Renee Cordeschi

Survivor and advocate for those suffering after leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

[Renee Cordeschi @reneecordeachi]

Grateful for the opportunity to speak to Four Corners for an upcoming documentary on the dangers of joining the Jehovah’s Witness religion (airing Sept 13 on ABC) #jworg #exjw #cults #escapejw

[Mark O'Donnell @Mark_J_ODonnell]

BREAKING:

Earlier today, Judge Stephen D. Nelson pronounced final sentencing on former Jehovah's Witness Elder and convicted child molester Ernest Fyans.

Previously, on February 23rd, 2024, Judge Nelson imposed a 20-year sentence on behalf of victim #1, who was raped by Fyans when she was between 4 and 6 years of age, and a 5-year concurrent sentence on behalf of victim #2, who was molested repeatedly from age 10-13. Many of the crimes against victim #2 occurred during field ministry breaks at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Fort Kent, Maine.

Fyans, using court-appointed counsel, appealed the jury's verdict.

On August 19th, 2025, the Maine Supreme Court upheld the jury's verdict as to victim #1, but overturned the 5-year sentence due to a complex issue with the State's statute of limitations guidelines.

This reversal required that the State re-sentence Fyans for his crimes, and that occurred today.

Both the State and defense counsel for Fyans agreed to a 15-year sentence, with no provision for parole - in part due to Fyan's disqualification, as he continues to proclaim his innocence for his crimes against victim #1.

Judge Nelson affirmed a 15-year sentence for 86-year-old Fyans, who appeared in court wearing grey sweatpants and a grey sweatshirt.

This ruling today ends years of work, beginning with a large trove of documents taken from a Massachusetts congregation in 2017, and sent to me by a confidential informant.

Those documents detailed horrific crimes against children, committed by Fyans and other members of the Fort Kent Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. I turned over these files to the State Police detective responsible and worked with the State as they launched a multi-state investigation into Fyans and other alleged perpetrators.

The District Attorney filed charges against Fyans in August 2021 and arrested Fyans. Fyans was released on bail, but the Court revoked his bail in 2022 after Fyans sent a letter of intimidation to a close family member he molested when she was a young child.

[Note that according to congregation documents, Fyans molested 2 closely related siblings prior to the crimes against the women who testified at trial. Church documents indicate that he allegedly molested additional children over several decades.]

Fyans was immediately arrested and imprisoned to await trial. The trial was held in September of 2023, and he was found guilty on all charges.

Today, final criminal justice was served in the case of Fyans, but the documents I received detail many more crimes that may never be adjudicated, as the documentation in many cases has sat for so long - unreported - in Kingdom Hall filing cabinets, that the criminal justice system cannot prosecute them.

This has left abusers to roam the streets and Congregations across the country, with families left unaware, and unprotected.
___________________
footnote:

I would like to especially thank the many hard-working, compassionate, and dedicated women and men of the State of Maine for not giving up on this case. They were severely limited for numerous reasons, including complex statute of limitations laws, travel restrictions from COVID, lack of cooperation from the Church, and other challenges.

Despite all that, they refused to say no to these survivors, and they overcame the hurdles at great expense, and served justice.

[Ron POMO @Ron_POMO]

Today the bill adding clergy to the list of mandatory reporters in Washington gets signed into law by the governor.

The bill makes clear there are no exemptions or loopholes for religions to keep knowledge of child abuse secret.

https://t.co/93hsDWNt7J

[Mark O'Donnell @Mark_J_ODonnell]

This is a significant development in Washington State, and it all began with reporting by @investigatewest and @Wilsoncriscione into the cover-up of abuse within the Jehovah's Witness Church.

Churches in Washington must now report allegations of child abuse to the authorities, and without a loophole that would allow confessions or confidential communications to be exempt.

While it is possible and even likely that the Jehovah's Witnesses and Catholics will continue to require elders and priests to keep abuse allegations confidential, the new legislation may pave the way for the criminal prosecution of church leaders who violate the new law by failing to report abuse.

[Renee Cordeschi @reneecordeachi]

@thekidlaroii @thekidlaroi Do you think he wrote the song “Girls” with Jon?

[Mark O'Donnell @Mark_J_ODonnell]

***BREAKING*** Authorities in Westmoreland County Pennsylvania have arrested Ronald W. Mangone, 69, on multiple felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from gross sexual abuse of at least two close family members.

Mangone is a long-time Jehovah's Witness, who according to sources in Pennsylvania, may have served as a Church Elder during the time of the abuse. This is still under investigation.

The arrest comes as a result of the ongoing Pennsylvania Grand Jury Investigation into Jehovah's Witnesses, officially launched in 2019.

The Criminal Police Report indicates that two of Mangone's victims testified before the PA Grand Jury, but the crimes against the 2nd victim were past the Statute of Limitations, and could not be charged. However, the testimony of that 2nd victim provided background to the Grand Jurors that influenced their decision to recommend the criminal charges on behalf of the younger victim.

The police report states:

"[Victim #2] also recalled numerous times when [Mangone] would watch her change clothes or shower. On one occasion in particular in 1988 or 1989, [a close relative] observed Mangone watching [victim #2] as [victim #2] was showering. This prompted [victim #2] to disclose the other assaults to [a close relative], who then reported the abuse to the JW congregation elders at the New Kensington Kingdom Hall. [Victim #2] recalled meeting with the elders and being told that since there was no penetration, no abuse had
occurred. Although Mangone cannot be charged with any criminal offenses pertaining to the abuse of [Victim #2] due to the expiration of the statute of limitations, the offenses demonstrate a common plan, scheme or design that corroborates the testimony of [Victim #1]."

There are no indications that the elders in the New Kensington Jehovah's Witness Congregation notified law enforcement of these crimes at any point.

Mangone was also associated with the West End French Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses.

More recently, both victims compared notes during a drive, causing [Victim #2] to pull their vehicle off the road in shock. [Victim #1] disclosed the abuse to a close relative, who then informed Congregation Elders. The police report continues:

"The Grand Jury obtained and reviewed records, including a two-page document entitled "DL/BC Interview 9/2/16," which appeared to be handwritten notes from an interview. While not all specifics were included, this record indicates that
[Victim #1] stated that "Ron tickled her too much/rubbed belly and put his hand down her pants (one incident)." Although the document states that Mangone denied that this had occurred, the front page of the same document has a notation: "confessed to this action in the past.""

The information contained in the police report is too graphic to share.

The Jehovah's Witnesses have been battling with the State of Pennsylvania for several years by filing a lawsuit against the Commonwealth to get the State to assert that JW Elders are members of the Clergy. By seeking this declaration, they hope to evade criminal prosecution of their elders for violation of the State's mandatory child abuse reporting laws.

Pennsylvania's law requires church elders to report child abuse, but the Jehovah's Witnesses seek exemption from reporting by utilizing a loophole in the law that permits members of the clergy to keep "confidential communications" or "confessions" private.

Those communications remain locked inside local and national filing cabinets and extensive databases containing volumes of criminal data.

[Case Reference: Ivy Hill Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses versus the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania - documents may be found on the JW Child Abuse dot org website.]

Mangone is currently free on $100,000 bail, awaiting his next court hearing.

https://t.co/zDH8y3v4N5

[Mark O'Donnell @Mark_J_ODonnell]

2) The Jehovah's Witness Church has been under extreme scrutiny for its practice of disfellowshipping, and the subsequent social isolation that results.

Despite the JW attempt to mitigate the number of global disfellowshippings, in the end, they will still disfellowship a child.

[Renee Cordeschi @reneecordeachi]

@PsychAccred @AustPsych when I rang APS to get help (I was a cult survivor) they gave me 4 names. 4 in all of Sydney. I had to travel over an hour to get to one. With thousands now exiting cults, what are we doing to better meet this need? https://t.co/twpv3wFZVf

[Renee Cordeschi @reneecordeachi]

@PsychAccred @AustPsych when I rang APS to get help (I was a cult survivor) they gave me 4 names. 4 in all of Sydney. I had to travel over an hour to get to one. With thousands now exiting cults, what are we doing to better meet this need?

[Steven Hassan, PhD @CultExpert]

One of the recurring complaints survivors of high-control groups have is that too many therapists just don't understand their needs or how to start addressing their unique set of problems. https://t.co/fFP7PtLhZy

[Renee Cordeschi @reneecordeachi]

Ben, you captured the exhausted life of a Jehovah’s Witness child so well with this post. And yet, “we weren’t doing enough”. So true. #exjw #jehovahswitnesses #religiousharm #cults

[Ben Rancourt (Leopold theseconed) @LTheseconed]

A young me in the late 70s in northern Ontario, coming home from a Sunday meeting. Like most weekends Armageddon was the topic and we weren’t doing enough #exjw

[Larchwood @Larchwood20]

Parents that get their children away from high control groups should be celebrated. It’s not easy.

[Renee Cordeschi @reneecordeachi]

@HaughMartin I love you too Mum xx

[Renee Cordeschi @reneecordeachi]

Brilliantly said

[Shelly Rose Braieoux @SRoseBraieoux]

@PandemicPimo It was established in the Final Report in Case Study 29 that the Australian Branch in NSW and the people receiving reports about CSA were criminally obligated under s 316 of the Crimes Act to report cases of CSA.

They never reported Kezia's case.

[Shelly Rose Braieoux @SRoseBraieoux]

Please repost to support my beautiful brave friend Kezia Whitton from Australia❤️‍🩹

She is speaking out to expose the historical crimes she was subjected to as a child within the Jehovah Witnesses religion.

https://t.co/4tCtl5wBG7

[Miss Usato @miss_usato]

Kezia! This is a wonderful & sweet friend of mine. Her brother- abused pleaded guilty to five counts of indecent dealings with a child and one count of sexual penetration of a child under 13. #exjw
https://t.co/z38isyDely

[Darren @TheSmallShed]

Another CSA survivor bravely fighting the Jehovah's Witness policy of not reporting crimes to the police. She had to wait until she was an adult to seek justice.
#JehovahsWitnesses
https://t.co/GnwqHusoR3

[Renee Cordeschi @reneecordeachi]

When I was a Jehovah’s Witness I always thought Jehovah looked after our organisation and kept it clean. Now, Jehovah’s Witnesses will excuse the abuses within as “imperfection” and Jehovah will “resolve things in due time”. But where is the line of too much? #exjw #jworg #csa

[FadetoEx Adam @FadetoEx]

Anyone else feeling triggered and angry after #JWvsNorway?
Shunning hit me more this wknd. Also hit me how cheap life is to Watchtower. Besides blood deaths, life is tossed aside in shunning by families and suicides hidden. It’s evil. They don’t deserve to win that court case.

[Renee Cordeschi @reneecordeachi]

Documentary in Japan on a major network about the struggles of former Jehovah’s Witnesses trying to rebuild their lives #exjw

[ＮＮＮドキュメント【公式】 @n_docu]

今度の ＃NNNドキュメント は

人生を取り戻す
～”JW”の家に生まれた私～

制作：＃日本テレビ
語り：＃夕月

親から子供へのムチ打ちなどが虐待とされたエホバの証人。家族に信者を持った２世３世の中に…自分の意思と覚悟と決断で「奪われた人生を取り戻す」人たちがいた。＃宗教２世 ＃元信者