
Jehovah’s Witness abuse files remain secret after court settlements
The cases marked the first time it had allowed its mother lode of child sexual abuse files into the hands of anyone outside the organization.
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DonateTrey Bundy is a reporter for Reveal, covering youth. After beginning his career at the San Francisco Chronicle, he joined The Bay Citizen, where he covered child welfare, juvenile justice, education and crime. His work also has appeared in The New York Times, SF Weekly, The Huffington Post, the PBS NewsHour, Planet magazine and other news outlets. He has won three awards from the Society of Professional Journalists. In 2009, he won the national Hearst Journalism Award for article of the year. Bundy has a bachelor's degree in journalism from San Francisco State University. He is based in Reveal's Emeryville, California, office.
The cases marked the first time it had allowed its mother lode of child sexual abuse files into the hands of anyone outside the organization.
The documents detail the accusations of two sisters who say they were sexually assaulted by their father when they were growing up.
Appeals court judges called the organization a “recalcitrant litigant who refuses to follow valid orders and merely reiterates losing arguments.”
Even though Jehovah’s Witnesses are under pressure worldwide for covering up child sexual abuse, a senior official says the policy will never change.
An ongoing investigation by Reveal found that the religion instructs local leaders to hide child abuse from law enforcement.
As part of a three-year investigation into the Jehovah’s Witnesses child sexual abuse policies, Reveal contacted the FBI, attorneys general in New York and California, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office and several members of Congress, and found no indication of a government investigation.
We facilitated a day of candid discussions about ways to address the Jehovah’s Witnesses child abuse crisis with sources from across the globe.
The settlement came five days into a trial in which a former Witness claimed the religion’s parent corporation violated Pennsylvania’s child abuse reporting laws by instructing elders not to report her allegations to police.
On this episode of Reveal, we track down people who know the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ secrets and expose stories behind a religion with 8 million follower
The leadership of the Jehovah’s Witnesses has boldly defied court orders to turn over the names and whereabouts of alleged child sexual abusers across the United States.
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