TORONTO (CP) - A Jehovah's Witness who sexually abused his
daughter
was sentenced Monday to two years less a day to be served in the
community in a case that cast a spotlight on how the church
handles
sex-abuse complaints within its ranks.
The victim, Vicki Boer, said the sentencing of her father
validates
her allegations and should force the church to face up to its
shortcomings in handling her abuse complaint. "For the first
time,
somebody believed me," Boer said of the judge.
"It makes (the elders) accountable. They've never had to be
accountable," she said in an interview from Fredericton.
In June, Gower Palmer pleaded guilty to one count of sexual
assault in
Ontario Superior Court in Orangeville, Ont., about 100 kilometres
northwest of Toronto.
However, the court found he had abused his daughter on at least
five
separate occasions, prosecutor Eric Taylor said Monday.
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW must be Carol
Taylor said he wanted Justice Emile Kruzick to impose a prison
term on
Palmer in the three-year range.
However, in imposing a lower penalty, Kruzick said Palmer had
already
been punished by going through a lengthy civil suit. He will
also be
put on a sex-offender registry and will have to go through
counselling.
While identifying sexual-abuse victims is normally prohibited,
Boer
wanted the public to know her name.
"This is a battle that I'm fighting for not even just myself but
for
other kids," she said.
Now a married mother of three pre-teen daughters, Boer said she
hoped
her criminal and civil battles would force changes to how
Witnesses
deal with sexual abuse within their ranks.
As part of their beliefs, Jehovah's Witnesses reject anything
political or "worldly" that distracts from their focus on Christ
and
the second coming, which they consider imminent.
Boer, 34, was sexually assaulted by her father between ages 11
and 14.
Rather than notify authorities, she claimed in an earlier civil
suit
that church elders told her not to seek outside help or report
the
abuse.
She also said they forced her to confront her dad to allow him to
repent his sins as outlined in Matthew 18:15-18, a process she
said
was abusive and traumatic.
In 1998, Boer sued the Jehovah's Witnesses through the Watch
Tower
Bible and Tract Society for $700,000, saying the abuse and how
it was
handled by the church almost drove her to suicide.
In June 2003, Justice Anne Molloy ruled the church could not be
held
responsible for all her pain and suffering.
Molloy found the church had not warned her against reporting the
abuse, and only that one elder had wrongly applied church policy
by
persuading her to confront her father.
She did find the organization negligent in allowing untrained
elders
to hold the meeting and awarded Boer $5,000 in damages.
"They don't follow the (written) policies," said Boer, who
abandoned
the faith in the early 1990s.
Spokesman Mark Ruge disputed Boer's allegations the church tries
to
deal with abuse away from the prying eyes of outside authorities.
"We abhor any sexual misconduct or abuse, especially when
children are
involved," said Ruge from Georgetown, Ont.
"We abide by the letter of the law as far as legal requirements
are in
reporting to the appropriate child-welfare services."
Following the civil trial, Boer overcame a reluctance to press
charges
against her own father (like Revis) saying she wanted him held
personally
accountable for his actions.
Call one now for free bible study, bring your kiddies
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