Jehovah’s Witnesses criticised for paedophilia cover-up

Charity that allowed sex abuser to question accusers face-to-face ‘badly let down’ children

A JEHOVAH’S Witness group has been criticised by the Charity Commission for covering up allegations of paedophilia against one of its former leaders.

Trustees of Manchester New Moston Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses “did not report the allegation of child sexual abuse to police or to other authorities”, said the charities watchdog report. “Nor did it report the matter as a serious incident to the commission.”

The charity “badly let down” victims of child abuse in its handling of allegations against Jonathan Rose, a former trustee subsequently convicted of indecent assault against a member of the congregation. After Rose was released from custody in 2014, the elders of the congregation brought his accusers face-to-face with him. The accusers were then cross-examined by Rose and seven elders. The inquiry was told that one alleged victim was asked by the panel, “Did you ever egg him on? Goad him on?” while Rose asked her: “What was I supposed to have done to you that night?” and pushed her to go into detail about what happened.

Rose was arrested in 1994 after a “child beneficiary” of the charity made allegations about sexual abuse to church elders, and later the police. He stood trial but was acquitted. The Charity Commission found that trustees had dismissed this incident as “a matter between two teenagers” – Rose was 19 at the time and his accuser was 15 – rather than “child abuse”. As such they had “failed to demonstrate a sufficient understanding of child sex abuse”, the report found.

Rose was arrested again in 2012 and appeared in court charged with sexual offences. He was convicted in 2013 of indecent assault and sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment. The commission found the charity did not deal adequately with allegations of child sexual abuse in 2012 and 2013 against Rose. The report made findings of misconduct and mismanagement against the charity’s trustees.

Harvey Grenville, the commission’s head of investigations and enforcement, said, “The victims were badly let down by the charity” but it has “improved its procedures around the handling of child safeguarding concerns and its internal disciplinary process”.

He said that the charity has now changed its policies to ensure that “victims of child sexual abuse are not required to make their allegations in the presence of the alleged abuser”.

A spokesman for the Jehovah’s Witnesses said: “Jehovah’s Witnesses abhor child abuse in all of its forms and do not shield wrongdoers from the authorities or from the consequences of their actions. All allegations of abuse are thoroughly investigated and appropriate restrictions are imposed on any person guilty of child sexual abuse. The trustees will continue to concentrate on doing all they can to safeguard children.”