YORK HAVEN (AP) – A PA grand jury in recent months accused nine men with connections to the Jehovah’s Witnesses of child sexual abuse in what some consider the nation’s most comprehensive investigation yet into abuse within the faith. The charges filed in October and February have fueled speculation the jury might make public more about what it has uncovered in a four-year investigation. But documents made public so far include nothing about what critics have long maintained has been a systemic coverup and mishandling of child molestation within the group. PA Attorney General Michelle Henry announced charges during a February news conference at a news conference saying some of the defendants “used their faith communities to prey upon the victims.” Asked whether her office was looking into the Jehovah’s Witnesses as an organization, Henry replied it was an ongoing investigation.

MICHELLE HENRY