Jehovah's Witnesses asking woman to pay legal costs in sexual abuse lawsuit
TORONTO (CP) – A woman who received $5,000 in damages after accusing the Canadian wing of the Jehovah’s Witnesses of negligence over their handling of allegations of sexual abuse is being asked to pay part of the religious group’s $160,000 in legal costs in the case.
Vicki Boer, 32, who says she suffered sexual assaults between ages 11 and 14, sought $700,000 from the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Canada and three of its elders in a 1998 civil suit that claimed they were negligent and breached their duty. A judge awarded her $5,000 in June, but no criminal charges were ever laid in the assault allegations.
“It’s really a slap in the face for them to think that I should be paying for costs,” Boer said in an interview Wednesday from Fredericton.
“I paid for the abuse, I paid for everything happening, and now they still want me to pay again.”
She had previously asked Watch Tower to cover her legal costs, which she estimated as $90,000.
Colin Stevenson, the lawyer representing Watch Tower, confirmed Wednesday that the religious group is asking Boer to pay part of its legal tab.
Stevenson said Watch Tower is not being vindictive.
“Watch Tower is not on any vendetta to try to collect costs from Vicki Boer,” Stevenson said.
Justice Anne Molloy is expected to make a decision on the awarding of legal costs, if any, in late August.
In the civil suit, Boer claimed that rather than immediately notify the Children’s Aid Society, elders told her not to seek outside help or report the alleged abuse. She also said they made her confront her father to allow him to repent his sins in accordance with biblical principles.
But Justice Anne Molloy ruled that while Boer was certainly put through a traumatic experience, the church was ultimately not responsible for all of her pain and suffering.
Molloy cleared the three elders of wrongdoing, but ruled that the church pay Boer $5,000 because one of its elders – who was not named in the suit – talked her into the confrontation with her father, which was an inaccurate application of their faith.
Molloy ruled the church never told Boer not to seek medical help, nor was she told the alleged abuse should not have been reported.
While victims of sexual abuse normally aren’t identified in public, Boer agreed to allow her name to be publicized as part of her effort to promote what she has alleged was abuse within the confines of the church’s congregations.
@Bill
You have to understand the control this cult has over its followers. Without this understanding, your comment is just foolish and stupid. Not saying you are, just your comment.
@kent lee
I read the article about the JW demanding that the woman pay their legal tab. You comment about their vision and why they are successful. I take it that you are one of the JW’s and that you applaud their handling of child sexual abuse cases. If I live to be a hundred years, I will never understand how a parent can sit with their hands in their pockets and allow such crimes against their own children. Who will come to a child’s rescue if a parent is too lame and stupid to stand up for the most precious innocent of our society. Someone robs you and beats you up, you call the authorities. Someone violates your child and you call your elders and you watch them do nothing. You are no better than the abuser.
I recognise the JW as an organisation that has a vision, methods to achieve: bible teachings, discipline, commitment and uniformity. I believe this is why they are successful. As with everything there are differences of opinion, but we all have to believe in something, what better than god and obedience to his laws.Life is about the choices we make, might does not make right.
VIKI BOER STORY CANADA. THE J W ABUSE OF HER IS BUT A TIP OF THE ICEBERG. ACROSS THE U S THE JUDICIARY IS SOLY RESPONCIBLE. IT IS A GREAT MONEY MAKER AN THEY ARE NOT TO ABOUT GIVE IT UP WEATHER RELIGIOUS OR PUBLIC. IT FEEDS ON ITSELF AND ATTYS ARE OFFICERS OF THE COURT SO THEY ARE DUTY BOUND NOT TO REPRESENT THE INDIVIDUAL. EXAMPLE DIVORCE/PATERNITY-CHILDREN ARE AWARDED AS CHATEL PROPERTY-A REFRIGERATOR CAR ECT. 99% ARE AWARDED TO MOTHER WITH COONSAQUENCES BEYOND BELIEF. 87% OF THE PRISON POPULATION WAS RAISED BY A SINGLE MOTHER. DEPT OF JUSTICE STATS WOMEN HAVE OUTPACED MEN IN THE LAST FOUR DECADES BY 400%. THE NEXT IS UNBELIEABLE HERE IN MN THE BUREAU OF CRIMINAL APPREHENSION STATS. THE MOST HAINIOUS CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN AN MEN ARE DONE BY WOMEN. PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY U DO NOT GO AFTER THOSE THAT ARE RESPONCIBLE. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK BUT BROADEN YOUR HORIZEN TO THE REAL CULPRITS.
This is the sort of thing I have seen so much on http://www.silentlambs.org . The Watchtower Society, who is supposed to be neutral of politics, is kissing butts to win this sort of cases. I think the payment should have been much higher than $5,000. And the Society should have been billed for the whole legal fee. I would have awarded more like $5,000,000 in a civil case PLUS pressed criminal charges against the congregation and the abuser. Perhaps if more people start insisting on criminal obstruction of justice charges in cases like this, plus big lawsuits, this sort of nefarious behavior would stop. If not, the Watchtower Society would go belly up. Not to mention the embarrassment when it shows up in the morning paper.
The Watchtower does not follow any laws but their own. They do not pay taxes, and in fact are “non-profit”, but they make billions of dollars. They do not follow solicitation or peddling laws. They do not follow reasonable military alternative service laws. They do not follow court orders to let children get needed blood transfusions. They stall when a Kingdom Hall is being searched under warrant for the purpose of getting damning documents destroyed or transferred to a private home. They lie to protect the organization. And they obstruct justice when pedophiles are involved.
And, the way they control people’s thinking, yes I would blame them if I burn my toast in the morning while under their control. In fact, this actually happens more often than one might think. People are in such a hurry that they don’t properly use the appliance (because they have to get out in service), and they burn the toast as a result. Yes, that is their fault.
This is the rational action. If your child is threatened, the natural course is to push all mysticism aside and think independently. The only problem is, the Watchtower Society has taken this away from its members. And the more strongly attached you are to this cult, the worse the effect is.
It is, in fact, true. The Watchtower Society does threaten to disfellowship to silence the victims of abuse. See http://www.silentlambs.org for proof. In order to have a case, you need two or more witnesses to the event (which the abusers make sure never happens). Then they threaten a judicial case for slander if anyone blows them in. Other children are abused as a result.
Why don’t they take the rational action and call the cops? Simple. The Society is so forcible in insisting on obedience to the Governing Body, no matter what. They are able to get parents to allow their children to die rather than accept a blood transfusion. They are able to get people to accept double donations. They make people sick when they see Christmas decorations and hear Christmas music. They make people sacrifice time, money, and energy for some stupid cause. It doesn’t surprise me that they are able to make parents go through theocratic process on child abuse issues rather than call the cops. I think they use a form of hypnosis as part of the structure of the meetings to achieve this effect.
watchtower only follows the law of the land when is convinient to them. Hypocrites
If someone/anyone abused my child. How could you not go the police?
People act as if their so scared to call the police because they will be disfellowshiped, but their not scared to go to court or go on T.V talking against the Watchtower.
People say:
“The watchtower wouldn’t let me call the police”
Give me a break!
If someone abuse your child. take action.
How can you blame the Watchtower for following the law?
The watchtower didn’t make the law of the land.
Blame the courts not Watchtower if you have a problem with the law of the land.
You guys would blame the watchtower if you burned you toast this morning. Ha!
Vicki’s case demostrates the madness of Canadian courts in protecting abused persons. What’s more intriguing is that the Watch Tower (Watchtower?) would exploit a technicality in the sentencing to force her to pay for their legal costs. Surely the Watch Tower Society has pressed towards exacting a vendatta, wounded by the fact that Vicki triumphed by coming forward. It is clear that thei aim is to make sure other abuse victims are scared of legally confronting the Watch Tower. Indeed, it is worrying that any JW will justify the Society’s position; and these are the people we let knock at our doors?
The congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses are safe havens for molesters of children. Nowhere else is that clearer, as Vicki’s case has shown, than in Canada where the laws allows the judge to give a pat on the back of the palm to the institution responsible for making the innocent suffer.