Former Jehovah's Witnesses member convicted of raping child in Butler County

A Butler County man has been convicted of raping a pre-teen child as a result of a statewide grand jury investigation of members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith.

A Butler County jury on Friday found Shaun Sheffer, 46, of Harmony guilty of three counts each of rape and indecent assault, including assault of a person less than 13 who had a mental disability. He also was convicted of corruption of minors.

The assaults occurred between about 1995 and 2000 in Butler County, when the victim was between the ages of 7 and 12, according to Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry.

“This defendant sexually assaulted a victim who was wholly vulnerable due to their age and mental disability,” Henry said in a press release. “I commend the grand jurors, the trial jurors and, of course, the brave victim for ensuring a predator did not escape justice.”

Sheffer, a former member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, is being held in the Butler County Jail and faces sentencing in February.

Additional charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child and aggravated assault were dismissed during lower court proceedings, according to online docket records.

Sheffer is among more than a dozen people from across the state who were charged following the grand jury investigation of child sexual abuse in the Jehovah’s Witnesses community.

Henry said the incidents date back years or decades.

Dozens of witnesses testified before the secret grand jury in Harrisburg or provided information to the attorney general’s office.

One of the defendants killed himself before he was arrested, Henry said.

An international Christian denomination, the Jehovah’s Witnesses was founded in the Pittsburgh area more than a century ago and is headquartered in New York state.