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Child safeguarding · Claim record

The Charity Commission found misconduct or mismanagement by the trustees (elders) of the Manchester New Moston congregation, including treating a 1990s allegation as 'a matter between 2 teenagers', failing to open internal proceedings in 2012, and allowing a man convicted of indecently assaulting two girls to question his victims at a 2014 appeal hearing; its investigations head said victims 'were badly let down by the charity'.

Claim ID claim-safeguarding-manchester-new-moston-misconductConcerns 26 July 2017Independent finding
Independent finding · 26 July 2017 Verified

The Charity Commission found misconduct or mismanagement by the trustees (elders) of the Manchester New Moston congregation, including treating a 1990s allegation as 'a matter between 2 teenagers', failing to open internal proceedings in 2012, and allowing a man convicted of indecently assaulting two girls to question his victims at a 2014 appeal hearing; its investigations head said victims 'were badly let down by the charity'. Charity Commission for England and Wales, 26 July 2017Charity Commission for England and Wales, 26 July 2017Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), 2 September 2021

The organisation’s position or later explanation: The charity subsequently revised its policy so that victims are not required to make allegations in the presence of alleged abusers.

Show the evidence (3 sources)
Official public record Verified

Charity Commission for England and Wales, “Manchester New Moston Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses: inquiry report”

26 July 2017 · Findings; Conclusions · Charity Commission (gov.uk)

“Mr Rose was permitted to cross-examine at [sic] individuals whom he had been convicted of indecently assaulting”

The Charity Commission’s inquiry report into the congregation’s handling of safeguarding. The report records that the individual concerned had been convicted in 2013 of indecent assault and imprisoned, and that the trustees did not engage openly and candidly with the Commission.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. gov.uk report page opened; quotations confirmed.

Corroborated by. src-cc-2017-0726-press-release-manchester, src-iicsa-2021-0902-religious-organisations-report

Notes. The regulator's report names the individual; this site does not, because the finding does not depend on the name.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-cc-2017-0726-manchester-new-moston-inquiry

Official public record Verified

Charity Commission for England and Wales, “Investigation leads to improvements in safeguarding at Jehovah's Witnesses charity (press release)”

26 July 2017 · Charity Commission (gov.uk)

“As our report makes clear, the victims of abuse were badly let down by the charity. The trustees should have made the victims' welfare their first priority.”

Harvey Grenville, Head of Investigations and Enforcement. The release records that the charity subsequently revised its policy 'to ensure abuse victims are not required to make allegations in the presence of alleged abusers'. Page marked withdrawn 7 December 2023.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. gov.uk page opened; quotation confirmed.

Corroborated by. src-cc-2017-0726-manchester-new-moston-inquiry

Notes. The brief's reference to a 2017 'Regulatory alert' could not be located; the July 2017 outputs were the inquiry report and this press release.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-cc-2017-0726-press-release-manchester

Official public record Verified

Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), “Child protection in religious organisations and settings: Investigation Report”

2 September 2021 · pp.Part B para 15.4 (p. 15); Part D paras 19-21 (pp. 42-43); Part E paras 6.3-7 (pp. 65-66); Part F para 17 (pp. 91-92); Part H para 25 (p. 113) · Part H.1 para 25 · Professor Alexis Jay OBE (Chair) and Panel · Crown copyright (HC 705)

“The rule is not intended to be a safeguarding measure. Nevertheless, it has no place in any response to child sexual abuse and fails to reflect the reality that by its very nature child sexual abuse is most often perpetrated in the absence of witnesses. ... As it presently operates, the Jehovah's Witnesses internal disciplinary process for disfellowshipping members bears no relationship to how sexual crime happens. The continuing use of this rule shows a disregard of the seriousness of the crimes involved and their impact on individuals. It also lacks compassion for the victim, and serves to protect the perpetrator.”

Part H.1 Conclusions, para 25 (p. 113). Part B para 15.4: over 131,700 members in England and Wales; records showed allegations concerning 67 individuals reported to the Branch Office in the previous ten years, including 25 against elders and 32 against ministerial servants. Part D para 19 lists the four core policy documents (2018 public statement; Watchtower May 2019; Shepherd the Flock of God; Guidelines for Branch Office Service Desks) and notes that the two documents that explain how to refer matters to statutory authorities 'are not circulated to members of the congregation'. Part E para 6.4: the Service Department 'does not make reports to the statutory authorities'. Part E para 7: Lancashire County Council v E & F [2020] EWHC 182 (Fam) — elders told in 2016, police not informed until July 2019; Lieven J spoke of 'very great concern about the safeguarding of children within the Jehovah's Witness community'. Part F para 17: the Charity Commission's Harvey Grenville called the level of legal challenge 'simply unprecedented'.

Official source Scan of original

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. gov.uk PDF downloaded and text-extracted; all quotations verbatim with printed page numbers. iicsa.org.uk HTML pages returned 403 to automated fetch.

Scan provenance. gov.uk copy of the report (224-page PDF). Printed page numbers are 14 lower than PDF page numbers.

Corroborated by. src-cc-2023-0804-watch-tower-inquiry-report

Notes. Published 2 September 2021 after 16 hearing days in 2020. IICSA made two recommendations (policy/training; unregistered educational settings); neither is JW-specific.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-iicsa-2021-0902-religious-organisations-report

Claim page

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-safeguarding-manchester-new-moston-misconduct/. Every source above opens the original document or the best available copy. If you believe the wording, date or context is wrong, report an error.