Press conference made Las Vegas News.

Former Jehovah's Witnesses elder William Bowen of Kentucky on Thursday places a stuffed lamb in the door of the Kingdom Hall, 1335 S. Mojave St. Bowen used the "silent lamb" to protest what he called the Jehovah's Witnesses failure to adequately handle claims of sexual abuse within its congregations. Church officials say Bowen's claims are false.
Photo by Clint Karlsen.

Four women who claim they were sexually abused by a Jehovah's Witnesses church official in Nevada nearly 25 years ago filed a lawsuit Thursday against the church, the official and other entities.

As the complaint was being filed, a group critical of the church's response to handling abuse allegations voiced support for the lawsuit at a news conference in Las Vegas.

"We are not here to browbeat the religion," said William Bowen, founder of an organization known as Silentlambs, which seeks to change the way the denomination handles abuse complaints.

"What we want to do is change the policies so that any time a child is abused, they are allowed to come forward," Bowen said.

But Jehovah's Witnesses officials vehemently disputed any contention that members are discouraged from reporting allegations of sexual abuse or other crimes.

"That is absolutely not true," said J.R. Brown, a national spokesman for the Jehovah's Witnesses in New York City.

Brown said he could not comment on the contents of the pending litigation, but he did say that the church has been proactive in demonstrating to its members that any reports of abuse have to be handled with diligence.

"If what has taken place is a crime, that goes to the authorities," Brown said. "We have a strong and aggressive policy for protecting the children in our organization."

The lawsuit was filed in state court in Clark County, where there is a large presence of Jehovah's Witnesses and where the denomination's Nevada circuit is headquartered. The Las Vegas phone book lists at least 25 congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses in Southern Nevada.

The lawsuit was filed by Las Vegas attorney Douglas Cohen. The plaintiffs, four women with prior ties to the church, are identified as Dawn Bradley, Amanda Cirone and Annette Reed, all of Nevada; and Donna Wilkes of Oregon.

The attorneys who filed the complaint did not release further details about the women and declined requests for interviews with them. Attempts by the Review-Journal to contact the three Nevada residents were unsuccessful Thursday.

Public records show there are several women in Nevada by the names of Annette Reed and Dawn Bradley.

The lawsuit states that Bradley is the stepdaughter of Daniel Steven Fitzwater, who was an official in a Jehovah's Witnesses congregation in Yerington in the 1970s and 1980s. Fitzwater is a defendant in the case, as is the Jehovah's Witnesses Nevada Circuit and other church-related entities.

"Fitzwater continuously sexually molested his stepdaughter ... beginning in 1974 and continuing until at least 1983," the lawsuit contends.

The lawsuit states that at the time the four women were alleged to have been molested, Fitzwater served in the church's congregation in Yerington as a publisher, a pioneer, a ministerial servant, and ultimately an elder.

Lyon County court records and the Nevada Department of Corrections' Web site show that Fitzwater was arrested in Lyon County on multiple counts of lewdness with children in 1997. He was convicted of two counts of sexual lewdness with a child in 1998 and he is housed at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center in Carson City.

The women named in the lawsuit were not victims in Fitzwater's criminal proceedings, although Reed and Cirone testified at his sentencing hearing, plaintiff's attorney Hartley Hampton said.

"Our goal is to compensate these victims for the agony they've endured," Hampton said.

The lawsuit alleges that Wilkes was molested from 1976 to 1978. A specific time frame in which the other two women were alleged to have been attacked was not listed in the complaint.

Outside a Jehovah's Witnesses congregation hall on Mojave Street Thursday morning, Bowen and others held a news conference to contend that the church has to address an unwillingness to adequately handle sexual abuse claims against members.

"It is a closed community where they have absolute control over their own members," said Bowen, adding that traditionally church officials take it upon themselves to investigate sexual abuse allegations.

Bowen, a resident of Kentucky, said he resigned from the church after it failed to adequately investigate a molestation allegation in his state. He has since founded Silentlambs, a group he said offers a voice to victims of abuse who are discouraged by the church from getting help.

"They have a policy that endangers children," Bowen said.

Brown said that is false.

"There is no better place for mothers and fathers with their children than a protective or secure place like what we offer," he said.

The church says it has more than 6.3 million members worldwide. The centerpieces of the religion can be found in Biblical principles and first-century Christianity.

Brown said the church in May sent a letter to every U.S. congregation, specifically documenting the religion's position and policy on sexual abuse.

"We abhor the sexual abuse of children and will not protect any perpetrator of such repugnant acts," the letter reads.

Brown said if a parent comes to a congregation leader with an accusation of abuse, the congregation's elders will examine the complaint, but it also simultaneously notifies the parent of individual states' mandatory reporting laws regarding the abuse of children.

"We are dealing with a difficult social problem here ... and we are not going to turn our back and say this is not our responsibility," Brown said.

hawkaw

hmm ...

The attorneys who filed the complaint did not release further details about the women and declined requests for interviews with them. Attempts by the Review-Journal to contact the three Nevada residents were unsuccessful Thursday.

I wonder if ... the attorneys should have spoken for them at this press confernce and let them talk with the attorney's by their sides.

Edited by - hawkaw on 10 January 2003 9:48:28

LDH

The Master of Word Manipulation speaks again:

"If what has taken place is a crime, that goes to the authorities," Brown said

What is the qualifier for determining "if what has taken place is a crime?"

LURKERS TAKE NOTE.

ONCE THE ELDERS DETERMINE IF SOMETHING IS A CRIME THEY MAY REPORT IT (DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU LIVE.)

So nothing has really changed. The elders get to determine if you have been a victim of a crime.

Assholes.

Lisa

TR

I really hope that some 'hovahs and the public can see through the official WT BS. It's so transparent, and IMHO, designed to deceive.

Right on, Lisa.

TR

ashitaka

LDH,

It's funny, I didn't even notice that quote until you pointed it out.....I think it'll go over the heads of most dubs too.

Who the f- are they to determine what is and what isn't a crime??!?!?!?!?!

ash

Press conference made Las Vegas News.

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