37 VOLUME 6 |ISSUE 3 |2015
charged with injury to a child causing serious bodily injury by
omission. The 49-year-old was being held on $100,000 bond
at the local jail, where records didn’t list an attorney. (NBC 5
Dallas-Fort Worth, 4/14/15)
Jehovah’s Witnesses charity’s attempt to delay inquiry led
to “ongoing risks” to children, says judge
Judge Alison McKenna denied a Jehovah’s Witnesses charity
more time to appeal against a Charity Commission statutory
inquiry. The judge said that the Watch Tower Bible and
Tract Society of Britain had caused prolonged delays to the
regulator’s investigation, leading to “ongoing risks” to children.
In May 2014, the Charity Commission opened an inquiry to
determine whether adequate safeguarding procedures were
in place following revelations that trustees of the charity had
allowed a convicted pedophile to question his victims. (Civil
Society Media, 3/10/15)
Jehovah’s Witnesses to compensate woman over sex abuse
A woman, now in her 20s, who claimed that elders of the
Jehovah’s Witnesses neglected to protect her from sex
abuse perpetrated on her between 1989 and 1994 when she
was a child, has been awarded £275,000. The abuse came at
the hands of a pedophile, Peter Stewart, who had previously
admitted to the organization that he had abused another
child. A judge ruled that the organization was liable for the
abuse because it failed to take “safeguarding steps” after
Stewart admitted abusing another child. This is the first civil
case in the UK of historical sexual abuse brought against the
Jehovah’s Witnesses. The organization will appeal. (BBC News,
6/19/15)
Guatemalan schools request publications from Jehovah’s
Witnesses
In Guatemala City, three schools have requested publications
from Jehovah’s Witnesses in an effort to curb youth crime in
the country. Jehovah’s Witnesses are one of the few publishers
of content in Quiché, an American Indian language spoken
in the western highlands of the country. Also, an official
document from the Official Rural Coeducational Elementary
School in Paraje Xepec stated that the publications were
requested “to rescue the values and moral principles that are
much needed in society.” The publications requested were My
Book of Bible Stories in Quiché and Volume 1 and 2 of Questions
Young People Ask—Answers That Work in Spanish. The school
has also added the video The Prodigal Returns to the school
curriculum. (Digital Journal, 5/10/15)
Russian court denounces Jehovah’s Witnesses as
“extremist”
In southern Russia, a court has publicly declared a local
organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses as “extremist” and
ordered it to stop meeting. The group’s building and
surrounding land will be confiscated by the local government
in the town of Abinsk, Krasnodar region, the court ruled. The
group had been distributing publications titled “Humanity in
Search of God” and “What Does the Bible Really Teach?,” which
were included in the federal list of extremist materials and are
banned for distribution in the country, the news report said.
The group’s founders, Igor Soroka and Albert Belikov, were
already fined for distributing banned literature in 2010 and
2012. The group’s lawyers have called the court’s decision
ungrounded and unconstitutional, and they plan to file an
appeal with Russia’s Supreme Court. (The Moscow Times.
4/4/15)
Former Jehovah’s Witness accuses church of hiding child
abusers from congregations
Candace Conti, now 28, alleges that she was sexually abused
at the age of 9 by Jonathan Kendrick, a popular member of
her small Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation in Fremont,
California. For many years, Conti was afraid to tell anyone of
the abuse out of fear. Years later, after she grew up and left
the church, she found out that Kendrick was on a sex-offender
registry for molesting his own granddaughter. After seeing
Kendrick’s name on the registry, Conti hired an attorney, Rick
Simmons. When they began to gather evidence from the local
church leaders in California, they made a shocking discovery.
Simmons and Conti learned that Kendrick had abused his
own stepdaughter. Furthermore, the elders of the church
knew about this and never said anything. The elders of the
congregation said nothing about Kendrick’s abuse because
they were following the strict guidelines of the church leaders
at the Jehovah’s Witnesses headquarters in New York City,
known as the Watchtower.
Conti and her attorney took the case to court. The attorneys
for the Jehovah’s Witnesses argued that it is not the church’s
responsibility to protect children from abuse by other
members. Also, they claimed that Conti was never abused on
the church’s property. Ultimately the jury sided with Conti,
and in 2012 she was awarded $15 million. Conti has moved on
with her life and is now engaged and graduated from college.
During Conti’s trial, Kendrick was absent and denied any
requests for an interview. He says he never touched Candace
Conti. He is still a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, although he
was removed from leadership.
After Conti’s case was brought to light, other cases around
the country involving Jehovah’s Witnesses started arising.
Once all these cases were public and members and church
leaders were found guilty of sexual abuse, several churches
made changes to their policy concerning child abuse. Conti,
however, says it’s still not enough. (ABC News, 3/12/15)
In childhood sexual-abuse case, California Appellate
Court finds church has no duty to prevent members from
harming each other
In Conti v. Watchtower Bible &Tract Society of New York, Inc.
(filed 4/13/15, A136631), the California Court of Appeal, First
District, reversed an award of $8 million in punitive damages,
on the ground that a Jehovah’s Witnesses’ congregation
charged with injury to a child causing serious bodily injury by
omission. The 49-year-old was being held on $100,000 bond
at the local jail, where records didn’t list an attorney. (NBC 5
Dallas-Fort Worth, 4/14/15)
Jehovah’s Witnesses charity’s attempt to delay inquiry led
to “ongoing risks” to children, says judge
Judge Alison McKenna denied a Jehovah’s Witnesses charity
more time to appeal against a Charity Commission statutory
inquiry. The judge said that the Watch Tower Bible and
Tract Society of Britain had caused prolonged delays to the
regulator’s investigation, leading to “ongoing risks” to children.
In May 2014, the Charity Commission opened an inquiry to
determine whether adequate safeguarding procedures were
in place following revelations that trustees of the charity had
allowed a convicted pedophile to question his victims. (Civil
Society Media, 3/10/15)
Jehovah’s Witnesses to compensate woman over sex abuse
A woman, now in her 20s, who claimed that elders of the
Jehovah’s Witnesses neglected to protect her from sex
abuse perpetrated on her between 1989 and 1994 when she
was a child, has been awarded £275,000. The abuse came at
the hands of a pedophile, Peter Stewart, who had previously
admitted to the organization that he had abused another
child. A judge ruled that the organization was liable for the
abuse because it failed to take “safeguarding steps” after
Stewart admitted abusing another child. This is the first civil
case in the UK of historical sexual abuse brought against the
Jehovah’s Witnesses. The organization will appeal. (BBC News,
6/19/15)
Guatemalan schools request publications from Jehovah’s
Witnesses
In Guatemala City, three schools have requested publications
from Jehovah’s Witnesses in an effort to curb youth crime in
the country. Jehovah’s Witnesses are one of the few publishers
of content in Quiché, an American Indian language spoken
in the western highlands of the country. Also, an official
document from the Official Rural Coeducational Elementary
School in Paraje Xepec stated that the publications were
requested “to rescue the values and moral principles that are
much needed in society.” The publications requested were My
Book of Bible Stories in Quiché and Volume 1 and 2 of Questions
Young People Ask—Answers That Work in Spanish. The school
has also added the video The Prodigal Returns to the school
curriculum. (Digital Journal, 5/10/15)
Russian court denounces Jehovah’s Witnesses as
“extremist”
In southern Russia, a court has publicly declared a local
organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses as “extremist” and
ordered it to stop meeting. The group’s building and
surrounding land will be confiscated by the local government
in the town of Abinsk, Krasnodar region, the court ruled. The
group had been distributing publications titled “Humanity in
Search of God” and “What Does the Bible Really Teach?,” which
were included in the federal list of extremist materials and are
banned for distribution in the country, the news report said.
The group’s founders, Igor Soroka and Albert Belikov, were
already fined for distributing banned literature in 2010 and
2012. The group’s lawyers have called the court’s decision
ungrounded and unconstitutional, and they plan to file an
appeal with Russia’s Supreme Court. (The Moscow Times.
4/4/15)
Former Jehovah’s Witness accuses church of hiding child
abusers from congregations
Candace Conti, now 28, alleges that she was sexually abused
at the age of 9 by Jonathan Kendrick, a popular member of
her small Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation in Fremont,
California. For many years, Conti was afraid to tell anyone of
the abuse out of fear. Years later, after she grew up and left
the church, she found out that Kendrick was on a sex-offender
registry for molesting his own granddaughter. After seeing
Kendrick’s name on the registry, Conti hired an attorney, Rick
Simmons. When they began to gather evidence from the local
church leaders in California, they made a shocking discovery.
Simmons and Conti learned that Kendrick had abused his
own stepdaughter. Furthermore, the elders of the church
knew about this and never said anything. The elders of the
congregation said nothing about Kendrick’s abuse because
they were following the strict guidelines of the church leaders
at the Jehovah’s Witnesses headquarters in New York City,
known as the Watchtower.
Conti and her attorney took the case to court. The attorneys
for the Jehovah’s Witnesses argued that it is not the church’s
responsibility to protect children from abuse by other
members. Also, they claimed that Conti was never abused on
the church’s property. Ultimately the jury sided with Conti,
and in 2012 she was awarded $15 million. Conti has moved on
with her life and is now engaged and graduated from college.
During Conti’s trial, Kendrick was absent and denied any
requests for an interview. He says he never touched Candace
Conti. He is still a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, although he
was removed from leadership.
After Conti’s case was brought to light, other cases around
the country involving Jehovah’s Witnesses started arising.
Once all these cases were public and members and church
leaders were found guilty of sexual abuse, several churches
made changes to their policy concerning child abuse. Conti,
however, says it’s still not enough. (ABC News, 3/12/15)
In childhood sexual-abuse case, California Appellate
Court finds church has no duty to prevent members from
harming each other
In Conti v. Watchtower Bible &Tract Society of New York, Inc.
(filed 4/13/15, A136631), the California Court of Appeal, First
District, reversed an award of $8 million in punitive damages,
on the ground that a Jehovah’s Witnesses’ congregation
