Jehovah’s Witnesses must pay $34M to abuse survivor, jury rules
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The iconic Watchtower sign on the roof of 25-30 Columbia Heights, as seen in Dec. 2015, then-world headquarters of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. A Montana jury has ruled that the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization must pay $34 million to a woman who says the church covered up her sexual abuse as a child at the hands of a congregation member.
HELENA, Mont. >> A Montana jury has ruled that the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization must pay $34 million to a woman who says the church covered up her sexual abuse as a child at the hands of a congregation member.
Neil Smith, an attorney representing the 21-year-old woman, says the jury’s verdict in the lawsuit Wednesday sends a message to the New York headquarters of the Jehovah’s Witnesses to stop prioritizing church secrecy over children’s safety.
Jehovah’s Witnesses officials did not immediately respond to a call and email for comment. The monetary award must be reviewed by the trial judge.
The jury dismissed claims by a second woman who alleged abuse by the same man in Thompson Falls in the 1990s.
The jury concluded church elders did not receive notice of the 32-year-old woman’s abuse and therefore did not have a duty to tell authorities.
The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they are a victim of a sex crime.
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