James Thomas Rook Jr.

These elders, it appears, broke the law.

After watching ARC testimonies  of Australian elders on same issue, i can agree how both of yours statement are good in all 3 elements:
1) elders gave impression (of all kinds in my perception. WT organized all sort of curses for elders, well maybe curses are useless or children aka elders in such  school are lazy students)
2. they knew nothing about how to handle this issue (must be taken in consideration how WT Legal Department guiding elders and expects from elders to be in line with these WT provision. Did elders ask WT or not, what was given  instructions and other details are unknown) 
3. elders broke the law (good or not "Worldly law" must be obeyed if elders respect verses in Bible about secular authorities)  

JWI, thanks for the informative post above. I'll understand if this request may not be possible, but do you care to share more info on the case you speak of? A link would be fine for a newbie like me.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned another case, still in progress, where it was a 16-year-old female and about a 25-year-old brother. In this case the congregation is in legal trouble for having asked the girl to claim it was consensual, but the 25-year-old went on to abuse again. I don't know for sure, but I don't think in this case, there is an attempt to go after the elders, based on the assumption that the directive came from HQ.

AllenSmith:
You are confusing faith in the Almighty God, with gullibility drooling over the opinions of people neither inspired of God, nor infallible ... and even though they were forced by outside sources to admit it ... I give them credit that they did admit it .... even if it was almost hidden in the February 2017 Watchtower, as a synopsis of a hundred years of goofiness, pretending to be the Guardians of Doctrine, that they themselves made up out of thin air for their own profit and aggrandizement...

And I did not "sign up" to be a witness for the Watchtower, and have never even pretended to do so.
I seriously doubt anyone who has ever met me would consider me "Brother Watchtower" ....

John the Baptist's  "private trial" resulted in an innocent man being beheaded.
Bill Cosby's public trial resulted in a guilty man being convicted.
AllenSmith ... you have just unknowingly proved all my points!
You ran the risk of using real life examples, and it bit your butt off!
 

If the goal is to imitate the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, we are well on our way.
Already we are baptizing children as young as 8 years old... and the exemplar, Jesus Christ was not baptized until he was 33 years old.
Trials and inquires in ancient Israel were in the City Gates, where all could see, hear, and make comments ... completely open and above board ... complete transparency of the institution of Justice, and the administrators of Justice.
It served God's people well for many thousands of years.
What we have now only serves the best interests of the Corporation.

... and AllenSmith .....
since you think of yourself as a man of unparalleled courage, perhaps you can take on the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper article at this link.   You may want to copy and past the entire article into a WORD document, as I did, as after awhile they are replaced with more current news.
Hmmmm... the thought just occurred to me ... you may want to copy, then paste the entire article here, then in a different color perhaps, refute it point by point.
This will show everybody how smart you are, and what a fool I am.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/jehovahs-witnesses-sexual-abuse-children-beliefs-rules.html

I am merely a fellow human being, trying to understand you ... in an arena where forthrightness in dialog and conversation .... is normal.

I very seldom down-vote anyone Allensmith ... your arguments fall apart without any help at all.
Specifically, "clergy / penitent" laws are made for ONE penitent and ONE confessor .... and if the Priest or Elder or other person tells ONE OTHER PERSON, that confidence, protected by law, is no longer protected by law.
With a Catholic Priest, that is ONE PERSON.
With a JW Judicial Committee, that starts out with THREE persons, and expands to include Circuit Overseers,  Branch Office personnel of every description, and reports are made in writing to insure that Central Control is maintained down at the congregation level.
In actual practice there are no "extenuating circumstances" ... only the application of WT codified policy.
It is then that JW.ORG ...... becomes JW.BORG.
Resistance is futile, we have been assimilated.

Justice you can only get from God .... and justice can mean complete exoneration of charges and specifications ... or chastising unto death.
...or anything in the middle.
From any well-meaning humans seeking to impose justice, a protocol of professionals that is completely open, transparent, and public lends itself NATURALLY to justice, freedom, and equity.
From any well-meaning humans seeking to impose justice, A protocol of amateur justice  "wannabes" that is completely secret, and even speaking about it publicly can lead to punishment,  lends itself NATURALLY to injustice, tyranny and unfairness.
Everyone knows in any horse race, ONE horse will win ... but WHICH one ... makes all the difference.

(New news ....)  A MONTANA Judge Orders Jehovah’s Witnesses to Turn Over Internal Documents Related to Childhood Sexual Abuse
April 12, 2018
 
On April 5, 2018, Judge James Manley of Sanders County, Montana ordered the Jehovah’s Witnesses religious organization to produce documents and testimony related to internal reports and investigations into the childhood sexual abuse of NPR’s two clients.
 
In this case, the two Plaintiffs were sexually abused as children by a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Elders in the local Jehovah’s Witness congregation in Thompson Falls, Montana were aware of the abuse and failed to report it to the police, choosing instead to handle the reports and investigations internally pursuant to Jehovah’s Witness guidelines. Their decision not to report the abuse to authorities allowed the perpetrator to remain in the congregation and continue to abuse one of the Plaintiffs.
 
Throughout this case, and similar childhood sexual abuse cases across the country, the Jehovah’s Witnesses have refused to produce documents related to their internal handling of reports of sexual abuse and related investigations and disciplinary actions claiming that the information is protected by the clergy-penitent privilege and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
 
Through briefing to the court, NPR convinced the Judge that Defendants’ privilege claims were unsupported and improper under the law. The Court agreed that Defendants could not blanket everything related to their investigations in secrecy and that they must turn it over to the Plaintiffs. Often, this is the very evidence that can win or lose a case like this against a religious institution.
 
The case of Nunez, et al. v. Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York, et al.  is set to go to trial in September of 2018.
The plaintiffs in this case are represented by NPR partner D. Neil Smith and associate Ross E. Leonoudakis.
 
----------------------------------------------------------
A Jury of 12 held in public view ... or a tribunal of three held in complete secrecy.
Which would YOU choose,  to get Justice?
 

OR ... the antonym of Jehovah's Witnesses ...  could be Jehovah's witnesses.
 Big "W" or little "w", for those in Rio Linda ....
.... or do you actually think Abraham, Jesus, and the 12 Apostles would ACTUALLY agree with things like Caleb and Sophia teaching children biblical morality, and the "Overlapping Generations" doctrine, when they, as Jehovah's witnesses, had the same understanding  of what a "generation" is .....  as every other human being on Planet Earth, before, during and after their lifetimes?
If they were alive today, and publicly expressed their disbelief for current doctrines and practices, all 14 of them would be disfellowshipped for apostasy.
 
 

Setting the mind on the spirit means life and peace.—Rom. 8:6.
This does not imply that a person needs to think and talk of nothing other than the Bible or his love for God and his hope for the future. Let us recall that Paul and others in the first century who pleased God were living rather normal lives in many respects. They consumed food and drink. Many married and enjoyed family life, working to support themselves. (Mark 6:3; 1 Thess. 2:9) However, those servants of God did not allow such normal aspects of life to become the center of their lives. After showing that Paul worked as a tentmaker, the record reveals what his life was centered on: He regularly gave attention to the Christian preaching and teaching work. (Acts 18:2-4; 20:20, 21, 34, 35) And those were the activities that he recommended to his brothers and sisters in Rome. Yes, Paul’s life centered on spiritual provisions and activities. The Romans needed to imitate him, and so do we.—Rom. 15:15, 16. w16.12 2:5, 15, 16
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/dt/r1/lp-e/2018/7/22

He emailed me directly ... no username.

Alithis Gnosis:
I see by your knowing where the correct answers may be found, but not posting them, that you have the same aversion to "heavy lifting" that I do.
That was the whole point of my ASKING ... I could find out the correct answer with several hours of research, but I am a chain saw kinda guy, and hoped that someone would already have more verifiable information at their fingertips than I do.
My thought was that if it was said at an Assembly ... they were using LAST YEARS figures, or whatever the Assembly speaker is reported by our Kingdom Hall Speaker to have said.
I completely agree with your quote:
That is why I am TRYING to check what I heard from the platform today .
The sword has to cut BOTH ways, except among the gullible, dull, and stupid.
I do not trust ANYBODY at face value, and I do not care about "rumors shipwrecking" my or anyone else's faith, as mentioned in your quote.
That is why I see the following video clips as just normal human stupidity.
 

2 CHAIR pORNEA .mp4 Gravity Electricity Wind .mp4

The Muppet Show_ Dr Teeth - _Money_.mp4

.In the sign of Libra to be exact...the start of the fall at the autumnal equinox........fall did I say?
In the sign of Libra you have three of the ancient classical planets involved....first though.....you have to know the seven planets of the ancients.....and you all do!.....you just don't know you do.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_planet
The seven planets are....the moon,mars,mercury,jupiter,venus,saturn and the sun.
Do you know why you know them?....they are the seven days of the week!
Monday is the moon day,Tuesday is Mardi in French...mars day,Wednesday is Mercredi...mercury day,Jeudi is jupiter day or Thor's day....(because Thor is jupiter is zeus....they are forces and concepts....not real gods),Vendredi is friday....venus day,Saturday is obviously saturn's day and sunday speaks for itself.....the seven planets.
However in the story of the autumnal equinox....three of the planets are involved....the sun (the good guy)....venus .....the goddess of love and apples,and saturn...the grim reaper....god of darkness.....satan.
The sun falls in Libra.....as does Adam....(it's the fall of sunny boy at the autumnal equinox every year as his reign ends)....Saturn climbs (exaltation/darkness once more takes over from the light) in Libra and Venus rules Libra.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libra_(astrology)
Look at the box on the right of the wiki page to see the characters.
So you have the sun,saturn and venus (e-venus....the autumnal equinox is the dusk.....the eve-ening of the year).
You can see Venus with the scales at Cardiff castle.....

 
Venus above showing the scales of Libra and the bull of Taurus....she rules both of these houses.
 

Venus of Arles holding the apple of Hesperides.
Venus is also connected to the 5 pointed star........and lo and behold....cut inside an apple and you get the 5 pointed star......and the planet Venus also gives us a 5 pointed star in astronomy also.
https://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/AstronNotes/Earth-Venus.htm
See if you can work out any other stories that come from the zodiac.....there are loads.
It's all stories about parts of the cycle.....

As I recall, when I visited the city in which you were head engineer, none of the toilets flushed

DispicableME:
Could you please tell me what you "downvoted", specifically?
Was it what happened?
Was it how it was handled?
Was it the Reporter's reporting of it?
Was it the fact that it became common knowledge in Delaware among the congregations?
I am  interested in your thought processes, and opinions, specifically.
 

JehovahÂ’s Witness Elders Fined for Failure to Report Child Abuse: Watchtower Settles with Delaware
Posted on July 17, 2018  by JOHN REDWOOD Jehovah’s Witnesses in Delaware paid $19,500 in fines for failure to report child abuse.
" On January 18th, 2018, attorneys representing JehovahÂ’s WItnesses signed a formal settlement agreement with the State of Delaware, concluding a historic case in which two elders and one congregation were held responsible for withholding detailed knowledge of a sexual relationship between an adult and a 14-year-old minor.
This case is unique, profound, and will likely set a precedent for other States.
According to the terms of the settlement, JehovahÂ’s Witnesses paid a total of $19,500 to the Delaware Department of Justice, and the body of elders from the Laurel Delaware congregation was required to attend the Stewards of Children training program and pay associated costs.
A third requirement mandated by Delaware included the signing of an affidavit stipulating that Jehovah’s Witness elders must comply with all Delaware statutes involving the reporting of child abuse. Among the itemized requirements, the Coordinator of the Body of Elders, William Perkins, agreed that communications with minors related to matters of abuse would not be treated as “penitential confessions.” This is significant, since attorneys for Jehovah’s Witnesses attempted to claim clergy privilege as their defense for failure to report.
On January 26, 2016, Justice Mary M. Johnston threw out WatchtowerÂ’s motion for summary judgment. Johnston pointed out that the eldersÂ’ sworn statements suggested that the victim and the perpetrator did not seek out the elders for private confession, which is the basic definition of penitential confession.
The case, formally called the State of Delaware versus Laurel Congregation of JehovahÂ’s Witnesses, Joel Mulchansingh, and William Perkins, was filed November 9th, 2015. It was brought by the Delaware Attorney GeneralÂ’s office following the discovery that 35-Year-old Katheryn Carmean-White had been arrested for engaging in at least 40 incidents of sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old boy. Both were baptized members of the JehovahÂ’s Witness religion.
Deputy Attorney General Janice Tigani became aware of this case from police reports, which had been filed in 2011. The mother of the 14-year-old victim contacted local authorities. A warrant was issued for Katheryn L. Carmean-White, who was arrested on 10 counts of third-degree rape, continuous sexual abuse of a child and endangering the welfare of a child. Carmean-White is currently incarcerated in the Baylor WomenÂ’s Correctional Institution of Delaware, serving a 6-year prison sentence.
Neither William Perkins nor Joel Mulchansingh contacted the police.
Instead, both elders initiated internal JehovahÂ’s Witness judicial proceedings which resulted in the disfellowshipping of both Carmean-White and her victim. Despite his age, the victim was considered a willing participant in consensual sexual acts. The repetitive nature of these sexual encounters was the foundation for disfellowshipping action by the church.
Delaware Sets the Example
Until now, the national epidemic of child abuse has been brought to light primarily through the efforts of mainstream media and numerous documented civil lawsuits. Such cases have resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements against the Catholic Church and JehovahÂ’s Witnesses, the religions most notorious for their mishandling of abuse allegations.
While individual states have codified laws penalizing mandated reporters for failure to report child abuse, almost none have brought charges against clergymen, or elders. Tackling religious organizations is often seen as trampling the First Amendment rights of these groups.
According to Deputy Attorney General Tigani, the Delaware case was about to go to trial when Watchtower lawyers opted for a private settlement. In part, the agreement stated:
Tigani agreed that Watchtower benefitted by conforming to the stipulations of the State of Delaware, in lieu of a protracted public trial. Evidence presented on both sides, including depositions from the two Witness elders, clearly pointed to gross infraction of Delaware law.
The progressive nature of DelawareÂ’s punitive measures for violation of mandatory reporting laws comes on the heels of the worst case of child sexual abuse in United States history. Pediatrician Earl Bradley was sentenced to seven consecutive life terms, plus 165 years in prison for the molestation of hundreds of child patients, whose average age was three. The Bradley case was so egregious that Attorney General Beau Biden abandoned his bid for his fatherÂ’s vacated Senate seat to funnel all energies into the prosecution of this case.
As Delaware prosecuted and jailed the notorious Bradley, lawmakers began to question how this man could have abused so many children for more than a decade, evading detection and prosecution. In 2010, Governor Jack Markell commissioned the Dean of Widener University Law School, Linda L. Ammons, to investigate what went wrong, and to itemize necessary changes. One key discovery involved the lack of proper reporting of abuse allegations to law enforcement or other state officials. Under the topic “Mandatory Reporters,” Ammons stated:
Pediatrician Earl Bradley Arrested
Families of victims were shocked to discover that allegations against Bradley stemmed back to 1994 in Pennsylvania, where the doctor had completed his residency. Layers of bureaucracy stymied the reporting process. Plausible deniability was contagious, and without enforcement of reporting laws, organizations, members of clergy, and ordinary citizens are without incentive to abide by these statutes. Professor Ammon made numerous recommendations to the Governor of Delaware, including the following:
“Increase penalties for violating the mandatory reporting requirements in the Medical Practices Act.”
Delaware agreed. Enforceable penalties were signed into law. Delaware code 914 states:
This code enforcement is not limited to the medical practices field. In fact, every Delaware citizen is expected to report, regardless of their occupation. The ProfessionalsÂ’ Guide to Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect says:
“Professional reporters are often referred to as mandated reporters, although all citizens of Delaware are required to report child abuse and neglect.” [bold, italics ours]
JehovahÂ’s Witness elders Joel Mulchansingh, and William Perkins were found liable, both as professional mandated reporters, and as citizens of the State of Delaware. The congregation body of elders was also named as a responsible party.
The Settlement
In addition to financial penalties paid, the Laurel Congregation body of elders was required to attend the Stewards of Children training program, an initiative sponsored by the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children. The Biden foundation is a non-profit organization created in 2015 to further the goals of the late Biden in ensuring that children are afforded every possible protection from predators.
I spoke to a representative of the Stewards of Children program, who confirmed that their educational materials have been sanctioned by courts across the United States on the basis of competent, peer-reviewed research.
The third and final settlement term involved a multi-part affidavit, signed by the Laurel Coordinator of Body of Elders, and distributed to all congregations within the State of Delaware. Terms included:
Communications with individual involving acts of abuse shall not be considered as “penitential confessions” Communications with minors involving acts of abuse shall not be considered as “penitential confessions” Elders and the Congregation will comply with the law in accordance with the two items above A copy of the signed and notarized affidavit will be provided by Jehovah’s Witnesses’ attorneys to all congregations within the state of Delaware While Jehovah’s Witnesses have been forced to comply with the terms of this settlement, there is no evidence to suggest that this organization will participate in mandatory training programs in other states or countries. Currently, Witness policy dictates that the first notification of allegations of child abuse must be made by local elders to the Jehovah’s Witness legal department in Patterson New York. This policy has a profound chilling effect upon justice for victims and protection of the community.
Exterior Sign for Laurel and Seaford Congregations
Once their legal department advises elders whether they are in a mandatory reporting state or not, the call is handed over to the Service department, also located in Patterson. These men advise local elders of their internal judicial responsibility, such as whether to disfellowship a minor deemed as a willing participant in sexual acts.
Nowhere in Watchtower literature are victims or others encouraged to immediately contact civil authorities when allegations of abuse become known. By design, Jehovah’s Witnesses are trained to regard local elders as the primary authority, particularly when any sexual contact is discovered between two unmarried persons. 
A Precedent Has Been Set
Delaware’s lawsuit against Jehovah’s Witnesses has broken the barrier which has, until now, protected churches from prosecution for failure to report child abuse.  
In 2006, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s office recommended that charges be filed against Catholic Bishop Daniel Walsh. Walsh failed to file a timely report upon discovery that Catholic Priest Xavier Ochoa sexually abused at least three boys, the youngest being 12. The delay in reporting gave Ochoa the time he needed to escape to Mexico.
According to the the San Francisco journal SFGATE:
Charges were dropped, however, in lieu of a plea agreement in which Bishop Walsh was required to attend a four-month counseling program.
The State of Delaware did not back down so quickly in its case against JehovahÂ’s Witnesses, leaving Watchtower attorneys little choice but to settle the case on DelawareÂ’s terms.
Other states may soon follow suit, including Pennsylvania, where police are investigating the abuse of 4-year-old Abby Haugh in 2005. The assault occurred inside the local Kingdom Hall and was reported to congregation elders by the victim’s father, Martin Haugh. Local elders did not contact law enforcement. 
Police are not commenting on this case, as the investigation is currently ongoing.
The terms of the Delaware settlement stipulated that once Jehovah’s Witnesses paid the agreed-upon fines, the State would dismiss civil action with prejudice.  The settlement agreement was obtained by filing a Freedom of Information Act request. "
 
 

If I am not mistaken, Thomas Jefferson actually waged a revolutionary war against many of his friends with different politics and philosophy ... and he and his short list of friends tried their best to KILL THEM.

Concerning Galatians 1:6
Thrice armed is he hath his quarrel Just ....
... and four times he who gets his fist in first.
Josh Billings
 

It is about the IDEA of human governments being placed in their relative positions by God.
Not specific governments.
The alternative is total anarchy, where every man and woman are a law unto themselves ... which is worse than the WORST human governments.
It's free-for-all non stop carnage.
You have to mentally visualize how really terrible anarchy would be on a day to day basis to understand that.