on the abc evening news tonight, it was said that the catholic church has paid out over $ 2 billion in settlements to over 5,000 victims of sexual abuse by priests.
do you suppose that perhaps the wtbts will approach that figure?
either in payouts or in the number of cases that are reported??.
On the ABC Evening News tonight, it was said that the catholic Church has paid out over $ 2 Billion in settlements to over 5,000 victims of sexual abuse by priests.
Do you suppose that perhaps the WTBTS will approach that figure? Either in payouts or in the number of cases that are reported??
Maybe on a per-victim basis, but not straight-up. There are far less JWs in the world than Catholics.
source: http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/pe_news_local_d_webtestify.23d1b64.html.
appellate court denies request to intervene in molestation case.
an appellate court today denied a request to intervene in the case of a jehovah's witness facing child molestation charges.
Thanks, Dust.
I'm actually impressed that the elders testified as they did.
Wonder if they'll get DF'd.
seems this woman is always, and i mean always, absent from topics related to religious conflicts.. again, today, when cultic behavior [ lds raid in texas] is discussed as a hot topic, she's not there.. a few weeks ago, there was the topic of the child that died due to the parents thinking god would heal her.
sheri was not there.. it's really starting to piss me off.. there have also been ample opportunities for her to speak out about abuse that goes on in jw religion.
she never takes it.. yesterday she reveals that when she had an opportunity to look at princes credit info, she took it.. i'm about to fire off an email and ask point blank, why she keeps avoiding (by being absent) these topics.. anyone else notice this about her?.
I'll cut her some slack for getting out of the JW's when she had a chance.
However, most of us got smarter.
source: http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/pe_news_local_d_webtestify.23d1b64.html.
appellate court denies request to intervene in molestation case.
an appellate court today denied a request to intervene in the case of a jehovah's witness facing child molestation charges.
Could this be used a legal precedent to sue or at the very least have a lawyer present at a JC? IF it is indeed deemed a fact finding mission it would seem you could legally sue if they didn't find the "facts".
Unfortunately the courts have always been hands-off when it comes to allowing legal representatives in religious judiciaries. They're very reticent to intrude there. The standards for slander or libel are pretty high. I can't think of any ex-JWs who have prevailed in those areas. If this case has any effect on WTS policy, my guess is that'll be a restructuring of the JC to reinforce the confidentiality for the legal issues. Whatever they do, it will not be in the name of increasing the elders' transparency or responsiblity. Keep in mind it's not the WT on trial here; it's a human being about whom they have private knowledge. They can't buy their way out of this one. And they can't impose silence. So it definitely will have some kind of precedent, if the appellate courts continue to reject the JW's efforts to hide their testimony.
source: http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/pe_news_local_d_webtestify.23d1b64.html.
appellate court denies request to intervene in molestation case.
an appellate court today denied a request to intervene in the case of a jehovah's witness facing child molestation charges.
Are any of the abuse support groups (ie: SilentLambs) attending this?
Their budget may not afford the travel/lodging/etc. I hope the Press-Enterprise updates the trial more frequently now that it's begun but I haven't checked yet today.
source: http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/pe_news_local_d_webtestify.23d1b64.html.
appellate court denies request to intervene in molestation case.
an appellate court today denied a request to intervene in the case of a jehovah's witness facing child molestation charges.
Geez, how long can this clown keep stalling for the perv???
I'm glad to see this one struck down. I really wish I knew more about these defense motions. I hope he can't stall the trial any more.
The trial isn't stalled, though; the appellate court refused to stop it.
Interesting that the defense deferred their opening statements until they present their case. If the appellate court refused to stop the trial I don't see how a higher court would.
(Quandry: thanks.)
as there has been some talk lately of a crackdown on obesity (in the form of the great boasting session), it might be time for a thread about how being one of jehovah's witlesses can lend one to becoming fat.. first, my personal situation.
when i was in college, i gained the 4x15 pounds that were supposed to be gained in college, and it was only my sophomore semester.
it was legitimately my fault.
When I was a kid, McDonald's was the reward at the end of a Saturday of field service. Now that I look back on it, it's kind of ironic how the most worldly corporation of its time (the '70s) was held out as a carrot (I mean, make that a french fry).
My still-JW mother now finds it "weird" that we have never given my 3-year-old daughter McDonald's food, and that my daughter legitimately does not care for food that's been artificially colored or treated. I think it's weirder to pump a kindergartener full of chemicals.
We do, however, have a weakness for Taco Bell.
--P
this just went up on freeminds regarding the jw elders in southern california, who have so far been stonewalling about their private conversations with accused jw child molester gilbert simental... the judge in the case has issued an order for them to testify:.
(the judge) said... "it was more like a third-party investigation into immoral conduct."...
the judge said, the elders' duty was to determine guilt and to protect the congregation, not to keep the communications under wraps.
Thanks Flipper, I figured that the number would be very high, but I didn't know that it was 100%. So how can any JW, elder, parent, grandparent, not get irate over this stance of the WT, when these sorry excuses for humans confess?
Well, let's be as factual as possible -- it's not 100%, becuase nothing is 100%. But I'd have a hard time believing it's less than 95%.
I have read here on JWD, that they have allowed elders to stay in position even. Totally crazy!!! Jehovah's spirit? Yeah, right.
Maybe there are hundreds of elders who really disagree, but know that they can't verbalize it, for fear of not questioning the Society. Yet, here it is again, they aren't thinking beyond the box, to realize that asking of that one question, and getting in trouble for it, is a HUGE red flag that this is a cult! H/L
This is the moral quandry that the WTS has been courting since the days of Rutherford. They have never been in a position where preservation of the organization was trumped by preservation of a worldwide standard of morality and decency. For the first time the WTS's moral stance is going to legitimately, legally be called into question. There is simply no way in the world their procedures regarding child molesters are going to be seen as better than the moral standard accepted by "the world." None.
My blood pressure goes up, every time I get involved with this subject. Well, not only my BP, I just can't wrap my brain around this whole stance that they take. There are many intelligent JW's. Why can't they just open their eyes? My father being one. But I don't dare brooch the subject.
They're filling an emotional need. Not an intellectual or logical one. Plenty of very smart people are JWs because emotion trumps intellect. The fear of pain is frequently more acute than the need to know the truth. Earthquakes scare the hell out of smart people who know the science of earthquakes and lesser folks who have no idea. And now the terra firma of the WTS is starting to look mighty wobbly.
source: http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/pe_news_local_d_webtestify.23d1b64.html.
appellate court denies request to intervene in molestation case.
an appellate court today denied a request to intervene in the case of a jehovah's witness facing child molestation charges.
Another article from the same writer: http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_sfaith08.3cd3b29.html
Murrieta man's molestation trial begins after attempt to halt it fails
A Murrieta man's trial on molestation charges began Monday after an appellate court declined his request to halt it and rule on whether two Jehovah's Witnesses' elders could be required to testify.
In opening statements, a prosecutor told jurors the man touched girls during his daughter's sleepover party in Murrieta.
"The defendant Gilbert Simental fondled three separate girls by exploiting the innocent trust of his own daughter's slumber party," prosecutor Burke Strunsky told the jury.
Simental, 49, is charged with molesting two of his daughter's friends at his home from July 2005 to July 2006. The girls, who are sisters, were ages 9 and 10 at the time, the prosecutor said.
The Press-Enterprise does not publish the names of minors who are believed to have been victims of sexual abuse.
Simental is charged in a separate case with molesting another girl. That case is awaiting trial at the Southwest Justice Center in French Valley.
Defense attorney Miles Clark chose to reserve his opening statement until the defense begins its case.
Strunsky's opening statement came hours after learning that an appellate court declined to hear a defense petition requesting it stop the trial to address a ruling by Riverside County Superior Court Judge F. Paul Dickerson.
Dickerson has ordered elders from Simental's Jehovah's Witnesses congregation to testify about statements Simental reportedly made to them during an inquiry into child molestation allegations.
... (edited out part already reported in above story)....
Strunsky, the prosecutor, declined to comment on the appellate court's ruling.
However, during Strunsky's opening statement, he told jurors that elders from Simental's Jehovah's Witnesses congregation would testify.
Simental told the elders that he molested the girls, Strunsky said.
"You are going to see in this case three very, very brave little girls," he said. "They have no reason to make this up."
The trial is scheduled to resume Wednesday at the Southwest Justice Center.
If convicted of all charges, Simental faces 45 years to life in prison. He is free on $1 million bail.
source: http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/pe_news_local_d_webtestify.23d1b64.html.
appellate court denies request to intervene in molestation case.
an appellate court today denied a request to intervene in the case of a jehovah's witness facing child molestation charges.
Source: http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_webtestify.23d1b64.html
An appellate court today denied a request to intervene in the case of a Jehovah's Witness facing child molestation charges.
The Fourth Appellate District Division Two declined a defense petition requesting they stop Gilbert Simental's trial to address a superior court judge's ruling that orders elders from a Jehovah's Witness congregation to testify.
The Murrieta man's lawyers Thursday asked the court to overturn Riverside County Superior Court Judge F. Paul Dickerson's decision ordering the congregation leaders to testify about admissions Simental reportedly made during an inquiry into reports of child molestation.
"We are disappointed that they did not grant the stay and decide the issue," defense attorney Miles Clark said this morning.
Prosecutor Burke Strunsky declined comment.
Clark said he will ask another court to hear the defense petition and hopes to file paperwork with the appropriate court later this week.
Simental, 49, is charged with molesting two of his daughter's friends during sleepovers at his home from July 2005 to July 2006, court records indicate. The girls were ages 9 and 10 at the time and are sisters, court records show.
As a practice, The Press-Enterprise does not publish the names of those who are believed to have been victims of sexual abuse.
Simental's lawyers contend the state is depriving elders and its members of the right to keep these statements confidential while giving it to others who engage in one-on-one confessions or counseling with clergy, according to court papers filed with the appellate court.
In the Simental case, three elders formed a judicial committee to look into a report that two girls were molested.
Simental and Elders Andrew Sinay and John Vaughn all believed their conversations were confidential. They were made during judicial committee formed in response to allegations of child sex abuse, Clark has said.
In his ruling, Judge Dickerson said having three elders involved made this judicial committee a fact-finding body not concerned with maintaining confidentiality.
When someone is removed from the Jehovah's Witnesses, notes from a judicial committee meeting including admissions are passed on to another committee tasked with handling the appeal. The elders must send paperwork explaining evidence presented to the Jehovah's Witnesses headquarters in New York after the person is dismissed.
Opening statements are expected later today in Simental's trial at the Southwest Justice Center in French Valley.
--Tammy McCoy
