filed by the mother of the 5-month-old baby. On
the basis of the information in hand, the director
of the DPJE took the view that the alleged child
physical abuse in the BCW was occuring in a
cultic environment. He therefore planned the
investigation of those complaints of child
physical abuse in a broadranging and
comprehensive manner, rather than assigning
cases to individual social workers as if they were
unrelated to each other. He also sought the
collaboration of the Eastern Township Centre
for Social Services (CSSE4) in order to form a
specialized team of social workers,
psychologists, and lawyers to ensure optimal
handling of the various aspects of the
investigations at hand. He additionally consulted
with known experts of the field, including the
third author, with a view toward better
understanding this particular group and also
group functioning and leadership. A plan was
then put in place and, as of the third week of
March 1985, social workers began to contact
parents of the BCW to assess both their
children’s situations and the allegations of
physical abuse that had been made.
Pastor X, who had not been called in for
questioning by the police or by the DPJE, did
not show any signs of worry. He repeatedly told
his followers that the police and the DPJE could
not prove anything, and that the investigation
would soon be over. He told parents to
nonetheless respond to social workers’ requests
for interviews otherwise, they would risk seeing
their children taken away. He ordered BCW
members to lie about the use of corporal
punishment, and he suspended its practice
temporarily so that marks could not be found on
children’s bodies. He furthermore forbade
followers from speaking to reporters, and
instructed them to cease all remaining contact
with people outside the church, including former
members, who were deemed to be “spies” and
“deserters.” He claimed that any action against
the church was an action against him and part of
a plot masterminded by former members who
were corrupted by Satan and determined to
4 Known as the Centre des services sociaux de l’Estrie (CSSE), the
function of this organization is to coordinate all types of social
services dispensed in a given administrative region.
destroy the congregation. He described social
workers and other social-control agents, along
with the press, as pawns used by Satan through
former members of the church.
Social workers assigned to families of the BCW
had been instructed to be very discreet in their
investigations: They were to attempt to see
whether the children’s needs were met and
whether they were subjected to punishments that
were likely to compromise their safety or their
development, according to the province’s Youth
Protection Act, also knowned as Law 24. To
avoid putting children at risk of being punished
for revealing the types of treatment inflicted on
them, the social workers were advised not to
confront parents with any information they
gained from children during their interviews
with them. They made this position clear to the
children so as to slowly gain their trust during
the assesment process. The DPJE’s plan was to
gain sufficient first-hand information about the
alledged physical-abuse situation so that any
measure implemented, whether to bring specific
cases to court, to work in collaboration with
parents, or to refer cases for criminal
prosecution, would be convincingly justified.
Whatever the measures ultimately chosen,
Social Services in collaboration with local and
provincial police were conscious of the
heightened risks associated with an intervention
in the context of a closed religious group.
Media Coverage
The final impetus for Social Services to carry
out the interventions planned may have come
from a news report, which aired on a national
French-language television program5 on April
12, 1985. The television broadcast was based
largely on testimonies from former BCW
members who described church followers as
being under the control of Pastor X. His
doctrinal justifications for the use of corporal
punishment were presented, and members were
described as having no choice but to do what the
pastor decided. Two little girls, aged 5 and 7,
and two teenagers were interviewed about the
punishments they had received. The report
5 Le Point, a French-language news program aired on Radio-
Canada.
90 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 6, 2015
the basis of the information in hand, the director
of the DPJE took the view that the alleged child
physical abuse in the BCW was occuring in a
cultic environment. He therefore planned the
investigation of those complaints of child
physical abuse in a broadranging and
comprehensive manner, rather than assigning
cases to individual social workers as if they were
unrelated to each other. He also sought the
collaboration of the Eastern Township Centre
for Social Services (CSSE4) in order to form a
specialized team of social workers,
psychologists, and lawyers to ensure optimal
handling of the various aspects of the
investigations at hand. He additionally consulted
with known experts of the field, including the
third author, with a view toward better
understanding this particular group and also
group functioning and leadership. A plan was
then put in place and, as of the third week of
March 1985, social workers began to contact
parents of the BCW to assess both their
children’s situations and the allegations of
physical abuse that had been made.
Pastor X, who had not been called in for
questioning by the police or by the DPJE, did
not show any signs of worry. He repeatedly told
his followers that the police and the DPJE could
not prove anything, and that the investigation
would soon be over. He told parents to
nonetheless respond to social workers’ requests
for interviews otherwise, they would risk seeing
their children taken away. He ordered BCW
members to lie about the use of corporal
punishment, and he suspended its practice
temporarily so that marks could not be found on
children’s bodies. He furthermore forbade
followers from speaking to reporters, and
instructed them to cease all remaining contact
with people outside the church, including former
members, who were deemed to be “spies” and
“deserters.” He claimed that any action against
the church was an action against him and part of
a plot masterminded by former members who
were corrupted by Satan and determined to
4 Known as the Centre des services sociaux de l’Estrie (CSSE), the
function of this organization is to coordinate all types of social
services dispensed in a given administrative region.
destroy the congregation. He described social
workers and other social-control agents, along
with the press, as pawns used by Satan through
former members of the church.
Social workers assigned to families of the BCW
had been instructed to be very discreet in their
investigations: They were to attempt to see
whether the children’s needs were met and
whether they were subjected to punishments that
were likely to compromise their safety or their
development, according to the province’s Youth
Protection Act, also knowned as Law 24. To
avoid putting children at risk of being punished
for revealing the types of treatment inflicted on
them, the social workers were advised not to
confront parents with any information they
gained from children during their interviews
with them. They made this position clear to the
children so as to slowly gain their trust during
the assesment process. The DPJE’s plan was to
gain sufficient first-hand information about the
alledged physical-abuse situation so that any
measure implemented, whether to bring specific
cases to court, to work in collaboration with
parents, or to refer cases for criminal
prosecution, would be convincingly justified.
Whatever the measures ultimately chosen,
Social Services in collaboration with local and
provincial police were conscious of the
heightened risks associated with an intervention
in the context of a closed religious group.
Media Coverage
The final impetus for Social Services to carry
out the interventions planned may have come
from a news report, which aired on a national
French-language television program5 on April
12, 1985. The television broadcast was based
largely on testimonies from former BCW
members who described church followers as
being under the control of Pastor X. His
doctrinal justifications for the use of corporal
punishment were presented, and members were
described as having no choice but to do what the
pastor decided. Two little girls, aged 5 and 7,
and two teenagers were interviewed about the
punishments they had received. The report
5 Le Point, a French-language news program aired on Radio-
Canada.
90 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 6, 2015
