Shaun Sheffer     

By Jillian Pikora From Daily Voice

A former Jehovah’s Witness from Butler County has been sentenced to up to 34 years in prison for sexually abusing a child family member over five years, beginning when the victim was just 7, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced on Tuesday, June 3.

Shaun Sheffer, 47, of Harmony, was convicted by a Butler County jury in January of three counts of rape, three counts of indecent assault, and one count of corruption of minors, according to the AG’s Office.

The assaults happened between 1995 and 2000, when Sheffer was a member of a local Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation. The abuse began when the child, a family member, was 7 years old and continued until the victim turned 12, investigators said.

“For years, this defendant betrayed the trust of the victim, taking advantage of their age and mental disability in order to sexually assault a child,” AG Sunday said.

Sheffer was sentenced on Monday, June 2, to 14 to 34 years in state prison, followed by mandatory lifetime registration as a sex offender.

The case was part of a broader investigation into child sexual abuse by members of Jehovah’s Witnesses congregations across Pennsylvania, launched by the 49th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury.

The prosecution was led by Senior Deputy Attorney General Alicia Werner.

Jehovah’s Witness Cases Continue To Unfold:

Sheffer was one of five Jehovah's Witnesses members charged in July 2023 after a Statewide Investigating Grand Jury uncovered widespread sexual abuse within the faith community, as Daily Voice previously reported. 

The other suspects included:

  • David Balosa, 61, of Philadelphia: Accused of assaulting a 4-year-old in his congregation.
  • Errol Hall, 50, of Delaware County: Allegedly abused a 16-year-old as a church elder.
  • Terry Booth, 57, of Panama City, Florida: Accused of indecently assaulting a 16-year-old mentee.
  • Luis Manuel Ayala-Velasquez, 55, of Reading: Allegedly raped and abused a family member for years, beginning when she was 12. He was sentenced in July.

These cases follow charges against nine other Jehovah’s Witnesses members in 2023.