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Dateline NBC
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Tonight on DATELINE TUESDAY:
Their church was their whole world. As devout Jehovah's Witnesses, they adhered to the strict laws of their faith: They are required to evangelize and yet keep separate from those who don't share their beliefs. They must refrain from birthday and Christmas celebrations, blood transfusions, and military service. For six million people around the world, it is more than religion. It is life.
So imagine what it was like for some Jehovah's Witnesses to confront what they say is a terrible evil in the church community. They believe the church is covering up cases of child molestation, protecting the abusers, and putting more children at risk.
DATELINE Correspondent John Larson spoke with victims, their families, and former church officials. They told DATELINE the problem is widespread within the church. What makes it worse, they say, is that it is virtually impossible to seek justice from the church leadership.
DATELINE Producer Richard Greenberg says that while this story reminded him of what is happening in the Catholic church, there are key difference. "Most significantly," he said "Jehovah's Witnesses keep track of all members' sins -- whether smoking or apostasy or child molestation. A special committee of elders -- the lay ministers who run local congregations -- investigates the allegations, applying a biblical principle requiring two or more witnesses to any transgression. Critics complain that because child molestation usually occurs in private, a two-witness standard means that a molester will be punished by the church only if he confesses, meaning many cases are dropped."
The victims we talked to say that when they threatened to go to the police, they were threatened with expulsion from the church.
The church leaders deny these allegations, saying they abhor child molestation and never tell people not to go to the police. And in the 16 states that require churches to alert the police to allegations of child sexual abuse, they say they comply, with or without witnesses.
What else does the church do, about alleged child molesters? The story tonight.