Posts by silentlambs

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — In a challenge to the Jehovah’s Witnesses belief in shunning secular authority, two young New Hampshire women have accused the order of concealing their sexual abuse allegations.

A suit expected to be filed Wednesday in Hillsborough County Superior Court names as defendants the abuser, the Wilton congregation where they belonged and the religious order’s governing body in New York City. It seeks unspecified damages.

"The organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses has specifically developed policies, practices and procedures which dictate that the elders are the appropriate authorities to whom abuse by (members) is to be reported," the suit states.

"The victim and/or accuser is routinely encouraged and required not to report suspected abuse by a (member) to the authorities outside of the organization ... as it would bring reproach on God and the organization."

Jeff Anderson, a St. Paul, Minn., lawyer who is the plaintiffs’ lead counsel, said such allegations have been made against the Jehovah’s Witnesses in 20 states. The order has about 5.5 million members worldwide.

"What’s more shocking is this is a practice that is employed throughout the church," Anderson said. "They have a practice of giving a sanctuary to known pedophiles."

In a statement from the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, which oversees Jehovah’s Witness congregations nationwide, the group said it does not condone sexual abuse.

"Jehovah’s Witnesses condemn child molestation, and they do not tolerate such activity within their membership," the group said. "If there is sufficient evidence that someone has exploited children in this way, he may be disfellowshipped."

The group said it does not interfere in victims’ rights to report incidents of sexual abuse to police.

Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught the faith is the authority and the only way to salvation. They are to bring all problems to their religious leaders first.

Members refuse to bear arms, salute the flag or participate in secular government. They also refuse to accept blood transfusions.

The New Hampshire suit involves the case of Paul Berry, who was charged with molesting two girls during a six-year period in the 1980s when one was as young as 3 years old. Berry was convicted of molesting one of the girls and sentenced to 56 years in prison.

The girls now are 22 and 19.

Anderson’s office said the girls waited until the completion of the criminal case before pursuing their civil suit.

The abuser and the girls belonged to a Jehovah’s Witness congregation in Wilton, a town of 3,300 in southern New Hampshire.

The suit said the girls’ mother repeatedly told Jehovah’s Witness elders of the abuse. The elders in turn told the mother to keep the issue within the organization and that she should "be a better wife" and that she should "pray more about the situation," the suit said.

"Plaintiff’s mother was a devout Jehovah’s Witness and was taught to respect the word of the elders as the word of Jehovah or God and follow the directions, guidance, policies and practices of the organization," the suit stated.

The beliefs of the order have had consequences at other Jehovah’s Witness congregations throughout the country.

Late last year, William Bowen resigned as an elder at a western Kentucky congregation to protest how the denomination handles accusations of child molestation.

Bowen said a Jehovah’s Witnesses policy requiring two people to witness wrongdoing before it is acknowledged by leaders makes it nearly impossible to prove child molestation occurs.

In New Jersey, a couple left the order after their 12-year-old daughter told them she was being molested by her grandfather, who also was a member of the faith. The daughter won a multimillion-dollar lawsuit last year against the grandfather’s insurance company.

6

News Story 2

by silentlambs in

today's headlines .

print this article email this article .

wednesday, august 08, 2001. groups elders targeted in sex abuse case.

silentlambs

TODAY'S HEADLINES
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Print this Article Email this Article

Wednesday, August 08, 2001

Group’s elders targeted in sex abuse case

By ANDREW WOLFE, Telegraph Staff
[email protected]

Two sisters charge that elders from their Jehovah’s Witness congregation in Wilton ignored their mother’s complaints that her husband was sexually abusing them, and thus allowed the abuse to continue.

A lawsuit on the women’s behalf is expected to be filed today in Hillsborough County Superior Court in Manchester, lawyers in the case said.

The suit stems from the case of Paul Berry, 45, formerly of Greenville, who was convicted of 17 counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault after a trial last year in Hillsborough County Superior Court. Berry was sentenced to serve 56 to 112 years in prison.

Berry maintains his innocence, and the state Supreme Court agreed in March to hear his appeal, court records show.

Berry was convicted of assaulting his stepdaughter, Holly Berry, 22, of Berkeley, Calif., repeatedly while she was between 4 and 10.

The assaults included incidents where Berry hung her by her wrists from hooks on a barn wall and, on another occasion, tied her to a tree, according to court records.

Berry also was charged with assaulting his biological daughter, Heather Berry, 19, of Charlestown, N.H., on several occasions while she was between 3 and 6. Prosecutors dropped charges in that case, however, after Berry’s conviction and sentence in the first case, court records show.

The sisters’ suit names Berry, the Wilton congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the national organization, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Brooklyn, N.Y.

Though The Telegraph ordinarily doesn’t identify victims of sexual abuse, the Berry sisters chose to go public, according to their lawyer, Jeffrey Anderson of St. Paul, Minn.

“This (case) is about truth-telling. This is about not keeping a secret,” Anderson said Tuesday, adding, “They bear no responsibility (for the abuse). They have no need to feel shame.”

An elder of the Wilton Jehovah’s Witness congregation, Jeff Wrona, declined to comment on the case Tuesday, and said the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society will be defending the suit.

No one returned a phone call to the society’s public relations office Tuesday, but the group released a statement to The Associated Press condemning child abuse, and denying that the organization discourages people from reporting it.

“Jehovah’s Witnesses condemn child molestation, and they do not tolerate such activity within their membership,” the group said. “If there is sufficient evidence that someone has exploited children in this way, he may be disfellowshipped.”

In at least one other local sexual assault case, Jehovah’s Witness elders did report allegations of abuse to state authorities.

The Berry sisters’ mother repeatedly told three elders in her congregation – Bob Ward, Jim Hilton and Robert Michalowski – about the abuse, their suit charges.

“Plaintiffs and their mother were taught to respect the teachings of the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses and to bring any problem with a fellow publisher (member) to the elders,” the suit states.

Based on Jehovah’s Witness policy, the suit claims, the elders told her to keep the matter within the congregation.

“The elders told plaintiffs’ mother that she should ‘be a better wife’ and that she should ‘pray more about the situation,’ ” the suit states.

The suit charges the elders violated state law, which requires religious leaders and other people in positions of authority or who work with children to immediately report any allegations of abuse to state authorities.

“The organization’s long-standing policy and practice of minimizing, defending and tolerating abuse by congregation publishers (members) negligently permitted the abuse to occur and breached a legal duty to plaintiffs to protect them and prevent said abuse from occurring,” the suit states.

Some 32 members of Berry’s Jehovah’s Witness congregation spoke on his behalf during his sentencing hearing.

Many said they had known him for more than a dozen years, and all expressed steadfast belief in his innocence.

In contrast, the suit claims, the sisters’ mother was punished by the congregation for reporting her suspicions of Berry’s abuse.

“I have seen a horrifying number of cases like this,” said Anderson, a nationally known lawyer who has handled numerous other sexual-abuse lawsuits against churches.

“This (case) is, to me, representative of a very serious problem in that church, in that they believe they are above the law, and the rules don’t apply to them with respect to protecting children,” he said.

When a member of a Jehovah’s Witness congregation is accused of any sort of serious transgression, the elders convene a judicial committee to investigate the matter. By policy, however, unless there is a witness or evidence of the wrongdoing beyond the person complaining, the accused is considered innocent, the suit charges.

“It is an institutional practice and a policy,” Anderson said. “They believe that if there is a report of child abuse, it didn’t happen unless there is a witness to it, or the perpetrator confesses. If there is neither, they believe that it didn’t happen.

“I say when it comes to the protection of children, they can believe what they want, but they have to do what everyone else has to do,” he said.

There have been “a handful” of similar cases filed against other Jehovah’s Witness congregations around the country, Anderson said, but other cases haven’t dealt as directly with the duty to report abuse, he said.

“I’m not aware of any that are just like this (case),” he said.

Nashua attorney Janine Gawryl is working with Anderson as local counsel on the Berrys’ case.

In another local case involving the Jehovah’s Witnesses, a Hillsborough County Superior Court judge ruled earlier this year that elders of a congregation can’t be forced to testify about disclosures made during judicial committee investigations.

The accused in that case, Gregory Blackstock, 45, formerly of Hollis, was convicted last month and awaits sentencing. In that case, the elders of Blackstock’s congregation reported the alleged abuse to the state Division of Children, Youth and Families.

Andrew Wolfe can be reached at 594-6410.

4

News Story

by silentlambs in

local/regional news item wednesday, august 8, 2001 .

jehovah's witnesses shield sexual abusers, suit claims .

by peter smith .

silentlambs

Local/Regional » News Item Wednesday, August 8, 2001

Jehovah's Witnesses shield sexual abusers, suit claims

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By Peter Smith
The Courier-Journal

The Jehovah's Witnesses church has shielded sexual predators from the law and humiliated their victims, according to a lawsuit expected to be filed today that challenges the church's policy on sexual molestation.

Filed on behalf of an adult daughter and stepdaughter of Paul Berry, a Jehovah's Witness convicted last year of sexual assault, the lawsuit will name as defendants Berry, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York -- the religion's national organization -- and Berry's Wilton, N.H., congregation.

''The victim/accuser is routinely encouraged and required not to report suspected abuse by a (member) to the authorities . . . as it would bring reproach on God and the organization,'' the lawsuit, to be filed in Hillsborough County Superior Court in Manchester, N.H., alleges.

The lawsuit also alleges that church policies, practices and procedures -- enforced by elders -- have the effect of ''blaming, humiliating and disciplining victims'' instead of sexual predators.

The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages, but the plaintiffs also want the church to change its policies.

''I hope that it gets enough coverage that people know that the Jehovah's Witnesses made a huge mistake,'' said Heather Berry of Charlestown, N.H., who, along with her stepsister, Holly Berry, of Berkeley, Calif., agreed to speak publicly.

Church spokesman David Semonian defended the organization's policies.

''We do believe our principles and policies involved in the issue are very sound,'' he said, adding that church elders would never stop a member from going to the police.

''As elders, we're dealing with the sin,'' he said yesterday. ''The authorities are dealing with the crime, so we're not going to get in the way of that.''

The Courier-Journal reported in February that critics say the Jehovah's Witnesses' secretive disciplinary proceedings have allowed pedophiles to go unreported and put the public at risk -- charges that church leaders emphatically deny.

Jehovah's Witnesses leaders say they report allegations of child sexual abuse in states where the law requires it. In other states, they say they can better handle such allegations themselves and try not to violate what they say are confidential discussions between church members and their elders -- lay persons who lead local congregations.

But attorney Jeffrey Anderson, who will file the Berrys' suit, alleged the Jehovah's Witnesses have a ''rigid patriarchal hierarchy that seems to believe it can operate above the law.

''This church is free to believe whatever they want, but this is about doing harm to children (and) giving sanctuary to pedophiles,'' said Anderson of St. Paul, Minn., whose firm has successfully sued the Roman Catholic Church and other religious organizations in cases of clergy sexual abuse nationwide.

William Bowen, a former Kentucky Jehovah's Witnesses elder, said the case ''is simply about making Jehovah's Witnesses understand they have the same rules as everyone else.'' Bowen resigned Dec. 31 as leader of the Draffenville, Ky., congregation and is now campaigning to change church policies on sexual abuse.

Jehovah's Witnesses, known for their door-to-door evangelism, have nearly 1 million American members and 6 million worldwide. The Brooklyn, N.Y.-based movement claims to teach the true version of Christianity.

In internal disciplinary hearings, church officials say they use a biblical burden of proof that considers the accused innocent unless he or she admits guilt or is accused by at least two witnesses.

The lawsuit argues that because sexual abuse usually happens in secret, ''victims often cannot offer the required proof.''

Semonian said elders investigate all allegations, even if there is only one witness.

Berry was convicted in July 2000 of repeatedly molesting his stepdaughter, Holly, from the time she was 4 through age 10. Among his offenses, Berry suspended her from hooks in a barn and strapped her to a tree during episodes of sexual abuse. He was sentenced to 56 years in prison.

Berry also faced charges that he molested Heather Berry, but prosecutors did not try that case because he already received such a severe sentence. Heather did give a victim's impact statement at her father's sentencing.

Twenty-nine elders and members of Berry's Wilton congregation proclaimed his innocence at his sentencing Oct. 31. Some said they would trust their children with him.

But Sara Poisson, Berry's former wife and an ex-Jehovah's Witness, said she had told elders that her husband was beating their children and possibly molesting one of them. Elders told her ''be a better wife'' and ''pray more,'' she said.

There is no evidence the elders ever reported the suspected abuse, despite New Hampshire law requiring them to do so.

Roy King, an elder in the Wilton congregation, declined to comment, saying elders need to talk with church lawyers about the case.

Jehovah's Witnesses officials say members are free to go to police if they choose.

The lawsuit, however, said members would only do so on the guidance of their elders, who are considered ''appointed by Holy Spirit'' and ''specially endowed with wisdom and understanding.''

The lawsuit was served on Watchtower and Wilton congregation officials in recent days and was expected to be served on Berry yesterday. New Hampshire law requires defendants to be served with a lawsuit before it is filed with the court.

A Courier-Journal investigation earlier this year found other court challenges to Jehovah's Witnesses' handling of abuse cases.

For example, a Houston family settled a lawsuit in 1999 with the church over claims that elders failed to alert authorities after learning that a teen-age boy was molesting his younger sister. The teen has since been convicted.

In an Augusta, Maine, case, pretrial testimony indicated that elders secretly disciplined a molester but did not warn his congregation about him. The molester later abused an elder's stepson. The church, while not challenging any allegations in the victim's lawsuit, was cleared of legal liability in 1999 by the state's highest court.

133

BERRY LAWSUIT EVALUATED

by MadApostate in

jw
friends

i would like to preface my discussion of the recently filed berry lawsuit with several remarks.

first, i am not an attorney, and my only connection with the legal profession is that which occasionally arises out of my personal or business affairs.

second, i have no access to court records, opinions, etc., other than what is available via internet search engines.

silentlambs

run wt run......

14

Doubt Not-Fire Two......

by silentlambs in

jw
friends

i am going to let j. r. brown look this one up for himself,.

from day one of this issue being raised the watchtower has maintained there is no problem with child molesters being shielded within the community of jehovahs witnesses.

the questions that beg to be answered are: .

silentlambs

Poem from Paul Berry hearing:

The screaming is getting louder--it's impossible to hear.

It's clawing at my insides and stepping on my fear,

Ripping out my brain and picking at my gut,

laughing at my words and calling me a slut.

It's been stepping on me for hours and saying I'm insane,

kicking in my face and constantly wishing me pain.

Lost in the confusion, I've given up all fight.

Along with my pride, he's taken all of my might.

I ask him for pity: "Kill me, or set me free.

with a monstrous laugh, he says, "I don't know, we'll see."