He was an elder? The article I read said he was only a member of the congregation. Reprehensible no matter what.
Elder abuser in Sunshine Coast down under (?)
by carla 16 Replies latest watchtower scandals
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Earnest
DesirousOfChange : Evidently the Aussie court system moves as slow as it does here in the US.
He was charged in August 2022 on 21 counts of rape, 14 of procuring sexual acts by false pretences, torture and common assault. These allegedly involved three young men and his grand-nephew over a 10-year period although 45 of the 54 charges involved his grand-nephew only. Application for bail was abandoned on August 31 and the case adjourned to October 28 2022.
A Jehovah’s Witness spokesman told the Sunshine Coast Daily that "the local man in question has no appointed position within the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses and was not in an appointed position throughout the time of the alleged events”.
On October 28, 2022 police were granted more time to prepare the case. The matter was adjourned until December 2, 2022. In a hearing on January 20, 2023 it was said that three witness statements were outstanding including one witness who had moved overseas. This was obtained on February 16.
There was a hearing on February 17, 2023 to say that the brief of evidence was complete including video footage. The matter was adjourned for a directions hearing on April 21 2023.
On August 29 2023 he applied for bail but this was adjourned to August 31.
The man was taken into custody again in September 2023 after he was charged with with one count of attempting to pervert justice, two of distributing intimate images of another person without consent, one of threatening to distribute an intimate image, one of sexual assault and one of possessing an S4 medicine.
He most recently appeared in court on December 11, 2023 and there was another hearing on December 18. There will be a commital hearing on March 20, 2024 where seven witnesses will be cross-examined.
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DesirousOfChange
He was an elder? The article I read said he was only a member of the congregation. Reprehensible no matter what.
Is there any clarification on whether he was in an appointed position of any kind when the abuse happened?
IF NOT -- if only a member of the JW congregation -- or a "publisher", did any of the abuse happen at JW events? Bookstudy? Field service? Bible study with the minor? Was there a JW investigation (2 elders or JC of 3 elders) that ignored the allegations perhaps do to the 2-witness rule?
If none of the above is true, is the Congregation or the JW Branch guilty of anything? I doubt if any church or organization scrutinizes all the "members" -- parishioners who simply walk through their doors and attend a service.
Yeah, he's still a scumbag. But is there anything making the Congregation or Organization accountable?
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Earnest
Desirousof Change : Is there any clarification on whether he was in an appointed position of any kind when the abuse happened?
Paragraph 2 in my post above:A Jehovah’s Witness spokesman told the Sunshine Coast Daily that "the local man in question has no appointed position within the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses and was not in an appointed position throughout the time of the alleged events”.
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DesirousOfChange
The title says "Elder".
Thank you for clarifying, Earnest!
So, unless abuse was reported to the BOE and they failed to take action to prevent further abuse, I don't see where the Congregation or Organization is culpable. I AM NOT defending WT regarding their CSA issues, but I don't see their involvement here. Surely, the man is a monster. He has forever f#cked up the lives of these victims.
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Earnest
A commital hearing was held today and the Courier Mail reported :
A businessman and former Jehovah’s Witness figure on the Sunshine Coast will stand trial after he allegedly groomed a man over 11 years and raped him while he chanted affirmations.
The man was charged with 54 offences including 21 counts of rape, 17 of sexual assault, torture and incest, the last of which was alleged to have been against his great-nephew.
Defence barrister Saul Holt contested the charges of incest and torture, arguing the legal definition of incest did not include great-nephews. He also told the court the psychological trauma did not categorise under “severe pain and suffering” of the torture charge and asked it be dismissed.
Magistrate Chris Callaghan discharged the man of incest and torture, leaving 52 charges remaining.
Mr Holt also told the court the sexual encounters relating to two of the alleged victims were consensual.
Mr Callaghan directed the matter of consent was for a jury to hear and committed the matter to the Maroochydore District Court for trial. He adjourned the matter until September 25.
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jonahstourguide
just saw this today
The guy has been described as a former elder and named as Peter Michelson.
Former Jehovah's Witness elder committed to stand trial accused of Sunshine Coast rapes, sexual abuse
ABC Sunshine Coast / By Kirra GrimesPosted 10h ago10 hours agoPeter Mitchelson today faced a committal hearing at Maroochydore Magistrates Court.(ABC Sunshine Coast: Owen Jacques)Link copied- In short: Peter Mitchelson has been accused of using his position in the church community to coerce young men into non-consensual sexual acts on the Sunshine Coast and in Brisbane.
- The charges relate to five adult male complainants known to Mr Mitchelson through the Jehovah's Witness faith.
- What's next? The 62-year-old has been remanded in custody to return to court in September.
A former Jehovah's Witness elder has been committed to stand trial for raping and sexually abusing young men on the Sunshine Coast over a 10-year period.
Police arrested 62-year-old Mooloolaba man Peter Mitchelson in August 2022 and charged him with more than 50 sexual offences, including 21 counts of rape that allegedly occurred at various locations on the Sunshine Coast and in Brisbane from 2008 to 2018.
The charges relate to five adult male complainants known to Mr Mitchelson through the Jehovah's Witness faith.
A committal hearing at Maroochydore today heard Mr Mitchelson allegedly used his seniority as a former congregation elder to coerce the younger men to perform sexual acts for his gratification.
Police said the acts were non-consensual and made the alleged victims feel "used, controlled, and lied to".
Mr Mitchelson was committed to stand trial in the District Court on 53 charges, while charges of incest and torture were dismissed due to a lack of evidence.
'Positive affirmations' allegedly escalated
The court heard the majority of alleged offending started with Mr Mitchelson advising alleged victims on how to use '"positive affirmations" to improve their confidence.
Police said initial meetings with Mr Mitchelson involved alleged victims standing in front of a mirror repeating the phrase: "I'm strong. I'm powerful. I'm confident".
They said this progressed to alleged victims repeating the phrase while naked and masturbating in front of Mr Mitchelson.
One man was allegedly told by Mr Mitchelson he would be "cleansed" of human papillomavirus (HPV) if he allowed Mr Mitchelson to penetrate him.
One man allegedly had non-consensual intercourse with Mr Mitchelson on a number of occasions while being filmed.
Mr Mitchelson's defence barrister Saul Holt KC argued videos tendered to the court show acts that were consensual and "enjoyed" by those participating.
Police describe 'insular' culture
Police prosecutor Sergeant Rebecca Lambert told the court the "insular" culture of the Jehovah's Witness community played a significant role in the alleged offending, and videos appearing to show consensual acts could not be viewed without this context.
Sergeant Lambert said men who had grown up in the faith had been taught to live in "constant fear of being disfellowshipped", which would forbid them from contacting any family or friends remaining in the church.
"It is a very insular environment, where the slightest discretion is treated by the church, not within the family unit," she said.
"Disfellowshipped from the church not only means losing religion, but it also means losing family and having no contacts or the people that knew [the alleged victims] and supported [them]."
The court heard Mr Mitchelson himself had been disfellowshipped since being charged, and no longer had contact with his daughters who had moved out of the family home along with their mother, who remained married to the accused.
Mr Mitchelson to face further charges
Magistrate Chris Callaghan committed Mr Mitchelson to stand trial separately on a further five charges for alleged offences committed early last year, including attempting to pervert the course of justice by interfering with witnesses.
Mr Mitchelson was on Supreme Court bail for the initial rape and sexual abuse charges at the time of these alleged offences, and was taken back into custody in September.
Magistrate Callaghan refused an application for bail on the newer charges, today finding Mr Holt had not established that his client did not present an unacceptable risk of interfering with witnesses — even with strict bail conditions.
Mr Mitchelson was remanded in custody to return to court on a charge of possessing a schedule four medicine — the erectile dysfunction drug Sildenafil — in September.
In handing down the decision, Magistrate Callaghan commented that Mr Mitchelson was "a very manipulative person".
District Court trial dates will be determined by the Department of Public Prosecutions.
Posted 10h agojtg