Australia is not the only country investigating allegations that Jehovah’s Witnesses are covering up sex abuse of minors. The United Kingdom launched an intensive investigation of its own 18 months ago after a number of high profile sex abuse cases became public.
According to news reports:
The Charity Commission, which regulates charities in England and Wales, launched its investigation 18 months ago, amid a series of high-profile prosecutions in England. Most notable were the cases involving Mark Sewell, a Jehovah’s Witness who was convicted in 2014 of eight sex offenses, including the sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl. According to The Mirror, elders in Sewell’s congregation dismissed allegations against him and destroyed evidence of his crimes.
The Australian investigation has found that the Jehovah’s Witnesses had failed to report more than 1,000 alleged child sexual abusers to secular authorities. In the United States, there are at least a dozen sexual abuse lawsuits involving the Jehovah’s Witnesses.