A Pennsylvania grand jury investigating child sexual abuse in the Jehovah's Witnesses community has charged another five people with raping or molesting children as young as 4.
The Pennsylvania attorney general said that the men had groomed or gained access to the children through the church.Pennsylvania's attorney general was in Philadelphia on Friday to announce charges against five men accused of sexually assaulting children for years.
One person said that she was raped 50 or more times between the ages of 7 and 12 by a church member who was 18 when the assaults began. Others involved charges of inappropriate touching. Mark Haugh of York Haven, Pa., a former elder who left the church in 2016 and now advocates for survivors of abuse in the church, applauded investigators.
Church spokesman Jarrod Lopes has challenged the criticisms, saying that elders comply with reporting requirements and that members are also free to report sexual assault to authorities. He has also said the second-witness rule applies only to internal church discipline. Lopes did not immediately return a message seeking comment Friday.
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