NEW MEXICO
ABQ Journal
By Clara Garcia/Valencia County News-Bulletin
LOS LUNAS – A former member of the Los Lunas Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses is suing the church, claiming she was molested by a former elder.
Monica Lynn Jaramillo, 35, through her attorneys, Terrence Revo and Irwin Zalkin, filed a complaint for damages Aug. 12 in the 13th Judicial District Court. Also named as defendants in the case is Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, which oversees the church, and a former elder, who has not been charged with a crime.
Attempts to reach the Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall in Los Lunas for comment were unsuccessful before the News-Bulletin deadline.
According to the civil lawsuit, Jaramillo allegedly was sexually abused as a child by the elder, who had served as a ministerial servant and an elder, which are leadership positions in the congregation. Jaramillo said the abuse occurred in 1987 when she was 8 years old at his home.
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