HELENA (MT)
The Associated Press
September 27,.2018
The defendant said the church covered up her sexual abuse as a child at the hands of a congregation member.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses must pay $35 million to a woman who says the church’s national organization ordered Montana clergy members not to report her sexual abuse as a child at the hands of a congregation member, a jury ruled in a verdict.
A judge must review the penalty, and the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ national organization — Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York — plans to appeal.
Still, the 21-year-old woman’s attorneys said Wednesday’s verdict sends a message to the church to report child abuse to outside authorities.
“Hopefully that message is loud enough that this will cause the organization to change its priorities in a way that they will begin prioritizing the safety of children so that other children aren’t abused in the future,” said attorney Neil Smith Thursday.
The Office of Public Information at the World Headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses responded to the verdict with an unsigned statement.
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