Since 2019, Pennsylvania’s Attorney General’s Office has been investigating the organization’s handling of child sex abuse cases. On Friday, the office charged five Witnesses with sexually assaulting minors.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry speaks during a news conference, Friday, July 7, 2023, in Philadelphia. 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 latest developments in an ongoing probe that has identified 14 suspects. When Sarah Brooks was 15, living with her family in York in 2003, two adults in her life began sexually assaulting her.
Other elders who investigated Brooks’ claims wrote in a public notice to the Yorkana Congregation Kingdom Hall that she had been “reproved,” which, in the Witnesses’ parlance, meant that she’d done something wrong and repented.She did, however, report her abuse to authorities, triggering an emergency meeting of Witness elders in 2013, when they learned that the York County District Attorney’s Office had launched an investigation, and would seek records about Brooks’ abuse.
Some of the organization’s internal records show that Witness leaders have for decades instructed elders to instead report abuse allegations to the organization’s legal department — and to resist cooperating with search warrants from police. Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry speaks during a news conference, Friday, July 7, 2023, in Philadelphia. 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 latest developments in an ongoing probe that has identified 14 suspects.
Joshua Caldwell, a 25-year-old family friend, and Jennifer McVey, Brooks’ then-sister-in-law, began plying Brooks with alcohol, according the lawsuit, and then progressed, a year later, to allegedly sexually assaulting her, sometimes in a pickup truck, other times in abandoned homes that Caldwell worked to winterize.
In 2013, Brooks obtained a small measure of justice. The York County DA’s Office arrested Caldwell and McVey, and each pleaded guilty to corruption of a minor. Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry speaks during a news conference, Friday, July 7, 2023, in Philadelphia. 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 latest developments in an ongoing probe that has identified 14 suspects. Publicly, Witness officials often emphasize that they abhor child sex abuse and seek to protect children.
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Pa. authorities charge 5 more in probe of child sexual abuse among Jehovah's WitnessesA 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 latest developments in an ongoing probe that has identified 14 suspects.
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Authorities charge 5 more in probe of child sexual abuse among Jehovah's Witnesses in PennsylvaniaA Pennsylvania grand jury investigating child sexual abuse among Jehovah’s Witnesses has charged another five people with raping or molesting children as young as 4.
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Pa. attorney general charges five Jehovah’s Witnesses with rape, sexual abuse of childrenFive more Jehovah's Witnesses were charged with sexually abusing children, Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry announced Friday.
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Authorities charge 5 more in probe of child sexual abuse among Jehovah's Witnesses in PennsylvaniaA Pennsylvania grand jury investigating child sexual abuse in the Jehovah’s Witnesses community has charged five more people with raping or molesting children as young as 4, the latest developments in an ongoing probe that has identified 14 suspects. Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry, at a Friday news conference, said that while the misconduct dates back years or even decades, “the trauma endures for these victims.” Henry did not address the church’s handling of complaints, but said the investigation would continue.
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Authorities charge 5 more in probe of child sexual abuse among Jehovah's Witnesses in PennsylvaniaA Pennsylvania grand jury investigating child sexual abuse in the Jehovah’s Witnesses community has charged five more people with raping or molesting children as young as 4, the latest developments in an ongoing probe that has identified 14 suspects.
Read more »
5 more charged in probe of child sex abuse among Jehovah's Witnesses in PennsylvaniaA 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.
Read more »