Sex Abuse: Witness Leaders Accused of Shielding Molesters
Former and current Jehovah Witnesses question a policy they say discourages leaders from reporting abuse.
Corrie Cutrer | posted 3/05/2001 12:00AM
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Internal policies vary among American religious groups. While the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) says it complies with all government reporting laws, some incidents may be handled in house, according to Zane Bruxton, the denomination's manager of judicial process. "You have to take it seriously," Bruxton says. "But we cannot bring charges in every case."
Although the Book of Discipline for the United Methodist Church outlines abuse procedures, local pastors often determine how to handle the specifics of a case. "We generally report it to the authorities while also conducting an in-house investigation," says Scott Field, senior pastor at Wheatland Salem United Methodist Church in Naperville, Illinois. "At the very least, we would remove the alleged perpetrator from [his or her] area of responsibility until the investigation is resolved."
Broken families
Dozens of court cases, both national and international, have surfaced in recent years that shed light on how seriously many people have been affected by the Watchtower's instruction regarding abuse. In lengthy interviews with Christianity Today, two former Witness families described how sexual abuse has shattered their lives. Don and Kim Clemens of Mount Shasta, California, say that in 1996 their son accused his babysitter, Alizum Varium—a neighbor and a fellow Witness—of molesting him frequently for six years, beginning when he was 5 years old.
The family informed local Witness leaders. "It was my son's words against her words," Kim Clemens remembers. "The elders filed it away and said there's nothing they can do."
When the Clemens family saw Varium volunteering at a daycare center, they hired a private investigator to gather information. "Our goal is to keep her completely away from all kids," Kim Clemens says. "If there are more children who come out of there having been abused, I don't want to say 15 or 20 years down the road that I didn't say anything."
Varium refused to speak with CT about the case and faces no official charges in connection with the abuse allegation.
Jeff Tucker, one of the Mount Shasta Kingdom Hall elders, says there were not enough eye-witnesses to go to the police. Tucker believes the family is just trying to cause trouble. "They were disfellowshipped," Tucker says. "They're just trying to create problems and bring reproach on Jehovah's name and his organization."
Although Witnesses comply with secular laws when necessary, Witness spokesman Brown says, the group prefers to deal with such matters spiritually. "We handle wrongdoing, sin, and transgression," he says. "This is what a religious organization is supposed to do. We're not getting into law enforcement. We're just going to handle the repentance."
In another instance, Sabrina Montgomery, a 37-year-old former Witness in Brigham City, Utah, alleges that her father, John Bohman, sexually abused her from when she was 14 until she was 19. When Witness elders found out, she says, Bohman simply resigned his position as an elder, and no further action was taken. Montgomery has asked local authorities to prevent any contact between her three daughters and Bohman. Montgomery's former husband is still a Witness, and maintains regular contact with Bohman. Bohman did not respond to CT's requests for an interview.
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