Authorities charge 5 more in probe of child sexual abuse among Jehovah's Witnesses in Pennsylvania

PHILADELPHIA - A Pennsylvania grand jury investigating child sexual abuse in the Jehovah’s Witnesses community has charged another five people with raping or molesting children as young as 4, the latest developments in an ongoing probe that has identified 14 suspects.

Three of the five have ties to the Delaware Valley.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry, at a Friday news conference, said that while the misconduct dates back years or even decades, "the trauma endures for these victims."

Henry did not address the church’s handling of complaints, but said the investigation would continue.

Critics say that Jehovah's Witnesses elders have treated child sexual abuse as a sin rather than a crime, documenting complaints in internal files but not reporting them to authorities. And they say the church often required a second witness to substantiate a complaint, a standard that can be impossible to meet when perpetrators often isolate their victims.

Church spokesperson Jarrod Lopes has challenged those conclusions, saying that elders comply with reporting requirements and that members are also free to report sexual assault to authorities. He has also said the second-witness rule applies only to internal church discipline. Lopes did not immediately return a message seeking comment Friday.

Attorney Matt Haverstick, who has represented the church, did not immediately return a call for comment on Friday.

The grand jury probe of Jehovah’s Witnesses began with a referral from a county district attorney who felt the state should take a broader look at the issue. Dozens of witnesses then testified before the secret grand jury in Harrisburg or provided information to the attorney general’s office.

In the charges announced Friday, Henry said that the men had groomed or gained access to the children through the church, sometimes when the child’s family took the person into their home. One person said that she was raped 50 or more times between the ages of 7 and 12 by a church member who was 18 when the assaults began. Others involved less serious charges of inappropriate touching.

Four of the five suspects are in custody, with bail set, while the other person is being sought, she said. One of the nine earlier defendants killed himself before he was arrested, she said. It was not immediately clear if any of the new defendants had lawyers representing them.

No one came to the door at the home of David Balosa, in Philadelphia’s Logan section. Neighbors describe the 62-year-old longtime resident as quiet, living alone and bookish.

"Mr. Balosa is a nice guy. I always have respectful conversations. He’s my neighbor. We talk about soccer," neighbor Nigel Graham said.

Attorney General Henry has a different description. A 35-year-old man living in the basement of a family he met through a Jehovah Witness congregation, who sexually abused their four-year-old daughter during a basement visit.

Pennsylvania’s Attorney General has a different description.  A 35-year-old man living in the basement of a family he met through a Jehovah Witness congregation, who sexually abused their 4-year-old daughter during a basement visit.

"When she did that, he took the opportunity to pull her onto his lap and sexually abuse her," Henry detailed.

The School District of Philadelphia confirms he’s a teacher at South Philadelphia High School who has taught French. They went on to say he taught in the district more than a decade at 10 different schools. The district will now send letters to all the principals of those 10 schools and those principals will alert the school communities.

"He’s been charged with sexual assault by the Attorney General," FOX 29’s Jeff Cole stated.

"That’s shocking. Never seen him as that kind of person," Graham replied.

Also charged, Erroll William Hall, 50, of Aldan, Delaware County, with touching a 16-year-old girl.

Shaun Sheffer, 45, of Butler County, accused of abusing a seven-year-old girl. Terry Booth, 57, of Florida, abuse of a 16-year-old boy while living in Pennsylvania and Luis Manuel Ayala-Valasquez, 55, of Reading, abuse of a 12-year-old girl.

"The five defendants that we’ve charged today were all adults in positions of trust with their victims who violated that trust and abused these children," Attorney General Henry commented.

In total, the attorney general has charged 14 men in a series of arrests, all with links to the church.

In Aldan, Delaware County, there was no answer at the home of Erroll William Hall.

State prosecutors allege, as an elder in the Jehovah Witness congregation, he used his position to gain trust and abuse a teenage girl.

In a case with some parallels, a state grand jury investigation into child sexual abuse by Catholic priests culminated in a lengthy 2018 report that concluded hundreds of priests had abused children in Pennsylvania over seven decades and church officials had covered it up. More recently, a similar report was issued in Maryland.

The Jehovah's Witnesses, an international Christian denomination founded in the Pittsburgh area more than a century ago and headquartered in New York state, claims 8.7 million members worldwide, including 1.2 million in the United States.

Members will not bear arms, salute a national flag or participate in secular politics. Believers are known for their evangelistic efforts, including knocking on doors and distributing literature in public spaces.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.