IRELAND
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
Jehovah’s Witness elders allowed convicted predator to “grill” victims; Victims respond
For immediate release: Wednesday, May 23, 2014
Statement by Joelle Casteix of Newport Beach CA, western regional director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 949 322 7434, jcasteix@gmail.com )
One of the most difficult—but important—things that a survivor of sexual abuse can do is report the crime and put a predator behind bars. That’s what the victims in this case did. They worked with law enforcement to ensure that Jonathan Rose was arrested, convicted and jailed for molesting two little girls.
But to the Jehovah’s Witnesses, that was not enough to “prove” Rose’s guilt. Allowing a convicted—or a credibly accused predator—to “grill” victims is shocking and disgraceful. It breeds fear in victims that they, too, will be unprotected, revictimized and shunned by their faith community if they are ever brave enough to come forward and report crimes to police.
The Jehovah’s Witness elders who participated in this shameful activity should immediately remove themselves from any position of authority in the church, apologize to victims, and immediately rewrite any church rules that would allow “inquisitions” like this to continue. Until then, we have to believe that the Jehovah’s Witnesses will only continue to protect and embrace child predators at the risk of children globally.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.