Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2002, Page 59
the ongoing case, that Samuel Robidoux starved after his aunt said that she had a vision
instructing his parents to feed him nothing but almond milk.
Authorities suspect the birth because Mrs. Corneau, who was seen to be pregnant during a
court appearance not long ago, no longer seemed so when she made her most recent
appearance. Authorities say they were turned away from her home when they tried to
determine if Mrs. Corneau had given birth. The Corneau's four other children live with
relatives who are not sect members, while Samuel's parents, sect leader Jacques Robidoux
and his wife face murder charges in a trial expected to start in March. (Boston Globe, AP,
1/3/02, Internet)
Attleboro Sect Couple Facing Jail over Duty of Care Issue – Jacques Robidoux /
The Body
Prosecutors looking for the newborn of a religious sect (led by Jacques Robidoux) couple
offered them some immunity if they reveal the burial site of the remains of the baby they
say was miscarried. Rebecca and David Corneau were jailed Tuesday for contempt for
refusing to reveal what happened to the baby she was carrying. After weeks of refusing to
even acknowledge she was pregnant, the couple did say Rebecca Corneau had a
miscarriage. In a letter sent Thursday, Bristol District Attorney Paul J. Walsh Jr. said their
statements would not be used against them for the misdemeanor — illegal disposal of the
baby. He did not rule out other charges, however. ''We want to know where the remains
are,'' said First Assistant District Attorney Gerry FitzGerald. (Boston Globe, 2/9/2002,
Internet)
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court had for a time prevented the jailing of the
Corneaus, who refused a lower court order to turn over the conjectured newborn to a
Juvenile Court judge. In early January, the state Department of Social Services initiated a
"care and protection" proceeding seeking temporary custody of a baby the department
believed Rebecca Corneau bore in November or December.
Fourteen other children — including the Corneau's four daughters — have been taken in
similar proceedings after a judge found the sect members unfit parents because sect
members do not seek medical care for their children, do not send them to school, and use a
paddle to punish them for behavior such as soiling a diaper.
Three sect members have been charged in the 1999 starvation death of one sect child, and
prosecutors did not file charges in the death of the Corneu's son, who investigators believe
died shortly after birth from a complication that could have been treated through modern
medicine. [The group buried two of the children in rural Maine.] Under state law, all children
who are subject to the care and protection proceeding must be presented to the court, but
the Corneaus have refused to present their newborn. Indeed, they have refused to confirm
whether a baby was born [although Mrs. Corneau appeared to be pregnant until recently].
They have cited their protections in the state and federal constitutions against being forced
to implicate themselves in a crime. (Paul Edward Parker, Providence Journal, 1/25/02,
Internet)
Rebecca Corneau carried a paddle around her waist that she used for hitting children,
according to a sworn affidavit from M. Carol Bridges, an investigator with the state
Department of Social Services. Officials had previously said members of the sect were
declared unfit as parents, and the children were placed for adoption because the sect
members did not secure proper medical care for the children or send them to school. The
court documents say publicly for the first time that physical abuse was also a factor that led
to Corneau and her husband losing parental rights to at least one of their girls.
"The child, age 26 months at the time of her removal from her parents' care, was spanked
or paddled by her parents for soiling her diaper," Bridges's affidavit says. "When the child
the ongoing case, that Samuel Robidoux starved after his aunt said that she had a vision
instructing his parents to feed him nothing but almond milk.
Authorities suspect the birth because Mrs. Corneau, who was seen to be pregnant during a
court appearance not long ago, no longer seemed so when she made her most recent
appearance. Authorities say they were turned away from her home when they tried to
determine if Mrs. Corneau had given birth. The Corneau's four other children live with
relatives who are not sect members, while Samuel's parents, sect leader Jacques Robidoux
and his wife face murder charges in a trial expected to start in March. (Boston Globe, AP,
1/3/02, Internet)
Attleboro Sect Couple Facing Jail over Duty of Care Issue – Jacques Robidoux /
The Body
Prosecutors looking for the newborn of a religious sect (led by Jacques Robidoux) couple
offered them some immunity if they reveal the burial site of the remains of the baby they
say was miscarried. Rebecca and David Corneau were jailed Tuesday for contempt for
refusing to reveal what happened to the baby she was carrying. After weeks of refusing to
even acknowledge she was pregnant, the couple did say Rebecca Corneau had a
miscarriage. In a letter sent Thursday, Bristol District Attorney Paul J. Walsh Jr. said their
statements would not be used against them for the misdemeanor — illegal disposal of the
baby. He did not rule out other charges, however. ''We want to know where the remains
are,'' said First Assistant District Attorney Gerry FitzGerald. (Boston Globe, 2/9/2002,
Internet)
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court had for a time prevented the jailing of the
Corneaus, who refused a lower court order to turn over the conjectured newborn to a
Juvenile Court judge. In early January, the state Department of Social Services initiated a
"care and protection" proceeding seeking temporary custody of a baby the department
believed Rebecca Corneau bore in November or December.
Fourteen other children — including the Corneau's four daughters — have been taken in
similar proceedings after a judge found the sect members unfit parents because sect
members do not seek medical care for their children, do not send them to school, and use a
paddle to punish them for behavior such as soiling a diaper.
Three sect members have been charged in the 1999 starvation death of one sect child, and
prosecutors did not file charges in the death of the Corneu's son, who investigators believe
died shortly after birth from a complication that could have been treated through modern
medicine. [The group buried two of the children in rural Maine.] Under state law, all children
who are subject to the care and protection proceeding must be presented to the court, but
the Corneaus have refused to present their newborn. Indeed, they have refused to confirm
whether a baby was born [although Mrs. Corneau appeared to be pregnant until recently].
They have cited their protections in the state and federal constitutions against being forced
to implicate themselves in a crime. (Paul Edward Parker, Providence Journal, 1/25/02,
Internet)
Rebecca Corneau carried a paddle around her waist that she used for hitting children,
according to a sworn affidavit from M. Carol Bridges, an investigator with the state
Department of Social Services. Officials had previously said members of the sect were
declared unfit as parents, and the children were placed for adoption because the sect
members did not secure proper medical care for the children or send them to school. The
court documents say publicly for the first time that physical abuse was also a factor that led
to Corneau and her husband losing parental rights to at least one of their girls.
"The child, age 26 months at the time of her removal from her parents' care, was spanked
or paddled by her parents for soiling her diaper," Bridges's affidavit says. "When the child
