GB being sued as a group and named individually in a child sexual abuse coverup.

by liam 10 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

• 

  liam

  This is a court case filed in August 2021 by the Zalkin Law Firm. Deborah Hines vs Watchtower AND the Governing Body.

  What's interesting is;

  "NY already set a precedent that an unincorporated group can be sued for its action and has specifically said this case can move forward.

  Unincorporated means the GB are not employees of WT, are not members of the corporation, and don't own anything so they can claim to have no liability, but since they are recognized as a group having authority inside the organization they can be sued.

  
  The individual members of the GB are named and will be subpoenaed to testify. NY is the correct jurisdiction where the GB was residing and where the abuse happened. The abuse occurred when the GB was still personally appointing elders before they threw the blame on the CO's, and the perp was a Bethelite elder working in audio video so the GB was directly involved in the cover up and appointment of the perp. The abuse was horrific, long lasting, with a partial admission of guilt (trickle truthing common in judicial committees) and the cover up equally horrific. "

  The incident included Sodomy, Rape, Forced Oral and Urinating in the plaintiff mouth.

  The court papers are linked below;

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkfxwAZOkWM

  https://trellis.law/case/36047/520772-2021/deborah-hines-v-watchtower-bible-tract-society-new-york-governing-body-jehovah-s-witnesses-john-jane-does-1-10

  https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/1jcrwan/gb_being_sued_as_a_group_and_named_individually/
• 

  Phizzy

  Great News ! AT LAST the G.B is being held accountable ! Despite all of their shenanigans to avoid accountability !

  And this case WILL become generally known among J.W's.

  This is really BIG !

  Thanks for Posting.
• 

  BoogerMan

  Several years ago, I reasoned that since the WTBTS multi-billion dollar business corporation was an integral part of "the system" - based upon its wealth, influence, and the "contacts" it has accrued - then it would be granted certain favours/protections by some of these contacts.

  As such, I'll not hold my breath waiting for the JW hierarchy to be punished jointly/severally by a U.S. court.

  Sorry for being a doubting-Thomas.
• 

  liam

  This was posted on the discussion whether the GB could get jail

  This is what was the reply to the question; Does punitive damages mean jail time?

  No, punitive damages do not mean jail; they are financial penalties awarded by a court to punish a defendant for particularly harmful behavior. They are separate from criminal penalties, which can include jail time.
• 

  Balaamsass2

  Glad to see Zalkin is still swinging away at Watchtower. They have blazed the trail on Watchtower abuse cases, and have been accumulating evidence and experience with every trial. They are also big enough to have staying power, because Watchtower has learned from big auto to delay, obstruct, and appeal until the victims die from old age.

  I am still holding onto the hope that a State Department of Justice can pursue a good CRIMINAL case against headquarters staff. Nothing like a little hard time with a big ugly romantic cellmate humming: "Strangers in the night...what were our chances?"...to bring actual change to Watchtower.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkwcMEQYYow
• 

  Diogenesister

  My god though, what that child endured. 😢
• 

  Phizzy

  " My god though, what that child endured .".

  The G.B and the Org. overall do not care or hardly think about the poor victims in cases like this.

  So much for having " love among yourselves", they do not care enough to take the necessary action so that a child, and the adult that child becomes, does not have their whole life destroyed. Bastards !

  And let's hope that the compensation awarded in this Case is HUGE !

  I also hope Criminal Charges are pursued, mainly hoping that then the G.B will be forced to adopt a proper active Protection programme with appointed , trained Protection Officers present at all J.W. gatherings etc. and that the vulnerable are even properly protected in their own homes etc.

  They abrogate that responsibility to the parents, some of whom who have been fooled in to being remiss in the past, a proper active system will ensure that no child or vulnerable person is alone with anyone who is not a parent at any time, they must stress to parents the absolute necessity of making sure the vulnerable are always chaperoned..

  This is easily set up, so that in or around K.H's etc. nothing can happen, and not in a home or elsewhere either. Religions and even small Clubs and Associations etc. do this here in the U.K. and have done for some years now.

  Why have J.W's NEVER done this ?
• 

  TonusOH

  Cases like this are important for another reason: they demolish the narrative that the organization is guided by Jehovah through his holy spirit. Every child that is victimized by people who are not dealt with properly (by immediately contacting the authorities to investigate) is another child that Jehovah let down by not informing the GB to promote the proper policies. And that is before we learn some of the details of these cases, such as the lack of empathy and the times that they allowed the perpetrator to confront their victim in a room where the only other people were elders, which means the victim was basically alone.

  So, they have to either admit that they dropped the ball repeatedly for decades, or they have to fight tooth-and-nail, which just makes them look worse. At some point, the publicity will become too much for the rank-and-file to ignore.
• 

  DNCall

  This case settled out of court three years ago. The authority for this is Barbara Anderson, who knew the victim personally and told me at the time the case settled. I also knew the victim, the perpetrator and the victim's mother personally.
• 

  liam

  Like always, Money talks. This case was settled with the WT paying money to avoid prosecution before trial.

  The WT members don't realize that by continuing to help the Watchtower with their Donations, The Watchtower will continue to cover up the sexual abuse of children by Elders in their Organizations. The Governing Body knows that their members are gullible stupid people who will continue to support them

  And the Governing Body aren't as stupid as most exjws seem to believe. They know the ins and outs of how the Legal system works which why they structured their position in the Watchtower Corporation the way they did. They can literally run a child traffic ring in the organization and Get Away with it ....Legally.
  

  https://www.jwchildabuse.org/document/29-0-520772_2021_deborah_hines_v_deborah_hines_stipulation___disco_29/

  The Hines case was stayed during the summer of 2021, along with other cases in Kings County New York. The Jehovah’s Witnesses sought representation from the Law Firm of K&L Gates, together with their in-house team of CSA attorneys. The case did not move forward into discovery and was settled in a confidential agreement between the plaintiff and Watchtower.