Gonzalo Campos — Jehovah's Witnesses, San Diego (civil only; no U.S. criminal conviction)
An elder promoted twice after elders knew of his 1982 confession, who abused at least seven children. There is no U.S. criminal conviction in this case — its record is civil: a $13.5 million judgment, vacated on appeal, and confidential settlements in 2018.
Jehovah's Witnesses Civil only — no U.S. conviction
- Person
- Gonzalo Campos
- Role
- Bible-study instructor; ministerial servant; elder
- Institution
- Jehovah's Witnesses congregations, San Diego, California (Watchtower)
- Location
- San Diego, California
- Status
- NO U.S. criminal conviction — civil liability record only
- Civil
- $13.5M judgment (2014), vacated on appeal; settled confidentially January 2018
Case in brief
Tier 2 · Attributed allegations — civil record labeled as civil
Gonzalo Campos has no U.S. criminal conviction. He was never convicted of these offenses in an American criminal court. This file's record is the civil litigation record — elder testimony, internal letters, a judgment that was later vacated, and confidential settlements — and it is labeled as exactly that.
Campos confessed to elders in 1982 that he had abused a child. Elders nonetheless recommended him in 1986 as an instructor to a 7-year-old, and promoted him to ministerial servant (1988) and elder (1993), while he abused at least seven or eight children between 1982 and 1995 — per elder testimony and internal letters produced in civil litigation. When one family confronted elders in 1994, they were told not to talk about the abuse and that too much time had passed. Campos confessed again, was disfellowshipped in 1995, and fled to Mexico.
In the victim Jose Lopez’s civil case, a San Diego judge in October 2014 entered a $13.5 million judgment against the Watchtower organization for failing to protect him from a known offender and refusing to cooperate with the court. An appeals court vacated that judgment, holding lesser sanctions might compel compliance, and the case settled confidentially in January 2018. The related Padron case produced $4,000-per-day production sanctions against Watchtower (see The Pattern) and also settled, in February 2018.
The institution
Jehovah’s Witnesses congregations in San Diego and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. The institutional facts are the civil record’s own: knowledge in 1982, a recommendation in 1986, promotions in 1988 and 1993, and a family instructed in 1994 not to talk.
The record
Tier 1 · Court-proven — civil record
| Item | Record |
|---|---|
| 1982 | Campos confessed abuse to elders |
| 1986 | Recommended by elders as instructor to a 7-year-old |
| 1988 / 1993 | Promoted to ministerial servant, then elder |
| 1995 | Confessed again; disfellowshipped; fled to Mexico |
| October 2014 | $13.5 million civil judgment against Watchtower (Lopez case) |
| Appeal | Judgment vacated (lesser sanctions might compel compliance) |
| January 2018 | Lopez case settled confidentially; Padron case settled February 2018 |
Status
Civil matters settled (2018). No U.S. criminal conviction exists in this case, and this file will never describe one.
Records requested & responses
This archive has not filed records requests in this case. The file rests on the published sources below and will be updated if court or institutional records are obtained, or if that changes.
Sources
- Reveal (Center for Investigative Reporting) via BishopAccountability.org (elders knew 1982; recommended 1986; promoted 1988/1993; family told not to talk; database admitted under oath): bishop-accountability.org
- Wikipedia, “Jehovah’s Witnesses’ handling of child sex abuse” ($13.5M judgment; vacated on appeal; January 2018 settlement; Padron sanctions): en.wikipedia.org
Filed October 18, 2026, from the published sources below. Minor victims are never named or identified in this file.