This is huge!!! I sure hope it gets more media coverage.
truthseekeriam
JoinedPosts by truthseekeriam
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Jehovah's Witnesses destroyed documents showing child abuse allegations against church elder
by burnedout inmark sewell convicted of eight historic sex charges, including rape.
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i can not copy the link, but go to walesonline.co.uk.
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Kate Wild
by quellycatface ini've been given permission to post news of our friend.. kate hasn't been very well.
not well at all.
i think much of it has been a delayed reaction to her df'ing, the general fallout when leaving the wtbs and family issues.. i just wanted to give you guys the heads up and give you a chance to show how much we care about her.. thanks for listening..
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truthseekeriam
Kate, I know it doesn't feel like it right now, but in time, it does get better.
Someone once told me to try to invision my life in the future beyond the struggles and heartaches that go along with leaving a high control religion. So when things get tough I do just that. I know it sounds silly but for me it works in those tough moments.
I hope you start feeling better soon.
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* Breaking news * - JW elder (Mark Sewell) found guilty of rape and sexual assaults
by Stealth ini hope they lock this guy up for a very long time!.
http://www.barryanddistrictnews.co.uk/news/latestnews/11306548.church_elder_found_guilty_of_rape_and_sexual_assaults/?ref=var_0.
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truthseekeriam
It's just disgusting what this religion puts victims through!!
Women told how 'excruciating' it was to have to tell congregation elders what had happened to them... but that nothing was done
Mark Sewell Victims of a sexual predator who preyed on fellow Jehovah’s Witnesses had to face their alleged abuser in hearings organised by their church.
The “vulnerable” victims – including a woman pinned down and raped by heavy-set former church elder Mark Sewell and a schoolgirl whom he kissed and fondled – were even banned from talking about their allegations.
At least two of Sewell’s victims in the Barry congregation had to lock eyes with him during “judicial committee” hearings run by the church when they reported his depraved attacks.
When faced with his first victim – then just a teenage schoolgirl – Sewell branded her a “liar” and rubbished her claims.
It was during this investigation that the elders received another complaint about Sewell, with a woman in the congregation claiming he had raped her.
They included the complaint in the investigation but the businessman, now 53, twice contacted her “in an attempt to stop her telling the judicial committee the truth”, prosecutor Sarah Waters told the jury during the trial opening.
Sewell has now been convicted of a string of sex abuse allegations, including rape .
The first victim claimed after her family had contacted the congregation elders about Sewell they were asked to attending a meeting at the Kingdom Hall in Gibbonsdown, Barry.
“Prior to it we had been told not to mention it to anybody, not to tell anyone about it,” she said in her evidence in court.
The victim, who cannot be identified, also told the court she was not necessarily aware if there were other complaints at the same time.
“All of us were told we were not allowed to talk about it,” she added.
Her account was backed up by a close friend who gave evidence. When asked whether her friend had talked to her about the judicial committee investigation she repeatedly said: “She wasn’t allowed to.”
The friend, now a woman in her 30s, told the court: “When you are a Witness the elders will deal with problems within the congregation.
“As a Witness myself you trust them to deal with them and you don’t get involved in the details and you leave it to them.”
Judge Richard Twomlow asked: “Once a problem goes to the elders then the congregation is not allowed to discuss it?”
She replied: “No. If there was a big problem you would have sermons to deal with trust and what elders positions mean and gossip. It was very, very strict.”
The judge then said: “So gossip wasn’t just discouraged, it was positively disallowed?”
The woman answered: “You could be disciplined as a Witness for gossiping.”
A young girl forced to strip down for half-naked massages by Sewell in his bedroom said “everything was unspoken” in the congregation and those involved “weren’t allowed to talk about things”.
She added: “That’s the impression at the time – I thought it was a cover-up.”
The victim raped by Sewell in a brutal attack which saw her knickers “shredded” described being grilled by church elders when she came forward years after the attack.
“I had to go through everything that happened to me just as you are doing now,” she said in evidence.
“They asked me some questions as to what led up to it, why he did what he did, why I didn’t report it.
“They also asked me what position my legs were in when Mark attacked me – why, I don’t know.
“I had to explain how far apart my legs were which I found excruciatingly embarrassing.”
She added that Sewell claimed it would have been impossible for him to have raped her while she was in that position.
He knew, she claimed he said, because he had tried to re-enact the incident with his wife with her legs positioned the same way.
“In the end it was Mark’s word against mine and Mark denied everything and that nearly sent me over the edge.”
In the aftermath, she told the court, Sewell “rang and threatened me and said if I went to the police he was going to take me to court”.
She dabbed her eyes with a tissue as she told the court: “I couldn’t function, couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat, and I think the worst thing for me was that nobody would believe me.”
At the time of the committee hearing, she said, the father of Sewell’s first victim told the congregation elders to “examine their consciences” and report the matter to the police.
“There were 12 elders and not one of them stood up – not one,” the rape victim said.
The woman described the way she and her fellow victims had been “looked at with disregard and he is walking around with his head held high” following the claims.
She said she contacted the church again subsequently to warn them about Sewell.
“They have a man in their midst who is a rapist, is a paedophile. He has never gone to prison, never answered to his crimes, never had treatment, so therefore they in my opinion are putting the rest of the congregation at risk.”
A church spokesman said: “As Jehovah’s Witnesses we have an absolute and unequivocal abhorrence of child abuse and [offer] our support for any victim or parent who reports this crime to the authorities. This is in line with what the Bible says at Romans 12:9.
“We feel that the care and safeguarding of children and the promotion of their welfare is extremely important.
“Jehovah’s Witnesses act in harmony with the law and do not condone child abuse in any circumstance or endeavour to shield from the authorities those committing offences of this nature.”
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Latest on UK Court Case - Unbelievable!
by skeeter1 injehovah's witness elder denies cover-up at church over 'massaging half-naked schoolgirls'jun 20, 2014 12:53by ciaran jonesdevoted churchgoer mark sewell rejected suggestions his seniority in the barry congregation meant allegations of child abuse would be "swept under the carpet".
mark sewella former jehovah's witness elder today denied massaging half-naked schoolgirls because he knew his church would "cover up" the allegations due to his position.. devoted churchgoer mark sewell rejected suggestions his seniority in the barry congregation meant allegations of child abuse would be "swept under the carpet".. the businessman, 53, denies 10 historic sex charges against girls and women in a period spanning more than eight years.. during cross-examination by prosecutor sarah waters it was put to the defendant that he "took the risk" of massaging topless schoolgirls because he believed his standing in the church would spare him from allegations of wrongdoing.. ms waters said: "what i'm suggesting, mr sewell, is that it was a cover-up and no-one was allowed to talk about it.".
greying sewell, wearing a navy suit over white shirt and patterned blue and yellow tie, told merthyr crown court: "not at all, no.".
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truthseekeriam
Good!! Hope he goes away for a very long time!!
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Latest on UK Court Case - Unbelievable!
by skeeter1 injehovah's witness elder denies cover-up at church over 'massaging half-naked schoolgirls'jun 20, 2014 12:53by ciaran jonesdevoted churchgoer mark sewell rejected suggestions his seniority in the barry congregation meant allegations of child abuse would be "swept under the carpet".
mark sewella former jehovah's witness elder today denied massaging half-naked schoolgirls because he knew his church would "cover up" the allegations due to his position.. devoted churchgoer mark sewell rejected suggestions his seniority in the barry congregation meant allegations of child abuse would be "swept under the carpet".. the businessman, 53, denies 10 historic sex charges against girls and women in a period spanning more than eight years.. during cross-examination by prosecutor sarah waters it was put to the defendant that he "took the risk" of massaging topless schoolgirls because he believed his standing in the church would spare him from allegations of wrongdoing.. ms waters said: "what i'm suggesting, mr sewell, is that it was a cover-up and no-one was allowed to talk about it.".
greying sewell, wearing a navy suit over white shirt and patterned blue and yellow tie, told merthyr crown court: "not at all, no.".
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truthseekeriam
What a piece of work!! I hope he and his wife get what's coming to them. These women that stand by and watch their freak of a husband take advantage of young girls are just as sick as the freak!! Could you just imagine what their neighbors think??
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c'mon USA !
by Simon inhoping you beat portugal and make it through to the last 16 !.
go usa !!
!.
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truthseekeriam
Such a great game!!! I'm loving World Cup it's bringing my teenagers out of their rooms to watch and scream with us :)
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The Venting Thread
by minimus inthis thread is for you to vent about anything (within guidelines) that you want.. i'll start.. i'm sick of people who complain about how cold the weather is and then you have two 85 degree days and now they can't wait till autumn!.
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truthseekeriam
It really bugs me to see servers being treated poorly.
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How Would Your Being Disfellowshipped Affect You?
by minimus inwould you care?.
would there be any repercussions?.
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truthseekeriam
I think it would put an end to the limited contact I have with a few JW family members. All the other JWs pretty much have shunned us already.
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JUSTICE #16 - Part 1 - Molesters Under Every Rock!
by Amazing injustice #16, molesters under every rock part 1 of 2 .
i chose this title not just because of the shear numbers of molesters that potentially exist within the organizations and congregations of jehovahs witnesses, but the insidious impact they continue to have, when you least expect or realize what is happening.
this is about a situation that directly affected my own family.
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truthseekeriam
Is part 2 around?
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American Rantings About World Cup Soccer (Football)
by RubaDub ini try ... i really try to watch football (soccer) ... it's world cup time ... i really do try.. i just don't get it ... i really don't.. yes, it's a world-wide sport.
in most countries it is the number 1 or number 2 sport ... no doubt about it.
it's maybe number 5 in the usa for professional sports.. from an american's perspective (i think i speak for many), we just wonder if these guys actually have testicles.
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truthseekeriam
Love it!!! Plenty of eye candy while my husband loves the sport.
Mark Sewell