The situation amongst Jehovah’s Witnesses regarding paedophiles is reminiscent of that of the Catholic Church. Whilst the majority of Witnesses abhor paedophilia and the Watchtower actively denounces child abuse, archaic and self-serving Watchtower policies have facilitated this very practice amongst Jehovahs Witnesses. The result has been a string of successful court cases against the Watchtower Society in recent years.

The Watchtower Society has come in for tremendous criticism globally for its stance on paedophilia and been the subject of numerous media reports.

silentlambs.com lists numerous examples that highlight the extent of child abuse amongst Jehovah’s Witnesses. This extends to prominent elders at Bethel, such as Jesus Cano, who was arrested in June 2006. Cano handed out naked pictures of himself to young males at airports whilst travelling on District Convention speaking assignments.

There have been several reasons that paedophiles have been able to find sanctuary amongst Jehovah’s Witnesses and that the Watchtower Society is now being held accountable for the actions of its members. Most damaging were the following:

•The two witness rule to establish Scriptural crimes
•The three year rule for sins of elders

Other concepts also at play have been:

•Worldly wisdom cannot be trusted
•Reproach must not be bought on Jehovahs Organization – Witnesses are expected to solve problems within
•Everyone must engage in preaching

This section briefly examines each of these points

Court Settlements

Highly condemning has been the ongoing settlement of cases by the Watchtower Society. Most of these are settled out of court with “gag” clauses, so that the public is unable to obtain full details. More recently, some victims have decided to pursue their cases through the courts, so that people are able to become aware of what is happening within the Watchtower Organisation, and understand how dangerous their policies on child abuse have been.

The Watchtower has accepted culpability when settling cases out of court. The settled cases are generally in situations where known child predators continued to bere-appointed into positions of authority by the Brooklyn headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Elders, the equivalent of priests, are appointed after recommendation by congregation elders, approval of the circuit overseer, and acceptance by the Bethel. Elders are said to be placed in their position of authority by the active guidance of holy spirit; as such they hold considerable influence over congregation members.

CANDICE CONTI WINS $28 MILLION – 2012

In 2012, the Watchtower lost a landmark case against Candice Conti. The case was unusual, as pedophile Jonathan Kendrick was not an elder, but a “rank and file” member of the congregation. Rather than settle out of court, the Watchtower had been confident in winning and allowed the case to go through the court process.

The case was lost due to the elders and Watchtower headquarters having knowledge of a known child molester in the congregation, but doing nothing to protect members of the congregation or public.

The Watchtower received a judgement of $21 million for punitive damages.

2007
Highly condemning has been the settlement of 16 child abuse cases in 2007. The total payout is estimated to have been $13 million dollars.

Elders (the equivalent of priests) are appointed after recommendation by the congregation elders, approval of the circuit overseer and acceptance by the Bethel. As discussed at the chapter on Holy Spirit, elders are considered to be placed in their position of authority by the active guidance of holy spirit; as such they hold considerable influence over congregation members. The reason the Watchtower has accepted culpability is that known child predators continued to be re-appointed into these positions of authority by the Brooklyn headquarters of Jehovahs Witnesses.

A number of abuse victims filed court cases against the Watchtower Society through Attorney Kim Norris at Law firm Love & Norris. These were for up to $4 million per victim. Some were regarding Rick McLean, who molested many Witness children over a twenty year period. Despite numerous Witness children and their parents approaching congregational elders, no action was taken due to the two witness rule. Neither was the authorities contacted. As such, Mclean and others were able to continue in positions of considerable influence and authority to manipulate and molest innocent victims.

Plaintiff Tim W. of Tehama County, California, in his Second Amended Complaint alleged:

Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. had actual knowledge that James Henderson was a sexual predator since at least 1964. Yet, for the better part of three decades, that appointed and re-appointed him to the positions of elder and ministerial servant.

By settling out of court the allegation was neither proven or disproven. However, an out of court settlement for such a large amount of money speaks for itself. If the Watchtower Society believed itself innocent you would imagine them welcoming the opportunity to prove in court that their policies were not responsible for hiding pedophiles within congregations. In an indication of guilt, the Watchtower Society chose not to allow these cases to go to trial; to do so would have been devastating to their reputation. Rather they have settled out of court with nondisclosure agreements, also known as gag orders, which mean the victims receipt of compensation is dependant on them not speaking about the court cases. The settlements have been printed in newspapers around the world.

Two Witness Rule

Of most damage has been that until the late 1990s, Watchtower policy dictated that two witnesses must be present at the same sexual encounter, for the perpetrator to be considered to have committed a scriptural offence. In the case of child molestation there are almost never two witnesses. This meant that even when several children made an accusation against the same brother, the elders were to do nothing. Without two witnesses, the only time action could be taken was when the accused confessed. This meant that elders were aware of serial child abusers, yet no action was taken either within the congregation, or by contacting the police.

The Watchtower 1995 Nov 1 pp.28-9 gave the following advice regarding accusations of child abuse.

“What if the sufferer decides that he wants to make an accusation? Then the two elders can advise him that, in line with the principle at Matthew 18:15, he should personally approach the accused about the matter.
If the accuser is not emotionally able to do this face-to-face, it can be done by telephone or perhaps by writing a letter. In this way the one accused is given the opportunity to go on record before Jehovah with his answer to the accusation. He may even be able to present evidence that he could not have committed the abuse. Or perhaps the one accused will confess, and a reconciliation may be achieved. What a blessing that would be! If there is a confession, the two elders can handle matters further in accordance with Scriptural principles.

If the accusation is denied, the elders should explain to the accuser that nothing more can be done in a judicial way. And the congregation will continue to view the one accused as an innocent person. The Bible says that there must be two or three witnesses before judicial action can be taken. (2 Corinthians 13:1; 1 Timothy 5:19) Even if more than one person remembers abuse by the same individual, the nature of these recalls is just too uncertain to base judicial decisions
on them without other supporting evidence. This does not mean that such memories are viewed as false (or that they are viewed as true). But Bible principles must be followed in establishing a matter judicially.

What if the one accusedthough denying the wrongdoingis really guilty? Does he get away with it, as it were? Certainly not! The question of his guilt or innocence can be safely left in Jehovah’s hands.”

After negative publicity received, this has been changed to allow “two-witnesses” to include a single witness from two separate occasions. The change was introduced in a Letter to Elders May 24, 2002

”In recent weeks, the press in this country has focused attention on the way accusations of child abuse are handled by various religious organizations. Such reports may cause some sincere individuals to ask about the procedures followed by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

We expect the elders to investigate every allegation of child abuse. Even one abused child is one too many. However, in evaluating the evidence, they must bear in mind the Bible’s clear direction: “No single witness should rise up against a man respecting any error or any sin. At the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses the matter should stand good.” (Deuteronomy 19:15) Later, this requirement to consider testimony of two or three witnesses was confirmed by Jesus. (Matthew 18:16) Thus, although they investigate every allegation, the elders are not authorized by the Scriptures to take congregational action unless there is a confession or there are two credible witnesses. However, if two persons are witnesses to separate incidents of the same kind of wrongdoing, their testimony can be deemed sufficient
to take action.-” I Timothy 5:19,24,25.”

Three Year Rule

Even more critical in legal actions taken against the Watchtower Society has been the Three Year rule. This allowed for known paedophiles to continue serving as elders, provided any known offences were committed at least three years prior to confession.

The 1972 book Organization for Kingdom-Preaching and Disciple-Making stated:

"If a person was serving as an elder or a ministerial servant when he committed a serious wrong, even though it was some years ago, he bears a degree of reprehensibility, for he continued to serve in that position though knowing that he had, for the time at least, disqualified himself, not being then free from accusation. (1 Tim. 3:2, 10; Titus 1:6,7) He should have informed the judicial committee that he did not adhere to the requirements and should have stepped down from his position. In view of his failure to do this at that time, he would now be removed from that position."
The term some years ago was clarified shortly afterwards in the Kingdom Ministry 1972 p.8 as a time period of three years:

"What was meant by some years ago on page 170, paragraph two, in the Organization book? This indicates more than a year or two. It may be noted that it did not say many years ago. So it is not the exact number of years, but more like two or three years. It was not intended to have a brother go back into the distant past to bring up wrongs of which he repented years ago and that have evidently been forgiven by Jehovah and are not practiced now."
This position was re-confirmed at the 1991 two-day Kingdom Ministry Schools. It was not until the 2005 Kingdom Ministry Schools that it was clearly stated that hidden acts of porneia (sexual sins) were to require a judicial committee.

I personally benefited from this very rule. Whilst in Bethel in 1994 I confessed to a Bethel elder to a "sin" committed in 1990. As both myself and the other party were still in full-time service three years later, the elder determined that Jehovah had forgiven the indiscretion and no further action was taken.

Worldly Wisdom

At the heart of the issue has also been the attitude of the Watchtower towards the wisdom of the world.

"So God has nothing in common with this world. (John 18:36; 1 John 2:15-17) That is why the Bible speaks of two kinds of wisdom, the wisdom of God and the wisdom of the world." Watchtower 1992 Sep 15 p.19

Witnesses with problems are encouraged to go to the elders and discouraged from going to worldly experts for fear of being influenced by the advice of worldly experts that may disagree with Watchtower principles. Victims have regularly been advised against contacting police or specialists trained in child abuse. Needless to say, elders have no training in issues such as marriage, addictions and child abuse beyond limited information provided by the Watchtower Society. Watchtower policy lags painfully behind child abuse professionals.

An indication of how painfully lacking the training of elders is in the case of child abuse, the environment for children to discuss their abuse is generally in a small kingdom hall room in front of three male elders. Quite often the child has been expected to face the accused.

Even more inappropriately, the official 1993 telememo form used by elders asked the question "How many elders felt that the victim was somewhat at fault or willingly participated in the acts?"



Reproach on the Organisation's Name

Fear of bringing reproach on Jehovah's name has been used to dissuade use of legal and court systems.

"Loyalty to Jehovah God will also keep us from doing anything that would bring reproach upon his name and Kingdom. For example, two Christians once got into such difficulty with each other that they improperly resorted to a worldly law court. Certainly, the course of loyalty to Jehovah God is to suffer personal loss rather than bring reproach upon Jehovah and his organization." Watchtower 1996 Mar 15 p.15

The issue here is not the name of Jehovah, but the reputation of the Watchtower Organization. People do not blame God when a Witness molests a child. If blame is attributed to anyone other than the perpetrator, it is directed towards the rules and regulations of the Watchtower Society.

When a serial offender was found to have been a child molester, elders kept information discussed in judicial committees confidential under ecclesiastical privilege. This included not reporting such matters to the police. Witnesses have regularly been discouraged from going to the police for fear of bringing reproach on Jehovah's name. In legal cases Watchtower lawyers have made the claim that the Bible says elders must keep information they know in regards to crime confidential. This mimics the Catholic ideas on confessionals.

"Elders in the Christian congregation are responsible to handle violations of divine law, such as stealing, murder, and immorality. But God did not require congregation elders to enforce Caesars laws and codes. Hence, Paul did not feel compelled to turn over to Roman authorities Onesimus, who was a fugitive under Roman law. (Philemon 10, 15) Of course, if someone flagrantly violates secular law, gaining the reputation of being a lawbreaker, he would not be a good example and might even be disfellowshipped." Watchtower 1986 Oct 1 p.31

Parents who have witnessed or strongly suspected child abuse against their child have been warned by elders not to talk any other parents in the congregation, with a threat of disfellowshipping for slander if they do. This has been an important factor that has contributed to a child abuser being able to go on and commit more crimes against other children.

In 1986, Congress passed the Child Abuse Victims' Rights Act. This allowed children a civil claim in sexual abuse cases, and led to increasing cases against the Catholic Church. In apparent response, a Confidential Letter was sent to Elders in 1989, stating elders contact, not the police, but the Societies legal department regarding any accusations of child abuse. The Elders letter went into detail about keeping information confidential, including the contents of the letter. The 2012 court case involving Candace Conti found the instructions of this letter led to child abuse cases being kept hidden.



In 2002, it was finally accepted that police could be contacted directly. A Letter To All Bodies of Elders in the United States, February 15, 2002 stated that elders were not to prevent Witnesses reporting child abuse to the police, which has been added to the 2010 Elders manual.

"Child abuse is a crime. Never suggest to anyone that they should not report an allegation of child abuse to the police or other authorities. If you are asked, make it clear that whether to report the matter to the authorities or not is a personal decision for each individual to make and that there are no congregation sanctions for either decision. Elders will not criticize anyone who reports such an allegation to the authorities. If the victim wishes to make a report, it is his or her absolute right to do so. - Gal. 6:5." Shepherd the Flock of God pp.131,132. Click here (https://jwfacts.com/pdf/child-abuse-shepherd-flock-p131-133.pdf) for the full quote.
However, the congregation itself is not protected, since it will not be made aware of pedophiles within the congregation by the elders. Even when a person is disfellowshipped for child abuse, the only announcements will be "[Name of person] is no longer one ofJehovah's Witnesses" and possibly later, "[Name of person] is reinstated as one of Jehovah's Witnesses."
However, the congregation itself is not protected, since it will not be made aware of pedophiles within the congregation by the elders. Even when a person is disfellowshipped for child abuse, the only announcements will be "[Name of person] is no longer one ofJehovah's Witnesses" and possibly later, "[Name of person] is reinstated as one of Jehovah's Witnesses."

Mandatory Reporting

In 1997, it was explained that the policy for when a child molester moves to a new congregation is for the elders to be made aware of the person's past. Disturbingly, it is only the elders that are to be told, not the members of the congregation. The pedophile is also referred to as a "former child molester", showing the Watchtower's ignorance regarding the ongoing nature of a pedophile's desires and minimising their actions.


LETTER TO ELDERS, 1997 Mar 14 p.2
Elders are now to go to the secular authorities in States where they are legally required to. However, in most cases Bethel recommends against going to the authorities where there is no legal obligation. Prior to contacting the police, elders are expected to seek advice from the Watchtower legal department. The following proviso is stated in an October 10 2002 Confidential Body of Elders Letter sent to all elders in Australia;

"If, after contacting the Society, it is determined that the elders should report a matter such as child abuse to the authorities, it would not be considered to be a breach of confidentiality to make such a report. Elders should always contact the Society before providing any information on confidential matters to secular authorities."
In 2013, at the Australian "Inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations", Terry O’Brien, Australian Watchtower Branch Coordinator, confirmed that elders do not report child abuse cases in Australia, since there is no mandatory reporting rules.



Click here (https://jwfacts.com/pdf/childabuse-enquiry-australia-watchtower-april-2013.pdf) for full manuscript.

The 2015Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse identified that Jehovah's Witnesses have not being following their legal obligations in this area. Whilst many states do not have mandatory reporting laws for accusations of child abuse, once elders have established proof of a crime through the judicial committee process, there legally have been required to inform the authorities. For instance, in Australia this has been an obligation since 1990 under section 316 of the Crimes Act.

Elders have shirked their moral obligations to protect victims by withholding allegations and evidence of abuse from authorities. In attempting to do the minimum possible regarding their secular obligations, Jehovah's witnesses have broken the law in countries such as Australia, putting further individuals at unnecessary risk of abuse.

Watchtower continues to work against the authorities to any extent possible. Trey Bundy reports at Jehovah’s Witnesses fight law on reporting child sex abuse to police (1st Feb 2016) how Watchtower lawyers attempt to use clergy-penitent privilege to continue to withhold information of confessions of child abuse. This is despite clergy-penitent privilege specifically addressing the Catholic practice of confession, which Watchtower criticises as unchristian under the topic of Confession in the Reasoning Book, pages 80 to 81.

Compulsory Preaching - Is there a Paedophile at your Door?

Of most concern to the general public should be that Witness pedophiles are expected to go preaching to the houses of strangers. House-to-house preaching is considered a key requirement for salvation, and a person is only counted as an active Jehovah's Witness if they submit field service reports. In 2002, NBC aired on Dateline a program explaining that a householder had no way of knowing if the Jehovah's Witness on their doorstep, (or having a bible study with your child in your house) is a child molester.

As early as 1997 the Watchtower showed it understood pedophiles are likely to reoffend, yet still it encourages such people to go preaching to the doors of strangers.

"Depending on the law of the land where he lives, the molester may well have to serve a prison term or face other sanctions from the State. The congregation will not protect him from this. Moreover, the man has revealed a serious weakness that henceforth will have to be taken into account. If he seems to be repentant, he will be encouraged to make spiritual progress, share in the field service, even have parts in the Theocratic Ministry School and nonteaching parts in the Service Meeting. This does not mean, though, that he will qualify to serve in a position of responsibility in the congregation. What are the Scriptural reasons for this?

For one thing, an elder must be “self-controlled.” (Titus 1: True, none of us have perfect self-control. (Romans 7:21-25) But a dedicated adult Christian who falls into the sin of child sexual abuse reveals an unnatural fleshly weakness. Experience has shown that such an adult may well molest other children. True, not every child molester repeats the sin, but many do. And the congregation cannot read hearts to tell who is and who is not liable to molest children again. (Jeremiah 17:9) Hence, Paul’s counsel to Timothy applies with special force in the case of baptized adults who have molested children: “Never lay your hands hastily upon any man; neither be a sharer in the sins of others.” (1 Timothy 5:22) 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." Watchtower 1997 Jan 1 p.29
Watchtower public relations spokesman, J. R. Brown, claimed in Louisville Courier-Journal, 1-4-2001 that sex offenders are only to preach when accompanied by a responsible adult. However, this is not generally known by Jehovah's Witnesses, as it is not discussed in Watchtower publications, and difficult to enforce when other publishers are not informed of sex offenders within the congregation.

Appointing Child Abusers to Positions of Authority

In 1997, it was printed in the Watchtower, a publication for general distribution, that Scripturally convicted child molesters were never to hold the position of elders, or other roles of responsibility such as Ministerial Servants and Pioneers.

"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." Watchtower 1997 Jan 1 p.29
This misleadingly gives the impression that those holding these positions of authority could be trusted as having no prior convictions.

Firstly, even if convicted in court, such conviction is not considered valid unless the elders can find the person guilty under Scriptural principles. As such, it is possible for a convicted paedophile to have privileges of oversight.

Secondly, whilst the Watchtower gave the impression to Jehovah's Witness followers and the general public that an elder could never be a known child abuser, internal documents showed that exceptions are still be made.

"The congregation would be left unprotected if we prematurely appointed someone who was a child abuser as a ministerial servant or an elder. In addition, court officials and lawyers will hold responsible any organization that knowingly appoints former child abusers to positions of trust, if one of these, thereafter,commits a further act of child abuse. This could result in costly lawsuits, involving dedicated funds that should be used to further the Kingdom work. So, legal considerations must also be weighed along with the degree of notoriety, the extent of the misconduct, how many years ago the sin occurred, and how the brother is now viewed by the congregation and people in the community including those he victimized." Letter to elders - Australia branch - July 20, 1998
The 2010 Elders manual continues to suggest it is possible for a child abuser to serve as an Elder or Ministerial Servant after "many years" have passed.

"Moreover, the nature of the sin may reflect greatly on his qualifications to serve. For example, the sin may involve past child abuse, and this would likely disqualify him for many years.- w97 1/1 pp. 26-29; w77 pp.697-698.
If the wrongdoing occurred within the past few years while he was serving as an elder or a ministerial servant, he is disqualified from serving as such, not being "free from accusation."" Shepherd the Flock of God pp.38,39
Public relations

An indication that the main concern of the Watchtower Society has been to avoid legal liability is page 143 of the elders handbook, Pay Attention To Yourselves and to All the Flock. This page is left blank, with elders filling in dictated notes. In regards to child abuse the following paragraph is scribed.

Child Abuse. Ref Letters: A.B.E Aug 29th 1989 pg 3; LLA 10/10/2002; 28/8/02.
Legal ramifications.
*In cases of either accusation or allegations of child abuse, immediately contact the society. Do not talk to anyone else.
*If a brother or a sister confesses to child abuse, ask them not to speak to anyone else till you get back to them, and contact the society immediately. In contacting the society simply state Matter involving Child Abuse and the switchboard will put you through.
*If interviewed by the police, tell them you are not prepared to make a statement until you have sought legal advice. Contact society immediately or a local barrister if necessary.
*If presented with a search warrant or a subpoena, the last resort is to hand over any material. (Cong file) Find out exactly what is wanted and hand over only that. Preferably seek legal advice first. (stall) Read the warrant. Write on envelope Ecclesiastical privilege claimed, not to be opened until matter is determined by court.


[Img]https://jwfacts.com/images/elders-bk-p74.jpg[/img]

scans of dictated notes from the 1991 Elders book regarding Child Abuse
The Watchtower Society has acted in damage mode regarding paedophile accusations. The Watchtower Public Relations site jw-media.org released the following quote, seemingly as justification for prior indiscretions;

"People didn't have the body of knowledge 18 or 20 years ago to say that this is something that will harm your child emotionally, if you don't address it. Parents didn't know the seriousness ... and the long-term effects."

Obvious false propaganda, particularly when compared with statements appearing in the Watchtower at least 25 years ago:

"Pedophiles see no harm in "kiddie porn," only because they are blinded by their own lust. But the children used in it are harmed, often ending up peddling sex on the streets and having trouble seeing themselves as desirable in any way other than as a commodity, a sex object with a price tag." Awake! 1982 June 22 p.8 "BabyPros" and "KiddiePorn"
Court Cases

In the twenty-first century a string of cases have been launched against Watchtower. These cases generally involve situations where known child predators continued to be re-appointed as elders by Watchtower headquarters, putting them into positions of authority where they had easy access to manipulate and molest children in private situations. Other cases involve elders assigning known pedophiles to preach with children, with tragic results.

Watchtower has accepted culpability by settling the majority of these cases out of court with "gag" clauses. Since 2010, more cases are being taken through the courts. Two high profile cases include Candice Conti, awarded $7,000,000, and Jose Lopez awarded $13,500,000.

For extensive information about several key cases see Watchtower Child Abuse Settlements.(https://jwfacts.com/watchtower/child-abuse-settlements.php)

Conclusion

An organisation that prides its doctrine on being guided by the Bible and holy spirit should have had policy to protect children from inception. If Jehovah directed the Governing Body, procedure dealing with pedophiles should lead the world, able to be used as a model for guidance. The reverse has been the fact, as identified by the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse 2015.

The Watchtower Society actively denounces other religions for their stance on paedophiles.

"First accused of gross indecency in 1979, one priest was recently sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to 36 charges!
Usually these cases are hushed up, and no significant disciplinary action is taken. Perhaps a priest is transferred to another parish or duty, where the depravity might start again. On this occasion the archbishop was moved to resign after stating: We are a sinful church. We are naked. Our anger, our pain, our anguish, our shame are clear to the whole world. And even worse, the church hierarchy failed to act decisively. They were accused of being more concerned about the offending priests than about the victims." Awake! 1990 November 8 p.31

"Even Churches that condemn immorality have tolerated religious leaders who have sexually abused children." The End of False Religion is Near! (2006) p.2

The Governing Body claim anyone that disagrees with the way they have handled child abusers are apostate liars.


“Another way we can contribute to the oneness: rejecting false stories that are designed to separate us from Jehovah’s organization. As an example, think about the apostate-driven lies and dishonesties that Jehovah’s organization is permissive toward pedophiles. I mean, that is ridiculous, isn’t it! If anybody takes action against someone who would threaten our young ones, and takes action to protect our young ones, it is Jehovah’s organization. We reject outright such lies.” Stephen Lett Bethel Talk tv.jw.org Feb 2015

In light of the events spanning several decades and coming to a head in recent years, these Watchtower statements can be regarded as nothing short of hypocritical.

Due to negative publicity, legal risk and financial ramifications the Watchtower Society is beginning to act on paedophilia. This was not instigated under the guidance of Holy Spirit, but pressure from outside sources. Stubborn adherence to archaic Watchtower tradition, rather than common sense, has put children at unnecessary risk.

It is common for a Jehovah's Witness to say that this is no longer an issue as it has now been sorted out. Although the Society has gradually improved its policy, it is still faulty, even two decades after people such as Barbara Anderson brought these issues to the attention of the Governing Body. There are still further changes that should be immediately made to the policy:

The two-witness rule must no longer apply to accusations of sexual offences against children
If the accused denies guilt but the police are investigating the matter, the accused is not under any circumstances to have unsupervised contact with a child in the congregation or engage unsupervised in the field service until the matter is resolved through the normal civil authorities processes
If convicted by the authorities, an abuser must never serve as an elder, ministerial servant, or pioneer or engage in field service activity alone or with a child. It is not a "right" to have a position of authority or responsibility, and since there is no harm in not holding these positions, policy should err on the side of caution, for the sake of child safety.
The elders should advise all parents of children under the age of consent of the presence in the congregation of the conviction unless the identify of the abuser is protected by a court name suppression order
All accusations should be reported to the authorities, regardless of whether or not it is a legal obligations in that state or country. Congregations are ill equipped to handle such accusations, and the organisation should be leading the way in the protection of children, not lagging behind the world's standards
The Governing Body has always been composed predominantly of older, white, childless, males. This is reflected in the strict, legalistic approach to child victims, and the concern with putting the reputation of the organisation first. We can only imagine a more loving and protective set of guidelines, had they been established by parents.

In the face of all this, Jehovah's Witnesses must ask themselves, "If Jehovah was behind the Watchtower Society, would he have allowed such atrocities in the organisation, which claims to be a spiritual paradise, to continue for so long, until they are brought to the world's attention by the media?"

Further Reading

I recommend reading the article Jehovah’s Witnesses use 1st Amendment to hide child sex abuse claims by Trey Bundy, published Feb 2015. It provides an excellent summary of what has been uncovered regarding Watchtower pedophile policy and why the courts have been so harsh on Watchtower in their judgements.

https://jwfacts.com/watchtower/paedophilia.php