A case highlights the struggle of courts to interpret a convoluted web of clergy reporting laws that stretches across U.S.
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Posted inHidden Abuse Under the Watchtower, Religion
Another judge criticizes Jehovah’s Witnesses’ court tactics
A panel of judges in Philadelphia has ruled that Jehovah’s Witnesses used an “abusive tactic” to delay a trial in which a woman accused the religion’s leaders of covering up her abuse as a child.
Posted inHidden Abuse Under the Watchtower, Religion
In England, more accusations that Jehovah’s Witnesses hid sex abuse
Claims that Jehovah’s Witnesses hide child sexual abuse from secular authorities have surfaced again in England. The Daily Mail reported last week that Ian Pheasey, a 54-year-old Jehovah’s Witness, was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for choking young girls for sexual gratification in the 1990s. Prosecutor Nicholas Taplow said that Pheasey’s victims were told to […]
Posted inHidden Abuse Under the Watchtower, Inside the Newsroom
Reveal mixtape: The best of 2015
Need something to listen to during this holiday season? Now’s the perfect time to check out our show, “Reveal,” public radio’s new investigative reporting show and podcast.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Hidden Abuse Under the Watchtower, Religion
Jehovah’s Witnesses leaders say they don’t protect sexual abusers
In the face of evidence that the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization in Australia failed to report more than 1,000 allegations of child sexual abuse, the religion’s leaders say they’re doing a great job of protecting children. The response comes from a 141-page document filed by the Witnesses to an Australian government commission investigating rampant child sexual […]
Posted inHidden Abuse Under the Watchtower, Inside the Newsroom, Left for Dead, Oil and Mining, Opiates, Rape on the Night Shift, Religion, Returning Home to Battle
Curl up with Reveal’s top #longreads from 2015
Check out five pieces of our best long-form writing from 2015, as selected by Reveal’s staff.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Hidden Abuse Under the Watchtower, Religion
How Jehovah’s Witness leaders are responding to child abuse scrutiny
A Portuguese news documentary released in October was yet another report from across the globe to detail the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ policy of not reporting child abusers to law enforcement. As in other media reports, top officials refused to speak to the journalists who produced it.
Posted inImpact, Inside the Newsroom
How investigative reporting can lead to positive change
This past year has been an important – and wild – one for us at Reveal and The Center for Investigative Reporting. Here’s a rundown of some of the dust we’ve kicked up, the changes we’ve spurred and the conversations we’ve started in 2015.
Posted inHidden Abuse Under the Watchtower, Religion, Religion and Government
Jehovah’s Witnesses shield child sex abusers from police, report says
Jehovah’s Witnesses policies allow child sexual abusers to operate within their congregations without fear that they will be reported to police, according to a new report published by the Australian government.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Hidden Abuse Under the Watchtower, Religion
Jehovah’s Witnesses can hide the truth in court to protect religion
Under the “theocratic warfare” doctrine, Jehovah’s Witnesses are allowed to hide the truth from anyone outside of the religion – including in legal matters such as child sexual abuse cases – if doing so protects the organization.