Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse to assist justice in child abuse case

The Jehovah's Witnesses have refused to cooperate with the Public Prosecution Service in a lawsuit against a suspect of child abuse. The suspect is a Jehovah Witness. The Public Prosecution Service demanded a document containing a confession from the perpetrator, but the organization does not want to provide that document, the Public Prosecution Service confirmed after reporting from RTL Nieuws.

31-year-old Samet G. was convicted last week of abusing his niece who was ten years younger. The abuse largely occurred during the period when both were minors. The court therefore pronounced two judgments. The victim's mother filed a report on behalf of her daughter in 2015.

The court imposed a suspended prison sentence of 6 months plus 3 months of conditional juvenile detention. The sentence is lower than usual in these types of cases, because the case has dragged on for so long. The perpetrator was also given a community service order of 240 hours and must pay compensation of more than 10,000 euros. G. appealed against the ruling.

G. admitted to the court that he groped his niece several times. In 2011 he was deactivated by the Jehovah's Witnesses. The court considers that the sexual penetration of the victim's body when she was younger than 12 years old, and between the ages of 12 and 16, has been proven.

Legal privilege

G. is also said to have made a confession internally, but the organization does not want to share it with the judiciary. Jehovah's Witnesses also invoke the right of non-disclosure.

In February it emerged that the organization had withheld reports of allegations of child sexual abuse for years. Perpetrators are tried internally by the society and are not reported to the police. The reports of internal 'legal cases' are not shared with the judiciary.

At the end of 2017, a hotline was opened for victims of abuse within the Jehovah's Witnesses. Dozens of reports were received in the first month, and by last month this had risen to several hundred. Because the organization refuses to cooperate in investigations into sexual abuse within the religious community, the House of Representatives last month called for an independent investigation.