Pennsylvania opens grand jury investigation into Jehovah’s Witnesses’ cover-up of child sex abuse
For decades, leaders of the Jehovah’s Witnesses religion have kept allegations of child sexual abuse in their congregations secret from police as a matter of policy. They have maintained an internal database containing the names of alleged abusers in their U.S. congregations, but repeatedly have violated court orders to hand it over.
Still, they have avoided reckoning with law enforcement agencies – until now.
The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office has opened a grand jury investigation into how Jehovah’s Witnesses leaders handle allegations of child sexual abuse, according to three people who have been called to testify in closed-door hearings.
Mark O’Donnell, a former Jehovah’s Witness, told Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting that Pennsylvania investigators visited his home in Baltimore in June and interviewed him for three hours.
O’Donnell, 52, was a Jehovah’s Witness for 30 years. He left in 2014 after learning about child abuse cases, locally and elsewhere, that were covered up by the organization. Since then, he has become a vocal critic of the Watchtower, the religion’s parent organization, traveling around the country to observe civil court cases against the organization and publishing stories online. As a result, O’Donnell has become a popular recipient of leaked information from inside the Watchtower and local congregations, much of it pertaining to child abuse.
“They asked a lot of questions about my upbringing and documents I’d received,” O’Donnell said.
The investigators’ sights were aimed across state lines to New York, he said, the home of the religion’s world headquarters.
“They made it clear that they wanted to go to the top of the organization,” O’Donnell said. “That even if an organization is headquartered in another state or country, they were not going to let it be a barrier to their investigation.”
The investigators asked him to testify in front of the grand jury, which he did for several hours in August and December. “They wanted to understand how the child abuse policies operate,” he said, “how the governing body operates.”
The Governing Body of the Jehovah’s Witnesses – eight men, who, followers believe, are the earthly channel for the voice of God – are the spiritual leaders of the religion, like the pope is to the Catholic Church.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office declined to comment on the investigation or confirm whether one was underway. The prosecutors have the power to pursue criminal charges. Or they simply could release the findings of their inquiry publicly, as this same team of investigators did in 2018 for their bombshell investigation into systemic sexual abuse issues in six of Pennsylvania’s eight Catholic dioceses.
That report renewed focus on the Catholic Church’s practices, revealing that 301 priests had been accused of sexually abusing more than 1,000 kids across the six dioceses and were protected from exposure by church leaders. Since the findings were released, the U.S. Department of Justice has served subpoenas on seven Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania, and attorneys general in more than a dozen other states have op...
Winter Appeal 2023
To our friends,
2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’
At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.
To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.
Right now, survivors worldwide are getting the help they need from SNAP, and more and more reach out to us daily, but we need your help to keep those programs going and get our volunteers the training they need to thrive.
Your tax-deductible gift to SNAP can help offset the cost of our important mission. If you are not in a position to contribute, you can still support us by sharing this letter with those who can. As we continue to fight for survivors across the globe, your donation or sharing the great work SNAP does will help us continue our work to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, and prevent abuse.
Your donation ensures SNAP will be there for those who need us more than ever!
Warmly,
Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.
Interim Executive Director