NotSureWhereToGo - I have already eaten your hat. In fact, I didn't just EAT your hat, I ATE THE HELL OUT OF IT. ...and you are correct about Don Cameron's book, an excellent piece of original writing that inspired me to produce my own excellent line of Replica Reprints. Let the reader use discernment.
Athanasius - I'm glad you didn't go so far as to offer that because YOU (as an elder) were UNAWARE of the Pedophile Paradise Problem, it DID NOT EXIST. As I stated, I was merely a Pioneer/MS in the Middle Village, Queens, NYC congregation in the early 70s when the "accelerated" TRUTH book program was hauling in tons of hippies and neo-Jesus-freaks. One was a young man who made "rapid spiritual progress" and soon began his own little project, offering "free home Bible studies" to CHILDREN of parents who had no personal interest in "spiritual things" - that's an excellent technique for finding neglected kids - and he would have his "studies," and get friendly with the kids, and start bringing them to Sunday meetings - he ALWAYS managed to arrive just a bit late so that he could parade his team of 6 or 8 victims from various families to the front row in the Hall - the row that was almost always unoccupied - it provided him with great visibility in front of the congregation.
After carefully cultivating a friendship with those he found most vulnerable, he would suggest to the parents that he could take the kid "camping" over a weekend - you know, to get the kid off of their parent's hands for a while. It was during these "camping" trips that unspeakable things would happen and "secrets" would be made, with threats of dire circumstances should the child reveal those "secrets".
But then one child DID reveal the secrets, and the ruse was discovered, and NOTHING WAS DONE TO THE PERPETRATOR. A few years later he married a new Sister who had young children from her previous marriage. The ELDERS never told her a word about the monster who would be sharing her bed.
He's gone now; vanished, as though resting in an unmarked grave somewhere. Hastened before the "throne of judgement"...
It is easy to see how elders "never heard of such things" - it is because they refused to ever speak of such things. Gotta protect Jehovah, y'know!