DOC:
Any defendant, in any court of law, would plead NOT GUILTY. That's the way the game is played here (US) to negotiate a reduced charge, if nothing else.
How can you fault the WTS if the girls nor their parents were not inclined to pursue the matter themselves? What's wrong with these parents?
I do not see where this incriminates WTS as much as it does the parents who evidently did nothing to protect their daughters or other potential victims.
To put the burden of reporting on the victims is just one more layer of abuse. Children probably don't understand the enormity of the CRIME of sexual abuse, and frankly from your comments, it's clear that a lot of adults don't understand it either. Compound that with unfulfilled promises by the Elders™ to "take care of it" and the pressure within the JW congregation to "not bring reproach on Jehovah" or to 'not drag your Brother™ into court' and possibly other subtle or overt threats regarding potentially losing Privileges™ or accusations of "slander" against the perpetrator, and you have a very unhealthy environment that allows child molesters to have free reign under the protection of gag order on the victims and their families.
One of the most common beliefs of victims of child sexual abuse is that they did something that caused it to happen to them. There is a lot of self-blame and a lot of perpetrators and enablers capitalize on this self-recrimination by victims by blaming the victim - the 5 year old who dressed provocatively, the 8 year old who danced around and got him aroused, the 7 year old boy with the nice butt cheeks that are so damn grabbable. The molesters claim they are victims themselves, as if they have no control over their urges - just like the radical muslims who rape who aren't dressed in a burqa or who go out alone or unaccompanied by a male relative.
The WTS has a duty to take a hard line against offenders and alleged offenders. If the parents don't have the balls to report a child molester to the police, its agents (Elders™, Ministerial Servants™, Circuit Overseers™, Pioneers™, Brothers™ and Sisters™) ought to have a duty to report [and it can be reported anonymously to Child Protective Services] any knowledge or suspicions they have of child molestation. An agency relationship has been established within the Congregation™ setting, and just like school teachers, principals, custodians who work in a school have a duty as "mandated reporters" to report those crimes, so should anyone within the JW heirarchy.
This is the one social issue within the JWs that makes it impossible for me to ever go back. I could probably tolerate being taught bull$h!t prophecies, but this blatant disregard for the safety of children is a deal breaker for me, because I can never, in good conscience, invite another human being to become part of that Organization™ as long as this continues. And the fact that it has continued, unabated worldwide, for decades, is proof enough for me that this Organization™ has no moral authority worthy of recognition.
