Five more people, who are not drag queens or trans individuals, have been charged in a growing investigation into child sexual abuse in the Pennsylvania Jehovah's Witnesses religious organization. I'm starting to see a theme here with children being sexually abused by people in religious organizations.
CBS News reports:
The people - all men - are charged in cases that happened all across Pennsylvania, Attorney General Michelle Henry said in a news conference. One of the men charged is an elder in the congregation.
"The five defendants that we have charged today were all adults in positions of trust with these victims. And they violated that trust and they abused these children," Henry said. "Children are some of our most vulnerable members of society, and they should be nurtured and protected. But instead of protecting these children, the defendants violated and abused them."
A total of 14 people involved in the organization have been charged, Henry said.
Those charged are:
David Balosa, 62, of Philadelphia
Errol William Hall, 50, of Delaware County, an elder in the organization
Shaun Sheffer, 45, of Butler County
Terry Booth, 57, of Panama City, Florida
Luis Manuel Ayala-Velasquez, 55, of Reading, Pennsylvania
The perpetrators have been indicted by a grand jury.
"I am thankful to the courageous survivors in these cases who are willing to share the horrific abuse that they went through, I'm inspired by their strength," Henry said.
Indeed.
