The result of the airing of the Dateline program has been very positive. Dateline program will no doubt air again in reruns and may get further coverage soon.
There have been many mixed emotions as a result of this program. I have received about 700 emails that range from around 100 who are angry and insulted Jehovah’s Witnesses who think I am an apostate or a tool of Satan, some that have threatened me personally, to the majority who are very appreciative of the program. It is interesting to note of all emails received only two speak of child molestation matters being handled properly. I have over three hundred new stories of absolute atrocities committed against children in various congregations. I also have had around forty new pedophile survey’s filled out with at least 12 abuse survivors starting the process of filing charges against their JW molesters. There have been around 250 telephone calls from concerned Jehovah’s Witnesses across the country.
It is interesting when silentlambs hits WT with strong evidence a wave of virus emails are sent to the editor of silentlambs. Well it appears we must have hit the truth pretty good as we have received close to 300 in the last four days.
The recent letter read to all congregations to circumvent the Dateline airing has angered many abuse survivors in the organization. They express it is a whitewash of old policy, once again leaving the victims in harm’s way. A sister in California commented, “How dare they arrogantly ignore the protection of children and pat themselves on the back for doing nothing.” One brother in Florida finished his student talk and stated, “I will never set foot in a Kingdom Hall again till the Governing Body changes their policy to protect children.” He then walked out. In another congregation in Tennessee, as the letter was being read an elder of over 40 years took his Kingdom Hall keys off the ring and walked back to give them to the PO. After the meeting when asked why, the elder stated, “I can no longer serve or support the policy on molestation stated in that letter.” Several individuals have expressed the desire to pursue the injustice committed against them by the way the home office handled their abuse by going to the courts and filing legal action as a result blatant disregard for victims offered in the letter read to all Jehovah’s Witnesses in the USA.
As Circuit Overseers make their rounds they are instructing elders if they do not follow instructions to the letter if lawsuits are filed local elders will be on their own. This comes as a further menacing threat to brothers whose conscience might move them to report suspected abuse in non-reporting States, but are then threatened into silence by WT Legal.
Another Circuit Overseer relayed the message that all the elders associated with the reinstatement of Manuel Beliz, the convicted JW child molester, have been deleted as elders. Is it just me or does that seem to be to little to late.
Several letters are in the process of being written to home office to require the Service Department to remove several men currently serving as elders or ministerial servants who survivors say molested them. If Service and Legal Departments fail to act the survivors say are going public with matters.
In the telephone calls made since Dateline there have been reports of children being molested at Kingdoms Halls, in the door to door work of Jehovah’s Witnesses, at conventions, building projects, and even at the home office in Brooklyn New York. Time and again abuse survivors were threatened with disfellowshipping if they spoke out to anyone on the matter.
Personally, the judicial committee tried to set up a meeting with a 24 hour notice. I was able to notify them in writing to postpone the meeting at a set future date. That date was rejected and they tried to move the meeting to the middle of the week to make it more difficult for my witnesses to be able to testify in my behalf. I am currently requesting a more agreeable date to those who are traveling.