Lehigh Valley Live
July 6, 2023
A Pennsylvania grand jury investigation into child sex abuse involving members of Jehovah’s Witness congregations has led to charges against a man for alleged sexual abuse when he lived in Bethlehem, court records reveal.
Luis Manuel Ayala-Velazquez, 55, who now lives in Reading, was charged Wednesday with nine counts, including rape of of an unconscious victim, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and aggravated indecent assault, stemming from the repeated sexual abuse of a female starting when she was 13 and continuing when she was an adult, the state attorney general’s office said.
Ayala-Velazquez was sent to Northampton County Prison after failing to post $250,000 bail. A defense attorney has not yet entered an appearance in his case.
Prosecutors said Ayala-Velazquez was part of a Bethlehem Spanish Jehovah’s Witness congregation and the state grand jury investigation into child sexual abuse in Jehovah’s Witness congregations revealed records corroborating Ayala-Velazquez’s abuse.
Attorney General Michelle Henry previously said a referral from a local district attorney’s office grew to a three-year investigation with 100 of hours of testimony from dozens of witnesses.
Nine members from Jehovah’s Witness congregations from across Pennsylvania have been charged as part of the investigation.
The accuser in the Bethlehem case reported Ayala-Velazquez began sexually assaulting her when she was 13 in the city, and the assaults occurred weekly for more than two years, records say. The accuser said after she became an adult, Ayala-Velazquez tried to rape her at a location in Berks County, records say.
The woman said at some point Jehovah’s Witness elders learned of her abuse and told her Ayala-Velazquez had been disfellowshipped, or excommunicated. A message left at a number listed for the congregation asking about the report was not immediately returned.
The grand jury obtained records that did not detail specifics, but indicated Ayala-Velazquez confessed to sexually abusing two girls, prosecutors said.
Critics allege Jehovah’s Witnesses have covered-up and mishandled sex abuse allegations, documenting cases with internal records but not reporting allegations to authorities, the Associated Press reported.
Any Jehovah’s Witnesses wishing to report sexual abuse should contact the Pennsylvania attorney generals’ clergy abuse hotline at 888-538-8541, and anyone with information regarding child sexual abuse can report it at ChildLine at 1-800-932-0313.
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Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.
https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/2023/07/jehovahs-witnesses-sex-abuse-scandal-lehigh-valley-case-now-part-of-pa-grand-jury-probe.html
A Pennsylvania grand jury investigation into child sex abuse involving members of Jehovah’s Witness congregations has led to charges against a man for alleged sexual abuse when he lived in Bethlehem, court records reveal.
Luis Manuel Ayala-Velazquez, 55, who now lives in Reading, was charged Wednesday with nine counts, including rape of of an unconscious victim, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and aggravated indecent assault, stemming from the repeated sexual abuse of a female starting when she was 13 and continuing when she was an adult, the state attorney general’s office said.
Ayala-Velazquez was sent to Northampton County Prison after failing to post $250,000 bail. A defense attorney has not yet entered an appearance in his case.
Prosecutors said Ayala-Velazquez was part of a Bethlehem Spanish Jehovah’s Witness congregation and the state grand jury investigation into child sexual abuse in Jehovah’s Witness congregations revealed records corroborating Ayala-Velazquez’s abuse.
Attorney General Michelle Henry previously said a referral from a local district attorney’s office grew to a three-year investigation with 100 of hours of testimony from dozens of witnesses.
Nine members from Jehovah’s Witness congregations from across Pennsylvania have been charged as part of the investigation.
The accuser in the Bethlehem case reported Ayala-Velazquez began sexually assaulting her when she was 13 in the city, and the assaults occurred weekly for more than two years, records say. The accuser said after she became an adult, Ayala-Velazquez tried to rape her at a location in Berks County, records say.
The woman said at some point Jehovah’s Witness elders learned of her abuse and told her Ayala-Velazquez had been disfellowshipped, or excommunicated. A message left at a number listed for the congregation asking about the report was not immediately returned.
The grand jury obtained records that did not detail specifics, but indicated Ayala-Velazquez confessed to sexually abusing two girls, prosecutors said.
Critics allege Jehovah’s Witnesses have covered-up and mishandled sex abuse allegations, documenting cases with internal records but not reporting allegations to authorities, the Associated Press reported.
Any Jehovah’s Witnesses wishing to report sexual abuse should contact the Pennsylvania attorney generals’ clergy abuse hotline at 888-538-8541, and anyone with information regarding child sexual abuse can report it at ChildLine at 1-800-932-0313.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.
Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.
https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/2023/07/jehovahs-witnesses-sex-abuse-scandal-lehigh-valley-case-now-part-of-pa-grand-jury-probe.html
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