We are mounting a nationwide campaign to alert the public and Jehovah’s Witnesses of a fugitive that is on the 15 most wanted by the U. S Marshalls Service. McLean is a “serial child molester” that used his knowledge of the inner workings of Jehovah’s Witnesses to access and molest numerous children for many years. McLean was a ministerial servant and pioneered (more hours in door to door work) and often took children on camping trips to build trust and allow him access.
We believe that McLean may have assumed a new identity and may be pretending to be a new convert to a congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. With his knowledge of the inner workings due to his long association with JWs this would be simple for him to do. As a JW member he would be active in calling on the homes of the public which would allow him further access to children by offering bible studies.
McLean is very cunning and deceptive, it is estimated that he molested over 30 children and used the religion as a way to gain the trust of children and cover his actions. For those reasons we are issuing a one page flyer to be distributed to Kingdom Halls, (Churches for JWs) public bulletin boards, laundry mats, churches and any place where public information can be displayed.
Silentlambs is making the flyer available in two formats, Word and PDF, to download click on the links below and then make copies for distribution in your local community.
This man has been on the run for three years, he is a compulsive molester of little girls 5-12 years of age. If you know or see anyone that matches his description calling at your home or in a congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses please follow the instructions on the flyer for your safety.
IF you would like further information contact Silentlambs at 877-WTABUSE info@silentlambs.org
Also there are some more details located at
http://silentlambs.org/rickmcleanamw.htm,
http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=35566,
http://www.usdoj.gov/marshals/investigations/most_wanted/mclean15.pdf
On the links provided America's Most Wanted filmed an extensive expose on Rick McLean. Four of McLean's victims were paid large settlements with gag orders to prevent them from telling the extent of how their abuse was covered up by church elders. The fact McLean is still on the loose can be an indicator that with a false identity he may be in a JW congregation unknown to members or the public. We hope this announcement can have an impact.
silentlambs
Jehovah's Witnesses settle abuse cases
5/10/2007, 6:14 p.m. ET
By ROSE FRENCH
The Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A victims' rights group released documents Thursday that showed the Jehovah's Witnesses recently settled civil suits with 16 people who claimed they were sexually abused by church elders or that church officials failed to act on abuse allegations.
The group, called silentlambs, held a news conference in Nashville to demand that the denomination change its policy for responding to sex abuse reports.
Settlements were reached in late February and early March, according to court records obtained by silentlambs and posted to the group's Web site. Fourteen of the cases were filed in California; the other two were in Oregon and Texas.
Details about the settlement terms could not be disclosed under confidentiality agreements negotiated between the parties, said Stephen Owens, a plaintiffs' attorney involved in the California cases. Other cases are still pending, according to silentlambs, which couldn't say how many.
William Bowen, silentlambs' founder, was a Jehovah's Witnesses elder from Kentucky who quit the denomination after he said it took no action against a molester. Bowen said the settlements were bittersweet.
"On one hand, we're glad a few victims are finally getting some financial help," he said. "On the other hand, we're sad and worried because they've essentially been forced to give up their right to protect others by speaking out about their abuse to the public."
Bowen's group has criticized the Jehovah's Witnesses' policy that if an accused abuser denies the charge, two credible witnesses are required to establish guilt — due to literal application of such Bible verses as Deuteronomy 19:15 ("only on the evidence of two witnesses, or of three witnesses, shall a charge be sustained").
If two witnesses are lacking, the accused is deemed innocent, charges remain confidential and — silentlambs says — parents who warn others are subject to disfellowshipping for slander.
Disfellowshipping is an extreme penalty that means a total cutoff of relationships by family members, friends and business associates who are Witnesses.
There are about 1 million Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States, and followers are known for distributing Awake! and Watchtower magazines door-to-door.
Bowen also said Jehovah's Witnesses have a long-standing policy of not reporting molesters to police. He claims that the denomination has a secret database of accused abusers that they have not shared with law enforcement officials.
"They keep putting innocent kids and unsuspecting families at risk of horrible crimes because they value their secrecy and reputations more than they value children's safety," Bowen said.
Since establishing silentlambs in 2001, Bowen says about 7,000 people who claim they were abused have contacted his group.
Angelique Taylor, 42, a silentlambs member from St. Louis, said she was molested by a Jehovah's Witnesses elder when she was about 12. Taylor said she told her father, who was also an elder, and he said she was making a big deal out of nothing.
"I want every elder, every Jehovah's Witness, whenever they suspect any abuse, they go to the police and tell them about the problems," Taylor said. "The devastation of sex abuse is unbelievable."
___
Associated Press reporter Allison Hoffman in San Diego contributed to this report.
On the net www.silentlambs.org
Sexual Abuse and Child Abuse Among Jehovah's Witnesses
www.exjws.net/sexabuse/index.htm
www.rickross.com/reference/jw/jw136.html Witnesses to pain
-tell the truth don't be afraid-Danny Haszard
http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=35566
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/6960166.stm
Man escapes jail for sex attacks
BBC News - 1 hour, 42 minutes ago
A Jehovah's Witnesss gets a community sentence for a series of sex assaults on children and adults.
Man escapes jail for sex attacks
Porter was put on the Sex Offenders Register
A Jehovah's Witness has escaped a jail term after admitting a series of sexual assaults on children and adults in Clevedon.
Michael Porter, an elder in the religion, pleaded guilty to 24 counts of indecent assault and gross indecency on 13 victims aged 18 months and older.
Among the individuals were others involved in the faith.
Judge Crowther at Bristol Crown Court sentenced Porter to three years of community rehabilitation.
Many of the families involved have been completely traumatised
Det Con Lisa Finch
Porter's sister, Tina Hughes, said: "I am absolutely disgusted. He should not have walked free.
"He has lost nothing. We have to tell the victims we have got no closure. He is an evil person. He is not human."
Porter carried out the assaults between 1986 and 2000.
He was banned from working with anyone under the age of 18 and and put on the Sex Offenders Register.
Det Con Lisa Finch, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: "Many of the families involved have been completely traumatised. It has turned their lives upside down."
Porter declined to comment as he left court with his wife. He remains an elder in the religion.
-tell the truth don't be afraid-Danny Haszard
http://www.myfoxphilly.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=4153572&ver...
Monster' Paedophile Walks Free
MyFox Philadelphia, PA - 8-23-007
Michael Porter abused his position in the Jehovah's Witnesses to prey on young children in Somerset between 1986 and 2000. A judge at Bristol Crown Court ...
...Porter left the family's home in Somerset and moved to London in 2000 after his mother died and was later made an elder.
Worshippers in Mill Hill, Barnet, have stood by Porter despite confessing to his crimes, according to his sister.
"His religion is his full-time job. They're backing him and have not thrown him out. He'll still be in contact with children and be visiting houses door-to-door."
-tell the truth don't be afraid-Danny Haszard
Ask yourself, how many of these "nice" and "Christian" Jehovah's Witnesses are coming to your door--perhaps sizing up your child? The next time you are visited by Jehovah’s Witnesses, don’t just say, “I’m not interested.” Ask, “Why does your organization defend pedophiles?” Because this isn’t just one isolated case. There are thousands just like this one out there and there will continue to be children victimized until people aren’t afraid to question the practices of the Watchtower organization’s two-witness requirement. Email me through my website below and I’ll send you some newsletters which focus on the abusive practices dished out by Jehovah’s Witnesses. Sexual abuse isn't the only form of abuse being levied against innocent children.
Brenda Lee, “Out of the Cocoon: A Young Woman’s Courageous Flight from the Grip of a Religious Cult” www.outofthecocoon.net
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2007/08/24/24-vile-attacks-on-ki...
24 VILE ATTACKS ON KIDS ..NO JAIL
Mirror.co.uk, UK -
Senior Jehovah's Witness Michael Porter, 38, attacked boys for 14 years. He admitted 24 charges of gross indecency and indecent assault on 13 youngsters ...
"He had no right to leave the courtroom. He's not human - he's an evil monster."
She said parents trusted Porter, an Elder in the Witnesses in Portishead and Clevedon, Somerset, to babysit, take children on holiday and have sleepovers at his home.
She said: "Children loved him and parents worshipped him.
They thought he was God's son on earth. He was the last man they'd ever suspect of doing something so horrific."
Porter now lives in Finchley, North London, and is thought to be an Elder in Mill Hill.
Ms Hughes said: "They're backing him and haven't thrown him out. He'll still be in contact with children and visiting houses door to door."
Victims of Crime Trust said the sentence "gives paedophiles a licence to offend".
Labour MP Dan Norris said: "I hope the Witnesses will ensure children's safety by expelling him."
Police said they will consider an appeal. No one from the Witnesses in Clevedon or London was available.
FORGIVEN?
Jehovah's Witnesses who fail to live by the religion's strict moral code face expulsion. Porter escaped this, according to his sister, and is being supported by Witnesses
The writing is on the wall for silentlambs. Every day that passes another of its lies is exposed. See http://silentlambsexposed.blogspot.com for more details.
Exposing the Lies
One particularly infamous Internet web site, run by a disfellowshipped/disassociated (excommunicated) witness, which seems solely dedicated to discrediting the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses as being a safe haven for pedophiles, makes the following claim: “At (site name deleted) we estimate in the last six years over three hundred JW child molesters have went to court for prosecution due to the assistance and education provided through this website.” Is this an accurate statement? Consider the facts.
1. 300 cases in six years would equivocate to approximately one prosecution per week!
2. This same site lists no more than sixteen alleged child molesters.
3. Of these sixteen (according to independent news reports), two have never actually been Jehovah’s Witnesses, three committed their crimes years before becoming one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, one was raised a Witness then left as an adult before committing his crimes, and the status of two others being Witnesses is questionable.
4. This leaves eight who have been confirmed to have committed their crimes while being baptized members of Jehovah’s Witnesses, four of which have been confirmed disfellowshipped and are no longer considered Jehovah’s Witnesses. The status of the remaining four we have no records for.
5. There are roughly 7,000,000 members of Jehovah’s Witnesses world wide.
6. 300 alleged cases, as is claimed by this site, is roughly five-thousandths of a percent (.005) of 7,000,000 active dedicated servants of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
7. 8 confirmed cases is roughly one ten-thousandth of a percent (.0001) of 7,000,000 active dedicated servants of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
8. The alleged three hundred cases have not been reported on in the various news outlets. We have only this web site’s word to go on, with no documentary evidence.
9. Documentary evidence of this web site’s involvement with the prosecution of alleged child molesters can be found for only two known cases, a far cry from the alleged three hundred.
Is this web site being completely honest? Or are they stretching the truth just a little? Let us consider a few paragraphs from the resignation letter of the web site’s owner, written in 2001, in which he denounces his faith and makes a broad accusation:
“Pedophiles are protected by a code of silence and in many cases remain, Ministerial servants, Elders, Pioneers, Circuit, District Overseers, members of the Bethel Family, etc., while their victims suffer in silence or face sanctions. This policy is unethical and immoral in my opinion . . . The only way a person within the organization can be guilty of child molestation is by confession, conviction by a court of law, or by the mouth of two witnesses who were there for the same event.” (italics ours)
And now, an excerpt from a Watchtower article, dated January 1, 1997 - some 4 years prior to his resignation letter, discrediting his claim that responsible members of the congregation are being protected in their positions:
“For the protection of our children, a man known to have been a child molester does not qualify for a responsible position in the congregation. Moreover, he cannot be a pioneer or serve in any other special, full-time service.—Compare the principle at Exodus 21:28, 29.”
And finally, two excerpts from the Elder’s Handbook, published in 1991 - some 10 years prior to his resignation letter, which discredit his claim that two witnesses of the same event of abuse must come forward (NOTE: These statements refer only to congregational disciplinary measures and not the alleged victim’s choice to alert the civil authorities - which are the “absolute right” of the alleged victim according to official policy):
“If there are two witnesses to the same kind of wrongdoing, but each one is witness to a separate incident, their testimony can be considered. Such evidence may be used to establish guilt.” (p. 111)
“If there is another witness to the same type of sin on the part of the accused, this would be basis for forming a judicial committee.” (p. 119)
Clearly, the policy of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society and Jehovah’s Witnesses was and is nothing like this apostate claims. The following quotes come from the same resignation letter:
“In my forty-plus years in the organization, I have yet to find one congregation that did not have serious problems with children being molested . . . With this policy (of covering up child abuse) you will allow one out of three “witness children” to be molested in their lifetime” (italics ours)
Do these quotes seem a bit fishy to you? Is every single congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses really a haven for pedophiles, as his first comment infers, with as many as 33% of all children within them being molested? These are outrageous claims designed to cause the undiscerning reader to jump to terrible conclusions with absolutely no proof or any basis in fact. All we have to go on, are these words of a disfellowshipped/disassoicated ‘ex-witness’ on an obvious witch hunt.
View the entire article at: http://magnifyjehovah.com/index.php/2009/04/08/do-jehovahs-witnesses-pro...