September trial date set for church abuse case

Thompson Falls Jehovah’s Witness organization is facing a legal battle for the allegedsexual abuse of children dating back to 2004. The case is set for a September trial with 20th District Judicial Judge James Monley presiding.

Attorneys for the defendants, Thompson Falls Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Inc. of New York and Pennsylvania, and the Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses (CCJW) have recently submitted their Final Pretrial Order related to a lawsuit claiming they failed to report child abuse to proper authorities.

Plaintiffs Alexis Nunez and Holly McGowan claim to have been sexually abused by Maximo Nava Reyes, a member of the Falls congregation, when they were children. They argue that the abuse was reported to church elders, who then failed to report the act to legal authorities, allowing Reyes to continue sexually abusing children in the church. Therefore, all three defendants are “negligent in failing to properly respond to and report the abuse by Max Reyes.”

“Elders at Thompson Falls, Watchtower and CCJW violated the Montana Mandatory Reporter Statute,” the plaintiffs argue. This statute requires adults who regularly interact with children, and have reason to believe they are being abuse, to report the action to authorities.

According to Jehovah’s Witness belief, “open and free communication between congregation members and elders is essential to providing spiritual encouragement, counsel, and guidance, the Scripture beliefs and practices of Jehovah’s Witnesses place an emphasis on privacy and confidentiality.”

The church, being a religious sector, feels they fall into Montana’s mandatory reporting exemption category. “If an elder disclosed confidential information, his credibility and effectiveness as an elder would be compromised and it could have a chilling effect on the congregation members seeking spiritual encouragement,” the defendants contend.

The defendants also commented in the Final Pretrial Order that “if a congregation member committed a serious sin is unrepentant despite the elders’ efforts to help the wrongdoer, the judicial committee prayerfully determines whether it is necessary to expel the unrepentant wrongdoer from the congregation in compliance with the Scriptures. Based on the beliefs and practices of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the decision to ‘disfellowship’ is the strongest form of Scriptural discipline authorized by the Bible.”

Reyes was “disfellowed” in 2004 but allowed back into the church in 2005. During this time, plaintiffs state that the abuse continued.

Litigation of trial matters will determine negligence of injury to the plaintiffs and if found so, fair monetary compensation, violation of Montana’s Mandatory Reporting Law, punitive damages, whether McGowan brought her lawsuit within three years after discovering she has injuries caused by Reyes’s abuse, whether Thompson Falls Congregation or its elders acted as an agent for Watchtower New York/Pennsylvania and/ or CCJW when they were informed of the abuse or when they failed to report the abuse.

The court will also determine whether Montana’s Mandatory Reporter Law should apply to any of the related organization members, clergy, or attorneys for the involved Jehovah’s Witness associations, and if the abuse of McGowan or Nunez was foreseeable or intervening or superseding.

The defendants in this case have filed a third-party suit against Reyes, Marco Nunez and Ivy McGowan-Castleberry.

Marco is Alexis’s father and McGowan’s former brother-in-law, who is accused of abusing the girls during the same time as Reyes alleged abuse occurred. McGowan-Castleberry, mother of Alexis and sister to Holly, is being accused of knowingly allowing and assisting in the abuse of both girls. Reyes is the step-father of McGowan and step-grandfather of Alexis accused of abusing the girls beginning during their preteen years.