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Jehovah's Witness church covered up child sex abuse, survivors say
Richard Windmann, Ph.D.
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October 18, 2022
They were in the Bible study room when Deryk Terril, a shy 11-year-old with shaggy hair in 1976, found the courage to finally say something: An elder at a Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation in Spokane had been molesting him for years, Terril, now 57, recounts in a lawsuit filed in August.
Washington's mandatory-reporter law, which has exempted clergy members since 1975, enabled the crimes for decades.
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I forgot to mention that something that has been added to the policy for Jehovah’s Witnesses is that at least when guilt is established. The elders inform parents and guardians of minors in the congregation of the need to monitor their children’s interactions with the perpetrator. Also, they don’t always require two witnesses to prevent someone from having a responsible position it depends on the circumstances. For example back in the 80’s my former stepfather couldn’t have a position or any special privilages even when the girls didn’t want to talk to the elders because Child Services substantiated the sexual abuse. This is just one example.
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I have empathy for the victims in this case as I am a child sexual abuse survivor, and I recently joined this site for support. So, I don’t want to sound unsympathetic when I say that I am still one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and always will be. My abuser is also one of Jehovah’s Witnesses although he rarely attends. He was more active in the past. He denied the abuse although being questioned by elders multiple times. I do know that according to how the policy works a second victim coming forward does count as a second witness and I know cases where it’s worked like that. So, I’m sorry if nothing was done after multiple victims in this case. In the past the elders were not required to report abuse unless they were mandatory reporters. But they were not prohibited from doing so and I know of cases even in a case involving an elder abuser where the elders called the police without a reporting law, however this was not required. Now, one of the improvements to the policy is that the elders also have to report child abuse if a child is still in danger. Again, they can always choose to report it always. Also, any congregant especially victims have the right to report it. I did not tell elders about my sexual abuse until I was 27 in 2014 and I told them that the statute of limitations had not run out yet in the state that it happened. They said that if I wanted to call the police that they would support me. However the sexual assault division, didn’t even question the perpetrator or follow up with me. I found out last year that this was because I did not give them information that would have led to an arrest. And now the statute of limitations has run out. In 2023 I talked to different elders and wrote a letter talking about incidents I had not previously told them about. These elders strongly suggested that I go to the police not knowing I already had. They said that the authorities can often do more than what the elders can do. They seemed shocked when I told them that the statute of limitations had run out. Anyway, my former step-father had abused his stepdaughters in his first marriage. But it’s my understanding that the situation was already dealt with by the elders back then and he was disciplined so they have to start over with me. I know that the two witness requirement can make things hard but I will say that’s not the intention. It is due to verses in both the Old and New Testaments that prohibit taking action against a person for any crime or offence if there is only one witness and stipulates that there must be at least two. So, this is why Jehovah’s Witnesses sincerely believe that we have to do it that way. But reporting to the authorities even with one witness and pressing legal charges is okay. Again, I care very much for victims.
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Jehovah's Witness church covered up child sex abuse, survivors say
Jehovah's Witness church covered up child sex abuse, survivors say
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