The Watchtower has threatened an Irish ex-Jehovah’s Witness with monetary damages and “compensation to the fullest extent of the law” in their attempts to have a website he founded taken down. The problem is that Jason Wynne, the original owner and creator of the website and the focus of their lawsuit, seems to be the wrong target. He no longer has any control over the website.
Wynne has been threatened with demands for monetary damages and compensation by the Watchtower Society through a New York court even though he lives in Ireland and no longer controls the website. The site is not being served from either the USA or Ireland.
This has become the classic case of the Watchtower trying to use the courts and threats of financial ruin against those who successfully expose their abuse of their own members, former members, and some non-Witness critics.
Wynne was a Jehovah’s Witness but was disfellowshipped for “having sex outside of marriage.” While he was trying to be reinstated as a Jehovah’s Witness, he discovered that the Watchtower was “using secret policies that the organization did not disclose to its ordinary members.”
Wynne describes his being somewhat ignorant of all the rules and secret policies being practiced by the leaders of the Watchtower religion. Those rules resulted in his being shut out from any involvement with the religion, the loss of friends and family members, and damage to his personal reputation.
While Wynne was hoping to be readmitted, he set up the blog to point out and describe some of the Watchtower’s secret policies. Other JWs provided him with updated policy letters and informed him of the ongoing court cases and investigations of the Watchtower because of unchanging and damaging policies that protected sexual and child abusers. The website, AvoidJW, began hosting secret documents and personal stories of those who had suffered the loss of their families and friends due to the Watchtower’s shunning policies and protection of child abusers within the organization.
The problem that both he and the Watchtower face is that he has no control over the site at all any longer. He has had no recent involvement with the site and no ownership of the site or its servers. His position is that he has neither the funds or the control over the website to make any changes to satisfy the Watchtower. He also stated that his main reason for passing the website on to others was because he did not have the time or funds to make any decisions to support or maintain the site.
He mentioned that a lot of the damning “secret documents” that he published or described on the original website came from other active or former JWs who tried to keep him up-to-date on all of the recent changes and current policies within the Watchtower. It just got too big for him to handle.
Surprisingly, Wynne describes the current owners and writers of the website were “current Jehovah’s Witnesses” and the website is not located in either the United States or Ireland. The site provides documents and data to journalists, lawyers, and law enforcement contacts in North America, Great Britain and Europe. It has provided documents and other data to support child and sexual abuse cases that would ordinarily not be available from the Watchtower Society. Those services have been helpful for several court cases and inquiries involving child sexual abuse and other Watchtower policies.
News Article/Primary Source Material: Barry J. Whyte / Photo Credit: Michael Dillon
Link to Original News Article – https://www.businesspost.ie/news/jehovahs-witnesses-granted-subpoena-irish-blogger-412638
I have been associated with the Jehovah’s Witnesses most of my life. My Aunt and Uncle were baptised in 1943. They both served faithfully until death a few years ago. My wife and I were baptised in 1973. Due to extremely horrifying mistreatment by the elders in one particular Congregation… we went inactive for over 20 years.
As a result of unfair leadership of the JWs …I began travelling in the engineering field and as a result… associated with about 2 dozen Congregation.
Well ended up back here again. To make a long story short… became Very active again for over three years. Then…”same old stuff” began all over again. I ended up on “HEAVY ANXIETY MEDS” and visits to the ER half a dozen times… twice… so bad I was “shaking the Gurney!!”
Anyhow… this is a very long and complicated story… thought about writing a book Lol Jehovah’s Witnesses are really good people… and do really preach “truth” But…that said… that leadership… clear to the top “DISAPPOINTING!!” Something needs to be done!! My research has revealed 1,000s in the same boat… increasing numbers resorting … “SADLY to SUICIDE!!” More research reveals that Jehovah’s Witnesses are going out the back doors just as fast as they’re coming in the front!!! Especially those youth!!
Thanks to my warm family… and my primary doctor… I have been off those “those heavy ANXIETY drugs!!” Almost a year now!! Believe me… that’s NOT EASY!! If I hadn’t stopped my association… that probably would not have been achievable??
Since… I’ve been thinking about forming a group to try and help others with that help… prayerfully going global… just don’t know how to do that…
Perhaps… someone can help!!
I will share my “Full story” with anyone that’s interested in “helping to help other”
Thanks
Butch
I personally have been effected by many of these issues. I was conned into marrying a man that the elders knew to be gay. I was his 4th wife. All former wives left him for the same reason and he had been disfellowshipped for it once before but he himself was NOT a good man. I have nothing against homosexuals, lets make that clear. my ex was a malignant Narcissist and his desire was to rise in the ranks of the organization. I was very strong spiritually and they felt that if he was going to make it with anyone it would be with me I guess. but I was not made privy to this information. My own parents were even IN on it. while married to me he did rise quickly. getting back his mic handling privileges, then being in charge of sound, then becoming an aux pioneer, then a regular pioneer, reaching for ELDER. Spending tons of time with COs and DOs and Elders and even holding mass bible studies at a halfway house in our territory. All the while Abusing me in every way imaginable at home. Dressing up like a woman and forcing himself on me while wearing wigs and makeup and lingerie. making me sleep with my mouth taped shut and my ankle tethered to the wall. With a shotgun by the front door and throwing my keys up on the roof when I try to leave.
When I finally got out, the Elders ONE AND ALL URGED ME TO GO BACK! I told them what they were asking me to do was like asking me to walk back into AUSHWITZ.
I moved beck into Springfield Mo and to my SAFE HALL and THEY urged me to go back. Thats when I knew.
So They encourage the homosexuals to marry innocent VIRGIN mates and promise a rise in ranks if the marriage stays intact.6 months ago I get a call from a man that is the head of the halfway house that he used to study with some of the men at. the man says that the boys seemed to really click with him and he felt in his heart that he should call him and this was the number he gave….. because at the time he didnt have a cell phone of his own so he gave out my number all the time. I explained to him that he and I were not together and that he was not even a JW at the moment. and the man seemed shocked, and I explained why and I man said I think GOD wanted me to call you. because I remember that the boys who were drawn to him were the boys who “came out” at their graduation. he said he spent a lot of time with these boys alone in their rooms “studying”.
we met my ex husband and his family when I was 8…. that is how well everyone hid this. then I find out my brother who is himself GAY tells me that at 14 my ex who is 8 years older than him used to study with him and invite him to stay over at his house. he used to give him an ambien and spoon him in bed and hit on him. and when he found out that we were getting married my mom demanded that he keep his mouth shut! and because HE was disfellowshipped and my sister was disassociated when they both tried to beg me not to marry him I wouldn’t listen….. because I was so brainwashed that I couldn’t see it! and my sister was his 3rd wife’s best friend and when she left she just cut of communication with my sister, so she didnt know he was gay. My own sisters best friend was his 3rd wife and she never told my sister about his homosexual practices and abuse, but she told me, when I called after I left. The ELDERS knew, and ruined 4 women’s lives completely…. Knowingly. He was a pedophile before even his first marriage. He was 17 my brother was 9….. The ELDERS were involved then too. These are wicked wicked men….. And if you think wicked men teach the “TRUTH” STRAIGHT FORWARD….. You need to pray about it. It is a house of cards built on lies. At first it will feel like your world is turned up side down. But remember there is an element of truth to every lie…. And Satan has been lying a lot longer than we think.
Butch, I think what you are doing is great. I know a woman who was married to a serial rapist in the congregation that started raping their daughters when they turned 13. The elders took his side even though five females came forward with his same behavior. The elders passed rumors through the Kingdom Hall that we were all “mentally ill and slandering Brother Walton.” Their daughters started cutting themselves and running away from home. These are all red flags of child sexual abuse/incest. The elders told his wife that incest was not adultery and that she could not divorce him. She was on antidepressants until she finally got up the courage and left him. Once she left her demonic ex husband and the “Truth,” she never had to take another pill again! Their daughters were left to flounder without any psychological help though as they became emancipated teenagers and are survivors with great hurdles in life like no high school diploma. To this day, the elders call on Brother Walton to encourage him back to be regular at meetings;on the other hand, the elders have his ex wife, two “sisters,” and his two daughters on a “DO NOT CALL LIST.” A clear abusive example of how “man is the head of woman.”
I hope with all my being that any court case the gb will bring against the ‘irish’ site will have a judge order them under threat of imprisonment to finally hand over their hidden files on abusers and blow the lid off the wts once and for all time. Yes hand over with no time to pay fines in lieu or any other delay tactics..
It is sad the extent of crap that goes on in the Jw.org…approved and hidden, covered over by the Gb and their helpers…this religion has to be shut down…it is really getting what it desrves now…perhaps their end is nigh…we can only hope….thanks to all who make an attempt to smoke these suckers out….they can try to hide…but there is a God…how much will He let go on as they smear truth with lies and disgusting behaviour….what a shame to belong to such a filthy religion…may all who can speak on…people must be warned…govt’s must know what this so called charity, which is filthy rich is doing to people…make them pay their taxes etc….once their wealth is gone…they will shrivel and disappear….? They are a parasite that is sucking the life and money, out of innocent people…living in shameless luxury…
I know of an elder in San Rafael, CA that had an affair with a baptized teenage JW who happened to be the daughter of another elder. Well the elder having the affair was disfellowshipped for a couple of months while his wife divorced him. As soon as his divorce was final, he married the child (parents signed her off), and the congregation welcomed them with open arms. With spiritual brothers and sisters not of the clergy class, they continue shunning and never fully trust that person. I have seen folks in that congregation shun a women indefinitely who divorced her husband for drinking heavily, beating her up, and even her finding her husband naked in a bathtub with their toddler daughter. It really pays to be an elder or a ministerial servant, related to the clergy or good friends of them, but most of all to be born with a penis and you really have sinners Carte Blanche to do as you wish at the Kingdom Hall.
I’m newly awakened& have a story to share. I want to hold on to anonymity. Struggling with issues that that were the very fiber of what I totally believed. I first felt something was wrong “at the top” of the org when I became aware of them sheltering pedophiles. No way was our most Holy Creator favoring this org with His approval. Have they become an Evil Slave? I want to believe much of what was taught that has scriptural backing. Many teachings do not. I’m amazed how their technique of teaching takes over our brain, our ability to reason, our souls. There are a lot of sites that I watch & appreciate the efforts to help.
Ladybug, I awakened back in 2011 after being mistreated by the elders for too long. I was laughed at, lied on, and slandered. I watched these same ignorant elders make fun of illiterate ones, single parents, fatherless boys and girls, and heard them falsely accuse some members who were reinstated or reactivated of having AIDS when they do NOT [AND MANY OF THEM CAN PROVE THEY DON’T]! Many left again, having been sentenced to death by these elders’ lies and erroneous assumptions. That wasnt nothing compared to what they did to a sister dying of cancer. After she became engaged to a loving brother, she had a mastectomy,and a cruel elder told her fiance “How can you marry half of a woman?” Appalling! While there are a handful of good-natured, sincere, and caring elders, the majority of them are title-hungry, ego tripping, careless Pharisees.
What really did it for me was a culminating litany of credible and tangible proof of the following:
The WTBTS’s 10 year documented affiliation with the UNITED NATIONS! That ridiculous OVERLAPPING 1914 GENERATION doctrine. 1975 end of the world fiasco! The imaginary 607 B.C. calculation when archaeological evidence prove Jerusalem’s destruction occurred in 587 B.C. The child sex abuse scandals, cover ups of marital abuse and wife-swapping at Bethel; the intake of Blood Fractions now after thousands died unnecessarily, and sending some Bethelites to law school after discouraging us from pursuing higher education! Sending Bethelites home at almost a moment’s notice on the pretense of downsizing because, as they claimed, “the end is close”, when, in actuality, they really sent them home because of the monetary damages that are in the millions as a result of hundreds of sexual assault cases that they lost in court. Cases that drained the coffers. The WT struggled to pay these damages and continue its daily operations. Some of those brothers had no where to go. Too old to find employment, and had no Social Security vested because the WT wrote them off as VOLUNTEERS. Some Bethelites were homeless and a few had left the org. after waking up!
This is not only mind control, it’s down right controlling people under the guise of religion! Jesus would have NEVER treated his flock in such a spiritually haphazard way! The WTBTS is a corporation benefiting from tax breaks while claiming to be nonprofit and charitable. The org. is listed on the stock exchange and is involved in mutual funds as well as trading! Would Jesus have ANY ties with the Ruler if this world? Would he? Since he admonished his followers to be NO PART of the world, would Jesus-our Lord and Savior-cavort with his enemy, the one who once asked Jesus to jump off a precipice so the angels could catch him?! Would Jesus have anything to do with Masonic lodges and pyramids? Would he have condoned that House in California that Rutherford lived in like a Prince during the Great Depression while half the world stood on bread lines?
Forgive me for venting but I am so glad you’re awakening. That slumber we were under has kept us in a deep trance. We could not see the “truth” of this org. This is a man-governed religion and has nothing to do with Jesus and has never been spirit-directed as it claimed to be. Otherwise, it would have lived up to its creed so eloquently written on the inside cover of its monthly magazines. Welcome to reality, Ladybug. The game is over.
I personally have been effected by many of these issues. I was conned into marrying a man that the elders knew to be gay. I was his 4th wife. All former wives left him for the same reason and he had been disfellowshipped for it once before but he himself was NOT a good man. I have nothing against homosexuals, lets make that clear. my ex was a malignant Narcissist and his desire was to rise in the ranks of the organization. I was very strong spiritually and they felt that if he was going to make it with anyone it would be with me I guess. but I was not made privy to this information. My own parents were even IN on it. while married to me he did rise quickly. getting back his mic handling privileges, then being in charge of sound, then becoming an aux pioneer, then a regular pioneer, reaching for ELDER. Spending tons of time with COs and DOs and Elders and even holding mass bible studies at a halfway house in our territory. All the while Abusing me in every way imaginable at home. Dressing up like a woman and forcing himself on me while wearing wigs and makeup and lingerie. making me sleep with my mouth taped shut and my ankle tethered to the wall. With a shotgun by the front door and throwing my keys up on the roof when I try to leave.
When I finally got out, the Elders ONE AND ALL URGED ME TO GO BACK! I told them what they were asking me to do was like asking me to walk back into AUSHWITZ.
I moved beck into Springfield Mo and to my SAFE HALL and THEY urged me to go back. Thats when I knew.
So They encourage the homosexuals to marry innocent VIRGIN mates and promise a rise in ranks if the marriage stays intact.6 months ago I get a call from a man that is the head of the halfway house that he used to study with some of the men at. the man says that the boys seemed to really click with him and he felt in his heart that he should call him and this was the number he gave….. because at the time he didnt have a cell phone of his own so he gave out my number all the time. I explained to him that he and I were not together and that he was not even a JW at the moment. and the man seemed shocked, and I explained why and I man said I think GOD wanted me to call you. because I remember that the boys who were drawn to him were the boys who “came out” at their graduation. he said he spent a lot of time with these boys alone in their rooms “studying”.
we met my ex husband and his family when I was 8…. that is how well everyone hid this. then I find out my brother who is himself GAY tells me that at 14 my ex who is 8 years older than him used to study with him and invite him to stay over at his house. he used to give him an ambien and spoon him in bed and hit on him. and when he found out that we were getting married my mom demanded that he keep his mouth shut! and because HE was disfellowshipped and my sister was disassociated when they both tried to beg me not to marry him I wouldn’t listen….. because I was so brainwashed that I couldn’t see it! and my sister was his 3rd wife’s best friend and when she left she just cut of communication with my sister, so she didnt know he was gay either. that is how good he was at fooling everyone.
Sooo glad to finally be free!!! Spent way too many years being brainwashed in this cult. It would take several volumes filled to the brim of the things I’ve seen, heard, dealt with etc etc. Proud to be disfellowshipped!!!! Being shunned by my family is not fun but they all speak in the same robotic programmed responses we all learned over the years. They CANNOT think for themselves. My life is much cleaner than some of those my family choose to associate with who are upstanding jw’s. What a loss of 38 years devoted to this wretched hateful disgusting organization!I could go on and on.
It is truly amazing what evil can do when it comes to protecting itself from the actual truth. However by Watchtower going after people and their web sites concerning them just goes to show how evil Watchtower really is and the fact that they do not want their evil deeds and or policies exposed to the light of the truth.
So they try and shut down YouTube channels, web sites and other media that is against Watchtower and what it does. However, at the same time, Watchtower bashes other religions during their talks from the platform, and they have absolutely no problem calling everyone that isn’t a Jehovahs Witness apostates or worse. So they feel that they have the right to belittle other organizations and individuals, but if you belittle them, then they try and go after you for financial compensation for what you had said against them, or they try and get your web site or YouTube channel shut down. But, just read their literature and you will see all of the lies that they tell their members about other religions and individuals who aren’t Witnesses. So as you can see here, Watchtower feels that it is OK to bash other people and their religions, but as soon as the bashing comes back to them; they don’t like it one bit and they try and either sue for it, or get the channel or web site shut down simply because their evil deeds and evil policies have been exposed.