Jehovah’s Witness organisation has secret database of child sex abuse claims against members

The Jehovah’s Witness organisation has amassed a secret database of child sexual abuse allegations against its members, the Telegraph can disclose.

The religion – which has more than 140,000 members in Britain – has collated details of molestation accusations over the last 25 years at its headquarters, known as Bethel or “Branch” among followers.

Documentation obtained by this newspaper shows that senior officials - known as elders - were asked in the late 1990s to log details of child abuse allegations and forward them on to the central office, which is now based in Chelmsford.

The instruction to record and keep details of abuse has been repeated multiple times since then.

The existence of a database of abuse allegations has already been established in the United States and Australia, but this is the first time that it has been shown to be in Britain.

In a statement, the Christian Congregation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses said current child protection policies instruct leaders to “make a report to the police wherever it appears that a child is in danger of abuse”. They did not however, respond to questions about whether the historical database of allegations had been passed to the authorities.

Database ‘must now go to police’

Victims of abuse within the religious group have now called for any collection of allegations to be passed to the police.

Lacie Jones, whose stepfather held a senior position in the Jehovah’s Witnesses and was recently jailed for abusing her as a child, said: “They need to hand the database to the police straight away to ensure more children aren’t at risk”

The revelation about the retention of records will raise questions about how the organisation responds to allegations of child abuse among its members.

Until now, it is largely the Catholic Church which has been the focus of criticism over its handling of child abuse claims, amid accusations that they have failed to take sufficient action.  

The Telegraph began investigating allegations that the Jehovah’s Witnesses has a secret database of abusers after receiving a tip-off last year.

The Investigations Team have made a podcast – “Call Bethel” – as they sought to establish whether the database exists.    

In 2014, the Charity Commission launched an investigation into the Jehovah’s Witnesses, amid concerns about safeguarding.

The probe is still ongoing, but court documents show that the regulator attempted to obtain policies about child sexual abuse and data held – which is thought by many to have been an attempt to acquire the database, if it existed.

Elders asked to record whether abuse was ‘one-time occurrence or practice’

Reporters obtained documentation which shows that in 1997, elders in Britain and Ireland were asked to provide a “report” detailing information including, the age of the victim and whether it was a “one-time occurrence or a practice [sic]” noted.

The letter said that senior members “should be alert to the activity of any who are known to have molested children in the past”, the three-page document warned.

“It was possible that some who were guilty of child molestation were or now are serving as elders, ministerial servants, or regular of special pioneers.”

From 1991, elders were told to record information about “child molesters” to stop them moving congregations without a warning being raised and had taken steps to educate members about the issue.

From these dates onwards, The Telegraph has seen multiple documents requesting congregation leaders record and securely archive abuse allegations.  Paperwork or information is then often passed to the head office.

The Telegraph has seen a “Child Protection” document asking for information about victims, the abuser and action taken. The one seen by reporters is from a British congregation.

Congregations also keep documents used to record why an individual has been “disfellowshipped”, the term used when someone has to leave the religious organisation after accusations of wrongdoing, which could include accusations of child abuse.

Ms Jones obtained documentation held by her previous congregation after making a complaint to police about her stepfather, but it is unclear if this information was also passed to the religious group’s head office.

Elders asked to detail abuse in five-page questionnaire

The Telegraph has also seen a five-page questionnaire given to elders who have reported abuse in their congregation.

The paperwork has a London phone number at the top, which asks them to provide details of abuse including “total number of alleged victims”.

It is unclear what happens to the document once it has been returned, but the questions raised offer a further glimpse of the kinds of information collated centrally.

The Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses said that their “branch office keeps a brief notation of a congregant who is known to have committed child sexual abuse” and that information is “checked” if they are considering promoting an individual within its ranks.

“This ensures that an individual who has committed child abuse is not appointed an elder or ministerial servant”, they said.

They highlight that their retention policies were not criticised in a recent inquiry which examined how religious organisations have responded to allegations of child abuse and how they have taken steps to educate and protect congregants.

The statement said that the organisation “recognise[d] they are not immune to the evil of child sexual abuse” and that they had “endeavoured to address this pernicious evil at its root” by providing members with guidance and education on the subject.

Listen to The Telegraph’s five-part series, Call Bethel, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.