No caso Padron v Watchtower, um tribunal de San Diego aplicou à Watchtower uma multa de US$ 4.000 por dia a partir de abril de 2016 por ela se recusar a apresentar as respostas à sua carta de 14 de março de 1997, que perguntava aos anciãos sobre membros 'known to have been guilty of child molestation'; o Tribunal de Apelação confirmou a decisão, descrevendo o 'abuse of the discovery process' por parte da Watchtower.

Claim ID claim-safeguarding-padron-sanctions-1997-letterConcerns 9 de novembro de 2017Resultado

Resultado · 9 de novembro de 2017 Verificado

No caso Padron v Watchtower, um tribunal de San Diego aplicou à Watchtower uma multa de US$ 4.000 por dia a partir de abril de 2016 por ela se recusar a apresentar as respostas à sua carta de 14 de março de 1997, que perguntava aos anciãos sobre membros 'known to have been guilty of child molestation'; o Tribunal de Apelação confirmou a decisão, descrevendo o 'abuse of the discovery process' por parte da Watchtower. Source: California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division One, 9 de novembro de 2017 Source: California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division One, 14 de abril de 2016 Source: Letter to All Bodies of Elders, 14 de março de 1997

A posição da organização ou explicação posterior: A Watchtower argumentou que os documentos eram confidenciais e, depois, que os documentos posteriores a 2001 estavam inacessíveis; o tribunal chamou esse último argumento de 'gamesmanship'.

Mostrar as provas (3 fontes)

Registro público oficial Verificado

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

9 de novembro de 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.

Fonte oficial (abre em nova aba)

Nota de procedência e verificação

Nota de confiança. Full opinion opened on FindLaw. The opinion does not state the total accrued; press reports of 'more than $2 million' are not confirmed here.

Corroborado por. src-cal-2016-0414-lopez-v-watchtower

Notes. Osbaldo Padron is the named plaintiff.

Consultado em. 19 de setembro de 2026 · Identificador da fonte. src-cal-2017-1109-padron-v-watchtower

Registro público oficial Verificado

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

14 de abril de 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.

Fonte oficial (abre em nova aba)

Nota de procedência e verificação

Nota de confiança. Full opinion opened on FindLaw.

Corroborado por. src-cal-2017-1109-padron-v-watchtower

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

Consultado em. 19 de setembro de 2026 · Identificador da fonte. src-cal-2016-0414-lopez-v-watchtower

Publicação primária das Testemunhas de Jeová Respaldado

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 de março de 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.

Nota de procedência e verificação

Nota de confiança. The letter was not opened; its date and subject are taken from two appellate opinions that were opened (Lopez, Padron).

Corroborado por. 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.

Consultado em. 19 de setembro de 2026 · Identificador da fonte. src-boe-1997-0314-letter-known-molesters

Página da afirmação Corrigir ou atualizar

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/pt-br/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.

A afirmação e as suas provas

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')”