SPEAK OUT Girl who was abused by her dad from the age of 11 sought help from Jehovah’s Witnesses only to be molested by one of their elders

By Lauren Windle
Sun
May 07, 2017

https://goo.gl/oy9w5U

Angie Rodgers was 11 years old when her father started abusing her

Angie Rodgers poses here with others in the Jehovah’s Witness community

Angie Rodgers, pictured here as a young girl, has been scarred by the abuse she suffered

Angie, pictured here with her partner, says she hopes to encourage other abuse victims to come forward

Angie said: “I have nightmares and flashbacks all the time and been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress.”

A WOMAN  who was molested by her father over five years and then by the Jehovah’s Witnesses she asked for help has spoken out about her ordeal.

Terrified Angie Rodgers, from Ayrshire, was abused weekly by her perverted Jehovah’s Witness father Ian Cousins from the age of 11.

The brave teen eventually plucked up the courage to confide in the Jehovah’s Witness elders, who took little action and she was later abused by one of them too, Harry Holt.

Angie, now 36, said: “I turned to the church for help and I was abused a second time.

“I was a child and they should have helped, but they turned on me. They make me feel sick.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get over what happened. I’ve just learned to live with it.

“I have nightmares and flashbacks all the time and been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress.”

Angie’s dad was imprisoned for five years in 2002 for his crimes, while Holt was only jailed last year for Angie’s assault along with seven others he molested.

Now aged 36, Angie, a mother-of-four, has bravely waived her anonymity in the hope her story will help other people.

She said: “Dad did it whenever he got the chance, even when I was ill.

“Once, I was throwing up with gastric flu when dad brought me home a fluffy bunny, with a peachy white floral dress and bloomers.

“My mum went to the Kingdom (church) and my dad scooped me up in his arms from the couch, took me to his room and molested me.

“I prayed my mum would come and save me but she never did. After that he used to try to touch me whenever we were alone. It got worse and worse.

“We went to a Jehovah convention when I was about 14 and he tried to rape me in a tent. He was only interrupted when an elder shouted him from outside.”

At the age of 15 Angie confided in a friend, whose father led a different church, in the hope that they would be able to stop the abuse.

While her father Cousins was called in for a “judicial meeting” no action was taken, as Jehovah’s Witness elders cannot act against suspects unless “there is a confession or two credible witnesses”.

Angie was then subjected to an interview by three male elders including Holt, where she was made to discuss intimate details of the abuse.

She explained: “They even asked what I’d been wearing, as if it was my fault. It was excruciating. I was so naive I was still playing with toys and Lego at 18.”

As Cousins showed repentance for his sins he was allowed back into the church after being reprimanded – and the abuse stopped.

A short while later in 1997, Holt made a move on Angie when driving her home following a session door-knocking for members.

She said: “On the way home in the car he grabbed my leg and felt his way up towards my underwear.”

Shocked, the young girl told her parents about the incident and the revelation led to Holt fleeing to Edinburgh.

It was revealed in court last year that he went on to abuse more children.

Angie decided to make a complaint to the police about her father when she found out he had also abused another two girls.

She also turned her back on the Jehovah’s Witnesses at 19 in the hope of starting fresh.

The religion is said to encourage members to disown people who leave, and Angie claimed that she didn’t see her mother for six years after she left.

In 2014 a complaint was made against Holt, and Angie agreed to come forward and speak about her horrific experience.

In February 2016, 71-year-old Holt was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail for the abuse of eight girls between 1971 and 2004.

Angie said: “If what happened to me helps just one young woman – or boy – go to the police it will have been worth it. What happened to me is horrendous but I’m trying to move on, otherwise my abusers have won.

“The religion is nothing but a cult. Children are kept silent by fears of Holy damnation and Armageddon if they bring the church into ill repute.

“It’s that fear and the fear of being shunned by friends and family if you leave that stops victims from reporting to police. It’s archaic and it has to stop.”

When contacted, the Jehovah’s Witnesses wouldn’t comment on Angie’s case but they did comment on their position in general.

The statement said: “Jehovah’s Witnesses abhor child abuse and view it as a heinous crime and sin. Safety of our children is of the utmost importance.

“Elders do not shield abusers from the authorities. Anyone who commits the sin of child abuse faces expulsion from the congregation. Any suggestion Jehovah’s Witnesses cover up abuse is false.

“We are doing all we can to prevent child abuse and to provide spiritual comfort to any who have suffered from this terrible sin and crime.”