Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2002, Page 70
The charges stem from an incident near the end of the church service when two boys ages
10 and 7 were suspended in the air and whipped by several adult church members, leaving
open wounds on their torsos, according to the 14-count indictment. Both boys' parents are
among the 11 charged.
The group's services can last as long as eight hours, and they regularly feature public
beatings that sometimes last 30 minutes. Allen calls it "tough love" — corporal punishment
as an act of human kindness — the best way of instilling discipline in children growing up on
crime-ridden streets. "If we can use milder punishment, then I'm for it. But sometimes it
doesn't work, and I can't let them just take over the house," the reverend said.
Members of the House of Prayer say that when they spank their children, they're following
God's law, but "This is not a normal whipping," Fulton District Attorney Paul Howard said.
"These are severe and extreme beatings. We think that is a clear line of demarcation." A
defiant Allen declared he and other church members would plead not guilty and will defend
themselves without a lawyer's help. "I'm delighted for the opportunity to face these
charges," said Allen, "to resolve everything one way or another. My faith is still in the Lord.
I'm not wavering." Allen's followers, carrying signs and child-size coffins, walked from the
Fulton County Courthouse to the Division of Family and Children Services then to the state
Capitol, on the opening day of the state legislative session, to protest the state's actions.
Allen, who exerts strong influence over his congregation, has never denied the boys were
whipped, but he and other church members say such spankings are necessary to maintain
discipline. And they have charged that law enforcement and social services agents have
interfered with their religious freedoms by seeking to impose limits on how they punish their
children. The district attorney met with Allen hoping to mediate the case without taking it to
trial. "I was not able to persuade Reverend Allen to change his philosophy regarding the
punishment of children," Howard said, so the criminal case moved forward.
The state, meanwhile, will move forward as planned with efforts in Juvenile Court to
terminate the parental rights over eight children and put them up for adoption. Two others
are scheduled to be released from state custody soon. Authorities said that state officials
will not take the other 39 children into custody for a second time. They were seized from
their homes last spring, some in emotional scenes repeatedly played on Atlanta television
stations. The children were released after officials acknowledged they had no evidence
indicating that more than three children had been abused. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
1/15, 19/02, Internet BBC, 1/19/02, Internet)
ISKCON/Hare Krishna/Children
Hare Krishnas to Declare Bankruptcy to Avoid Suit
Hare Krishna congregations named in a lawsuit alleging sexual and emotional abuse of
boarding school students will file for bankruptcy reorganization in several sates. The group
hopes that if their plan is approved by federal bankruptcy judges, the $400 million (£280
million) lawsuit filed in Dallas by former boarding school students will be dismissed.
Anuttama Dasa, a Maryland-based spokesman for the International Society of Krishna
Consciousness, or ISKCON, said: "We don't believe that innocent members and
congregations should be held accountable for the deviant behavior of individual acts
committed 20 or 30 years ago." ISKCON also plans to set up a fund to compensate children
who may have been victimized in Hare Krishna schools during the 1970s and 1980s.
The Texas lawsuit alleges young children at Krishna schools in India and the United States
were terrorized by their instructors. The suit claims that young girls were given as brides to
older men who donated to the religious community. Children were also allegedly deprived of
The charges stem from an incident near the end of the church service when two boys ages
10 and 7 were suspended in the air and whipped by several adult church members, leaving
open wounds on their torsos, according to the 14-count indictment. Both boys' parents are
among the 11 charged.
The group's services can last as long as eight hours, and they regularly feature public
beatings that sometimes last 30 minutes. Allen calls it "tough love" — corporal punishment
as an act of human kindness — the best way of instilling discipline in children growing up on
crime-ridden streets. "If we can use milder punishment, then I'm for it. But sometimes it
doesn't work, and I can't let them just take over the house," the reverend said.
Members of the House of Prayer say that when they spank their children, they're following
God's law, but "This is not a normal whipping," Fulton District Attorney Paul Howard said.
"These are severe and extreme beatings. We think that is a clear line of demarcation." A
defiant Allen declared he and other church members would plead not guilty and will defend
themselves without a lawyer's help. "I'm delighted for the opportunity to face these
charges," said Allen, "to resolve everything one way or another. My faith is still in the Lord.
I'm not wavering." Allen's followers, carrying signs and child-size coffins, walked from the
Fulton County Courthouse to the Division of Family and Children Services then to the state
Capitol, on the opening day of the state legislative session, to protest the state's actions.
Allen, who exerts strong influence over his congregation, has never denied the boys were
whipped, but he and other church members say such spankings are necessary to maintain
discipline. And they have charged that law enforcement and social services agents have
interfered with their religious freedoms by seeking to impose limits on how they punish their
children. The district attorney met with Allen hoping to mediate the case without taking it to
trial. "I was not able to persuade Reverend Allen to change his philosophy regarding the
punishment of children," Howard said, so the criminal case moved forward.
The state, meanwhile, will move forward as planned with efforts in Juvenile Court to
terminate the parental rights over eight children and put them up for adoption. Two others
are scheduled to be released from state custody soon. Authorities said that state officials
will not take the other 39 children into custody for a second time. They were seized from
their homes last spring, some in emotional scenes repeatedly played on Atlanta television
stations. The children were released after officials acknowledged they had no evidence
indicating that more than three children had been abused. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
1/15, 19/02, Internet BBC, 1/19/02, Internet)
ISKCON/Hare Krishna/Children
Hare Krishnas to Declare Bankruptcy to Avoid Suit
Hare Krishna congregations named in a lawsuit alleging sexual and emotional abuse of
boarding school students will file for bankruptcy reorganization in several sates. The group
hopes that if their plan is approved by federal bankruptcy judges, the $400 million (£280
million) lawsuit filed in Dallas by former boarding school students will be dismissed.
Anuttama Dasa, a Maryland-based spokesman for the International Society of Krishna
Consciousness, or ISKCON, said: "We don't believe that innocent members and
congregations should be held accountable for the deviant behavior of individual acts
committed 20 or 30 years ago." ISKCON also plans to set up a fund to compensate children
who may have been victimized in Hare Krishna schools during the 1970s and 1980s.
The Texas lawsuit alleges young children at Krishna schools in India and the United States
were terrorized by their instructors. The suit claims that young girls were given as brides to
older men who donated to the religious community. Children were also allegedly deprived of
