Jehovah's Witnesses
Government inquiries and lawsuits over the organization's handling of abuse reports.
13 developments, 2015–2025, oldest first.
2015
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Royal commission told Jehovah's Witnesses never reported 1,006 alleged abusers to police
Australia's Royal Commission heard that none of 1,006 alleged perpetrators recorded by the church since 1950 were reported to authorities.
2018
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Montana jury orders Jehovah's Witnesses to pay $35 million in abuse cover-up case
A jury found the church liable for failing to report a member's abuse of a child and awarded about $35 million.
2019
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New York Child Victims Act opens door to suits against Jehovah's Witnesses leadership
Suits naming the Governing Body were filed under New York's lookback window, alleging elders mishandled abuse reports.
2020
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Montana Supreme Court reverses $35 million verdict against Jehovah's Witnesses
The court held the church was exempt from Montana's mandatory reporting law under a clergy exception.
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Pennsylvania grand jury investigating Jehovah's Witnesses abuse handling
The Inquirer reported a statewide grand jury was examining how the church handled child abuse allegations.
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Australia's PM condemns Jehovah's Witnesses and others refusing to join redress scheme
The government threatened funding and charity-status consequences for institutions, including the Jehovah's Witnesses, that declined to join the national redress scheme.
2022
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Pennsylvania AG charges four Jehovah's Witnesses members with abusing children
Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced the first charges from the grand jury probe, involving alleged abuse of 19 children.
2023
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More charges put focus on Jehovah's Witnesses' handling of abuse
New grand jury charges in Pennsylvania renewed scrutiny of elders' internal handling of abuse reports.
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Dutch prosecutors to try Jehovah's Witness member on decades-old abuse charges
Prosecutors charged a member over alleged abuse in the 1990s, following a 2018 raid on church offices and a legal fight over internal records.
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Pennsylvania authorities charge five more in Jehovah's Witnesses abuse probe
The attorney general's office filed charges against five additional current or former members.
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UK Charity Commission closes nine-year inquiry into Watch Tower safeguarding
The regulator said Watch Tower's legal challenges constrained its inquiry and found it had not been as transparent as it should have been.
2024
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Former elder convicted of abusing three children in Lancaster County
A jury convicted Norman Aviles-Garriga on all 12 counts in a case brought from the grand jury investigation.
2025
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Philadelphia congregation member sentenced in grand jury abuse case
David Balosa received two to four years in prison after a jury convicted him of assaulting a child in 1998.