A former elder at the Fort Kent Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, convicted last year of child sexual assault, is serving the maximum sentence for his crimes. Now, a new lawsuit linked to the same Kingdom Hall is seeking accountability on a larger scale.
Ernest Fyans spent years holding one of the highest positions in For Kent’s Kingdom Hall, an elder. During those years, he sexually abused at least two children. Fyans now sits in prison, serving a 20 year sentence for those crimes. Meanwhile, the case that put him there continues to have a ripple effect.
Shannon Simendinger wasn’t one of the victims in the case that led to Fyans’ prison sentence, but she did testify against him during the trial, recounting her own allegations of abuse. “It made me feel not as scared anymore,” Shannon said, explaining how those moments on the witness stand emboldened her to seek her own justice.
“I wish I could have done it sooner. I tried to do it sooner,” she said. Around 1985, when Shannon was six years old, she says three men within the Fort Kent Kingdom Hall began sexually and physically abusing her. She said two of the men were elders, including Ernest Fyans.
Shannon tried to speak out, telling her mother, who then reported it to the police. However, Shannon said it ended up doing more harm than good. Her mother was punished by the congregation and Shannon said she was blamed for her own abuse.
“We were told to go to the Kingdom Hall the next day and sit at a table with the elders, including a couple of them that had assaulted me, and they made me pray for forgiveness.”
For years, Jehovah's Witnesses congregations have reportedly required members to handle misconduct allegations internally. Shannon claims this policy resulted in her being silenced, allowing her abuse to continue unchecked for years.
"It made me feel like I was worthless and I was always scared."
All these years later, Shannon said she still struggles with PTSD, depression, and the fear that speaking out will hurt her relationship with her current congregation in Pennsylvania. Specifically, because she filed a lawsuit this month, but instead of going after her alleged abusers, it targets the Jehovah's Witnesses organization itself, including its national headquarters in New York.
Shannon and her attorney, Michael Bigos, are aiming to set a legal precedent for institutional accountability.
"Our client experienced institutional betrayal as a result of how they treated her when she brought her claims to them and asked them to stop," Bigos, who practices at Berman & Simmons in Lewiston, said.
The Jehovah's Witnesses New York headquarters would not comment on the lawsuit, but a representative did say through a statement they empathize will all victims of abuse. Part of the statement reads, "As Christians, our love of God and our neighbor motivates us to hate all forms of abuse."
The Fort Kent Kingdom Hall did not respond to NEWS CENTER Maine's requests for comment.
Bigos said the congregation has previously expressed remorse about what Shannon alleges, but they are looking for more than that. "We want the Jehovah's witnesses to take full and fair responsibility, not just empty promises and empty apologies," he said.
Shannon's fight for justice extends beyond her personal experience. She hopes her lawsuit will encourage other survivors to come forward and join the fight to set a precedent that abuse will not be tolerated.
"I would like to say that I want to fix it all, but I'm sure that I can't," Shannon said. "But I would like to try."
Just like Fyans' criminal case had a ripple effect, Shannon hopes her lawsuit does as well.
