Jehovah’s Witnesses ‘did not report’ abuse of brothers

TWO brothers who were abused by the same man have criticised the Jehovah’s Witnesses for failing to report allegations to police after it was informed.

Andrew and Luke Hollis, who were both abused as children, have waived their right to anonymity to criticise a leader in their former congregation for “brushing it under the carpet”.

The men told The Daily Telegraph that when they informed a senior member of the religious organisation, their allegations were not passed to the police. Some years later, their abuser handed himself in and was convicted. But on his release, Andrew Hollis said he learnt the man had apparently been re-admitted to another congregation, which he felt could have led to other children being put at risk.

The brothers are the latest victims to have called for the Jehovah’s Witnesses to strengthen its safeguarding measures relating to child abuse.

The Telegraph’s investigations team has been examining the religious group’s response to abuse allegations in the podcast Call Bethel.

The Christian Congregation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses did not respond to questions about how the Hollis brothers’ case was handled, but has previously said its current child protection policies instruct leaders to “make a report to the police wherever it appears that a child is in danger of abuse” even if not required by law.

Earlier this month, The Telegraph disclosed that the group had amassed a database of child sexual abuse allegations against its members. The Jehovah’s Witnesses said details of its record keeping have been in the “public domain… for some time”.

It highlighted evidence given by a senior member to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which explained that information on accusations was kept at congregations and at a central office.

But questions remain about what the organisation has done with the data it collected and how it has responded to some police investigations.

Luke Hollis, 32, and Andrew Hollis, 33, told The Telegraph they had been abused by a man they regarded as a spiritual leader in their congregation.

When they were both young adults, they told a senior leader within the congregation about the abuse, but the police were not informed.

Several years later, the man who had abused them walked into a police station and confessed to child abuse. In 2013, he was jailed for six years and eight months.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses have previously told The Telegraph that their “branch office keeps a brief notation of a congregant who is known to have committed child sexual abuse” and that information is “checked” if they are considering promoting an individual within its ranks.

They said the information was also used to ensure “restrictions are in place for the protection of children”.