International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 3, 2012 65
submit to his wishes” (p. 116 see p. 106). Even
after Kowalski’s conviction, many of the
Mariavites remained completely loyal to him.
George Feigley and the Neo-American
Church
A contemporary example of child sexual abuse
occurring within a sex magick context involves
the Neo-American Church, which seems to have
been active in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area
for at least two decades. Founded in 1971 by
George Feigley, the Neo-American Church was
based upon sexuality. According to an affidavit
from the early 1990s, the group believed “in a
wide variety of heterosexual and homosexual
practices and masturbation. ‘It is their belief that
you are closer to God when experiencing sexual
climax and that you should initiate children into
sexual gratification’” (Affidavit, in The
Philadelphia Inquirer, 1994). In late 1994,
while serving time in state prison for sexually
abusing three minors who were members of his
group in 1975, Feigley received another
conviction “for conspiracy to commit
involuntary deviate sexual intercourse,” which
had involved using the prison telephone to give
“commands to his wife and another man on
work release to have sex with a 14-year-old girl”
(Goldwert &Whitcraft, 2008, para. 7–8).
Apparently the girl was in training to become a
high priestess in the group (The Philadelphia
Inquirer, 1994), and (roughly paralleling other
cases) her mother was a group member who
apparently was complicitous around her
daughter’s phone-sex incident. After serving his
33-year prison sentence, Feigley (at 68 years of
age) returned to Harrisburg in 2008, amidst
community protests over his unmonitored living
arrangements (Goldwert &Whitcraft, 2008).
Kenneth James McMurray and Deviant
Wicca
In the case of the Neo-American Church, we do
not know the extent to which minors who had
been involved in sexual activities may have
thought that they were spiritually advancing
through their activities. Constructing a
theology, however, which makes such claims
helps to explain some level of involvement on
the part of many youthful targets. Such a
theological construction occurred in the case of
Kenneth James McMurray, 28, who (in Guelph,
Ontario, Canada) pleaded guilty to five counts of
sexual assault in mid-September, 1999. Two
years earlier, McMurray formed what he
claimed was a Wiccan group that involved three
stages of rituals which, when performed, would
better people’s spiritual condition. These rituals
were what McMurray called “the Mandatory
Requirements” (or simply “M R”), and he tested
the members on each. The first stage involved
masturbation the second stage involved oral
sex and the third stage involved anal
intercourse. Although it seems that McMurray’s
group never grew above a half-dozen teens, the
youngest male was 14 when he joined. In a
bizarre twist, an additional motivation
McMurray gave to his small flock was that they
were going to help abused teens, so they would
be better able to relate to them if they
themselves experienced similar sexual acts
(Tracey &Kirsch, 1999).
The McMurray case and others provide
examples of how pedophiles and/or
ephebophiles can concoct religiously based
theologies as means both to draw victims into
their influence and provide explanations of their
behaviour to their young prey. In these
instances, young girls or boys become convinced
that sex with adults leads to a higher, spiritual
purpose. Adults spin the tales, and young
people get enmeshed by them. Religion can
play a prominent role in these seductions, as
occurred in a peculiar case in Los Angeles in
1995.
Barry A. Briskman and Religion From Outer
Space
In this instance, a pedophile named Barry A.
Briskman (59), received a 20-year sentence for
molesting two 13-year-old girls, which was in
addition to a 10-year sentence he was serving in
Nevada for using the same religious scam on a
12-year-old runaway. He targeted girls from
broken homes, so he fed on their likely need for
attention and low self-esteem. In the religious
tale that he wove,
Briskman claimed to be an alien from
the planet Cablell [sic], recruiting a
“team” of girls with superior beauty and
intelligence for a female-dominated
submit to his wishes” (p. 116 see p. 106). Even
after Kowalski’s conviction, many of the
Mariavites remained completely loyal to him.
George Feigley and the Neo-American
Church
A contemporary example of child sexual abuse
occurring within a sex magick context involves
the Neo-American Church, which seems to have
been active in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area
for at least two decades. Founded in 1971 by
George Feigley, the Neo-American Church was
based upon sexuality. According to an affidavit
from the early 1990s, the group believed “in a
wide variety of heterosexual and homosexual
practices and masturbation. ‘It is their belief that
you are closer to God when experiencing sexual
climax and that you should initiate children into
sexual gratification’” (Affidavit, in The
Philadelphia Inquirer, 1994). In late 1994,
while serving time in state prison for sexually
abusing three minors who were members of his
group in 1975, Feigley received another
conviction “for conspiracy to commit
involuntary deviate sexual intercourse,” which
had involved using the prison telephone to give
“commands to his wife and another man on
work release to have sex with a 14-year-old girl”
(Goldwert &Whitcraft, 2008, para. 7–8).
Apparently the girl was in training to become a
high priestess in the group (The Philadelphia
Inquirer, 1994), and (roughly paralleling other
cases) her mother was a group member who
apparently was complicitous around her
daughter’s phone-sex incident. After serving his
33-year prison sentence, Feigley (at 68 years of
age) returned to Harrisburg in 2008, amidst
community protests over his unmonitored living
arrangements (Goldwert &Whitcraft, 2008).
Kenneth James McMurray and Deviant
Wicca
In the case of the Neo-American Church, we do
not know the extent to which minors who had
been involved in sexual activities may have
thought that they were spiritually advancing
through their activities. Constructing a
theology, however, which makes such claims
helps to explain some level of involvement on
the part of many youthful targets. Such a
theological construction occurred in the case of
Kenneth James McMurray, 28, who (in Guelph,
Ontario, Canada) pleaded guilty to five counts of
sexual assault in mid-September, 1999. Two
years earlier, McMurray formed what he
claimed was a Wiccan group that involved three
stages of rituals which, when performed, would
better people’s spiritual condition. These rituals
were what McMurray called “the Mandatory
Requirements” (or simply “M R”), and he tested
the members on each. The first stage involved
masturbation the second stage involved oral
sex and the third stage involved anal
intercourse. Although it seems that McMurray’s
group never grew above a half-dozen teens, the
youngest male was 14 when he joined. In a
bizarre twist, an additional motivation
McMurray gave to his small flock was that they
were going to help abused teens, so they would
be better able to relate to them if they
themselves experienced similar sexual acts
(Tracey &Kirsch, 1999).
The McMurray case and others provide
examples of how pedophiles and/or
ephebophiles can concoct religiously based
theologies as means both to draw victims into
their influence and provide explanations of their
behaviour to their young prey. In these
instances, young girls or boys become convinced
that sex with adults leads to a higher, spiritual
purpose. Adults spin the tales, and young
people get enmeshed by them. Religion can
play a prominent role in these seductions, as
occurred in a peculiar case in Los Angeles in
1995.
Barry A. Briskman and Religion From Outer
Space
In this instance, a pedophile named Barry A.
Briskman (59), received a 20-year sentence for
molesting two 13-year-old girls, which was in
addition to a 10-year sentence he was serving in
Nevada for using the same religious scam on a
12-year-old runaway. He targeted girls from
broken homes, so he fed on their likely need for
attention and low self-esteem. In the religious
tale that he wove,
Briskman claimed to be an alien from
the planet Cablell [sic], recruiting a
“team” of girls with superior beauty and
intelligence for a female-dominated
