Montana Jury Orders Jehovah’s Witnesses to Pay $35 Million in Abuse Case

A Montana jury has ordered the Jehovah’s Witnesses to pay $35 million to a woman who says the church’s national organization directed Montana clergy not to report her sexual abuse as a child by a congregation member. A judge must review the award, and the national organization, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, plans to appeal.

The 21-year-old woman’s attorneys said Wednesday’s verdict sends a message that the church should report child abuse to outside authorities. Attorney Neil Smith said he hoped the message would lead the organization “to change its priorities” so that it would begin prioritizing the safety of children. The Office of Public Information at the church’s World Headquarters responded with an unsigned statement saying that “Jehovah’s Witnesses abhor child abuse and strive to protect children from such acts,” and that “Watchtower is pursuing appellate review.” The Montana case is one of dozens filed nationwide over the past decade alleging that Jehovah’s Witnesses mismanaged or covered up the sexual abuse of children, a concern that echoes the call to protect the vulnerable (Proverbs 31:8-9).

The case involved two women, now 32 and 21, who allege that a family member sexually abused them and a third family member in Thompson Falls in the 1990s and 2000s. The women say they reported the abuse to church elders, who handled the matter internally after consulting the national organization. According to the lawsuit, the elders expelled the abuser from the congregation in 2004 and reinstated him the following year, and the abuse of the 21-year-old continued. The lawsuit claimed that the local and national organizations were negligent and violated a Montana law requiring them to report abuse to outside authorities.

Smith said that the national headquarters “control[s] when and if anyone within their organization reports child abuse.” He added, “Watchtower instructed everyone involved that they were not to report the matter to authorities.” The church’s attorneys said in court filings that Montana law exempts elders from reporting “internal ecclesiastical proceedings on a congregation member’s serious sin.” They also contended that the national organization is not liable for the actions of the Thompson Falls elders and that too much time has passed for the women to sue.

The jury awarded the 21-year-old woman $4 million for her injuries, plus $30 million in punitive damages against Watchtower and $1 million in punitive damages against the Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, another corporation that communicates with congregations across the United States. The trial judge must review the monetary award, and it could be reduced. A Montana law caps punitive damage awards at 3 percent of a company’s net worth or $10 million, whichever is less. A legal challenge to that law is pending before the Montana Supreme Court.

The jury dismissed claims that the church should have reported the second woman’s abuse by the same congregation member. Jurors concluded that church elders did not receive notice of the 32-year-old woman’s abuse in 1998, as she said they did, and therefore had no duty to tell authorities.

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