The Charity Commission has opened statutory inquiries into a Jehovah’s Witness congregation that has been accused of letting paedophile question victims, and the religious movement’s UK headquarters.
The Commission will investigate whether the charities have adequate safeguarding procedures, but will not look at allegations of abuse.
The Watch Tower Bible and Society of Britain, the national body of the Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Manchester New Moston Congregation, have both said they will go to the Charity Tribunal to challenge the regulator’s decision to open inquiries.
The Commission announced that it had opened statutory inquiries yesterday afternoon. It had previously opened regulatory compliance cases, a less serious form of investigation. It began investigating the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain in July 2013 and the Manchester New Moston Congregation in December 2013.
Announcing the inquiries, the Commission said: “The Commission's concerns have been amplified by recent criminal cases concerning historic incidents of abuse involving individuals who appear to have been connected to Jehovah's Witnesses congregations and/or the charity.”
The Commission said that the inquiries are separate but linked. It said: "The Commission is not a safeguarding authority and its inquiries will not investigate allegations of abuse or actual incidents of abuse, whether historic or recent."
In May the Manchester Evening News reported that Jonathan Rose, 40, an elder of the New Moston, was jailed for nine months for abusing two women when they were young girls.
The paper reported that after his release the Manchester New Moston Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses conducted a series of “disfellowship” meetings to decide whether Rose should remain a member of the organisation, in which the women were required to recount their ordeal. At one meeting, Rose was present and allowed to ask questions.
In a statement the charities’ trustees said: “Jehovah’s Witnesses abhor the sexual abuse of children. Our charities’ child safeguarding policy and procedures are designed to protect children and comply with the law. For decades Jehovah’s Witnesses have educated parents on how they can protect their children from sexual abuse. In these circumstances, the trustees are surprised that the Charity Commission has decided to launch an investigation into their safeguarding policy and procedures.”
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