Charity Commission for England and Wales: Inquiry Report, Manchester New Moston Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses

The Charity Commission for England and Wales, the government regulator of charities in England and Wales, opened a statutory inquiry into the Manchester New Moston Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses on 27 May 2014, after allegations of child abuse were made against one of the charity's trustees in 2012 and 2013; that individual was subsequently convicted of two counts of indecent assault. The Commission published its inquiry report on 26 July 2017, finding the trustees had failed to identify one allegation as potential child abuse, dismissing it instead as "a matter between 2 teenagers," had not fully enforced restrictions already placed on the individual, had not adequately managed conflicts of loyalty within the trustee body, and had not kept adequate written records of their decisions; it further found that victims giving evidence to internal disciplinary hearings were effectively required to repeat their allegations in the presence of the accused, who then questioned them directly. The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society sought judicial review of the inquiry itself, which was refused on 12 December 2014 for not having exhausted the statutory tribunal route first; the tribunal upheld the Commission's decision to open the inquiry in April 2015. The charity subsequently changed its safeguarding procedures so that victims are no longer required to face an accused during a hearing.