Jehovah's Witness Leader Testifies from Toowoomba

By Tara Miko
The Chronicle
August 14, 2015

http://www.thechronicle.com.au/news/one-of-the-seven-global-leaders-of-the-jehovahs-wi/2741065/

ONE of the seven global leaders of the Jehovah's Witness church gave evidence at a royal commission into child abuse.

Geoffrey Jackson is one of the most senior members of the church.

Mr Jackson was believed to have been staying in Toowoomba for the past week, and flew to Sydney yesterday afternoon.

He was the last witness to testify in a series of hearings into how the organisation handled cases of sexual abuse within the church.

He told the hearing via videolink from the Toowoomba courthouse the church believed the world was nearing its end and explained the organisation encouraged sexual abuse victims to confront their abuser in front of male church elders.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse began in Sydney on July 27.

The commission is inquiring into the experiences of child sex abuse survivors within the church, its responses to cases of abuse, and the systems and procedures in place by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society which is the governing body of the church.