Blog – Clergy Abuse Victims

Watchtower Instructs Elders to Keep Child Abuse Secret

Jehovah’s Witnesses have a child sex abuse problem. JWs have a problem because Watchtower teaches elders to keep the abuse secret. That’s right! You read that correctly: WATCHTOWER TEACHES ELDERS NOT TO REPORT CHILD MOLESTERS But don’t take my word for it. I’ve included the testimony from Watchtower’s representative, Doug Chappel. You can read it

Testimony from Montana Trial: Church would do the same thing again tomorrow.

In September of 2018, a jury in Montana awarded a $35 million verdict against the Jehovah’s Witnesses. I was the lawyer that represented the victim and obtained that verdict. Here is what we proved at trial: In 2004, two victims of child sex abuse notified church leaders that a church member had sexually

Despite Recent Increase in Child Sexual Abuse Cases, There are Still Many Places to Turn for Help

The tragic reality is that stories involving the sexual abuse of young children have become disturbingly common in our society. Stories of massive sexual abuse lawsuits against the Roman Catholic church, LDS and FLDS churchleaders being involved in major child abuse scandals, and school teachers engaging in inappropriate behavior with their students can make it easy for people that

Utah Man Faces 85 Counts of Child Sexual Abuse After Being Confronted by LDS Church Leaders

A member of the LDS community in Pleasant Grove, Utah was arrested this weekend after confessing to 85 individual counts of sexual abuse against children. Police are reporting that the abuser, 33-year-old Andrew Bishop, turned himself over to authorities and admitted to his terrible crimes after being confronted by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ

Minnesota Archdiocese Faces More Than 400 Accusations of Clergy Abuse, New Laws Allow Victims to Come Forward

More than 400 victims recently filed claims of child sexual abuse against the Archdiocese in federal bankruptcy court. In this latest major lawsuit pertaining to child sexual abuse by members of the Catholic Church, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is being held accountable. They now face hundreds of individual claims by former victims,

Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee to Pay $21 Million to Victims of Clergy Abuse

On Tuesday, August 4th, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee agreed to a $21 million dollar settlement to compensate hundreds of victims of clergy sexual abuse. This case involved over 575 individual claims of abuse against church leaders in the Milwaukee Archdiocese, many of whom alleged that a systemic lack of prosecution allowed church leaders to abuse minors in

Estranged Wife of Former FLDS Leader Set to Testify Against Abusive Religious Organization

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as the FLDS Church, has a long and disturbing history of church leaders engaging in deviant behavior and committing sexual abuse against children in their congregation. The organization’s founder and leader, Warren Jeffs, is currently serving a life sentence in a Texas prison on

Supreme Court Decision Strengthens Prosecution of Child Sexual Abusers

On June 18th, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States delivered a unanimous decision in the case of Ohio v. Clark. The Supreme Court’s verdict in Ohio v. Clark offers a final resolution to a case that deals with the right of a young child to identify and testify against their abuser. Many advocates for victims

Youth Camp Worker Arrested for Sexual Assault of 5 Boys in Her Care

A 44-year-old Payson, Utah women was arrested this month in connection with the sexual assaults of 5 young men in her care.Katherine Lynn Estep was an employee at the Journey Impact Ranch in Mona, Utah, a facility designed to care for young boys with behavioral issues. The boys that attend the facility are all between

Former Utah School Teacher Pleads Guilty to Sexual Abuse of Students

Brianne Altice, a former teacher at Davis High School in Kaysville, Utah, plead guilty in April to three counts of forcible sexual abuse related to charges that she engaged in inappropriate sexual activities with students in her care. Altice, now 37-years-old, was employed at Davis High School as recently as February of 2014. According to her plea