Dans l'affaire Padron v Watchtower, un tribunal de San Diego a condamné la Watchtower à une astreinte de 4 000 dollars par jour à compter d'avril 2016 pour avoir refusé de produire les réponses à sa lettre du 14 mars 1997 demandant aux anciens de signaler les membres 'connus pour s'être rendus coupables d'abus sexuels sur enfant' ; la cour d'appel a confirmé cette décision, évoquant un 'abus de la procédure de communication de pièces' de la part de la Watchtower.

Claim ID claim-safeguarding-padron-sanctions-1997-letterConcerns 9 novembre 2017Résultat

Résultat · 9 novembre 2017 Vérifié

Dans l'affaire Padron v Watchtower, un tribunal de San Diego a condamné la Watchtower à une astreinte de 4 000 dollars par jour à compter d'avril 2016 pour avoir refusé de produire les réponses à sa lettre du 14 mars 1997 demandant aux anciens de signaler les membres 'connus pour s'être rendus coupables d'abus sexuels sur enfant' ; la cour d'appel a confirmé cette décision, évoquant un 'abus de la procédure de communication de pièces' de la part de la Watchtower. Source: California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division One, 9 novembre 2017 Source: California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division One, 14 avril 2016 Source: Letter to All Bodies of Elders, 14 mars 1997

Position de l’organisation ou explication ultérieure : La Watchtower a fait valoir que les documents étaient confidentiels puis, plus tard, que les documents postérieurs à 2001 étaient inaccessibles ; le tribunal a qualifié ce dernier argument de 'manœuvre'.

Afficher les preuves (3 sources)

Document public officiel Vérifié

California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division One, “Padron v. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. (No. D070723)”

9 novembre 2017 · Holding and disposition · California Courts (opinion text via FindLaw)

“$2,000 per day for every day Watchtower did not produce responsive documents and $2,000 per day for every day Watchtower did not search for responsive documents”

The San Diego Superior Court sanction ($4,000/day in total) imposed after Watchtower's counsel 'unequivocally informed' the court on 8 April 2016 that it would not comply with a 25 March 2016 order to produce all responses to the 14 March 1997 letter (redacted for victim and elder names). The Court of Appeal affirmed, describing Watchtower's conduct as 'abuse of the discovery process' and noting it had argued against production at least five times.

Source officielle (s’ouvre dans un nouvel onglet)

Note de provenance et de vérification

Note sur la fiabilité. Full opinion opened on FindLaw. The opinion does not state the total accrued; press reports of 'more than $2 million' are not confirmed here.

Corroboré par. src-cal-2016-0414-lopez-v-watchtower

Notes. Osbaldo Padron is the named plaintiff.

Date de consultation. 19 septembre 2026 · Identifiant de la source. src-cal-2017-1109-padron-v-watchtower

Document public officiel Vérifié

California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division One, “Lopez v. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. (No. D066388)”

14 avril 2016 · Holdings and disposition · California Courts (opinion text via FindLaw)

“known to have been guilty of child molestation”

The court's description of the 14 March 1997 letter whose responses the trial court had ordered produced. The trial court had struck Watchtower's answer for refusing to comply and entered a $13.5 million default judgment; the Court of Appeal upheld the document-production order but vacated the terminating sanction and default judgment because lesser sanctions should have been tried first, and vacated the order to depose Governing Body member Gerrit Lösch.

Source officielle (s’ouvre dans un nouvel onglet)

Note de provenance et de vérification

Note sur la fiabilité. Full opinion opened on FindLaw.

Corroboré par. src-cal-2017-1109-padron-v-watchtower

Notes. Jose Lopez was the named plaintiff (San Diego County).

Date de consultation. 19 septembre 2026 · Identifiant de la source. src-cal-2016-0414-lopez-v-watchtower

Publication primaire des Témoins de Jéhovah Étayé

Letter to All Bodies of Elders, “Letter to all bodies of elders, 14 March 1997 (requesting information on members 'known to have been guilty of child molestation')”

14 mars 1997 · Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society

“known to have been guilty of child molestation”

The phrase the California Court of Appeal used in Lopez (2016) when describing the March 14, 1997 letter and the documents elders sent to headquarters in response. The Padron (2017) court ordered production of all responses to this letter and upheld daily sanctions for non-compliance.

No online copy located.

Note de provenance et de vérification

Note sur la fiabilité. The letter was not opened; its date and subject are taken from two appellate opinions that were opened (Lopez, Padron).

Corroboré par. src-cal-2016-0414-lopez-v-watchtower, src-cal-2017-1109-padron-v-watchtower

Notes. The courts describe these documents as the responses to the 14 March 1997 letter, and this site uses that description.

Date de consultation. 19 septembre 2026 · Identifiant de la source. src-boe-1997-0314-letter-known-molesters

Page de l’affirmation Corriger ou mettre à jour

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/fr/evidence/claim-safeguarding-padron-sanctions-1997-letter/. Every source above opens the original document or the best available copy. If you believe the wording, date or context is wrong, report an error.

L’affirmation et ses preuves

California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division One, “Padron v. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. (No. D070723)”

California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division One, “Lopez v. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. (No. D066388)”

Letter to All Bodies of Elders, “Letter to all bodies of elders, 14 March 1997 (requesting information on members 'known to have been guilty of child molestation')”