Another former Jehovah’s Witness has been convicted of sexually assaulting a child, following a statewide investigation that charged many members of the Jehovah’s Witness faith with child abuse, some for more than ten years.
According to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, Shaun Sheffer of Butler County was found guilty of sexually assaulting a pre-teen kid in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Three counts of indecent assault and three charges of rape, including rape against a person with a mental handicap, found Sheffer guilty.
“This defendant sexually assaulted a victim who was wholly vulnerable due to their age and mental disability,” Attorney General Henry said. “I commend the grand jurors, the trial jurors, and, of course, the brave victim for ensuring a predator did not escape justice.”
The Attorney General’s office filed and prosecuted the 49th Investigating Grand Jury, which originated the allegations. The inquiry into Jehovah’s Witness membership has led to the charging of more than a dozen men since February 2023.
In November 2024, Norman Aviles-Garriga, a Jehovah’s Witness elder in Lancaster County, was sentenced to 11.5 to 23 years in jail for sexually abusing three children. In July, the court sentenced Luis Manuel Ayala-Velasquez of Reading to up to 46 years in prison.