This man, Scott Sawvel, is an unregistered child sex offender. He is one of Jehovah’s witnesses.
He sexually abused his daughter, Leah, for nearly two years. In 2007 he met with the local elders of the Fremont congregation of Jehovah’s witnesses and confessed to abusing her. The elders called the legal department at the world headquarters of Jehovah’s witnesses, as instructed by their secret elder’s instruction manual. The lawyers for the organization told them not to report the crime and even said if subpoenaed to not admit that a meeting with Mr. Sawvel ever happened. After Leah left home, she finally got the courage to report the abuse to the police less than a year after he confessed.
Mr. Sawvel was arrested and released on $50,000 bail. The case eventually went to a full jury trial. He maintained his innocence though out the nearly 3-year trial. He was facing life in prison for what he did. At the end of the trial, it couldn’t be proven that he did sexually abuse her because Leah and the prosecutor didn’t know that a confession from Scott was at the Kingdom Hall and was known by the body of elders at that time. Because of not having this proof a plea bargain was reached. Mr. Sawvel plead guilty to third-degree child abuse (akin to keeping your child up late on school nights to work), a two-year high court misdemeanor. In return for the plea deal, two counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct (CSC) and one count of second-degree CSC were dismissed. Tammy Sawvel, Scott’s wife knew about the abuse and even walked in on Scott abusing Leah on multiple occasions. She also lied during the trial.
If the elders of the local Fremont congregation had obeyed the law and reported the crime IMMEDIATELY, as the law states, the prosecution would have had the evidence to put this disgusting criminal in jail and he would be on a sex offender list for you to look up and protect your children. Instead, Scott and Tammy made Leah out to be a liar and blamed her for the situation, saying she was making it all up because she was mad that they cut off her money for college.
All the proof of what has been stated here is available from the Branch County Michigan courthouse and on the website listed beside and below, including the multiple page file from the records of the local congregation of Jehovah’s witnesses. These notes and the filled-out Jehovah’s witness forms, from Mr. Sawvel’s multiple meetings with the elders of Jehovah’s witnesses, is in a secret file kept on the premises of the local Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s witnesses or at an elder’s house because they want to keep the files secret and protected. Someone who had access to the file and had a conscience, exposed this travesty of justice to the local congregation through email. Although because of the way Jehovah’s witnesses are taught most people wouldn’t even read the email because they were lied to by the elder’s and told that it was apostate lies and shouldn’t be read.
