UNITED KINGDOM
Hartlepool Mail
Mark Payne
mark.payne@jpress.co.uk
Tuesday 24 November 2015
A former Jehovah’s Witness is calling for a change to practices within the church which he says do not help sex abuse victims.
Steve Rose, 51, from Hartlepool, believes policies of the church, based on what the Bible says, make it difficult for allegations of child and other sex abuse to be uncovered or acted upon.
He wants to see the end to a “two-witness rule” which says church elders are not allowed to take action against allegations of wrongdoing unless it has been witnessed by at least two people.
The church say its rules do not prevent allegations being taken seriously or issues being reported to police.
Mr Rose, who used to be a member of Hartlepool’s Kingdom Hall, in Ashgrove Avenue, is also concerned that convicted sex offenders – like Richard Ogilvie, who was recently sentenced for grooming a girl – are allowed to remain part of the church.
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