Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 3, Nos. 2 &3, 2004, Page 126
standard $200 fee. One ―insisted‖ on donating $250,000 and another paid $500,000. (Jesse
Hyde, Deseret Morning News, Internet, 7/5/04)
NXIVM
Criticism Can Stay Online
The Colonie, NY-based NXIVM human potential organization has lost a suit aimed to keep
critics from analyzing a confidential NXIVM manual online. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Second Circuit in New York City said the commentaries, by psychologist Paul Martin and
psychiatrist John Hochman, on the website of [cult observer] Rick Ross, represented
criticism, and therefore ―fair use‖ under copyright law. (Dennis Yusko, Albany Times-Union,
Internet, 4/23/04)
Order of the Solar Temple
Refusal to Reopen Investigation
Saying there is no new evidence, a French prosecutor in Grenoble has refused a request by
some victims‘ families to reopen the investigation of the 1995 murder-suicides in France of
16 members of the Order of the Solar Temple. The families believe someone from outside
the group, rather than the deceased members who are alleged to have played leading roles
in the deaths, were responsible. The families cite a recently commissioned private report
saying the bodies were burned with a flamethrower. (AP, Internet, 3/25/04)
Palo Mayombe
Convicted of Cemetery Theft
Miriam Mirabal, of Newark, NJ, has been found guilty of stealing human remains from
cemeteries for use in Palo Mayombe religious rituals, which involve placing the remains in
cauldrons so practitioners can invoke the spirits of the deceased to harm selected
individuals. (AP, Internet, 5/3/04)
Poeticized Union for Developing Social Happiness (PORTOS)
Leaders Convicted for Whipping Children
Two leaders of a utopian community near Moscow, the Poeticized Union for Developing
Social Happiness (PORTOS), have been convicted of whipping children in the group for
disobeying sect rules. Vladimir Belanenko received a one-year suspended sentence and
Alexei Merkulov was ordered to serve two years in prison.
The formal charge against the two was forming an organization that infringes on a person‘s
rights of privacy. As punishment in the group, children were forced to write poetry and keep
an ―outer conscience‖ diary, and lashed for the ―minutest‖ misconduct. The Poeticized Union
attracted teenagers by promising to pay for their educations and to provide high-paying
jobs when they graduated. (Moscow News, Internet, 10/15/04)
Polygamy
Greene Paroled
Tom Greene, the Utah polygamist convicted of marrying and having sex with his then 13-
year-old wife, has been freed after serving six years of a possible life term. The parole
board chairman said: ―If there was any message to come out of this hearing, it would be
that you cannot just marry children, regardless of your religious affiliations.‖
Greene, who denounced polygamy at his parole hearing, was apparently not affiliated with a
polygamous church, although he believed in polygamy on religious grounds. Parole officers
will supervise him to make sure he has no inappropriate contact with underage girls or
standard $200 fee. One ―insisted‖ on donating $250,000 and another paid $500,000. (Jesse
Hyde, Deseret Morning News, Internet, 7/5/04)
NXIVM
Criticism Can Stay Online
The Colonie, NY-based NXIVM human potential organization has lost a suit aimed to keep
critics from analyzing a confidential NXIVM manual online. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Second Circuit in New York City said the commentaries, by psychologist Paul Martin and
psychiatrist John Hochman, on the website of [cult observer] Rick Ross, represented
criticism, and therefore ―fair use‖ under copyright law. (Dennis Yusko, Albany Times-Union,
Internet, 4/23/04)
Order of the Solar Temple
Refusal to Reopen Investigation
Saying there is no new evidence, a French prosecutor in Grenoble has refused a request by
some victims‘ families to reopen the investigation of the 1995 murder-suicides in France of
16 members of the Order of the Solar Temple. The families believe someone from outside
the group, rather than the deceased members who are alleged to have played leading roles
in the deaths, were responsible. The families cite a recently commissioned private report
saying the bodies were burned with a flamethrower. (AP, Internet, 3/25/04)
Palo Mayombe
Convicted of Cemetery Theft
Miriam Mirabal, of Newark, NJ, has been found guilty of stealing human remains from
cemeteries for use in Palo Mayombe religious rituals, which involve placing the remains in
cauldrons so practitioners can invoke the spirits of the deceased to harm selected
individuals. (AP, Internet, 5/3/04)
Poeticized Union for Developing Social Happiness (PORTOS)
Leaders Convicted for Whipping Children
Two leaders of a utopian community near Moscow, the Poeticized Union for Developing
Social Happiness (PORTOS), have been convicted of whipping children in the group for
disobeying sect rules. Vladimir Belanenko received a one-year suspended sentence and
Alexei Merkulov was ordered to serve two years in prison.
The formal charge against the two was forming an organization that infringes on a person‘s
rights of privacy. As punishment in the group, children were forced to write poetry and keep
an ―outer conscience‖ diary, and lashed for the ―minutest‖ misconduct. The Poeticized Union
attracted teenagers by promising to pay for their educations and to provide high-paying
jobs when they graduated. (Moscow News, Internet, 10/15/04)
Polygamy
Greene Paroled
Tom Greene, the Utah polygamist convicted of marrying and having sex with his then 13-
year-old wife, has been freed after serving six years of a possible life term. The parole
board chairman said: ―If there was any message to come out of this hearing, it would be
that you cannot just marry children, regardless of your religious affiliations.‖
Greene, who denounced polygamy at his parole hearing, was apparently not affiliated with a
polygamous church, although he believed in polygamy on religious grounds. Parole officers
will supervise him to make sure he has no inappropriate contact with underage girls or
