For Your Information:
Note in the article that the assaults on the teenager occurred "between July 2012 and July 2014." The police report stated that "she eventually reported the abuse to church officials, who had her confront Perez face to face."
The procedure of requiring a victim to confront her abuser was common for decades until the August 1, 2016 BOE letter, page 3, par. 13 instructed: "Elders should remember that during the investigation process and during the judicial committee process, a victim of child sexual abuse is not required to make her allegation in the presence of the alleged abuser."
Especially since the early years of the 21st century, JW leadership has been highly criticized for requiring a JW child abuse victim to confront an alleged JW abuser during a meeting with elders present. This procedure regularly occurred because of elders applying the scripture in Matthew 18:15.
For those abused this was a horrible experience that caused many victims to suffer from psychological damage. In Sept. 2002, Victoria Boer, in Canada, sued the Watchtower of Canada because two representatives at headquarters instructed a local elder to make her confront her molester, her father, in a 1989 meeting in obedience to Matthew 18:15.
COURT FILE NO: 9K-CV-154117 DATE: 20030626 ONTARIO SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
BETWEEN VICTORIA BOER, Plaintiff
Charles C. Mark for the Plaintiff
AND
BRIAN CAIRNS, STEVE BROWN, JOHN DIDUR, AND WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF CANADA, Defendants
Colin P. Stevenson and Maureen L. Whelton for the Defendants
Heard September 9,10,11,12,13,16,17,18,19,20,23, and 24,2002
INTRODUCTION
"The plaintiff Victoria Boer seeks punitive damages and damages for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty against the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Canada ( the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Canada) and three elders of that church. Her claim stems from actions taken by the Jehovah’s Witnesses elders when, at the age of 19, she disclosed to them that she had been sexually molested by her father during her childhood. The plaintiff alleges that she was forced to confront her father with these allegations in the presence of two male elders of her congregation, an experience which she found to be traumatic. She said she was then required to go through essentially the same exercise of confrontation again, this time before three male elders, as part of a church disciplinary process against her father, thereby compounding the trauma. She further alleges that Watchtower failed to properly deal with the abuse by her father, failed to report it as required by law, and directed her not to seek medical and psychological treatment. The plaintiff testified that as a result of the defendant’s wrongdoing she has suffered extreme emotional harm which was for years untreated and which will require extensive therapy in the future."
PART OF THE JUDGES DECISION:
"Ms. Boer contacted Mr. Longworth in his capacity as an elder of the church. Mr. Longworth consulted throughout with more senior advisers at the Jehovah’s Witness head office and passed on their advice to the plaintiff. He acted at all times as an agent of the defendant Watch Tower. The defendant Watch Tower did not seek to distance itself from the conduct of Longworth and the other elders who provided advice to Ms. Boer in Toronto or to disclaim any responsibility for their actions. Although the statement of claim could be clearer on this point, I believe that on a fair reading of the pleading and subsequently delivered particulars, there is an allegation that Watch Tower is responsible for the harm suffered by the plaintiff as a result of the direction given to her to apply Matthew 18:15-18. Accordingly, I find the defendant Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Canada liable to the plaintiff for the harm she sustained as a result of attending the December 29, 1989 meeting."
Joe and I attended the Boer trial. We learned later that after the Boer case, a Canadian law was enacted that specified that it was illegal to force a victim of child abuse to confront their abuser. The question remains as to why did it take so long for JWs Governing Body to put a stop to this terrifying procedure that went on for as many as six decades when a JW victim of crime by a JW member reported it to the elders, as required by JW leadership. This is just one of the bizarre interpretations of scripture that has brought so much suffering to tens of thousands of JWs through the years, which, thankfully, the media is bringing to the attention of the
public and law enforcement.
