JW LEAKS

by site | June 5, 2026 · 1:59 am

Former Jehovah’s Witness testifies about her role in Jeffrey Epstein’s world

Sarah Kellen (also known as Sarah Kellen Vickers) is the former longtime personal assistant and scheduler for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Her role remains highly controversial, as she was designated as a potential unindicted co-conspirator in Epstein’s 2007 non-prosecution agreement, while she has separately testified that she was a victim of his abuse.

On May 21, 2026, Kellen testified before the U.S. House Oversight Committee, denying that she knowingly participated in sex trafficking. In her opening statement, Kellen describes her childhood within the Jehovah’s Witnesses of being groomed, molested, and raped by an adult member of her congregation.

Kellen is disfellowshipped and, according to her testimony, is religiously shunned by her family.

Transcript extract of Sarah Kellen’s opening statement about her life as a Jehovah’s Witness

[EXTRACT]

SARAH KELLEN

Chairman, Ranking Member, and members of the Committee, my name is Sarah Kellen. I worked for and was sexually and psychologically by[sic] abused by Jeffrey Epstein for over decade. It is important for the Committee to understand before I begin that the woman sitting in front of you today is not the woman I was supposed to become. The years that have shaped my adult life were not my own. During those years, I was trapped inside Jeffrey Epstein’s world. He groomed me, sexually and psychologically abused me, controlled me, manipulated me, dominated me, and gaslit me until I could no longer tell which thoughts were mine and which were his. It was like living with a permanent virtual reality headset on. I was reminded every day how powerful he was, how influential he was, and that to turn on him or disobey him would mean losing everything — my job, my home, everyone I knew in the world, even my life. Understanding who I was before meeting Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell will help explain why I was the perfect target for them.

I was raised in a religious cult of Jehovah’s Witnesses in a small community in North Carolina, in a faith where women did not speak unless spoken to. We were not allowed to question men; in fact, we were required to submit to and obey men. We were discouraged from thinking for ourselves. At the age of 13, an 18-year-old man began pursuing me. At the time, I was flattered. I thought I was falling in love with him. Only now do I understand what was happening. I was being groomed and molested and then raped.

I dropped out of high school at the age of 15 to prepare to marry this man, which I did at the age of 17. To me, I had no other choice. It was the only way to reconcile the fact we were having sex outside of wedlock, a grave sin in the eyes of Jehovah God. At the time, I thought it was love. Only much, much later did I come to understand what had happened to me was wrong.

My husband took me to Hawaii, thousands of miles away from my family and friends. Three years later, he served me with divorce papers at an airport. I signed them without a lawyer because I did not know I was allowed to have one. He then had me disfellowshipped from the Jehovah’s Witnesses, excommunicated, without anyone ever having questioned me. I still don’t know to this day why I was disfellowshipped.

From that day forward, everyone who is a Jehovah’s Witness is no longer allowed to speak to or associate with me, including my entire family, my parents, my siblings, and all of my friends. From one day to the next, I was completely alone in the outside world with no tools to navigate this world outside of the religious cult in which I had been raised. I was 21-years-old, far from where I grew up, stuck on an island in the middle of nowhere, no college degree, no family, no friends, no money, nowhere to live …

READ FULL TRANSCRIPT OF SARAH KELLEN’S TESTIMONY (149 pages)

DOWNLOAD FULL TRANSCRIPT OF SARAH KELLEN’S TESTIMONY (149 pages)

READ LETTER TO SARAH KELLEN FROM COMMITTEE

DOWNLOAD LETTER TO SARAH KELLEN FROM COMMITTEE

Chairman Comer and Republican Lawmakers Seek Department of Justice Investigation into Sexual Assault Allegations Made By Sarah Kellen During Epstein Investigation

PRESS RELEASE | U.S. Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

WASHINGTON— House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Republican lawmakers today sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche calling on the Department of Justice to use all available tools, including immunity for certain witnesses, to investigate sexual assault allegations made by Sarah Kellen during her transcribed interview as part of the Committee’s review of the federal government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases.

During the transcribed interview with Ms. Kellen on May 21, 2026, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee received testimony during the majority’s questioning about alleged instances of sexual assault committed by Philip Levine, the former Mayor of Miami Beach from 2013 to 2017, and Frédéric Fekkai, a French celebrity hairstylist. These are the first names of alleged criminal conduct unearthed by the Committee’s investigation or any other investigation to date.

“Sarah Kellen bravely provided testimony before the House Oversight Committee about the horrific abuse she endured for years involving Epstein and Maxwell,” said Chairman Comer. “Ms. Kellen provided new information crucial to our investigation that is helping to bring transparency for the American people and accountability for survivors. During her transcribed interview, the Oversight Committee received serious allegations of criminal misconduct involving two individuals. The Oversight Committee is not a law enforcement entity, and our role is not to determine guilt or innocence. We are referring these allegations to the Department of Justice, which has the tools to investigate criminal misconduct. We will continue to follow the facts and ensure accountability for survivors.”

READ LETTER TO ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL BLANCHE SEEKING INVESTIGATION

DOWNLOAD LETTER TO ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL BLANCHE SEEKING INVESTIGATION

About JW Leaks

JW Leaks is about openness, transparency and accountability within the Church of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Watch Tower Society.

JW Leaks shines a light on, and holds to account, the Watch Tower Society and those leaders within the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization that disregard or violate the laws of the land, or that cause religious harm to sections of the community.

Jehovah’s Witnesses . . . Proclaimers of “soon” since 1879

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by site | December 5, 2025 · 5:12 am

AUSTRALIA: Former member of Jehovah’s Witnesses wins $1.5 million NSW Supreme Court judgment

A former Jehovah’s Witnesses member has been awarded a judgment in the sum of $,1,495,395 against the defendant (her father). Part of the plaintiff’s claim included $144,000 for interest on past general and aggravated damages.

Judgment: BDS2 v CEG2 [2025] NSWSC 1291

Controversy

JW LEAKS has conducted a review of the judgment with a focus on many of the plaintiff’s non-offence claims, as presented to the Supreme Court.

These claims were then compared with documents, evidence and records:

that the plaintiff BDS2 had previously supplied to JW LEAKS; or
that had been used by, or in relation to, the plaintiff BDS2 in other legal proceedings within Australia; or
that had been published by the plaintiff BDS2 on social media platforms, including in YouTube interviews, and then later removed; or
that the plaintiff BDS2 had verbally told to JW LEAKS.

In our opinion there is clear evidence that the plaintiff BDS2 misled the Supreme Court as to factual matters in the proceedings.

In our opinion some of the material relied upon by the Supreme Court, including in awarding monetary amounts, were based on false information presented by BDS2 to the court.

There is absolutely no suggestion or inference that R. Royle of counsel, or Wyatt Lawyers & Advisors (solicitors), knowingly presented false or misleading information to the Supreme Court.

A publication restriction order is in place within Australia that prevents publication of the parties names and any information tending to reveal their identity. Our hands are tied in going public with the evidence.

About JW Leaks

JW Leaks is about openness, transparency and accountability within the Church of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Watch Tower Society.

Jehovah’s Witnesses . . . Proclaimers of “soon” since 1879

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by religiouswatch | March 24, 2025 · 4:17 am

CANADA | Vabuolas v. British Columbia (Information and Privacy Commissioner)

Jehovah’s Witnesses and body of elders refuse to hand over personal information records as required by law

Of interest in the proceedings was an affidavit from Kevin Knaus, a member of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Canada, who deposed that the teachings and instructions of Jehovah’s Witnesses, as applying to elders, constitute “canon law”.

Judgment summary

Two of the respondents applied, pursuant to s. 23(1) of the Personal Information Protection Act (“PIPA”), for disclosure of their personal information from two Jehovah’s Witnesses congregations. In response, the congregations withheld certain information on the basis that it was privileged and confidential religious communication.

An adjudicator acting as a delegate of the commissioner under PIPA reviewed the congregations’ decisions to withhold information. She ultimately ordered that the information must be disclosed to her under s. 38(1)(b) of PIPA so that she could determine whether it needed to be provided to the respondents. The adjudicator considered the congregations’ argument that PIPA breached their right to freedom of religion protected in s. 2(a) of the Charter. She found that while ss. 23(1)(a) and 38(1)(b) of PIPA infringed s. 2(a) of the Charter, the infringement was justified under s. 1. On judicial review, the chambers judge dismissed the appellants’ petition, expressing substantial agreement with the reasons of the adjudicator.

Held: Appeal dismissed. The adjudicator erred in finding that ss. 23(1)(a) and 38(1)(b) of PIPA infringed the Charter. Properly interpreted, these provisions empower the commissioner to consider the appellants’ Charter rights in deciding whether to order production of records for the commissioner’s review. To the extent that a production order made under s. 38(1)(b) unjustifiably infringes the Charter rights of an organization, the source of the infringement is the order itself and not the provisions of PIPA. In this case, the production order proportionately balanced the appellants’ Charter rights with statutory objectives, and therefore the decision to issue the order was reasonable.

DOWNLOAD | 2025 BCCA 83 Vabuolas v. British Columbia (Information and Privacy Commissioner) – pdf

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JW Leaks is about openness, transparency and accountability within the Church of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Watch Tower Society.

Jehovah’s Witnesses . . . Proclaimers of “soon” since 1879

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by religiouswatch | December 19, 2024 · 5:51 am

JW News Christmas Special 2024

In this time of the end . . . the end of another year, we thank our readers and main sponsor JW News for keeping us going.

Without the JW News Network this website, and our supporting social media accounts on Facebook and X, would not be here.

See you again in 2025. Until then, enjoy the JW News Christmas Special 2024 below.

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by site | October 28, 2024 · 7:15 am

Watch Tower Society v The Russian Federation in a USA District Court

On September 3, 2024, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania commenced civil proceedings in the United States District Court against The Russian Federation, the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, and the Federal State Budgetary Institution over the seizure of real estate property in Russia, namely the headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

According to the filings, Watch Tower Society alleges:

[EXTRACT FROM COMPLAINT]

1. This action arises out of, and seeks a remedy for, (1) Russia’s unlawful expropriation of Watch Tower’s property, as well as (2) the direct harms Russia has caused Watch Tower to suffer in the United States through its commercial activities since that expropriation. The facts giving rise to this case, however, are part of a broader, documented, and widely condemned campaign of discrimination and persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses by the Russian Federation. Currently there are 137 Jehovah’s Witnesses (men and women, ages 27-73) incarcerated in Russia for terms spanning two months to eight years due to their religious activity.

2. “Jehovah’s Witnesses have been present in Russia since 1891. They were banned after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 and criminally prosecuted for practising their faith in the USSR.”

3. Following the fall of the Soviet Union, and after nearly a century of persecution, Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia were able to openly practice their faith. Subsequently, Watch Tower (a charitable organization) established a public presence in Russia by, among other things, obtaining title to real property in St. Petersburg, Russia, for the purpose of facilitating the peaceful and lawful religious activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

4. Tragically, the ability of Jehovah’s Witnesses to freely and openly worship in Russia was cut short. Since at least 2007, the Russian Federation has undertaken a coordinated, deliberate, and sustained campaign of disinformation, discrimination, and persecution of Watch Tower and Jehovah’s Witnesses. This attack campaign culminated in Russia’s illegal seizure of Watch Tower’s property and its ongoing occupation by the Ministry of Health and Almazov.

5. As discussed herein, given Russia’s brazen and illegal conduct, and the direct effects of that illegal activity in the United States, this Court has both subject matter and personal jurisdiction over the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Health, and Almazov pursuant to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1330, 1602 et seq. (“FSIA”). To remedy the harms suffered, Watch Tower respectfully requests that it be awarded compensatory damages from Defendants and that punitive damages be awarded against Almazov for its outrageous, intentional, and unlawful conduct.

C. The Bethel Facility in Russia

25. In the early 1990’s, with Watch Tower’s assistance, the Administrative Centre purchased and renovated a complex of buildings in St. Petersburg, Russia. This “Bethel Facility”—known to Jehovah’s Witnesses as “Bethel” (from the Hebrew word meaning “House of God”)—is located at the following address: 197739 St. Petersburg, pos. Solnechnoye, ul. Srednyaya, d. 6.

26. Until 2017, when the Russian Federation stole the Bethel Facility, this property served as a place of worship and the national headquarters for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia. At all relevant times, the Bethel Facility was used by Jehovah’s Witnesses to support the practice of their faith. It was staffed by approximately 300 full-time ministers of Jehovah’s Witnesses, all members of a religious order, who lived and worked at that facility as part of their religious calling.

27. Throughout the 1990s, the Administrative Centre owned and maintained the Bethel Facility. Eventually, though, the Administrative Centre became interested in transferring ownership of the Bethel Facility to Watch Tower, whose global mission is to support the worship of Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide.

28. In connection with this property transfer, Watch Tower registered as a foreign legal entity with the Russian Federation’s State Revenue Inspectorate in June 2000. See Exhibit B. As a registered foreign legal entity, Watch Tower was required to pay land and property taxes in Russia, unlike the Administrative Centre, a Russian religious entity, that was tax exempt.

29. On March 1, 2000, the Administrative Centre executed a Gift Contract that transferred to Watch Tower ownership and title of the real property, including ten buildings, then comprising the Bethel Facility.

…

35. On September 17, 2010, the Administrative Centre executed a second Gift Contract that transferred to Watch Tower ownership and title of additional buildings and plots of land, all of which were subsequently subsumed within Watch Tower’s Bethel Facility.

36. On July 28, 2011, Watch Tower and the Administrative Centre executed a contract permitting the Administrative Centre to continue using the additional buildings and land that had been transferred to Watch Tower and added to the Bethel Facility.

…

98. The Bethel Facility, which the Russian Federation stole from Watch Tower in violation of international law, is now being used by the Russian Federation to generate income that in turn, as part of its general revenues, is being exchanged for property now present in the United States in connection with commercial activity carried on in the United States by the Russian Federation. The property exchanged for the property that the Russian Federation stole from Watch Tower is present in the United States in connection with commercial activities carried on in the United States by the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Health

99. The Russian Federation stole the Bethel Facility from Watch Tower.

…

110. Therefore, Russia’s taking of the Bethel Facility constituted an unlawful expropriation by a state against a non-citizen without just compensation, thus violating international law.

111. Accordingly, Defendants are liable to Plaintiff for the expropriation of the Bethel Facility.

…

132. Each Defendant had actual knowledge and/or was generally aware of the wrongful conduct of the other Defendants, and was generally aware of the role that the other Defendants and it were playing in their unlawful conduct toward Watch Tower.

133. As a result of the foregoing, in the alternative to its other claims, Plaintiff asserts that it is entitled to a substantial award of damages, in an amount to be proved at trial.