1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:17,120 A religion with a secret list of alleged child predators, A&E investigates the... 2 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:19,820 Witnesses. 3 00:00:19,820 --> 00:00:23,420 Every single time I drive by this building, it makes me sad. 4 00:00:23,420 --> 00:00:26,560 I was sexually abused by somebody in the organization. 5 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:29,640 And no one would help me. 6 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:32,320 It's just so horrific that it's hard to wrap your head around. 7 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:37,399 They had been putting known molesters in positions for six decades. 8 00:00:37,399 --> 00:00:39,659 I was shocked into silence. 9 00:00:39,659 --> 00:00:40,960 And I have gone long enough. 10 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:45,859 They spent thousands and thousands and thousands of hours knocking on strangers'... 11 00:00:45,859 --> 00:00:46,859 them in. 12 00:00:46,859 --> 00:00:49,240 But they won't come to this gate and talk to me. 13 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:52,000 Would one of them be willing to talk to me if I wait? 14 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,880 What would you say to people watching this right now? 15 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:58,719 I just want people to know this really is going on in here. 16 00:01:24,879 --> 00:01:30,039 And tonight at City News Exclusive, this is a $66 million class action lawsuit that's 17 00:01:30,039 --> 00:01:35,399 been filed against a religious organization best known for its door-to-door... 18 00:01:35,399 --> 00:01:40,399 The Jehovah's Witnesses accused of having rules and policies that protect child sex 19 00:01:40,399 --> 00:01:49,759 abusers and put children in harm's way. 20 00:01:49,759 --> 00:01:54,439 Do you consider Jehovah's Witnesses a cult? 21 00:01:54,439 --> 00:02:09,120 These are just some things I found, you know, digging and had no idea. 22 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:11,800 I thought I'd thrown everything away. 23 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:13,919 This is me at a Jehovah's Witness convention. 24 00:02:13,919 --> 00:02:14,919 Wow. 25 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:18,120 Look how cute you are. 26 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:25,080 This is me looking in the mirror at my grandma Betty's house in their bathroom. 27 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:29,719 And I have no idea what I was thinking, but I certainly wasn't smiling. 28 00:02:29,719 --> 00:02:39,800 I'm going to go meet Barbara Anderson, who is a big critic on the organization of Jehovah's 29 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:40,800 Witnesses. 30 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:45,200 I'm leaving in just a couple of days, and I'm going to get to go spend some time with 31 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:46,200 her. 32 00:02:46,679 --> 00:02:49,560 I used to be high up in the church in a position of trust. 33 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:55,199 What I'm hoping to get out of speaking with Barb is putting the pieces together with 34 00:02:55,199 --> 00:03:01,159 what she's done and what she's found and the facts that she's found. 35 00:03:01,159 --> 00:03:06,639 Growing up as a Jehovah's Witness, I was born into it and didn't have a say whether I... 36 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:08,120 to be in it or not. 37 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:14,359 I'm fourth generation, so it was me, my mom, her mom, and her mom. 38 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:19,920 I followed along because my mother was so passionate in it, and she was so special 39 00:03:19,920 --> 00:03:21,280 to me, you know? 40 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:27,680 And I stayed as a child not knowing, because you're a child, feeling that something wasn't 41 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:30,480 right. 42 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:31,480 This is interesting. 43 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:35,480 I mean, basically here it talks about the moral principles we follow and why. 44 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:38,480 Oh, here's about the national anthem and the school songs. 45 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:42,800 Well, you can't stand and salute the flag as a Jehovah's Witness. 46 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:46,600 You have to sit, and then people, you know, you feel like an oddball. 47 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:49,600 In the Jehovah's Witness religion, they have a lot of rules. 48 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:51,560 We're not allowed to pledge allegiance to the flag. 49 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:56,240 We're not allowed to be in a classroom when they're having a birthday party or a... 50 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:58,160 party or a Christmas party. 51 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:06,240 So you go to school and you're like, they set you up to just be a complete outcast. 52 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:12,640 Anything that's part of this world is evil and bad and dangerous to them. 53 00:04:12,639 --> 00:04:15,919 They're not part of our world. 54 00:04:15,919 --> 00:04:19,199 They believe that our world is evil and ruled by Satan. 55 00:04:31,199 --> 00:04:37,079 Converts to the ranks of Jehovah's Witnesses, 7,136 arrive at New York's Orchard Beach 56 00:04:37,079 --> 00:04:40,120 for the greatest mass baptism of modern times. 57 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:43,199 The sect claims to be the fastest growing religious group of our day. 58 00:04:43,199 --> 00:04:47,800 You know, a lot of people, all they know really about Jehovah's Witnesses are the n... 59 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:51,240 who knock on the door, proselytizing. 60 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:56,240 The occasional celebrity, Prince or Michael Jackson, and that's it. 61 00:04:56,240 --> 00:05:03,000 I mean, with 8.3 million members, how is this different from another religious sect 62 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:04,959 of some kind? 63 00:05:04,959 --> 00:05:09,000 Because of the level of control and influence, there's a great deal of peer... 64 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:13,879 If someone leaves their shun to the degree where they can't see their family, have any 65 00:05:13,879 --> 00:05:16,959 contact, can't even go to like funerals or weddings. 66 00:05:16,959 --> 00:05:23,480 It has all the characteristics that can be identified as a cultic structure and cultic 67 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:24,480 behavior. 68 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:29,600 And especially the authoritarian leadership, it's not quite the same as having one... 69 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:30,600 leader. 70 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:33,279 Right, you said that most cults have a single charismatic leader. 71 00:05:33,279 --> 00:05:34,279 That's not true here. 72 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:36,279 Well, it began that way. 73 00:05:36,959 --> 00:05:40,959 But then the leadership became the governing body. 74 00:05:49,159 --> 00:05:55,199 The people on the governing body are said to be spiritually appointed and are imparting 75 00:05:55,199 --> 00:06:00,879 the words of Jehovah so that everything that comes down from them is supposed to be... 76 00:06:00,879 --> 00:06:04,279 conveying the words from Jehovah. 77 00:06:04,279 --> 00:06:07,279 They have what we might call charisma by proxy. 78 00:06:07,279 --> 00:06:10,399 So they're the authoritarian leaders that cannot be questioned. 79 00:06:10,399 --> 00:06:16,799 The people in the governing body write to the Watchtower newsletter or the Awake magazine. 80 00:06:16,799 --> 00:06:22,279 The Watchtower newsletter is then sent out to every congregation for them to study. 81 00:06:29,559 --> 00:06:30,559 Old watchtowers. 82 00:06:30,559 --> 00:06:32,879 I haven't seen those in a while. 83 00:06:32,879 --> 00:06:34,360 What does God require of us? 84 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:35,360 It's a little demanding. 85 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:39,439 As a Jehovah's Witness, going door to door was a big part of our lives. 86 00:06:39,439 --> 00:06:43,639 It was always scary to go door to door because you're knocking on complete... 87 00:06:43,639 --> 00:06:48,480 They don't know you, you know, and a lot of times it wasn't ever real positive. 88 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:52,600 We were actually chased off of properties before with guns. 89 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:53,639 We've been chased off. 90 00:06:53,639 --> 00:06:55,839 That's happened to me a couple times. 91 00:06:55,839 --> 00:06:58,959 Everything was wrapped around the religion keeping us busy. 92 00:06:58,959 --> 00:07:03,599 I'd go to the Kingdom Hall three times a week because there was three meetings. 93 00:07:03,599 --> 00:07:06,319 Jehovah's Witnesses don't consider themselves a church. 94 00:07:06,319 --> 00:07:10,919 They want to distinguish themselves from churches, which is why they call their... 95 00:07:10,919 --> 00:07:12,199 Halls. 96 00:07:12,199 --> 00:07:17,799 So they had you so wrapped up in going to all the meetings and keeping our minds thinking 97 00:07:17,799 --> 00:07:20,679 what they wanted us to think. 98 00:07:20,679 --> 00:07:25,679 I feel like as a Jehovah's Witness, as a little girl, I feel like my whole childhoo... 99 00:07:25,679 --> 00:07:28,000 You have to follow all the rules. 100 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:30,360 You have to follow everything they say. 101 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:31,800 And there's a lot of them. 102 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:39,360 If you don't do what you're supposed to do, when Armageddon comes, you're going. 103 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:44,439 When he executes judgment over the world at Armageddon, he will destroy all but the... 104 00:07:44,439 --> 00:07:54,560 Jehovah's Witnesses. 105 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:59,120 They really drill in your head that if you're not a part of that organization and you're 106 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:04,680 not baptized in it, that you will not survive Armageddon. 107 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:06,560 It's a very scary message. 108 00:08:06,560 --> 00:08:11,720 As a child, I was told people would be up to their neck in urine from being so afraid 109 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:18,480 when Armageddon hits and watching the birds come around and eat the dead flesh around 110 00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:19,480 us. 111 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:23,600 You kind of get wrapped into it and you don't really know how to get out because that's 112 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:24,640 what you know. 113 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:26,360 I just remember being afraid. 114 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:29,400 It was very scary. 115 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:32,360 If it would rain real hard or anything as a child, I remember. 116 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:33,360 It's Armageddon. 117 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:36,279 Yeah, it's coming because it was always told, you better watch out. 118 00:08:36,279 --> 00:08:38,540 It's going to be here like a thief in the night. 119 00:08:38,540 --> 00:08:40,360 It's going to get you when you least expect it. 120 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:41,980 So you better come to the Kingdom Hall. 121 00:08:41,980 --> 00:08:43,279 You better go to the conventions. 122 00:08:43,279 --> 00:08:46,560 You better do all this because I'm telling you, when that Armageddon comes and you're 123 00:08:46,560 --> 00:08:50,720 not doing the right things, you're going to be one of those getting eaten by the birds. 124 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:56,800 It wasn't just the fear and isolation that haunted my childhood. 125 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:00,360 I was sexually abused. 126 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:03,840 I was sexually abused by a member. 127 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:10,800 When the abuse started, I was approximately four and a lot of the abuse happened in his 128 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:15,200 home and it wouldn't matter the time of day. 129 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:22,800 I was abused sexually in the bedroom and when I was in the bathtub, out in his shop, 130 00:09:22,800 --> 00:09:31,240 in every room. 131 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:35,080 I remember going to the Kingdom Hall and him actually being in the Kingdom Hall and 132 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:38,759 him making me sit on his lap in the Kingdom Hall. 133 00:09:38,759 --> 00:09:43,400 And it was like everybody knew. 134 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:49,720 I remember some of the things he was doing to me when I was on top of him face to face 135 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:55,879 and I remember it being very scary. 136 00:09:55,879 --> 00:09:59,039 I remember parts of it that even kind of felt good. 137 00:09:59,039 --> 00:10:06,120 It was a really weird feeling. 138 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:15,919 He just kind of used me as a tool to get off, I guess, on so many different levels, 139 00:10:15,919 --> 00:10:18,919 so many different times. 140 00:10:18,919 --> 00:10:29,600 It just felt so bad. 141 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:33,000 I just remember the fear of him. 142 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:44,799 Because he was so big and I was so little. 143 00:10:44,799 --> 00:10:46,360 And how long did the abuse continue? 144 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:47,360 How many years? 145 00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:48,360 About nine. 146 00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:49,360 Nine years. 147 00:10:49,360 --> 00:10:51,679 Was it the same abuser all that time? 148 00:10:51,679 --> 00:10:52,679 Yes. 149 00:10:52,679 --> 00:10:56,000 And did he ever threaten you, if you told? 150 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:57,720 Yes. 151 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:02,559 I remember really, really little, just some of the scare tactics that he would do to me, 152 00:11:02,559 --> 00:11:08,359 just to kind of mess with my head and make me feel like if I told, he would kill me. 153 00:11:08,359 --> 00:11:13,079 And one of the things was to take me out to the ocean to table bluff. 154 00:11:13,079 --> 00:11:17,079 And I remember being really little, kind of remember what I was wearing, and he would 155 00:11:17,079 --> 00:11:21,079 take me out to those big ocean waves and pretend he was going to throw me in. 156 00:11:21,079 --> 00:11:25,919 I remember him saying things to me, like, if you say anything, I'm going to throw you 157 00:11:25,919 --> 00:11:27,279 in. 158 00:11:27,279 --> 00:11:32,479 There were times where he would actually push me into the ocean. 159 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:35,360 I felt like I was going to drown. 160 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:40,240 And I felt like I was going to be eaten by big sharks, because that was also mentioned. 161 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:42,240 It was just terrifying. 162 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:47,360 And I really thought he was going to kill me. 163 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:17,840 One of the most intimidating devices used by the Watchtower Society is the threat of 164 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:21,920 appearing before a judicial committee of elders. 165 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:27,279 Public censure, even disfellowshipping, can be the sentence of this powerful court. 166 00:12:27,279 --> 00:12:33,559 In the Jehovah's Witness religion, men are the ones put in the leadership of the... 167 00:12:33,559 --> 00:12:35,579 Women are not allowed to take any part. 168 00:12:35,579 --> 00:12:39,039 So anytime you have an issue or you want to come forth with anything, you go into a room 169 00:12:39,039 --> 00:12:41,480 with a group of men, the elders. 170 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:46,039 No women are allowed to have any kind of ranking position. 171 00:12:46,039 --> 00:12:47,500 Women can never be an elder. 172 00:12:47,500 --> 00:12:53,240 And so the whole organization is controlled from the top all the way down to local... 173 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:55,279 by male elders. 174 00:12:55,279 --> 00:12:59,879 They're the ones that do the judicial decisions based on anything that happens t... 175 00:12:59,879 --> 00:13:00,879 you want to talk about. 176 00:13:00,879 --> 00:13:02,879 They take you in a room and they talk to you. 177 00:13:02,879 --> 00:13:06,519 If you have any problem about anything, you go to the elder. 178 00:13:06,519 --> 00:13:08,519 You would never go to an outside council. 179 00:13:08,519 --> 00:13:10,279 You would never go to a therapist. 180 00:13:10,279 --> 00:13:12,159 You would never go to the police. 181 00:13:12,159 --> 00:13:15,039 You would never talk to someone outside the organization. 182 00:13:15,039 --> 00:13:18,480 I thought they were supposed to be a safe place. 183 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:23,519 And what I've learned is, is they're not a safe place to go to. 184 00:13:23,519 --> 00:13:28,279 Does the church always report allegations of child abuse to police? 185 00:13:28,279 --> 00:13:29,279 No. 186 00:13:40,879 --> 00:13:43,639 It was kind of in this vicinity here. 187 00:13:43,639 --> 00:13:48,439 I want to say I was like right in this vicinity here with him. 188 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:53,400 And he would put me in his arms and squeeze me. 189 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:56,800 Like I felt like I was going to bust. 190 00:13:56,800 --> 00:14:00,640 And then he would race me out, like run me out, and pretend he was just going to throw 191 00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:01,640 me in. 192 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:03,480 I just remember being really tiny. 193 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:04,480 It scared me. 194 00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:08,360 It scared the crap out of me. 195 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:16,360 And so now being grown up and looking at it and talking about it and being the adult 196 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:20,680 Romy, knowing that no one can ever do that to me again or hurt me or treat me like that 197 00:14:20,680 --> 00:14:25,399 again, that is the process of what I'm trying to do, is find that freedom on top of someone 198 00:14:25,399 --> 00:14:28,600 who scared me and made me afraid. 199 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:32,440 I was sexually abused for most of my childhood. 200 00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:38,960 I was hurt sexually over 100 times. 201 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:43,759 The way that we're taught is that there's a to witness rule with any wrongdoing. 202 00:14:43,759 --> 00:14:46,840 And that if you've got wrongdoing, someone's done something to you, go to the elders with 203 00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:51,840 two witnesses before they'll believe you or take action. 204 00:15:05,679 --> 00:15:07,960 What is this to witness rule? 205 00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:11,720 I mean, how many crimes are committed in front of a witness? 206 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:12,720 Why do you, you know? 207 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:15,840 Well, it's something that they have taken from the Bible. 208 00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:21,720 I believe it's in Deuteronomy that says there need to be two witnesses for a crime. 209 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:28,680 Unfortunately, it's a misuse and abuse of that statement in the Bible because they're 210 00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:32,519 not talking in the Bible about child abuse. 211 00:15:32,519 --> 00:15:40,919 The scriptures are very clear. 212 00:15:40,919 --> 00:15:48,199 Before a judicial committee can be convened, there has to be a confession or two... 213 00:15:48,199 --> 00:15:55,000 So we will never change our scriptural position on that subject. 214 00:15:55,000 --> 00:16:02,279 One of my cousins came to me and shared with me that she was being sexually hurt too by 215 00:16:02,279 --> 00:16:06,159 the same person that had sexually hurt me. 216 00:16:06,159 --> 00:16:15,240 So her and I together went to an elder that we thought would help us, that we loved and 217 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:16,240 trusted. 218 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:23,839 And we were excited thinking, you know, this is going to end and it's going to be better. 219 00:16:23,839 --> 00:16:25,839 It's going to be okay. 220 00:16:25,839 --> 00:16:30,839 But it wasn't true. 221 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:35,360 I remember walking into the elder's house. 222 00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:38,519 And so we get in and we go into the house and we go into the kitchen and we sit at 223 00:16:38,519 --> 00:16:41,000 the table. 224 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:51,040 And I started and I told him what was happening, that we were being sexually... 225 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:56,800 abused, raped by our abuser. 226 00:16:56,839 --> 00:17:03,839 And he looked at me and took like the stance back at me and called me a liar. 227 00:17:03,839 --> 00:17:07,319 My heart just like dropped out of me. 228 00:17:07,319 --> 00:17:11,000 Like I thought I was in the twilight zone. 229 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:13,919 And he took his fist and he slammed it on the table. 230 00:17:13,919 --> 00:17:14,919 Boom. 231 00:17:14,919 --> 00:17:21,480 And he said, don't you ever speak of that man like that again. 232 00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:24,279 And called me a liar. 233 00:17:24,279 --> 00:17:26,680 And had us both leave. 234 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:30,360 The very first elder that I shared it with called me a liar. 235 00:17:30,360 --> 00:17:33,279 And so I kept trying and I kept trying and I kept trying. 236 00:17:33,279 --> 00:17:36,320 I tried to tell them what was happening to me. 237 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:40,920 And I was told for years that we can't help you. 238 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:45,640 But you're going to these big people thinking they're going to protect you and that they're 239 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:48,640 going to help you and they're going to make it better. 240 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:51,880 And basically they don't they don't do anything. 241 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:57,840 You feel alone, you know, and you don't feel validated. 242 00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:01,080 And you feel like you got to question everything you think and feel because you... 243 00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:04,880 that you believed they told you they would help you and they didn't. 244 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:10,680 It got to the point of being shut down so many times that your words don't matter. 245 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:12,680 They don't mean anything. 246 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:16,880 I'm to the point where it's like I've begged, I've tried, I've cried, I've screamed. 247 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:21,320 I've done everything in my power with so many elders to help me. 248 00:18:21,319 --> 00:18:24,159 And they were all like talking to brick walls. 249 00:18:24,159 --> 00:18:26,159 And I kept wondering why. 250 00:18:26,159 --> 00:18:28,919 Kate, I love you. 251 00:18:28,919 --> 00:18:29,919 I love you too. 252 00:18:29,919 --> 00:18:30,919 It'll be good. 253 00:18:30,919 --> 00:18:39,319 Today I'm going to go meet Barb Anderson, who's a big critic of the Jehovah's Witnesses 254 00:18:39,319 --> 00:18:42,679 organization. 255 00:18:42,679 --> 00:18:48,039 She was high up in the church, so she's seen and heard things that nobody else has. 256 00:18:48,039 --> 00:18:52,839 That gives a hope to me because she knows a lot more than I do, the how comes, the 257 00:18:52,839 --> 00:18:57,359 why's, the laws, the rules that go on in the governing body. 258 00:18:57,359 --> 00:18:59,720 She's in deep with all that. 259 00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:08,440 Hopefully she can help me understand why they would call the little girl the liar. 260 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:14,879 My name is Barbara Anderson, and I was one of Jehovah's Witnesses for 43 years. 261 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:20,200 I was at their world headquarters in Brooklyn, New York for almost 11 years. 262 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:25,880 And I would probably still be there, but for certain events. 263 00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:34,080 In 1982, my husband and I were invited to work at the headquarters that was named... 264 00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:37,800 And to Jehovah's Witnesses, Bethel was Mecca. 265 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:44,640 I was the head researcher in the writing department of the Watchtower and Bible and... 266 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:50,200 Writing the literature of that sort of thing, it was just a very big privilege. 267 00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:57,320 When I realized that the organization was harmful, I decided to do something about it 268 00:19:57,320 --> 00:19:58,320 and speak up. 269 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:07,320 Hello. 270 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:08,320 Hello. 271 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:09,320 You must be Roman. 272 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:10,320 Yes, it's a pleasure. 273 00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:11,320 Nice to meet you. 274 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:12,320 Come on in. 275 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:13,320 Thank you. 276 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:14,320 Barbara. 277 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:16,000 Romy's here. 278 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:19,000 Hey, Romy. 279 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:20,000 Well, hello. 280 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:21,000 Oh, my goodness. 281 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:25,000 Oh, I've been looking forward to this for such a long time. 282 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:27,000 Oh, it's so good to see you. 283 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:28,000 Thank you for having me. 284 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:29,000 Oh, it's our pleasure. 285 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:30,000 Really. 286 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:31,000 Come on in. 287 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:32,000 Thank you so much. 288 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:36,000 Follow me. 289 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:39,000 This is it? 290 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:41,000 This is where I live most of the time. 291 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:45,680 I love history and how it all kind of comes together. 292 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:46,680 Wow. 293 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:47,680 Look at all this. 294 00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:57,680 During the end of 1991, Awake magazine that the Watchtower published put out an article 295 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:04,680 with information for the general public on how to help those who are victims of child 296 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:05,680 abuse. 297 00:21:06,360 --> 00:21:13,360 This was a reaction to people who were very, very unhappy with the Catholic Church. 298 00:21:13,360 --> 00:21:18,360 When you read the article, you'd say, oh, is our organization wonderful? 299 00:21:18,360 --> 00:21:24,360 They aren't going to do what other churches have been doing for years with child... 300 00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:28,360 But after that article appeared, it was the opposite. 301 00:21:28,360 --> 00:21:32,360 The letters were coming in by the thousands. 302 00:21:32,360 --> 00:21:35,360 Most of them were victims of child abuse. 303 00:21:36,039 --> 00:21:38,039 By Jehovah's Witnesses. 304 00:21:38,039 --> 00:21:40,039 And that opened up a Pandora's box. 305 00:21:40,039 --> 00:21:44,039 As a researcher, I was in a position of trust. 306 00:21:44,039 --> 00:21:51,039 So I was able to go into the files that were kept at headquarters and see what was going 307 00:21:51,039 --> 00:21:52,039 on. 308 00:21:52,039 --> 00:21:56,039 I learned that they had many lawsuits over the years. 309 00:21:56,039 --> 00:22:05,039 And that the Watchtower had to pay $12.5 million secretly to 16 victims of child... 310 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:11,720 I have 5,000 pages of documents, court records. 311 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:17,319 When I read the court documents for each case, I found out that the Watchtower, it 312 00:22:17,319 --> 00:22:20,319 didn't take care of the situation. 313 00:22:20,319 --> 00:22:24,319 Perhaps you'd like to read that right there. 314 00:22:24,319 --> 00:22:27,599 At the age of four, her father had sexually abused her. 315 00:22:27,599 --> 00:22:32,879 They told me not to speak about it, and they took my dad aside and told him not to. 316 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:34,880 These two elders knew about it, correct? 317 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:36,880 Yes, because I told them. 318 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:42,640 Do not make statements to secular authorities until you receive legal advice from the... 319 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:45,640 There is a time to keep quiet. 320 00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:49,640 See, so many cases that they hid. 321 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:54,640 He sexually and physically abused me from 1976 to 1985. 322 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:59,040 I was an outcast after my molestation had taken place. 323 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:00,400 I was shunned. 324 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:06,400 The Watchtower defendants did not report the abuse to authorities to warn other members. 325 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:09,280 The witnesses and the elders told us not to speak of it. 326 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:13,960 I would end up in a lot of trouble if I did talk about it. 327 00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:17,960 This showed the deviousness of the Watchtower. 328 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:18,960 They protect pedophiles. 329 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:23,460 They've been settling lawsuits, and that's how they kept this all secret. 330 00:23:23,460 --> 00:23:24,460 This had been going on forever. 331 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:47,040 It is important that the public understands that there is a crisis of silence within 332 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:50,040 the Jehovah's Witness organization. 333 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:56,519 A crisis of cover-up of the abuse, the sexual abuse of children that has been going on 334 00:23:56,519 --> 00:23:59,960 for decades. 335 00:23:59,960 --> 00:24:08,940 This case is now the 15th lawsuit we've been filing around the country to try to get to 336 00:24:08,940 --> 00:24:16,100 expose an organization that is more concerned about protecting its reputation than it is 337 00:24:16,100 --> 00:24:19,579 about protecting its children. 338 00:24:19,579 --> 00:24:23,579 This showed the deviousness of the Watchtower. 339 00:24:23,579 --> 00:24:24,579 They protect pedophiles. 340 00:24:24,579 --> 00:24:29,059 They've been settling lawsuits, and that's how they kept this all secret. 341 00:24:29,059 --> 00:24:30,899 This had been going on forever. 342 00:24:30,899 --> 00:24:35,000 It's all interpretation from the Bible. 343 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:43,419 Jehovah's Witnesses believe that they can settle problems between the members by... 344 00:24:43,419 --> 00:24:44,700 the scriptures. 345 00:24:44,700 --> 00:24:50,379 According to Jehovah's Witnesses' translation, there is a scripture in... 346 00:24:50,379 --> 00:24:55,019 us that we should go to the elders. 347 00:24:55,539 --> 00:24:59,940 What it does is it forces Jehovah's Witnesses to go to the elders and avoid going to the 348 00:24:59,940 --> 00:25:00,940 authorities. 349 00:25:00,940 --> 00:25:09,700 But what is missing here is the original scripture is a call to testify to the... 350 00:25:09,700 --> 00:25:24,340 So here Jehovah's Witnesses are bypassing the authorities and they're going to their 351 00:25:24,340 --> 00:25:31,940 religious leaders to accuse someone else of wrongdoing, and it's tragic. 352 00:25:31,940 --> 00:25:33,539 And so this has to stop. 353 00:25:33,539 --> 00:25:43,740 The Watchtower has to stop using a 3,000 year old text to make people bypass the... 354 00:25:43,740 --> 00:25:47,819 It would put a stop to the horror. 355 00:25:47,819 --> 00:25:50,319 And that's what Romi went through. 356 00:25:50,319 --> 00:25:53,259 It was not reported to the authorities. 357 00:25:53,259 --> 00:26:01,500 This man who molested her molested many other children, and he's still a member, so it's 358 00:26:01,500 --> 00:26:10,460 the first time that the leaders of Jehovah's Witnesses cease and desist trying to support 359 00:26:10,460 --> 00:26:15,859 their way of thinking, which is causing tragedy. 360 00:26:15,859 --> 00:26:19,940 There was one man who was an elder in California. 361 00:26:19,940 --> 00:26:28,779 Over a 30 year period, he was removed five times for molestation, then he was put back. 362 00:26:28,779 --> 00:26:31,339 This is not a sin of like drunkenness. 363 00:26:31,339 --> 00:26:39,059 This is crime, and these criminals are going on to repeat and repeat, and other children 364 00:26:39,059 --> 00:26:41,899 are molested. 365 00:26:41,899 --> 00:26:47,980 I wrote this article right here, and why don't you read that to me. 366 00:26:47,980 --> 00:26:53,220 Jehovah's Witnesses elders are taught that when a molester claims repentance and puts 367 00:26:54,220 --> 00:27:17,660 Godly works, he can then be viewed as a former molester. 368 00:27:17,660 --> 00:27:20,700 Jehovah's Witnesses have a prison ministry. 369 00:27:20,700 --> 00:27:21,779 They go and recruit inmates. 370 00:27:21,779 --> 00:27:28,899 They recruit inmates, and they study with inmates, and too many of those inmates that 371 00:27:28,899 --> 00:27:32,019 became witnesses were molesters. 372 00:27:32,019 --> 00:27:38,940 In the Jehovah's Witnesses prison ministry, in one particular prison, the only people 373 00:27:38,940 --> 00:27:41,859 who studied with Jehovah's Witnesses were molesters. 374 00:27:41,859 --> 00:27:47,460 They were the only ones that were studying, and when they came out of prison, they would 375 00:27:47,620 --> 00:27:53,299 go to the congregation, they would be baptized, and they were free from sin. 376 00:27:53,299 --> 00:27:57,740 So that exposed more children to child abuse. 377 00:27:57,740 --> 00:28:08,940 When I read that, I stopped dead in my tracks, and I said, no more, I'm finished. 378 00:28:08,940 --> 00:28:14,579 They can believe anything they want to, but when they have beliefs that harm others, 379 00:28:14,579 --> 00:28:21,339 that's when all people who love truth and righteousness, that's when they should speak 380 00:28:21,339 --> 00:28:24,939 up. 381 00:28:24,939 --> 00:28:34,419 Wouldn't it be horrible, I say to myself, to be molested and have no control and no 382 00:28:34,419 --> 00:28:39,859 power as a small child, and you actually went through it. 383 00:28:39,859 --> 00:28:42,139 And my heart goes out to you. 384 00:28:42,139 --> 00:28:43,139 Thanks, Barb. 385 00:28:43,139 --> 00:28:44,139 Yes. 386 00:28:44,660 --> 00:28:45,660 It makes me sad. 387 00:28:45,660 --> 00:28:46,660 It should. 388 00:28:46,660 --> 00:28:47,660 It really should. 389 00:28:47,660 --> 00:28:48,660 It breaks my heart. 390 00:28:48,660 --> 00:28:55,140 It makes me understand why I talk to 20 elders, maybe more. 391 00:28:55,140 --> 00:28:56,940 And it was literally like talking to a brick wall. 392 00:28:56,940 --> 00:28:58,940 It's like, can't you hear me? 393 00:28:58,940 --> 00:29:00,780 Can't you hear what I'm saying? 394 00:29:00,780 --> 00:29:01,780 No one would hear me. 395 00:29:01,780 --> 00:29:07,460 No matter what I said, how loud I talked, who I went to, it didn't matter what state, 396 00:29:07,460 --> 00:29:08,460 same result. 397 00:29:08,460 --> 00:29:14,060 So when I'm sitting on this thing, it's like it just takes this huge weight off of my... 398 00:29:14,059 --> 00:29:15,059 It's like I wasn't crazy. 399 00:29:15,059 --> 00:29:18,579 They made me feel like I was crazy, and I'm not crazy. 400 00:29:18,579 --> 00:29:19,579 That's right. 401 00:29:19,579 --> 00:29:20,579 You know? 402 00:29:20,579 --> 00:29:24,779 And I just feel like, I just feel better. 403 00:29:24,779 --> 00:29:25,779 That's validation. 404 00:29:25,779 --> 00:29:27,659 Thank you, Barb. 405 00:29:27,659 --> 00:29:31,379 Oh, you're very welcome. 406 00:29:31,379 --> 00:29:36,179 Listening to Barb talk about the elders, it was like an understanding why it felt that 407 00:29:36,179 --> 00:29:39,220 I was talking to a brick wall, because I truly was. 408 00:29:39,220 --> 00:29:42,759 They were directed to handle me that way. 409 00:29:42,759 --> 00:29:47,279 Even if it means taking my rights away as a little girl. 410 00:29:47,279 --> 00:29:52,440 Those crimes were systematically covered up by Watchtower, and it's despicable. 411 00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:54,519 Very much a pleasure to meet you both. 412 00:29:54,519 --> 00:29:57,799 Her story was so, so similar to everybody else's. 413 00:29:57,799 --> 00:29:59,960 It's always the same. 414 00:29:59,960 --> 00:30:06,079 You know, the power exercised upon a child and their confusion. 415 00:30:06,079 --> 00:30:12,240 She's typical of an abused child and the results of an abused child. 416 00:30:12,240 --> 00:30:15,279 They carry a huge burden. 417 00:30:15,279 --> 00:30:19,279 That's what molestation does. 418 00:30:19,279 --> 00:30:24,400 It burdens a child, and as they grow older, they have carried that burden that they were 419 00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:29,960 to blame for this. 420 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:37,339 We have heard allegations and stories and descriptions of a systematic cover-up. 421 00:30:37,339 --> 00:30:40,039 It is a sin, and we will take care of it here. 422 00:30:40,039 --> 00:30:42,160 We're not going to call 911. 423 00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:45,080 We're not going to call the police and report it. 424 00:30:45,080 --> 00:30:51,560 My attitude is that turning over a molester prevents more molestations. 425 00:30:51,560 --> 00:30:58,519 If you will turn over a molester to the authorities, there won't be two molestatio... 426 00:30:58,519 --> 00:31:05,000 and four in the same institution or the same church, because you stopped it. 427 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:10,840 That's part of what I'm working on right now, is to change the laws in the states where 428 00:31:11,519 --> 00:31:13,599 clergy are mandated to report. 429 00:31:13,599 --> 00:31:17,240 We have too many states that are not mandated to report. 430 00:31:17,240 --> 00:31:21,159 All that goes through my mind, it's like thousands are being molested. 431 00:31:21,159 --> 00:31:25,919 While we're sitting here talking, and I know what it feels like, it's an epidemic, and 432 00:31:25,919 --> 00:31:36,199 it's only going to come out more and more. 433 00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:42,039 As you likely know, Jehovah's Witnesses take a stronger position than most on the 434 00:31:42,039 --> 00:31:47,000 scriptural inappropriateness of any form of immorality. 435 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:55,400 However, to take advantage of innocent young ones is absolutely despicable. 436 00:31:55,400 --> 00:32:01,960 As a religious organization, we have taken a decisive stand against such behavior. 437 00:32:02,519 --> 00:32:09,079 It is our fervent desire to protect children from any kind of abuse. 438 00:32:09,079 --> 00:32:14,120 What is it about that group that fosters an environment where this is happening? 439 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:20,559 Well, I think because of the cover-ups, and the cover-ups have been so consistent over 440 00:32:20,559 --> 00:32:27,400 the decades, and it's been kept hushed so that people don't know who the perpetrators 441 00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:28,400 are. 442 00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:32,519 They don't know if, you know, one of the elders in their community is someone who 443 00:32:32,519 --> 00:32:35,800 at one point has been charged, they never release the names. 444 00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:36,800 But why? 445 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:44,840 Unlike so many organizations, they don't want to bring reproach upon their organization. 446 00:32:44,840 --> 00:32:58,120 I don't want to be a part of any religion, anybody that takes part in hurting children. 447 00:32:58,159 --> 00:32:59,839 I want them to take me off their list. 448 00:32:59,839 --> 00:33:06,799 I do not want to be recognized as one of them, one of Jehovah's Witnesses. 449 00:33:06,799 --> 00:33:08,599 I want out. 450 00:33:08,599 --> 00:33:17,519 I want to be free from that. 451 00:33:17,519 --> 00:33:20,679 This organization does not take care of its members. 452 00:33:20,679 --> 00:33:22,959 It does the complete opposite. 453 00:33:22,959 --> 00:33:25,959 It's disgusting. 454 00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:45,360 So I'm finally ready to write my letter of disassociation. 455 00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:47,840 I've thought about trying to write this letter before. 456 00:33:47,840 --> 00:33:52,279 I've a couple times just sort of here and there, and I never did it, never finished 457 00:33:52,279 --> 00:33:53,279 it. 458 00:33:53,279 --> 00:33:54,279 Why? 459 00:33:54,279 --> 00:33:55,279 I was scared. 460 00:33:55,599 --> 00:33:56,599 Scared of what? 461 00:33:57,599 --> 00:34:01,559 The repercussions of walking away. 462 00:34:01,559 --> 00:34:14,239 What people would do, what they would say. 463 00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:15,239 You're shunned. 464 00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:17,920 Friends and family, they're not allowed to talk to you. 465 00:34:17,920 --> 00:34:21,039 They see you in a grocery store, they have to look the other way. 466 00:34:21,039 --> 00:34:22,639 They're directed not to even talk to you. 467 00:34:22,639 --> 00:34:27,199 They actually look at you like they feel sorry for you because you've made a gross 468 00:34:27,199 --> 00:34:28,199 mistake. 469 00:34:28,199 --> 00:34:40,639 But it's something that I have to do to move forward with my life. 470 00:34:40,639 --> 00:34:44,039 I stayed in this religion a lot for my mother. 471 00:34:44,039 --> 00:34:50,199 I tried to get out so many times and I constantly got told, if you leave and you'... 472 00:34:50,199 --> 00:34:51,199 our relationship changes. 473 00:34:51,759 --> 00:34:54,039 Because that's what she was told to do. 474 00:34:54,039 --> 00:34:58,719 I stayed in it because of that, because I didn't want to lose her. 475 00:34:58,719 --> 00:35:04,000 To the Watchtower and Track Society, I was shocked into silence for many, many years 476 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:10,239 regarding the horrors that I and many I know have experienced. 477 00:35:10,239 --> 00:35:19,959 It felt really good. 478 00:35:19,959 --> 00:35:25,599 It just feels good for me to feel like I'm breaking up with them. 479 00:35:25,599 --> 00:35:32,179 My dream would be to hand it to them, the elders in the governing body. 480 00:35:32,179 --> 00:35:38,279 For my own justice, for my own growth, I do not want to be recognized as one of them, 481 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:40,320 I don't want to be recognized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. 482 00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:44,080 It's kind of like I'm done with you and you can't hurt me anymore. 483 00:35:44,080 --> 00:35:51,680 Romi, it was several years between the time you decided to leave Jehovah's Witnesses 484 00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:54,560 and the time you actually left. 485 00:35:54,560 --> 00:35:55,560 Why so long? 486 00:35:55,560 --> 00:35:56,560 Guilt. 487 00:35:56,560 --> 00:35:57,560 Guilt? 488 00:35:57,560 --> 00:35:58,560 Mm-hmm. 489 00:35:58,560 --> 00:36:04,280 Is this a common feeling, what Romi's describing, the guilt? 490 00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:09,440 Is it common for someone to struggle, as she did for a couple of years, about delivering 491 00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:10,440 that letter? 492 00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:14,480 I mean, leaving a cult is, it's one of the most difficult things you'll ever do. 493 00:36:14,480 --> 00:36:18,240 You're giving up a whole world and you're going out into the unknown. 494 00:36:35,240 --> 00:36:43,080 I'm in Warwick, New York, where the headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses is... 495 00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:47,160 What's significant about this place is it's sort of like the Vatican, and that's why 496 00:36:47,160 --> 00:36:53,680 I wanted to come to this area so I could hand my disassociation letter to basically 497 00:36:53,680 --> 00:36:55,840 the snake's head. 498 00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:58,240 It's been a long time overdue. 499 00:36:58,240 --> 00:36:59,240 Oh. 500 00:36:59,240 --> 00:37:00,240 Oh, my goodness. 501 00:37:01,199 --> 00:37:09,359 I don't think that... 502 00:37:09,359 --> 00:37:12,919 These guys here are the ones to me that are responsible for what they've allowed to go 503 00:37:12,919 --> 00:37:18,319 on in what's happened to so many children. 504 00:37:18,319 --> 00:37:20,319 My throat's in my stomach. 505 00:37:20,319 --> 00:37:24,319 And I'm scared. 506 00:37:30,319 --> 00:37:34,319 Okay. 507 00:37:44,319 --> 00:37:45,319 I'm fine. 508 00:37:45,319 --> 00:37:46,319 How are you? 509 00:37:46,319 --> 00:37:51,319 I was wondering, is there any way I could talk to somebody from the governing body? 510 00:37:51,319 --> 00:37:52,319 You know what? 511 00:37:52,319 --> 00:37:54,319 They're not available right now. 512 00:37:54,319 --> 00:37:57,319 Would one of them be willing to talk to me if I wait? 513 00:37:57,400 --> 00:37:58,400 Yes. 514 00:38:04,400 --> 00:38:05,400 Okay. 515 00:38:05,400 --> 00:38:10,400 I'm shaking like a leaf. 516 00:38:10,400 --> 00:38:17,400 I just feel like I could throw up. 517 00:38:17,400 --> 00:38:22,400 Make me sick. 518 00:38:27,400 --> 00:38:32,400 It's a weird feeling of motion. 519 00:38:32,400 --> 00:38:35,400 There's a car. 520 00:38:35,400 --> 00:38:40,400 It's actually coming down this way. 521 00:38:40,400 --> 00:38:45,400 I wonder why they're sitting up there. 522 00:38:45,480 --> 00:38:57,480 They spend thousands and thousands and thousands of hours knocking on strangers'... 523 00:38:57,480 --> 00:38:58,480 them in. 524 00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:03,480 But they won't come to this gate and talk to me. 525 00:39:03,480 --> 00:39:10,480 We've waited now, what, about 40 minutes. 526 00:39:10,480 --> 00:39:12,480 And they're just looking at us and we're looking at them. 527 00:39:12,559 --> 00:39:16,559 So I think I would like to just go give my letter back at the gate. 528 00:39:16,559 --> 00:39:19,559 And that's really the best I think I can do today. 529 00:39:22,559 --> 00:39:23,559 Hello. 530 00:39:23,559 --> 00:39:24,559 Hi. 531 00:39:24,559 --> 00:39:25,559 Hey, we waited for a while. 532 00:39:25,559 --> 00:39:28,559 Are they still thinking about coming down? 533 00:39:32,559 --> 00:39:35,559 Okay, well, I'm actually going to hand this to you. 534 00:39:35,559 --> 00:39:39,559 This is my disassociation letter from here. 535 00:39:39,559 --> 00:39:41,559 I was born and raised. 536 00:39:41,639 --> 00:39:44,639 For 32 years and was hurt terribly. 537 00:39:44,639 --> 00:39:45,639 I'm sharing something with you. 538 00:39:45,639 --> 00:39:46,639 Thank you for listening. 539 00:39:46,639 --> 00:39:49,639 Because you guys don't listen very good when it comes to child sexual abuse. 540 00:39:52,639 --> 00:39:54,639 Yeah, I figured that. 541 00:39:56,639 --> 00:39:59,639 Nobody likes talking about this kind of stuff, huh? 542 00:40:08,639 --> 00:40:09,639 So I can take that. 543 00:40:09,639 --> 00:40:10,639 Thank you. 544 00:40:10,719 --> 00:40:12,719 And we'll make sure someone gets in touch with you. 545 00:40:12,719 --> 00:40:13,719 Can I say one thing? 546 00:40:13,719 --> 00:40:14,719 Yeah, can I share one thing? 547 00:40:14,719 --> 00:40:16,719 I'm glad to help everyone else. 548 00:40:16,719 --> 00:40:17,719 Okay, thank you. 549 00:40:28,719 --> 00:40:29,719 They won't listen. 550 00:40:29,719 --> 00:40:31,719 See how he kept shutting me down, shutting me down? 551 00:40:31,719 --> 00:40:32,719 They won't listen. 552 00:40:40,719 --> 00:40:42,719 I feel relieved. 553 00:40:42,719 --> 00:40:46,719 I feel free because I am done. 554 00:40:47,719 --> 00:40:51,719 I divorced myself from them, from Jehovah's Witnesses. 555 00:40:51,719 --> 00:40:54,719 I want nothing to do with anybody that supports hurting kids. 556 00:40:54,719 --> 00:40:56,719 And I am no longer afraid. 557 00:40:57,719 --> 00:40:59,719 There is life outside of this cult. 558 00:41:00,719 --> 00:41:03,719 There is happiness in a world we were taught to fear. 559 00:41:03,719 --> 00:41:04,719 There is. 560 00:41:06,719 --> 00:41:07,719 I'm doing it. 561 00:41:10,719 --> 00:41:15,719 7th Dave Summers has exclusive details on this very costly legal dispute, Dave. 562 00:41:15,719 --> 00:41:21,719 Yeah, the alleged victims' claims and elder at a local Kingdom Hall molested him when 563 00:41:21,719 --> 00:41:23,719 he was just 8 years old. 564 00:41:23,719 --> 00:41:27,719 ...accusations that religious leaders led a cover-up within some of the group's 14,000 565 00:41:27,719 --> 00:41:28,719 U.S. congregations. 566 00:41:28,719 --> 00:41:32,719 Church representatives revealed that more than 1,000 members have been identified as 567 00:41:32,719 --> 00:41:35,719 child sexual abusers since 1950. 568 00:41:35,719 --> 00:41:37,719 None was reported to police. 569 00:41:37,719 --> 00:41:39,719 Well, this is a public system. 570 00:41:39,799 --> 00:41:40,799 This is a public safety issue. 571 00:41:40,799 --> 00:41:46,799 There are molesters that are still out there, that have been kept secret within this... 572 00:41:46,799 --> 00:41:51,799 The Jehovah's Witnesses never told police about Campos, who was a church elder. 573 00:41:51,799 --> 00:41:55,799 The elders did their job spiritually, and I think that's all we can ask of these men. 574 00:41:55,799 --> 00:41:58,799 They're allowed to continue to give Bible study lessons to children. 575 00:41:58,799 --> 00:42:01,799 Campos is just one of thousands of alleged abusers. 576 00:42:01,799 --> 00:42:03,799 The Jehovah's Witnesses know about it. 577 00:42:03,799 --> 00:42:07,799 The elders knew that Jonathan Kendrick, who then held a leadership position in the... 578 00:42:07,880 --> 00:42:09,880 had molested his own step-dunks. 579 00:42:09,880 --> 00:42:15,880 The instructions were, you keep these pedophiles secret. 580 00:42:37,880 --> 00:42:41,880 Romi, do you consider Jehovah's Witnesses a cult? 581 00:42:41,880 --> 00:42:44,880 I do now, as an adult, an understanding. 582 00:42:44,880 --> 00:42:50,880 Well, what would you say to, you know, to people watching this right now, the next... 583 00:42:50,880 --> 00:42:56,880 you know, there's a knock on the door, and there's that lovely, warm, smart, 584 00:42:56,880 --> 00:43:05,900 kind of, you know, 585 00:43:05,980 --> 00:43:08,980 Jehovah's Witness? 586 00:43:08,980 --> 00:43:15,980 I, I just now, knowing what I know, would never want to be associated or affiliated... 587 00:43:15,980 --> 00:43:19,980 anybody who protects sexual abusers that hurt children. 588 00:43:19,980 --> 00:43:24,980 I just want people to know going in, this really is going on in here. 589 00:43:25,059 --> 00:43:30,059 I'm sharing my painful story because I want the Jehovah's Witness to change. 590 00:43:30,059 --> 00:43:35,059 The stuff that's going on that I've seen, that's criminal. 591 00:43:35,059 --> 00:43:37,059 And I just want it to stop. 592 00:43:37,059 --> 00:43:39,059 It's not fair. 593 00:43:39,059 --> 00:43:41,059 It's not okay. 594 00:43:41,059 --> 00:43:45,059 And I understand the kind of people that Jehovah's Witnesses attracts. 595 00:43:45,059 --> 00:43:46,059 I get it. 596 00:43:46,059 --> 00:43:49,059 What that cult attracts, vulnerable, lonely, 597 00:43:49,139 --> 00:43:52,139 people that need people. 598 00:43:52,139 --> 00:43:54,139 But be careful. 599 00:43:54,139 --> 00:43:57,139 That's all I have to say is be careful.