Two-Witness Rule

Topic

The $40 million judgment names one man who did not contest it; the church's separate settlement stays sealed.Confirmed

A Hawaii Judge Awarded $40 Million Against a Former Jehovah's Witnesses Elder. It Was Not a Verdict Against the Organization.

Illustration: scales and gavel beside an island motif

In 2023, Judge Dean Ochiai awarded a survivor known as N.D. $40 million against Kenneth Apana, a former Makaha congregation elder who did not defend the suit. The congregation and its entities settled separately and confidentially.

· July 18, 2023 · 6 min read

Pennsylvania statewide grand-jury investigationConfirmed

Inside Pennsylvania's Grand-Jury Investigation of Jehovah's Witnesses Abuse Cases (2019–2023)

Illustration: a gavel and indictment before a keystone motif

A statewide investigating grand jury opened in 2019 produced criminal charges against roughly nine men affiliated with Jehovah's Witnesses congregations, across waves announced by Attorneys General Josh Shapiro (2022) and Michelle Henry (2023), alongside scrutiny of how congregations handle abuse reports internally.

· October 27, 2022 · 6 min read