Could someone give me some information

by Sadie5 6 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Sadie5

  on the JW that is serving time for 17 cases of child molestation? Are there any newspaper articles about him that I could print out? Your help would be appreciated.

  I am thinking of putting together a file that I will send to law enforcement agencies about this problem in the JWs. I have several friends that work for our local police dept. and I was thinking of talking to them about how to do this. I think the police need to know and be reminded about the pedofiles going door to door. I find that so creepy. Children are being taken from their homes, molested and killed. Going door to door would be an easy way to find potential victims.

  My 6 year old has difficulty going to sleep at night. He has a fear that someone will break in and take him. When I was that age, I only had difficulty sleeping if I watched a scary show. What a difference.

  Ever feel truly embarrassed to admit you were a JW? These days I sure do. It's like admitting you were part of Jim Jones's cult or a Moonie or a Nazi, or something worse. I'm going to put my efforts into educating the public about this organization as much as I can. JWs either want to believe the GB, they won't check any other sources or bury their heads in the sand and deny it. By this they are either child molesters or supporter of them. They lack a conscience.

  Well, signing off for now, will check back later.

  Sadie
• 

  blondie

  Is it this case?

  http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/archives/1998/mar/16/506962477.html

  Las Vegas SUN

  ---

  March 16, 1998

  Former church elder convicted of lewdness with minor

  YERINGTON, Nev. (AP) - A former Jehovah's Witnesses church elder was convicted of lewdness with a minor for a 1992 incident with an 8-year-old girl at his home.

  A Lyon District Court jury returned the verdict Thursday against Daniel Steven Fitzwater, who faces up to 20 years in prison when he returns to court for sentencing April 20.

  During the trial, Chief Deputy District Attorney John Schlegelmilch said Fitzwater used his position as a church elder to gain the trust of the victim's family before the incident.

  The girl, now 13, was left in the care of Fitzwater's wife when her parents went on a deer hunting trip, and the sexual molestation occurred when Mrs. Fitzwater made a trip to town, the prosecutor said.

  "He was supposed to be looking over the flock," but he committed a "crime against nature and Jehovah," Schlegelmilch said.

  The girl went on to develop behavioral problems, experience nightmares and attempt suicide at the age of 10, he added.

  But court-appointed defense attorney Jeffrey Morrison questioned the girl's credibility, saying she has accused others of the same crime.

  "It will be your task to determine what is fact and what is fantasy in the mind of a troubled young girl," he told jurors.

  Fitzwater took the stand during the trial to deny the charges, but two women supported the prosecution's case by testifying he inappropriately touched them when they were young.

  One was his stepdaughter.

  Fitzwater lived in Weed Heights, a mining community near Yerington, when the crime occurred. He has since moved out of Lyon County.

  Yerington is 80 miles southwest of Reno.
• 

  Sadie5

  Thanks blondie for the article, I have saved it to print our later. Is there any that mention 17 counts?
• 

  Lady Lee

  You might want to check out the silentlambs web site. I found this http://www.silentlambs.org/jwmolesterinnews.htm

  It doesn't mention the story you are looking for but there are a lot of others there.
• 

  Sadie5

  Found it in the Dateline transcript
• 

  Jesika

  This should be the one you are looking for. Glad I keep these in a folder. If you need more let me know, I have a folder with the stories Bill emails me.

  N.H. Supreme Court upholds conviction of man who sexually abused girl

  (AP) The state Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the conviction of a Bible-quoting man who sexually abused a young girl, starting when she was 4 years old and ending when she was 10.

  Paul Berry, 46, was convicted of 17 counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault two years ago. He was sentenced to 56 to 112 years in prison, possibly the longest sentence ever given for sexual assault in the state.

  appeal said the trial judge should not have allowed evidence that he also physically abused and tortured the girl. The judge allowed the evidence to be introduced to explain why the girl waited until she was 17 to report the abuse.

  also said the trial judge should have allowed testimony by two defense witnesses who would have said the girl had a reputation for lying when she was a young child.

  The judge said the testimony represented only the opinions of a few people and it had no bearing on whether the girl was telling the truth years later, when she reported the abuse to police.

  The Supreme Court said the girl "believed, during the years she was sexually assaulted, that she was destined to live in constant fear and that the assaults were never gonna end."

  The assaults included hanging the girl by her wrists from hooks on a barn wall and, on another occasion, tying her to a tree, according to court records. The girl testified that , a Jehovahs Witness, quoted Scriptures while forcing her to perform sex acts. She also said he struck her and threatened her so she would not tell her mother.

  "The physical beatings and verbal threats ... explained why (the girl) became resigned to her fate as a victim of repeated sexual assault. It also explained her belief that reporting the abuse would be futile, thereby giving context to her delay in reporting the assaults," Justice Joseph Nadeau wrote for the court.

  The high court also ruled that Judge Arthur Brennan had the discretion to exclude the testimony of two defense witnesses.

  "The witnesses testimony was based upon the opinions of a small circle of children and their parents. The trial court found that this community was not of significant size and the evidence, therefore, was unreliable," the court ruled
• 

  silentlambs

  I have the transcript of Berry's sentencing hearing posted on my website. the charges are discussed therein as well as the impassioned testimony of 29 Jehovah's Witnesses in behalf of Berry. Most wish him to babsit their children.

  Yet another priceless moment in the spiritual paradise.

  silentlambs

  Edited by - silentlambs on 10 August 2002 15:13:32