Press Release and Statement

May 11th, 2025

The following is the public statement of Mark O’Donnell, the editor of this website, JwChildAbuse.org.

RE: Civil Action Case No: 2:24-cv-0304-MRP

 

On Sunday morning, February 11th, 2024, I was served with a civil lawsuit by 11 congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Pennsylvania, suing me for several million dollars in relation to my reporting on the criminal Statewide Investigation of child sexual abuse within the Jehovah’s Witness Church. I am scheduled to go to trial in October of this year in Philadelphia.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses filed this case in Federal Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The JWs filed the case under seal, meaning the public had no access to this case. My attorneys and I were able to get the case unsealed on November 25, 2024. The case is now available to the public on CourtListener and Pacer.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses allege that in the course of my work as a reporter, I invaded their privacy and violated wiretap laws. My response to their complaint addresses these claims.

In the litigation, the JWs have demanded that I name every Jehovah’s Witness I have communicated with in the last five years regarding the faith of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Obviously, that would reveal my journalistic sources, and I will not do so.

As a reporter, protecting my sources is essential. Because of this, I have been forced to hire expert legal counsel for my defense, with costs expected to be more than $150,000.

The investigation and publishing of accurate information about child abuse within the Jehovah’s Witness Church is essential, and reflects similar reporting about other organizations and religious groups. Without this reporting, the cries of victims often go unanswered, and their stories buried beneath an illusion of justice.

My mission has always been to shed light on these crimes, force change, and do so without cost to the public. While I am limited in what I can say now, I am grateful that the public can see what has happened for themselves.

Mark O’Donnell

 

Here are a few of the key documents available for public review:

• Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Complaint
• My Response to the Complaint
• Joint Status Report – with case summary

 

Media professionals and others with an interest in this case may contact my lead attorney, Mary Catherine Roper, of Langer, Grogan & Diver, P.C.

 

Site Contact: support@jwchildabuse.org

 

To Support Mark’s Defense:

 

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Case Update:

 

Dear Friends,

I want to thank every one of you for your generous and kind donations in support of my defense against the Jehovah’s Witnesses. It will be two years in January since I was served with this civil lawsuit from 11 Pennsylvania congregations.

With the exception of one brave elder, no one in these congregations knows me or was affected in any way by my investigation and reporting on the critical problem of child abuse among Witness congregations. This was all brought about by the actions of the JW Headquarters and their legal department in New York.

The lawsuit forced me to seek counsel at a very high cost – more than $150,000 up to today, and would have cost another $100,000 to go to trial in October. That does not include the legal costs I would be responsible for in the event that the JWs won at trial, which have been estimated at another $250,000, not counting what they could have won at trial in damages, IF the JWs were successful.

The fact is that there was a chance they could have won their case on one count – the claim that I violated Maryland’s wiretapping law.

I have been asked by countless people how the JWs can bring such charges against me, especially in light of the fact that I did not “hack” the meeting between two lawyers for the JWs and elders from 11 congregations. The answer is that the law is very broad, and it does not take into account the fact that I was given a written invitation to this meeting by a PIMO elder. Hence the JWs would have argued that I was nothing more than a hacker who “intercepted” a meeting that I was not invited to by all 11 congregations.

To be clear, this is a civil case, and at no point have I ever been charged with a crime by the State of Maryland or Pennsylvania or anywhere else. The JWs were simply framing this case by using a Maryland law established in the 1960s to compel me to defend myself in this lawsuit.

As a result, I was not only forced to defend myself at great expense, but I had to protect my source, the Pennsylvania PIMO Elder who invited me to the Microsoft Teams meeting back in February of 2023.

It has cost me tens of thousands of dollars to protect my source, and ensure that his information remains confidential. This required extensive legal work, motions before the Court, and Oral Arguments before the Federal Court Judge in Philadelphia.

The good news is that we won our Motion for a Protective Order, and the judge ruled this summer that I am not required to give up my source, and he will remain anonymous.

If we had not won that Motion, I think we all know the consequences that would very likely have happened to this elder and his family.

We also won our motion to unseal this case, which the JWs fought against from the very beginning. They did not want the public to be aware of this case and any of the details related to the PA Grand Jury investigation, which is still ongoing.

The bad news is that I am still left paying for the growing costs of litigation, and the possibility of losing my home and my assets, especially if I were to go to trial in October.

My attorneys have done a great job with this case, but in the end, I had little choice but to agree to a settlement with the JWs that will put an end to all of this. I will have to pay over $200,000 in settlement, plus the cost of my legal expenses.

As I have mentioned, the good news is that my source is protected, and I can continue my work that has been so important to myself and the public for more than a decade. I am free to discuss the case as I wish, and the public can read any of the case documents, so long as they are not filed under seal.

I also need to take into consideration that I did not want this case to be a further burden to my ex-JW friends or anyone in the public who have offered their support with these legal bills. It is better to end it and move on than to take the risk of paying 3 or 4 times the amount of money I have to pay now.

I would like all of you to know that every single penny of these donations has gone to my legal expenses, and that will continue into the future until I can finally pay off this settlement.

This has come at a difficult time, since the majority of my work is done without compensation. I am very grateful for all of your donations, and I will continue working on behalf of those who have suffered abuse, and reporting on cases that come to my attention.

On a personal note, I am the sole caregiver for my 84-year-old JW mother, who requires my attention on a daily basis, and I continue to rescue and care for many cats, which is very satisfying and meaningful. I have many other responsibilities- as we all do- but I wanted you to know that despite these obligations, I will not give up on my work reporting on child abuse, as this is one of the most serious obligations I have experienced in my life.

I know that it may be challenging to reach this GoFundMe goal, but for those who can help, I want to thank you again for doing so.

For those who have suffered abuse within the JW Organization, your voices are being heard, and we will not stop investigating, reporting, working with law enforcement, or any of the methods we have used to raise awareness of these crimes.

If anyone has any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me through this platform, or other methods, such as by email – [email redacted]

I am forever grateful for your support in helping with my defense.

We know we are on the right side of justice, the law, and the children who need our protection.

Mark