Parents abducted daughter because of fears about church

The prosecution has decided not to pursue kidnapping and forcible confinement charges against a family doctor and his teacher wife who abducted their daughter three years ago because they believed she was being brainwashed by a religious cult.

Dominion Christian Centre

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Learn more about abusive churches

What is a cult?

What is a cult of Christianity?

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Research resources on Dominion Christian Centre

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Deputy Crown attorney Katherine Livingstone told Superior Court Justice James Turnbull she was staying all charges against Dr. Renato Brun del Re and his wife Lucie Brun del Re, both 57, their son, Giancarlo Brun del Re, 29. Livingstone told court she was halting the prosecution in the best interests of the public and the alleged victim of the kidnapping, Mirella Brun del Re, now 26.

Mirella Brun del Re recently met with police and prosecutors to say she had no wish to see her family tried on such serious charges and potentially facing significant prison terms.
[...]

At the centre of the bizarre kidnapping plot is a charismatic church leader known as Pastor Peter Rigo, who founded the evangelical Dominion Christian Centre Canada, now known as One Community Church, on Park Street North in Hamilton.

The victim's family saw the abduction as an intervention and hired a U.S.-based consultant who has overseen scores of anti-cult interventions to talk to their daughter.

Cult Expert

The U.S.-based consultant in this case was cult expert Mary Alice Chrnalogar, author of Twisted Scriptures: A Path to Freedom from Abusive Churches.

In an August 2006 phone interview with The Hamilton Spectator, Chrnalogar said, "I didn't come up there to take part in anything, I did come up there and talked to the family."

She says she spoke with the family about intervention strategies, and even spoke with the woman at the centre of the alleged abduction, but she insists that she has nothing to do with involuntary deprogramming attempts, the National Post wrote in September that year.

See Also

• Guidelines for selecting a cult expert
• Dominion Christian Centre: The Pied Piper of Hamilton
• Dominion Christian Centre found Gucci divine, charity watchdog discovers: An evangelical church that used donor money to pay for gym memberships, Gucci fashion accessories and trips to Hawaii and elsewhere for its directors has been stripped of its charitable licence by the federal government.

Full story: Canada: Crown drops charges in ‘cult’ rescue kidnapping

Victim's family going on trial in anti-church intervention

A law student who participated in a brazen daylight kidnapping was sentenced to 15 months house arrest yesterday after admitting to a bizarre plot to rescue a woman whose family feared she was being brainwashed by a religious cult.

Dominion Christian Centre

Watch "The Pied Piper of Hamilton" - a four-part report by CTV: (Depending on your connection, video may take a few moments to load): Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Learn more about abusive churches

What is a cult?

What is a cult of Christianity?

The deprogramming controversy

How to select a counselor/cult expert

Research resources on Dominion Christian Centre

Comments & resources by ReligionNewsBlog.com

Alan Honner of Toronto was handed a conditional sentence by Superior Court Justice Robert Reilly after pleading guilty on April 24 to kidnapping and forcible confinement.
[...]

At the time of his plea, Reilly ordered a ban on publication of the facts and legal submissions heard in court in order to protect the fair trial of three co-accused. Dr. Renato Brun Del Re, 57, a Mississauga physician, and his son, Giancarlo Brun Del Re, 29, face one count each of forcible confinement and kidnapping.

The mother of the alleged kidnapping victim, Lucie Brun Del Re, 57, a Georgetown secondary school teacher, is charged with forcible confinement.
[...]

At the centre of the high-profile kidnapping case is a charismatic church leader known as Pastor Peter Rigo, who founded the evangelical Dominion Christian Centre of Canada (DCC) on Park Street North in Hamilton.
[...]

The Brun Del Res maintain the DCC is a religious cult and hired a Tennessee-based intervention consultant, Mary Alice Chrnalogar, in an effort to deprogram their daughter.
[...]

See Also:

• Dominion Christian Centre -- a church that used donor money to pay for gym memberships, Gucci fashion accessories and trips to Hawaii and elsewhere for its directors has been stripped of its charitable licence by the federal government.

Full story: Law student gets house arrest for role in cult rescue abduction

Controversial church loses charity licence

An evangelical church that used donor money to pay for gym memberships, Gucci fashion accessories and trips to Hawaii and elsewhere for its directors has been stripped of its charitable licence by the federal government.

The Dominion Christian Centre of Canada was set up in Hamilton by charismatic leader Peter Rigo, a former decorator who says a divine power summoned him in the year 2000 to "encourage believers to live effectively as Christians." Rigo has said Dominion is a great church praying for the revitalization of downtown Hamilton; at least one family claims it is a cult and faces criminal charges for trying to remove their daughter.

After an audit of the church's books, sparked by critics of its activities, the federal charity regulator has told the Dominion group that its assets have been misused, spent for the "private benefit" of Rigo, his wife and others.

The regulator found that money contributed by donors and destined for good works was instead paid to fund "numerous personal trips, payments for privately used vehicles, gym memberships, food, lodging and other unsubstantiated payments."

Among the expenses that raised eyebrows, auditors say, were numerous purchases at "expensive fashion outlets such as Gucci and Dolce Gabbana."

The audit, obtained by the Star, says the transgressions of Rigo, his wife, Peggy (also a pastor), and assistant pastor Dave Barhouma were many.

In response to the allegations, church leaders told the regulator that poor bookkeeping made it hard for them to address many of the concerns auditors had. The audit states that about a year ago, the church agreed to stop paying for food, trips, gym memberships and haircuts for church leaders. However, the audit goes on to say that a year later, the church had not addressed the issues raised by the audit, giving rise to the revocation of its licence.
[...]

Peter Rigo and Barhouma were previously on the board of directors, as well as being officials of the church. The audit states they have recently resigned from their board positions. New members of the board, the audit states, include relatives of Barhouma.
[...]

In 2005, police accused Dr. Renato Brun Del Re, 53, of kidnapping and forcible confinement after he was allegedly involved in kidnapping his daughter in an attempt to deprogram her from what he said at the time was a cult.
[...]

See Also:

• Hamilton Dominion Christian Centre charitable status yanked, Bene Diction Blogs On

Full story: Dominion Christian Centre found Gucci divine, charity watchdog discovers

Case involves the Dominion Christian Centre

A Mississauga doctor accused of kidnapping his daughter, whom he feared was being brainwashed by a religious cult, will go to trial in the fall.

Dr. Renato Brun Del Re, 54, a family physician, was charged with kidnapping and forcible confinement after his daughter was abducted on Dec. 21, 2005.

Dominion Christian Centre

Watch "The Pied Piper of Hamilton" - a four-part report by CTV: (Depending on your connection, video may take a few moments to load): Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Learn more about abusive churches

What is a cult?

What is a cult of Christianity?

The deprogramming controversy

How to select a counselor/cult expert

Research resources on Dominion Christian Centre

Comments & resources by ReligionNewsBlog.com

Provincial court records show he's scheduled to go to trial on Oct. 13. The trial is expected to last four weeks.

If convicted, Brun Del Re could face life in prison.

Brun Del Re appeared in court on numerous occasions after being committed to stand trial last summer, but the case was repeatedly adjourned due to legal delays.

He'll be back in court April 23 for a pre-trial motion.

Giancarlo Brun Del Re, the woman's brother, is also charged with kidnapping and forcible confinement in connection with the case.

Lucie Brun Del Re, 55, the woman's mother, and family friends Alan and Theresa Honner are charged with forcible confinement.

No trial dates have been set for them.

All five were ordered to stand trial following a preliminary hearing last summer. Evidence given at that hearing is under a publication ban.

Brun Del Re's daughter is a member of the Dominion Christian Church in Hamilton. Her father alleges the church is a religious cult and that his daughter has been brainwashed.
[...]

See Also

• Kidnapping or rescuing daughter? Court case pits family against what they allege is a cult

Full story: Trial for man charged with kidnapping daughter from ‘religious cult’ to start in October

Still no trial date for accused kidnapper

A trial date has yet to be set for a Mississauga doctor accused of kidnapping his daughter.

Family physician Dr. Renato Brun Del Re, 54, was charged with kidnapping and forcible confinement after his daughter was abducted back on Dec. 21, 2005. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Del Re appeared in court Oct. 10, but his case was adjourned yet again to Nov. 3 due to delays in legal proceedings.

Also accused in the case are the woman's mother, 55-year-old Lucie Brun Del Re, a French teacher in Georgetown; her brother Giancarlo Brun Del Re; and family friends Alan Honner and Theresa Honner.
[...]

The accused was supposed to get a trial date back in August.

Del Re's daughter is a member of the Dominion Christian Church in Hamilton. Her father alleges the church is a religious cult and that his daughter has been brainwashed.
[...]

Pastor Peter Rigo vehemently denies that his church is a cult.

Full story: Still no trial date for man who kidnapped his daughter from ‘religious cult’

Kidnap suspect's fate in limbo

A Mississauga doctor accused of kidnapping his daughter will have to wait another month before he learns his trial date.

Family physician Dr. Renato Brun Del Re, 54, was charged with kidnapping and forcible confinement after his daughter was abducted back on Dec. 21, 2005. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Also accused in the case are the woman's mother, 55-year-old Lucie Brun Del Re, a French teacher in Georgetown; her brother Giancarlo Brun Del Re; and family friends Alan Honner and Theresa Honner.

The five were ordered to stand trial following a preliminary hearing that ended this summer.

Evidence given during the preliminary hearing is under a publication ban.
[...]

Del Re's daughter is a member of the Dominion Christian Church in Hamilton. Her father alleges the church is a religious cult and that his daughter has been brainwashed.

Police say Brun Del Re's daughter was snatched while walking along Park St. near the Hamilton church just before Christmas of 2005, and was held 10 days before she was able to escape.

See Also:

• Abusive Churches / Spiritual Abuse

• Religious cults
• Differences between sociological and theological definitions of a cult

Full story: Kidnap suspect’s fate in limbo

Kidnapping suspect will learn his trial date next month

A Mississauga doctor accused of kidnapping his daughter will appear in court next month to have a trial date set.

Dr. Renato Brun Del Re, 54, a family physician, was charged with kidnapping and forcible confinement after his daughter was abducted Dec. 21, 2005.

If convicted, he could face life in prison.

Also accused in the case are: the woman's mother, Lucie Brun Del Re, 55, a French teacher in Georgetown; her brother, Giancarlo Brun Del Re; and family friends Alan Honner and Theresa Honner.

The five were ordered to stand trial following a preliminary hearing, which concluded last month. Evidence presented during the preliminary hearing is under a publication ban.
[...]

Renato Brun Del Re will also be in court Aug. 26 for a pre-trial hearing.

His daughter is a member of the Dominion Christian Church in Hamilton. He alleges the church is a religious cult and that his daughter had been brainwashed.

Full story: Kidnapping suspect will learn his trial date next month

Family, friends to stand trial for kidnapping

A Mississauga doctor, his wife, son and two friends have been ordered to stand trial for kidnapping and forcible confinement.

The five are accused of attempting to forcibly deprogram the physician's adult daughter, whom they feared was being brainwashed by a religious group operating in Hamilton's North End.

Dr. Renato Brun Del Re, 55, his wife, Lucie, 56, of Milton, and their son, Giancarlo, 28, and friends Alan and Theresa Honner, are to appear Aug. 8 in Superior Court to set a date for trial.

The charges arose after Mirella Brun Del Re was allegedly snatched from Park Street North near the Dominion Christian Centre on Dec. 21, 2005. Police said she was forced into a van and taken to a secret location, where she was held 10 days.

At the centre of the bizarre kidnapping case is the centre's charismatic pastor, Peter Rigo, whose unorthodox Christian mission is blamed for isolating and estranging young church members from their families.

Background

For the background to this story, see these Religion News Blog newstrackers:
• Renato Brun Del Re, or
• Dominion Christian Centre.

An overview:

Police say the woman was snatched from Park Street near the church just before Christmas and held 10 days before she was able to escape. Investigators say her family believes she was the victim of a cult.

Pastor Peter Rigo, a former painter and decorator who founded the downtown DCC six years ago, says a well known American deprogrammer was brought to Halton to try to talk the family member into leaving the group.

"They brought in cult deprogrammer Mary Alice Chrnalogar. They flew her in from the States," Rigo said.

Chrnalogar, a Tennessee-based intervention consultant, is the author of Twisted Scriptures: A Path to Freedom from Abusive Churches.

"I didn't come up there to take part in anything, I did come up there and talked to the family," Chrnalogar told The Spectator in a phone interview yesterday.
[...]

Rigo, 41, runs the centre along with his wife, Peggy. He says the DCC is nothing more than a Bible-based church that believes in praying for the revitalization of downtown Hamilton and positive change for people through believing in Christ.

"Look at us, our doors are open, anyone can come in here," Rigo said this week.

The woman was snatched off Park Street just before Christmas last year and disappeared for 10 days.

Her father Dr. Renato Brun Del Re, 53, a family physician who practises in Mississauga, and brother Giancarlo, 25, have been charged with kidnapping and forcible confinement.

The maximum sentence on conviction is life in prison.

The victim's mother, Lucie Brun Del Re, 54, a French teacher at Christ The King Catholic Secondary School in Georgetown, has been charged with forcible confinement, which carries up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

In September, 2006, three more people with charged in connection with the case.

Deprogramming refers to a process that reverses alleged brainwashing. It is controversial in that the process is usually started without the voluntary cooperation of the person being deprogrammed. (Initially, the term referred to both voluntary and involuntary intervention. Over time, however, the term came to refer primarily to involuntary intervention). [...more...].

See also Exit Counseling, and Thought Reform Consultation

Kidnapping or rescuing daughter? Court case pits family against what they allege is a cult

The family, who say they implored police and government officials for help and even brought in a well-known cult deprogrammer from the United States, insist they were only doing their duty as devoted parents, intent on doing everything in their power to protect their daughter.

"You have to understand what cults do and how damaging they can be," Mrs. Brun Del Re, a 54-year-old high school teacher in Georgetown, said in an interview. "As for my daughter, when you hear from her directly that she's thinking of suicide, what kind of responsible parents would we be if we didn't do everything we could?"

Police have charged six people, including the Brun Del Res and their 25-year-old son, with charges of abduction and forcible confinement for their part in snatching a woman off the street in Hamilton in late December, forcing her into a van and bringing her back to the family home in Milton, about a half hour's drive north-east of the city.

The woman remained in the home for several days before she escaped and went to police. Her name has not yet been revealed in the court case and her mother will not disclose her name because she wants to protect her daughter's privacy.

Her family says she has returned to her former lifestyle in association with the Dominion Christian Centre, an evangelical Christian group that uses raucous, music-based services to draw wayward young adults and others to its base in one of the grittiest parts of the city's downtown core.

One of the core issues raised by this case is whether concerns over a family member's safety can override an individual right to freedom of religion — particularly when the person involved is an adult, not a child.

Pastor Peter Rigo, who founded the Dominion Christian Centre with his wife six years ago, has denied any allegations the church is a cult.
[...]

Mary Alice Chrnalogar, a U.S.-based consultant who has overseen scores of anti-cult interventions and written a handbook to assist families in breaking free from extremist religious groups, says she deplores the fact that this Ontario family has been charged for doing what they believed was best for their daughter.

"Nothing matters when your kid is in trouble. If I had a kid in a cult and was in the same place, I would do exactly the same as them," she said from her home in Tennessee. "This is a family that could be just like anyone else. The Canadian public should demand that they drop these charges — don't put these poor parents through anything else."

She says she spoke with the family about intervention strategies, and even spoke with the woman at the centre of the alleged abduction, but she insists that she has nothing to do with involuntary deprogramming attempts. (Ms. Chrnalogar was among a group of prominent deprogrammers who became embroiled in nasty legal battles with Church of Scientology members, among others, over the lengths to which families could go in reclaiming their kin.)
[...]

Mrs. Brun Del Re says her family has been through so much already that the court charges barely register as another concern.

She says the alienation occurred gradually between the family and her daughter, who went to Catholic schools and whom she describes as a very smart and spiritual girl who was trying to find her way as a young adult.

She even attended a couple of services at the church, at her daughter's request, but grew increasingly uncomfortable as her daughter began asking the family to move closer to the Hamilton church, and eventually cut off contact with her brother and other family members.

"God would never say, 'Don't see your family any more,' " Mrs. Brun Del Re said yesterday. "We pray for her€¦. When you believe that what you do is right, you have nothing to fear."

For more information about the Dominion Christian Centre, see The Pied Piper of Hamilton, broadcast by CTV's W-FIVE on Oct. 28, 2006 [Transcript]

Abusive Churches

Apologetics Index has a collection of research resources on the subject of abusive churches (and spiritual abuse).

See also Cult FAQ -- Frequently Asked Questions about cults.

Tip: use the questions in Chapter 1 of Recovering From Churches That Abuse People to take a look at your own church or group.

Finally, if you think you may need expert help, please see Guidelines for selecting a cult expert/counselor.

Full story: Family, friends to stand trial for kidnapping in deprogramming attempt

The wheels of justice are turning slowly in a bizarre kidnapping case involving allegations of cult brainwashing and a woman abducted off a Hamilton street by her own family.

The preliminary hearing stalled in mid-September after defence counsel Peter Boushy challenged a series of rulings by the presiding judge and sought to have Ontario Court Justice Bernd Zabel overruled by a higher court.

That stalled Boushy's cross-examination of a controversial character in the strange tale, Pastor Peter Rigo of the Dominion Christian Centre (DCC) on Park Street North.

Boushy's application was dismissed on March 7 by Superior Court Justice Nick Borkovich. The defence is now appealing Borkovich's decision to the Ontario Court of Appeal. A tribunal is expected to hear the argument on May 1.

The preliminary hearing, which was scheduled to continue yesterday, is now adjourned until July 24.

A preliminary inquiry is held to test the strength of the Crown's case and see if there is enough evidence for a trial. It is routine at such hearings for the court to ban publication of the evidence until the charges are resolved.

Police say Mirella Brun Del Re was walking to work at 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 21, 2003, when she was grabbed on Park Street and forced into a van by a group of men. They said she was taken to a secret location in Halton and held 10 days before escaping.

Five people are charged with kidnapping and forcible confinement after a religious-cult deprogrammer from Tennessee was hired to talk to Brun Del Re and try to convince her to leave the DCC.

The accused include the complainant's father, Dr. Renato Brun Del Re, 55, a family physician; her mother Lucie Brun Del Re, 56, a Georgetown secondary school teacher; her brother, Giancarlo, 27; and two friends, Alan Honner, 27, and Theresa Honner, 29.

The kidnapping case grabbed national attention when the DCC was featured on W-Five, an investigative news program on CTV. Rigo staunchly denies the church, which draws mainly young people and incorporates a good measure of rock music in its worship, is a cult.

Full story: Hearing in abduction case delayed again

The preliminary hearing for a Mississauga doctor accused of kidnapping his own daughter has been put on hold.

Dr. Renato Brun Del Re, 54, a family physician, was charged with kidnapping and forcible confinement after his daughter was abducted back on Dec. 21, 2005. If convicted, the maximum sentence is life in prison.

Del Re's daughter is a member of the Dominion Christian Church in Hamilton. The accused alleges the church is a religious cult and that his daughter has been brainwashed.

The hearing, which will determine if there is enough evidence against the doctor to warrant a trial, began last week. Proceedings were brought to a halt when defence lawyer Peter Boushy challenged a ruling made in relation to the case by Ontario Court Justice Bernd Zabel.

Boushy will make his submissions before a Superior Court of Justice tomorrow.

Evidence given during the preliminary hearing is under a publication ban.

Police say Brun Del Re's daughter was snatched while walking along Park St. near the Hamilton church just before Christmas in 2005, and was held 10 days before she was able to escape. Investigators say her family believes she was the victim of a cult.

Pastor Peter Rigo vehemently denies the church is a cult.

Also accused in the case are the woman's mother, Lucie Brun Del Re, 55, a French teacher in Georgetown, her brother Giancarlo Brun Del Re and family friends Alan Honner and Theresa Honner.

Full story: Father’s kidnapping trial underway