nothing stopping this man from putting on a suit and presenting himself at your door as a person who wants to preach to you.
So what can you do? I would love to do more than warn you but that is all I can do. You will have to pick up the ball and run with this. Contact the police, the mayor, city council, the district attorney, your senator. Contact the congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. Tell people. Tell your families, your neighbors. Talk to the teachers and principals of the schools. Talk to the people at the newspaper.
Don’t say or do anything that will land you in jail. You can’t fix the problem that way.
I am posing several links so you can validate that this is the person I am talking about. Please note that there is a bit of confusion about his birth date but I suspect it is a typo. All the other info including pictures show this to be the correct person.
Let the JWs who come to your door know about this offender and that you strongly suggest they do what they can to stop this immediately. Let them know that you will be talking to anyone who will listen about this. Remember that the average Witness will have no clue about this situation and those who do will excuse it somehow. They are following orders blindly. They too most likely have no idea who this offender is. But he is there at there meetings where there are children.
JWs have little information about sexual offenders. The elders believe that if a person says he will not do something again that is the end of it. They have little information about the psychological characteristics and tendencies of offenders. They believe they are safe. They believe their children are safe.
Eugene Pope Sexual Offender and on the sex offender registry
http://www.katagogi.com/Profile/Profile.aspx?l=EN&fid=38827&No=NY_SX_OFF_18554418_ARMH&nAID=18554418&PreveVal=10290 |qZH39O/MrnxeQ4KRX8r4ioanZGZS8l+/8eNwL09uWE4=|U21tk/15DJlbYpok5GRebA==1
http://www.offenderegistry.com/reg89264/eugene_popemugshot.htm
http://www.sexoffenderrecord.com/repo/display/0540972_EugenePope
http://www.sexoffenderrecord.com/citydirectory/NY/KERHONKSON/Eugene_Pope_562945
http://www.homefacts.com/offender-detail/NY24834/Eugene-R-Pope.html
http://www.find-laws.com/offenders/detail/oid/NY24834
http://www.bustedoffenders.com/new-york/kerhonkson/sex-offenders/eugene-pope/24834
http://www.sexoffenderrecord.com/offender/view/562945 has a link to SHARE on FB
EUGENE POPE's Profile, Biography & Heritage - Katagogi
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