Former Jehovah's Witness elder committed to stand trial accused of Sunshine Coast rapes, sexual abuse
by yalbmert99 18 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse
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BluesBrother
Thanks for the alert. It is all so depressingly familiar, isn’t it ….
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Rivergang
For those who previously raised the question, this report also confirms Brother Low-life as having formerly been a JW elder.
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careful
The police sergeant's observations about JW existence is the most valuable thing here. Thanks for the post.
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yalbmert99
You're all welcome
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Vidiot
Yeesh, this is fuglier than most.
And that’s sayin’ something.
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markweatherill
This case reminds me chillingly of Gary Breaux's 'Pillowgate' talk.
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yalbmert99
Indeed
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TonusOH
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.
Mr Mitchelson's defence barrister Saul Holt KC argued videos tendered to the court show acts that were consensual and "enjoyed" by those participating.
They also want to add additional charges of witness tampering.
In other words, as horrifying as this case will be, it could have been much, much worse. They did not mention whether the victims had reported the abuse to elders, and I am wondering if that will ever come up.
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Earnest
TonusOH : They did not mention whether the victims had reported the abuse to elders, and I am wondering if that will ever come up.
The Courier Mail of August 31, 2022 reported that
Police said in court documents three of the alleged victims approached police independent of each other; two of which tried to report the matters to the Jehovah’s Witness Religious Elders.
The Courier Mail of September 5, 2022 reported that detectives said in court documents
“The victims were accused of being homosexual, rather than (alleged) victims of systematic sexual offending.
“They were therefore not believed.”
The Courier Mail of December 18, 2023 reported that
Mr Callaghan [the magistrate] also ordered for the documents from the church to be disclosed, inspected and copied to prosecutions and the man’s law firm.
I note that in the Courier Mail of September 5, 2022, a Jehovah's Witness spokesman describes the accused as a “congregant” who had no power within the church. However, the Courier Mail of March 20, 2024 describes him as a former Jehovah's Witness so it seems as if he has either left the religion or been disfellowshipped since the police investigation started.