Five members of Jehovah’s Witness congregations in Pennsylvania were indicted Monday by a grand jury on various counts of child sexual abuse, authorities announced.
Acting Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry said the five men preyed on young members of their own families and congregations.
“The details of these crimes are sad and disturbing, facts made all the more abhorrent because the defendants used their religious communities or their own families to gain access to the victims,” Henry said in a statement Monday.
Marc Brown, 65, was charged Monday with multiple counts of child sexual abuse. (Acting Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry)
Marc Brown, a 65-year-old member of a Jehovah’s Witness congregation in Allegheny County, allegedly sexually assaulted two girls for whom he was the legal guardian between 2004 and 2006, according to a court filing.
He was charged with aggravated indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors.
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Abimael Valentin-Matos, 42, is accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old congregation member in Lancaster County.
Abimael Valentin-Matos, 42, allegedly sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl he was courting to marry when he was twice his age. (Acting Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry)
The victim testified before the grand jury that Matos, who was 30 at the time and twice her age, “promised that he would eventually marry her and that they could woo her in the presence of a chaperone in accordance with the instructions of the elders.” according to a court file.
During a gathering in a public park in 2004, Matos allegedly sexually assaulted the 15-year-old girl.
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Three other men, Raymond Shultz, 74, Kevin Isovitsch, 51, and Norman Aviles, 44, were also charged with various counts of child sexual abuse.
Four of the suspects have been arrested, while Avilés remains at large, according to authorities.
FILE PHOTO: A Kingdom Hall of a Jehovah’s Witness congregation. (Jerry Holt/Star Tribune via Getty Images)
The accusations come after four other male Jehovah’s Witnesses were charged with child sexual abuse offenses last October.
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Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was attorney general at the time, said “these kids deserve to be protected and grow up in peace, not be victims.”
“These cases are disturbing, the allegations are hard to imagine, and they all share a common bond,” Shapiro said in October. “The 19 victims and the four men accused of raping them are all members of Jehovah’s Witnesses.”
