TONY ALAMO’S SECRETS EXPOSED!

Written By: Concerned Citizens, Former Members and Children Born and Raised in the Alamo Cult in summer of 2006

Tony Alamo is posing as a Spiritual Leader, but he is an abuser of the innocent, a sexual predator preying on children and young women. He now controls the will of over 400 followers, the Men and Women (who are terrified of him and his dictates of abuse) and the Children, who have no voice and no human rights and must suffer the endless beatings, fastings and molestations in the name of God.

Many men, women (including Alamo Foundation school teachers) and children have been beaten by the minions (blind followers) of the Alamo Ministries, as well as by Pastor Alamo himself. Many were beaten, put on extended fasts, and mentally abused by this once thriving sect. Newspaper articles have recorded these facts. Everything you are about to read and much more can be found at www.tonyalamonews.com. Visit this informative site for verifiable facts, detailed history and current information on this dangerous and destructive religious group. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

ALAMO ABUSES

Tony Alamo has committed many morally reprehensible and illegal acts against his followers and he continues to perpetuate his abuses with out remorse. Below is a list of his atrocities. Some of these abuses are detailed, further on in this pamphlet.

Tony Alamo aka Bernie Lazar Hoffman is a convicted felon proclaiming himself to be a prophet and self-titled World Pastor, setting himself up as the infallible despotic spiritual leader of duped, ill-informed, followers (being deprived of their most basic freedoms) and their unprotected children, along with a handful of devoted followers doing Tony Alamo’s psychotic, controlling, dirty work, as he lives as sumptuously as possible off all their labors, all the while professing to be a holy man of God.

Tony Alamo is a deceiver for profit. His organizations, Arm Full of Help and Action Distributors are fronts to fund his lavish lifestyle, his radio broadcasts, and the enormous amounts of literature produced and distributed annually to propagate his radical agenda.

Tony Alamo is a pedophile. Raping, molesting & fondling young female children. He molests and rapes girls as young as 8 years old, then calls them his “wife” and proceeds to brag about “how tight they were” on his pulpit all the while professing to be a holy man of God.

Tony Alamo abuses under age children including his own son Tabor. He orchestrates and sanctions the marriages between young female children and older men. A few cases are: Jackie Garner at 12 years old was married to Dale Shono (a 30 year old). Wendy Tiner married at 12 yrs old to a much older man. On March 5th 2006 the Ft. Smith, Arkansas police department was alerted to an illegal wedding between 13yr old Leah Willis to a 34 year old ex-convict. Alamo’s followers are so afraid of being kicked out of the group, put on extended fasts, or beaten that they willingly do whatever tyranny he dictates, including giving these men their young, innocent 12 and 13 year old daughters as brides..

Tony Alamo is violent and dangerous. He has ordered the brutal beatings of countless women, and children for well over 35 years and in some instances administering the beatings himself. He has been drunk on numerous occasions, at which point he beat and/or raped one or more of his many wives all the while professing to be a holy man of God.

Tony Alamo is a plagiarist Changing a few paragraphs then claiming authorship of Fred John Meldau’s the Messiah Book, all the while professing to be a holy man of God.

Tony Alamo is an opportunist. He uses his followers for his own gain by taking all that they have and leaving them no way out (even if they wanted out) and living lavishly off of their efforts. They give him everything and get beaten, starved, and raped in return. They obey his every command because they think him a prophet and a holy man of God. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

VIOLATION of the FAIR LABOR STANDARD ACT

For the first decade or so the Alamo Ministries owned many lucrative businesses, most notable being the “Alamo” line of clothing. The “employees” of these operations were Alamo Foundation volunteers who had pledged to work as their “service unto the Lord”. In return, according to Tony Alamo, the workers received room and board, training, healthcare, and had all of their other basic necessities met. All Alamo Foundation members (with outside employment) were ordered to turn over their paychecks and assets to further the work of the ministry.

[In 1976, the Department of Labor determined that the Alamo Foundation was in violation of the Fair Labor Standard Act for failing to pay wages to its many workers. The IRS eventually revoked the church’s tax-exempt status in 1985 after determining that it was really a profit-making entity meant to fund Alamo’s luxurious lifestyle. However, the pastor continued to ignore his taxes, and the IRS eventually seized millions of dollars in Alamo’s church property and business interests and put him behind bars [in 1994]. After Alamo served four years of a six-year sentence, all of his properties, businesses, and nonprofits were registered under the names of his followers. Since his release in 1998, he’s been trying to make a comeback and has targeted New York/New Jersey as one of several areas for growth—and for his polygamous radio message.] –Village Voice 5/14/08

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PROFITEERING SCHEMES

Many have unknowingly supported the Alamo Ministries by tithing or donating to Tony Alamo’s organization through Arm Full of Help and other Alamo charity frauds. According to a recent Village Voice article dated 5/14/08,

[Alamo has a local following that runs at least two of what ex-members describe as profiteering schemes. One is named Arm Full of Help, a charity that former workers say misleads people by taking donated goods that are supposed to go to people in need but are instead sold for profit, which is then sent to Alamo. The other is Action Distributors Inc., a New Jersey salvage business that is accused of participating in a scheme to sell for profit thousands of mattresses that were supposed to be donated to Hurricane Katrina victims. Tempur-Pedic had donated approximately 8,000 mattresses and 7,000 slippers to a New Jersey nonprofit called Waste to Charity, which then contracted Action Distributors to give out the goods in storm-ravaged areas. Tempur-Pedic grew suspicious after being tipped off that those specific mattresses and slippers were being sold out of the back of trucks in Tennessee and Kentucky, and later on eBay. The mattress company hired an undercover consultant to pose as a buyer and instigated an FBI sting that found 2,650 of the donated mattresses in an Arkansas warehouse registered to two of Alamo’s “wives,” whose address was listed as a supermarket owned by Tony Alamo Ministries.

An undercover FBI investigation revealed that Scarcello had been selling the donated mattresses for profit to a number of secondhand retailers. While the connection between Waste to Charity and Alamo remains unclear, Tempur-Pedic’s complaint against Waste to Charity and Action Distributors calls Scarcello a “known associate” of the pastor.]

[According to former workers for the charity, Arm Full of Help is an Alamo-controlled business that sells donated goods for profit. Ex-workers say the charity is part of the same network of businesses and nonprofits as Action Distributors, keeping Alamo’s empire afloat. They estimate that up to 70 percent of the donations—meant to help the needy—are sold for profit.] –Village Voice

Alamo denies affiliations with these charities but according to Arm Full of Help’s website , contributions are tax deductible through Holiness Tabernacle Church, Inc. According to documents filed with the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, available on their website , Holiness Tabernacle Church is an arm of Alamo Ministries. In addition, several of the spokespeople of Arm Full of Help, such as Susan McElroy (Susan McElroy-Miller-Scarcello), identified in a Los Angeles Times article shown on the Arm Full of Help website, are members of Alamo Ministries. The Village Voice goes on to report;

[When the Voice called Alamo’s church office in Arkansas, church volunteer Jennifer Kolbeck seemed to think that she’d answered the phone for Arm Full of Help: She identified herself as a volunteer at Arm Full of Help’s Arkansas branch and immediately launched into an explanation of how the charity and Alamo’s church were, in fact, separate entities. She said that Alamo gave money, food, and clothing donations to Arm Full of Help, as well as many other nonprofits, but that was the extent of the connection. But Kolbeck answers the phones at both the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries and Arm Full of Help, and she couldn’t say who her boss was at Arm Full of Help. “I don’t have that information,” she said, seeming not to understand the term “executive director.” (Many ex-members say they left the church simply because their kids weren’t learning anything in the church-run schools.)]

Were all these facts known to Arm Full of Help and Action Distributors’ contributors, it would be interesting to know how many would knowingly continue to contribute to Alamo’s lavish lifestyle, his radio broadcasts, and the enormous amounts of literature produced and distributed annually to propagate his radical agenda. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

CHILD LABOR VIOLATIONS

One of the Alamo Ministries’ many, million dollar enterprises was their rhinestone studded clothing sewing houses (in 1980s). Not only did Tony Alamo unlawfully use free labor from hundreds of his followers but he also forced children to spend hours (daily) setting rhinestones for Alamo Designs, depriving them of a quality education. According to a recent (2008) article by the Village Voice, these child labor violations continue today;

[Sarah remembers that even the kids were put to work for Arm Full of Help’s Arkansas branch, preparing donated food for resale. “They called it ‘volunteer work’ ” she says. “The kids would get nail-polish remover and take off the dates, then they repack it really nicely in these boxes. I did it, and the little treat for the kids is to go get an ice cone.”]

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CHILD ABUSE

Children are subjected to abusive corporal punishment, as well as fasting, for minor infractions in the Alamo Ministries. This went on for years before it was exposed by the media in 1989. In 1988 he ordered the beating of an 11 year old child (Justin Miller) in the community, via speaker phone, ordering four male followers to hold the child spread eagle while being struck vigorously 140 times with a large wooden paddle, while Justin’s mother looked on. On March 25, 1988, this prompted a raid on the Saugus, California compound. Justin Miller was removed by the state and returned to his father, who had left the cult months earlier. Ex-members were starting to come forward with their stories that Alamo wielded such control over his followers that he literally would split up families and rearrange marriages at will.

The FBI launched a manhunt for Tony Alamo after he went on the run, following the charges. After years on the run and the tax evasion conviction the charges were, sadly, dropped. A 1995 article in the LA Times said this about the case;

[Prosecutors have decided not to pursue a child abuse case against flamboyant evangelist Tony Alamo because of a six-year federal prison sentence he received last year for tax evasion, authorities said. Alamo was accused of ordering followers at his Saugus church in 1988 to paddle a misbehaving 11-year-old boy about 140 times. The evangelist's case has been frequently delayed because he was a fugitive for two years and was then tried and convicted on the tax charges. Alamo would probably have served only five months in state prison if convicted of child-abuse and child-endangerment charges, Deputy Dist. Atty. John Asari said. He said that wasn't a long enough addition to the federal prison sentence to fight what would have been a difficult trial.]

In a recent taping (2008) of the Dr. Phil Show entitled “Cults’, a young girl accused Tony Alamo and his followers of putting the children on fasts for weeks at a time. Here is what Hannah said happened to her;

[“I got in trouble for not vacuuming the hallway, and my stepmom told me I had to go on a two-week fast. She would not allow me to eat or drink anything but water,” Hannah recalls. “I think it was going on to the second week, and I was playing with my friends outside. I passed out and fell to the ground. They came and picked me up, and they called my dad. My dad came to see me, if I was all right, and they told him it was from sun exhaustion, and I know it wasn’t. I couldn’t even move sometimes, because I was so weak.”] —Dr. Phil Show

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POLYGAMY, SEXUAL ABUSE, AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Alamo continues to deny charges of polygamy, sexual abuse, and domestic violence but many people have come forward with detailed accounts of what they have experienced first hand in the Alamo group. The SPLC [Southern Poverty Law Center] did an article in March ’08 where Tony Alamo’s own stepdaughter claims he raped her ;

“Tony raped me in Vegas, and my mother didn’t believe it and told me to get my ass out and I was a liar and I was trying to take her man.” She goes on to say, “They [Tony and Susan Alamo and a few followers] beat me into insensibility. All of them. I had my baby in my arms, so it was all I could do to [keep] her from getting hit. My eyes were black, my lips were big as balloons, my nose was busted, hair ripped out. Some of them even pinched me. They were going to put me in a coma and say I’d fallen down the stairs.”

Alamo is regularly heard on his radio programs promoting polygamy. He has been stated as saying that as soon as a girl menstruates she can be married, even as young as 10 years old. In an October ’07 article , the SPLC reports;

“Alamo argues that girls should marry once they start menstruating — even if they are as young as 10. In one September 2006 broadcast, he put it like this: “God impregnated Mary when she was about 11 years old. So the government idiots, the people that don’t know the Bible, what you’re going to have to do is get a hold of God now, you’re going to have to get up there and ‘cuff him and send him to prison for statutory rape.”

The SPLC has also added the Tony Alamo Ministries to their list of Hate Groups. Steven Hassan, a licensed mental health counselor and an exit counselor was a guest on Anderson Cooper 360° and was quoted as saying ,

“Two cult groups that authorities need to expose is the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries – the similarities to power hungry Warren Jeffs is frightening – and another organization called The Children of God, also known as The Family. Both these groups sexually abuse children and women.”

Hassan is author of Combatting Cult Mind Control: The #1 Best-selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults, and Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

THE DOCUMENTED ACCOUNTS OF POLYGAMY, SEXUAL ABUSE, AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (1989 – 2000)

In 1989 Alamo married Sharon Ast-Kroopf (now Sharon Miriam Hoffman), in her late 30’s at the time – after Tony removed her husband, David, from the group. She married Tony, who at the time was a fugitive, in hiding from charges of felony child abuse in California. Tony and Sharon had a son, Sion, together in the summer of 1991, while Tony was in jail awaiting trial for threatening Federal Judge Morris Arnold.

In California in February 1993 Tony Alamo took Lydia Willis, an African American, as a second wife. Lydia was in her early 30’s. They have a son, Tabor, together. She and her son are mistreated more than the others and are both referred to as “nigger” by Alamo. A woman in Tony’s house witnessed the following:

“Lydia was sitting beside me one night in Tony’s office. She was reading something to Tony and messed up on her wording, so Tony got up from his chair and stormed over to me and Lydia and punched her in the face so hard that we both fell backwards. She tried to crawl away from him and that only made him madder. He grabbed her pant leg and pulled her back and continued to punch her. Then he stopped and went back to his chair like nothing ever happened and made Lydia come back and sit down and made her finish reading to Tony, as blood was gushing out of her mouth where Tony had beat her. He would not let anyone even give her a Kleenex or washcloth to help stop the bleeding. He said he wanted to see that “black nigger” try and talk with her face and mouth all swollen. To Tony it was entertaining.”

Lydia often reads responses on Alamo’s radio broadcast. In California in February 1993 Tony Alamo “married” Jody. She was 17 years old. Her Testimony:

“Tony began talking about the flames of hell and how someone in the room wasn’t listening to God and marrying him and such. Well, the only other person in the room besides me would be him on most occasions when he would talk about these things. After hearing him say all this stuff, how I was going to die very shortly and go to hell. I finally told him crying that I lived my life for God and I wanted to do God’s will. He then made arrangements to take me to Palm Springs to “marry” me. I was terrified and asked to call my mom back in Arkansas. Tony told me I could not and he would make sure I never saw my family again unless I “consummated” the marriage. He even threatened to have some of the “brothers” drive me out to the desert and leave me there unless I slept with him. It was February 15th. Niki R. was there in Palm Springs. She knew how awful it was for me. I was dry heaving and couldn’t sleep for days (found out lack of sleep was something I needed to become accustomed to later). The consummation didn’t happen for a while, but I knew he would sooner or later force himself. That did happen, and at first it was awful. I would cry the whole time. But in time I learned a very valuable trick on “my nights” with Tony. I learned how to separate myself from myself. I would actually allow my mind to take me elsewhere during that time. That is why he went around telling people that sleeping with me was like sleeping with a corpse and that I didn’t like sex so something was wrong with me. Tony was very careful when he took me for a wife. He didn’t want the church to know because the idea of polygamy wasn’t accepted by his following yet. It later became pretty common knowledge around the church. Anyway, after a few months went by, I saw Tony take, Isabel, Misheal (breaking up their marriage and taking her for himself), Tami (breaking up their marriage and taking her for himself as well), and Angel”.

Jody left Tony and the Foundation in Dec 1993 and was a witness for the IRS in the tax case in June 1994.

In California in 1993 Maria Isabel Mendoza (aka Isabel Mendoza) became another Alamo “wife” at age 19.

In 1993 Misheal Eden Jones-Williams became Tony’s “wife” at 18 years old. She was already married to Kenya Williams (African American) and pregnant with his child at the time. Alamo kicked Kenya out of the group and took his wife. Kenya was the son of Diana Elena Williams- Alamo, a legal ex-wife of Alamo’s in the late 80’s. Jordan (Kenya’s son) was born in Alamo’s house and Alamo currently refers to him as “the bastard” and “the nigger”. There are witnesses that can verify that Alamo, in a rage, cruelly beat and kicked Jordan. (Diane Elana Williams-Alamo testified against Tony in the IRS trial which could account for the revenge of treating her grandchild so brutally.) Jordan and Misheal are still there and she often reads the responses on Tony’s radio broadcast.

In California, on October 15, 1993 Tami became Tony’s “wife” at age 17. She was already married at the time to Randy and they had a small baby. Tony kicked Randy out of the group and then took his wife and child. Tami’s Testimony:

“In summer of next year (1994), he was incarcerated on charges by the IRS. That story is a book in itself, but now I was living in even more trauma. He had amassed twelve wives by now. Twelve women locked in a house, day in and day out. The only thing we could count on was his phone calls, ever increasing, always a ride. We were God’s chosen on one day. We were blessed, everyone was the most beautiful, and we were on top of the world. The next day, we were the scum of the earth, unworthy, cut off. We never knew if we might find ourselves sitting in a house that was not paid for, with no food, and no money. We needn’t have worried. Then, I thought he was God’s best friend. Now I know he depended on us to give him his power. I slept, but I never slept. I ate, but the food went right through me. In my dreams I ran away. In the daytime I pretended. After two and a half years, I began to wake up. I believed in God still. I cried to him every day. I was thousands of miles away from my family. I had no money. I was only nineteen. I didn’t know how to run away with my baby, but that is what I desperately needed to do. I knew it”.

Tami left Tony and the group in January 1996 and shortly thereafter reunited with her husband, Randy.

In 1993 Angela Marie Morales (aka Angel Streit) became a “wife” in Arkansas at age 20. Her mother Suzanne and step-father, Bob Streit, are still with the Alamo group.

In Arkansas in January 1994, Elizabeth Mercado (aka “Lizzy” Gutierrez) became Tony’s “wife”. She had just turned 16 years old. She bore a child to Tony, a girl, Antoinette, in June of 2001. Lizzy and her parents were threatened with expulsion from the group and eternal damnation if they did not comply with Alamo’s demand for her virginity.

In Arkansas in February 1994, Jeanne became another Alamo “wife” at age 15. Her parents were kicked out of the group a few years later.

Tony raped and/or consummated the “marriages” in all of the above relationships. He never got marriage licenses but to his congregation he refers to these women/girls as his wives and he gave them all wedding rings.

In May & June of 1994 – IRS trial in Memphis, Tennessee resulting in Alamo’s conviction and incarceration in Federal prison. Tony lived in Memphis, TN with his “harem” during the trial proceedings. In November of 1994 he was moved to Federal prison in Florence, Colorado. His “harem” moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado at the end of Nov 1994. Right before (and during the time Tony was incarcerated in Colorado) (approx Nov 94 to late 95) the following girls joined his household (and visited him regularly in prison):

Eliza, at 8 yrs old, came to Tony’s wives’ house in Sept 1994 while he was in Memphis jail, under the pretense of being a playmate for Tony’s stepdaughter, Becky Kroopf (Cunneen). Eliza was being “groomed” as a wife and Tony was constantly asking if she had reached puberty yet. She visited him in Colorado prison and was fondled by him and subjected to vile sex talk there. She left Colorado and the Alamo group at the end of 1995 with her family.

Katrina was 11 years old when she was at Alamo’s wives house in Memphis and later in Colorado. She also went there under the pretense of being a playmate for Tony’s stepdaughter, Becky. Alamo told Katrina that she was his “wife”. She visited Alamo in prison in Colorado, was fondled, and subjected to vile sex talk. During this time Tony Alamo would not allow her to go home to her parents. She and her family have been out of the Alamo cult since 1996.

Cindi was married and had two children (and was pregnant) when her husband was kicked out of the group. When he was kicked out Alamo demanded that Cindi come to live with the “harem” in Colorado. She was being groomed as a wife.

“His message to me was if I didn’t become one of the wives, my daughter would die. In my state of mind, (brainwashed) I believed him. I agreed to become one of the wives. Shortly after, I was sent a pass to the prison.”

She visited Tony in prison and was subjected to vile sex talk. (She left the group in 1995.) In Dec 1995 Tony was moved to Federal prison in Texarkana, Arkansas. In July 1998 Alamo was moved to a halfway house in Texarkana. In Dec 1998 he was released from prison.

The following girls joined his household while he was still in prison, in the halfway house, or after his release. The following girls are in no specific order of when they came to his house. According to eye-witnesses the girls are beaten regularly by Alamo and also Alamo makes the girls beat each other.

Amy, 14 years old when she went to Tony Alamo’s house and became a “wife”. She moved into the house with the other “wives” and was wearing a wedding ring given to her by Alamo, while he was still in prison. Many witnesses can verify that Amy has been severely beaten by Alamo on many occasions.

“I saw Amy beaten. She was beaten until she was covered in blood. Her lips, nose, and eyes all swollen to a bloody mess. Her white shirt had blood spattered all over it. Tony had beaten her with his bare hands punched, slapped, and kicked her. She was screaming and crying so bad. I will never forget it. He continued beating her about 20 minutes non-stop from one end of the house all the way to her bedroom and shut the door. After that all I heard were the screams. I could no longer see what was happening.”

Nikki was 13 years old when she first visited Alamo in Texarkana federal prison and subjected to his vile sex talk. After his release she lived in his home in Fouke, Arkansas. She was assaulted by Alamo at age 15 and escaped out of his house in fear of her life. She left the group immediately afterwards. She also witnessed him beating other girls (Amy and Jeanne) and Jordan (Misheal’s son).

In 1999, Pebbles Rodriguez (aka Yvonne Rodriguez) was 12 years old when she went to live with Alamo in Fouke, Arkansas and became Tony’s “wife” shortly thereafter. Witnesses have stated they saw Pebbles going into Alamo’s bedroom and coming out with her sheets. She told witnesses that she was a wife and wore a wedding ring. Sometime after that, Alamo changed her name to Yvonne Rodriguez.

Alys Ondrisek went to Tony Alamo’s house in Fouke, Ark at 11 yrs old. Her brother, Erik, who is out of the group, called Ark Child Protection in 2000. Her parents, Richard and Debbie Ondrisek are still in the group and feel privileged that there daughter is married to the World Pastor.

D. K. (born spring of 1991) was 8 years old when she went to live in Tony’s house in Fouke, Arkansas in the spring of 1999, and shortly thereafter became his “wife”. D.K.’s aunt, Misheal Jones Williams, is also an Alamo wife. D.K.’s parents are John and Jennifer K.. Jennifer solicits charitable contributions for Arm Full of Help.

Jamie (born approx ‘89) was approximately 11 years old when Alamo claimed her as a new bride. She has lived in Alamo’s house for many years. Her mother stated in 2006 on factnet.org that Jamie no longer lives with Alamo and is home with her. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

THREATS AND INTIMIDATION

Anyone who attempts to expose the atrocious crimes that Tony Alamo is committing against children gets a heavy dose of threats and character assassinations from Alamo and his devoted followers. On several recent Alamo internet/radio broadcasts (found on the Alamo Ministries website), Alamo threatened Nancy Grace and her twins, as well as Dr. Phil. The community of Fouke, Arkansas, where Alamo resides, has been harassed and threatened for years. On a May broadcast of the Dr. Phil Show, a private investigator, Harold Copus, was sent to the Alamo compound and told Dr. Phil this;

[Dr. Phil confers with Harold Copus. “The police have told you that these people are heavily armed and dangerous?” “They certainly are,” he replies. “We have a problem with this group.”]

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RESOURCES

To learn more about Tony Alamo’s exploits from former members or to get more information on cults, in general, log on to www.factnet.org and go to Cult Discussion Board. To read testimonies from people who lived through the abuse go to the Alamo Factnet Discussion Board.

If you do not know for sure if you may be involved in a cult, go to ICSA web site (International Cultic Studies Association) at www.csj.org to get more detailed information and make an informed decision.

If you believe you are a victim of spiritual abuse there is help available to you. Contact Wellspring Retreat at: www.wellspringretreat.org or (740)-698-6277.

Another resource for information and help: Contact Freedom of Mind Center at: www.freedomofmind.com or (617) 628-9918.

If anyone has any information that will lead to the arrest and conviction of Tony Alamo please contact your local law enforcement agency immediately and then send a detailed email to info@asp.arkansas.gov.

Psychological Manipulation, Cultic Groups, and Harm

MORE INFORMATION COMING SOON. MAKE SURE YOU ARE ON ICSA’S MAILING LIST SO THAT YOU CAN GET ANNOUNCEMENTS.

If you are not on their list, send them an e-mail requesting to be added: mail@icsamail.com

This conference, organized in collaboration with Info-Cult/Info-Secte of Montreal, is for:

* anyone interested in cults, psychological manipulation, and related groups
* former group members
* people born or raised in cultic groups
* families of group-involved persons
* helping professionals
* researchers

The conference will take place at the Doubletree Hotel at George Washington Bridge, Fort Lee, New Jersey from July 1-3, 2010. There will be a special social event (to be identified later) on Sunday, July 4th.

On Thursday, July 1, there will be four workshops, as well as sessions in the evening. The workshops (10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.) are:

* Workshop for Former Members of Cultic Groups
* Workshop for Family Members
* Workshop for Mental Health Professionals
* Workshop for Researchers

More than 90 speakers from 14 countries will contribute to the conference. All catered lunches and dinners will include a speaker.

Here are examples of the 70+ presentations in the conference:

· Anger, Rage, Pseudo-Personality and Cults (Sue Parker; Gillie Jenkinson)

· “The Magical Mystery Tour is Dying to Take You Away” – The Beatles’ Experience of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Transcendental Meditation, as Reflected in Their Music (Gina Catena)

· Grandparents and the Second Generation (Amy Siskind, Ph.D.; Lois Kendall, Ph.D.)

· Recent Insights into the Neuroscience of Thought Reform: From Neurons to Groups (Tara Stewart, Ph.D.)

· Psychological Makeup of a Muslim Suicide Bomber (Aftab Khan, M.D..)

· Psychosis and Cults (Dr. Miguel Perlado)

· Impact of Cults on Creativity: Psychological, Sociological, Aesthetic/Philosophical Views (Dana Wehle, L.C.S.W.)

· The Undue Influence Doctrine: A Bastion of Legally Acknowledged Extreme Influence (Linda Demaine, J.D., Ph.D.)

· The Charles Manson Family (Patrick O’Reilly, Ph.D.)

· A Practical Approach for Law Enforcement When Dealing with Cult Groups (Mark Roggeman)

· Public Policy and Cults in Europe (Francois Bellanger, Ph.D.)

· Polish Approaches to Helping Former Cult Members and Families of Cult-Affected Loved Ones (Piotr T. Nowakowski, Ph.D.)

· Islamic Soft Power Antidote to Extremist Terrorism (Kadir Ayhan)

· Sex and a Celibate Holy Man: A Case Study of the Use of Defense Mechanisms to Create and Maintain an Illusion (Alice Herron )

· Something Old, Something New: A Comparative Analysis of 19th Century Utopian Groups With Contemporary New Religious Movements (Ronald Enroth, Ph.D.)

· Boundaries: Recognition and Repair after Leaving a Destructive Cult (Rosanne Henry, M.A., L.P.C.)

· Gnosticism, est and the Legacy of Kevin Garvey (Joseph Szimhart; Vanessa Weber, M.S.W.)

Schedule is subject to change without notice.

Polygamist Sect Leader Convicted of Sexual Assault

ELDORADO, Tex. — One of the leaders of a polygamist sect was convicted Thursday night of sexually assaulting an under-age girl whom the church elders had assigned to him as one of his nine wives.

A jury of seven men and five women deliberated 2 hours 20 minutes before returning a verdict of guilty in the first trial of a dozen members of the Yearning for Zion Ranch just outside this rural hamlet in West Texas.

The defendant, Raymond M. Jessop, 38, seemed unperturbed as Judge Barbara Walther of State District Court read the verdict. Mr. Jessop was immediately handcuffed and taken into custody by the Schleicher County sheriff. He smiled and nodded to several other men in his religious group, who sat grave-faced as he was led away.

Mr. Jessop will be sentenced after a second hearing before the jury on Monday. He faces penalties ranging from 2 years’ probation to 20 years in prison.

His lawyer, Mark Stevens, declined to say if he would appeal, though the defense had argued in hearings before trial that the state illegally seized the church documents that were crucial to the case during a raid on the ranch in April 2008.

Mr. Jessop is one of the most prominent members of a breakaway sect that has at least four other communities in Arizona and Utah. He is close to Warren S. Jeffs, the self-styled prophet and leader of the sect.

Mr. Jeffs has been convicted in Utah as an accomplice to rape, a charge related to his role in ordering the “spiritual marriage” of an under-age girl to one of his followers. He is in jail in Arizona awaiting trial on similar charges and has been charged in Texas with sexual assault and bigamy.

The trial of Mr. Jessop offered a rare glimpse of the inner workings of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a group that split from the Mormon Church. Followers believe polygamy brings heavenly rewards and treat Mr. Jeffs as a modern-day prophet.

The ranch first came to national attention a year and a half ago when the Texas authorities descended on it, seeking a girl who had complained in a telephone call to a San Angelo women’s shelter that she was being sexually abused. The girl was never found, and the Texas Rangers acknowledge that the tip was a hoax.

But in the course of executing search warrants, social workers and the Rangers uncovered evidence that at least a dozen girls had been coerced by church elders to serve as wives to older men. Seven had borne children.

The prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Eric Nichols, put several Rangers on the stand along with a former member of the church to introduce several church documents seized from a vault on the ranch.

Since the woman said to be the victim, who is now 21, did not testify, Mr. Nichols used the documents, along with her photo album, to prove she lived with Mr. Jessop as one of his wives and was impregnated by him when she was 16.

The state’s case also rested heavily on genetic evidence that showed there was a 99.9 percent chance Mr. Jessop was the father of the child, who is now 4.

In his closing argument, Mr. Nichols attacked the theory that the teenager had consented to be Mr. Jessop’s wife. “Any act of sexual assault is a horrendous crime,” he said, “but an act of sexual assault on a child is of such an extreme nature we don’t even consider whether the victim was able, much less did, consent.”

One of the most damning pieces of evidence presented in court was a written record of Mr. Jeffs’s instructions in August 2005 not to take the girl to a hospital even though she had been struggling in labor for three days at a clinic on the ranch.

“I knew the girl, being 16 years old, if she went to the hospital, they could put Raymond Jessop in jeopardy of prosecution as the government is looking for any reason to come against us there,” Mr. Jeffs was quoted as saying.

Some of the most revealing testimony came from another witness for the prosecution, Rebecca Musser, a former member of the church who had been married to Rulon T. Jeffs, the sect’s founder and the father of Warren Jeffs. She left the church in 2002 after the elder Mr. Jeffs died.

Ms. Musser testified that Mr. Jeffs had controlled every aspect of the women’s lives, including how they dressed and what they ate. He also controlled whom they married and when.

“Age was not a factor,” she said. “It was when the prophet deemed she was worthy.”

Mr. Stevens mounted a technical defense, arguing that the state could not prove the crime had taken place in Texas since the evidence it had was purely circumstantial. He did not present any witnesses.

“It’s dangerous when we start trying to convict people based on documents and we are not sure where those documents came from,” he said.

Government files notice in Alamo case

The government has filed a notice in Tony Alamo’s criminal case that three of the five women who testified he’d wed them as children want to give victim impact testimony at his sentencing hearing next week.

Alamo, 75, was convicted July 24 of all 10 counts listed on a federal indictment accusing him of bringing young girls across state lines for sex and is scheduled for sentencing Nov. 13.

According to the notice filed Monday, at least some of the women, referred to in court documents as Jane Does, have provided written statements concerning the effect of Alamo’s abuse.

The four women and one 17-year-old who took the stand during the two-week trial gave graphic descriptions of life as one of Alamo’s plural wives. Alamo married one when she was just 8. Alamo repeatedly sexually assaulted them, beat them when he believed they’d broken his rules, expelled them from their homes at times and forced them to fast as punishment, the women testified.

The notice quotes an earlier case about the issue of a victim’s right to confront during sentencing:

“Limiting victims to written impact statements, while allowing the prosecutor and the defendant the opportunity to address the court, would treat victims as secondary participants in the sentencing process.”

Federal courts must give a defendant, the defense attorney and the prosecutor the opportunity to speak during a punishment hearing, the notice said.

Alamo’s defense team recently filed a motion asking that he be given a lighter sentence than might be recommended under federal guidelines in light of his good works, waning health and age.

3 ask to weigh in on Alamo
Court told that ‘wives’ want to speak at his sentencing

Three women whom evangelist Tony Alamo is accused of taking as “wives” at young ages and transporting across state lines have asked to speak at his sentencing hearing next week.

Alamo, the 75-year-old leader of a multistate ministry with headquarters in Fouke, in Miller County, was convicted in July of 10 counts of taking underage girls across state lines for sex. U.S.

District Judge Harry Barnes could sentence him to up to 175 years in prison at a hearing Nov. 13.

In a court filing Monday, prosecutors said three of Alamo’s five victims have asked to speak at the hearing. At least some of the victims have also provided written statements about how Alamo’s crimes affected them, the filing says.

The filing notes that, under the federal Crime Victims Rights Act of 2004, victims have “the right to be reasonably heard” at sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Plumlee said it’s not unusual for victims to speak at a defendant’s sentencing.

“Typically the law allows for victim impact statements to be made to the court just to talk about how this type of crime has impacted their life,” Plumlee said.

Barnes had not ruled on the request late Tuesday.

Parents no-shows in Alamo case

A day after a couple who belong to the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries failed to show up for a hearing on the custody status of their children, including a 4-month-old boy, an advocate for the parents said in an interview that she has not heard from the parents and has no idea where they are.

Cheryl Barnes, litigation specialist for the advocacy group CPS Watch Legal Team, said she had urged the parents to show up for Tuesday’s hearing in Miller County Circuit Court. She said she doesn’t know why they didn’t show up, but added that they were afraid that the Arkansas Department of Human Services would take custody of their son who was born in June.

“They don’t trust the judge or the system to do what they’re supposed to do, and they want to protect their baby,” Barnes said.

Carlos and Sophia Parrish, both lifelong members of the ministry who lived at its compound in Fouke, have four children who were placed in foster care in November after they were taken into custody during a traffic stop in Texarkana on Nov. 18. At the time, the children ranged in age from 1 to 7.

After Sophia Parrish gave birth to another child on June 18, Human Services Department caseworkers initially allowed the couple to keep the baby. Then, on Sept. 18, the department filed a petition asking Miller County Circuit Judge Joe Griffin to take action to protect the child, citing the Parrishes’ lack of progress in complying with Griffin’s orders that they move off of church property and find jobs outside the ministry.

The petition did not specify what action the department wanted Griffin to take, but an attached affidavit described it as a “petition for change of custody.”

Human Services Department spokesman Julie Munsell said that, when parents with a child under the department’s supervision drop out of contact, “it almost always leads to a lot of concern for the safety of the child.”

In such cases, the department can ask for an emergency order allowing it to take a child into custody. The department could also notify law enforcement agencies and ask for assistance locating the child, she said.

Munsell said she couldn’t comment on the specifics of the Parrish case because of a gag order and laws requiring proceedings in child welfare cases to be kept confidential. Munsell did say, however, that the number of ministry children in the department’s care had not changed in the past few days.

Asked if the Arkansas State Police had been notified of any efforts to locate the baby, spokesman Bill Sadler said late Wednesday that “we have not been advised of any court order that we would need to pick up a child.”

Miller County Sheriff Ron Stovall also said Wednesday afternoon that he had not been notified of any efforts to locate the Parrishes’ baby. A church member at the Fouke compound said Wednesday afternoon that the Parrishes were not there.

The Parrishes’ attorney, Phillip Kuhn of Lakeland, Fla., declined to comment Wednesday, citing the gag order. Griffin did not return a call seeking comment.

Since federal and state authorities raided the ministry’s compound in Fouke on Sept. 20, 2008, a total of 36 ministry children have been placed in foster care. Tony Alamo, the ministry’s 75-year-old leader, was convicted in July of transporting five underage girls across state lines for sex and is in jail awaiting a Nov. 13 sentencing hearing.

The Parrishes’ children were among 17 ministry children from five families who were scheduled to have hearings Monday and Tuesday on the long-term plans for the children’s custody arrangements.

Griffin has issued orders requiring all the parents who belong to the ministry to move off church property and find jobs outside the ministry, but none of the parents have complied, Barnes said. As a result, Barnes said, the department was expected to recommend that the parental rights of the Parrishes and most, if not all, of the other parents be terminated and the children be put up for adoption.

Tony Alamo followers no-show for custody hearing for children

The parents in one family scheduled for custody hearings concerning children of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries members didn’t show for court Tuesday, a court official said.

Although the hearings that began Monday and ended Tuesday for five families were closed, noticeably missing coming or going from the Miller County Juvenile Justice Center in downtown Texarkana were the parents of four children taken last November.

At previous hearings, the couple was easy to spot because of the baby carrier they had with them. Nestled inside was their most recent addition, a baby boy born in June and the first known birth to ministry loyalists since the Arkansas Department of Human Services began removing children amid allegations of abuse and neglect in September 2008.

DHS filed a petition to remove the 4-month-old boy on Sept. 18. A hearing to address the petition and the custody of the couple’s older four children, a boy age 7 and girls ages 5, 3 and 1, was scheduled for Tuesday before Circuit Judge Joe Griffin.

Adults associated with the other four families were observed entering or leaving the courthouse Monday or Tuesday.

The names of the parents are being withheld to protect the identities of the juveniles.

In a filing connected to a civil lawsuit filed in April on behalf of the ministry and two fathers with children in foster care, Florida attorney Phillip Kuhn pointed out the infant has been left in his parents’ care since birth and has been seen by DHS staff weekly during the parents’ supervised visits with their other children.

Kuhn wrote that the “solitary ground given is that the parties have not secured employment and housing separate from the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries,” and their status hasn’t changed since their son’s birth in June.

The document also notes the bond between babies and mothers and the harm that a separation can cause.

“It’s critical infants be with their mothers unless harm is imminent,” said Jenny Jones, a licensed clinical social worker from Stuart, Fla., whose work focuses on attachment disorders in the very young. “In the first two years of life there is an incredible amount of brain development going on that is dependent on the parent/child bond.”

Disrupting the bond can lead to sometimes severe difficulty with relationships, anger management and other behaviors, Jones said.

Kuhn, who represents the Alamo devotees with children in state care, cannot comment specifically about the cases because of a gag order.

Reunification plans approved by circuit judges overseeing the juvenile court proceedings don’t require parents to quit attending religious services but do direct them to move off ministry property and find jobs that will allow them to support their families without dependence on the controversial group.

But the parents, who labor as “volunteers” for the ministry in exchange for living quarters, food and necessities, complain that compliance with the court means choosing between their children and their church.

In July, Tony Alamo was convicted of all 10 counts in a federal indictment accusing him of bringing young girls he’d wed across state lines for sex. During Alamo’s criminal trial, in court documents and in hearings held for related cases, assertions surfaced repeatedly that followers allowed their children to be beaten with boards and permitted the cessation of schooling when laborers were needed.

DHS Communications Director Julie Munsell said the absence of parents at “permanency hearings” could lead to a recommendation by the agency that the parents’ rights be terminated.

When a child has been in state care for 12 months, the court must address a permanent placement though such doesn’t necessarily mean a parent’s rights will be terminated or that they’ll no longer be permitted visitation, Munsell said.

Once DHS receives court approval to proceed with the termination of parental rights, a “TPR” hearing must occur within 90 days, Munsell said.

Ordinarily, when a parent’s rights are terminated, contact with the child ceases.

“Throughout the process each step is, do they go home or do they stay. At the end things spider web and there are a number of different things that could happen. They could go home, they could be placed with a relative, there could be a termination of rights or a combination of things,” Munsell said. “It will probably be January before we have any final outcomes on these cases.”

Gag order tight at church kids hearing
Testimony in 2nd day on 9 taken from Alamo ministry in ’08 traffic stop

On the second day of hearings on the custody status of children who were removed from the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries, a judge admonished attorneys, witnesses and other to abide by his gag order, which bars participants from commenting on the proceedings.

As a result, little information about what happened during the proceedings was available when the hearing ended at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday. Proceedings in child-welfare cases are closed to the public.

The hearing concerned the long-term placement goals for nine children who were taken into protective custody during a Nov. 18 traffic stop on Arkansas 245 in Texarkana.

Six of the children belong to Bert and Mirriam Krantz, who live at the ministry complex in Fouke. The other three children, all boys, belong to Bethany Myers, also of Fouke. Myers also has three daughters who are believed to be in hiding with her husband, Jim.

The children are among 17 ministry children who are the subject of custody hearings this week before Miller County Circuit Judge Joe Griffin. A sheriff’s deputy said late Tuesday that Griffin would have no comment on the proceedings. The parents’ attorney, Phillip Kuhn of Lakeland, Fla., also declined to comment, citing the gag order.

The Arkansas Department of Human Services, which has placed a total of 36 ministry children in foster care, contends that the children are endangered by practices that include allowing underage marriages and punishing misbehavior with beatings. Tony Alamo, the ministry’s 75-year-old leader, was convicted in July of taking five underage girls across state lines for sex and is in jail awaiting a sentencing hearing on Nov. 13.

At hearings in November and January, judges in Miller County ruled that ministry parents could eventually be reunited with their children, but only if the parents moved off church property and found jobs outside the ministry. None of the parents whose children have hearings this week have complied with those conditions, Cheryl Barnes, a litigation specialist for the group CPS Watch Legal Team, has said. The Florida-based group, which advocates for the rights of parents who have children in foster care,is assisting the ministry parents with their cases.

Bert Krantz, whose six children range in age from 2 to about 13, is a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by CPS Watch Legal Team claiming that the Human Services Department has infringed on the parents’ religious freedoms. The department has denied any discrimination and has asked for the suit to be dismissed.

Mirriam Krantz’s mother, Dana Minnabarriet, has asked for her grandchildren to be placed in her custody, but the Human Services Department has recommended that her request be denied, citing her lack of financial resources and her support for the ministry.

Bethany Myers, whose three sons in foster care range in age from about 6 to 16, spent eight months in jail after Griffin held her in contempt of court in January for refusing to provide information on the whereabouts of her daughters. Griffin ordered Myers released in August, saying her sentence had been served.

On Monday, Griffin heard recommendations from the Human Services Department that he make three boys available for adoption by terminating the parental rights of their parents, an advocate for the parents has said.

Griffin also was expected to hear arguments this week on what the long-term goal should be for the four children of church members Carlos and Sophia Parrish. He was also expected consider a petition by the Human Services Department asking him to take action to protect a fifth child, born to the couple in June, who remains in the Parrishes’ care.

Barnes described some of what happened in court after the hearings Monday, but said she did not have any information about what happened Tuesday.

On Monday, a half-dozen protesters who support the ministry stood outside the court building as a steady rain smeared the ink on their hand-lettered signs. They returned Tuesday with freshly made signs, including ones saying, “Free the Hostaged Alamo Children!” and “DHS has stolen kids.”

Carol Broderick, 57, wore a black T-shirt with the ministry’s bejeweled cross logo as she held a sign saying “Slander Works.” Her brother-in-law has three children who were placed in foster care. At a hearing last month, Griffin awarded custody of the children to their aunt, a former ministry member who lives in West Virginia.

“They’re telling them they have to make a choice between God and their kids,” said Carol Broderick, who lives in the Fort Smith area. “That’s not a choice to give anybody.”

As the rain steadily came Monday, the number of sign-carrying protesters outside custody hearings concerning children with parents loyal to Tony Alamo dwindled to just a few.

Contrary to promises made on Internet blogs the last several days, an indignant mob of anti-child welfare agency, parent advocates did not appear at Monday’s custody hearings.

Instead, just a few stood with signs that said, “Stop the inquisition” and “Free Pastor Alamo,” still legible even though the ink upon them ran and smeared with the October precipitation.

Inside the Miller County Juvenile Justice Center in downtown Texarkana, Circuit Judge Joe Griffin considered arguments in closed hearings set this week to address the permanent residential status of kids from five families. Some of the parents have refused to comply with court directives to find employment and housing independent of the controversial ministry.

Griffin said he could not comment on what was decided for families whose cases were addressed Monday. The hearings continue today.

Their names are being withheld to protect the identities of the juveniles.

Arkansas Department of Human Services spokeswoman Julie Munsell said she couldn’t comment specifically about the cases but that termination of parental rights could be recommended in cases where families refuse to follow reunification plans approved by the courts.

Circuit judges have previously told the parents they don’t have to quit attending services at Alamo Ministries but that they must find employment and housing independent of the group.

Most longtime Alamo loyalists “volunteer” their time and labor in exchange for food, housing and basic necessities. Court documents show at least some of the children of church members were enrolled in taxpayer-funded Medicaid health plans before state intervention by child welfare officials began.

The members with children in state care claim giving up their current lifestyle to satisfy the juvenile courts amounts to being forced to choose between their children and their church.

Arkansas law requires “permanency hearings” be conducted after a child has spent 12 months in state custody. If DHS recommends a termination of parental rights or adoption for a child, a hearing to address that must occur within 30 days of the permanency hearing, according to Arkansas law.

DHS officials began taking children following a raid by law enforcement in September 2008 amid allegations of neglect and abuse.

In July, Tony Alamo was convicted of all 10 counts in a federal indictment accusing him of bringing young girls he’d wed as children across state lines for sex.

During Alamo’s trial, in court documents and in hearings held for related cases, assertions that Alamo loyalists abdicated their parenting decisions to Alamo, allowed their children to be beaten with boards and permitted the cessation of schooling when laborers were needed, repeatedly surfaced.

But those who remain devoted members dispute the allegations that have resulted in the removal of 36 children. They describe life on an Alamo compound as idyllic and free from negative outside influences like sexually oriented television and drugs.

Twenty-eight of the children remain in state care, Munsell said. The whereabouts of around 90 children listed on removal orders signed by Arkansas judges in November 2008 remain unknown.

During a hearing last week to address a civil lawsuit seeking damages from John Kolbek, a ministry member accused of beating children and adults at Alamo’s bidding, the foster mother of a girl removed from Alamo’s house in Fouke, Ark., Sept. 20, 2008, testified the girl asked her parents at a recent meeting why they wouldn’t do what it would take to get her back.

“The mother told her daughter she’d been in the ministry for 39 years, I think, and that if she quit now, it would all be for nothing,” the foster mother said. “(The girl) broke down. She was sobbing. She laid her head on her dad’s shoulder and he comforted her.”