Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2005, Page 47
married them first. The judge said legislators never intended the civil codes governing
marriage to override criminal case protection of children from sexual abuse. "I consider that
his decision changes the definition of marriage," said the pastor, who awaits a trial date.
(Montreal Gazette, Internet, 2/12/05)
Children of God (Family International)
Founder’s Son Apparently a Suicide
California and Arizona police are investigating an apparent murder suicide involving Richard
Rodriguez, one-time heir apparent of Moses David Berg, founder of the Children of God
— now called the Family International — the evangelical sex cult. Rodriguez, who left the
group in 2000, was the subject of the Story of Davito, a book with explicit photographs
published by the Children of God to promote a lifestyle that included sex between adults and
children. Police think Rodriguez shot himself with a pistol after stabbing to death Angela
Smith, whom police say Rodriguez accused of sexually abusing him as a child.
Steven Kent, a professor of sociology at the University of Alberta, said the highly sexual
climate of the Children of God ―did real damage to that second generation,‖ and he agrees
that there have been suicides in recent years among children who grew up in the group.
―While no one can justify what he [Rodriguez] did, you can understand his frustration and
rage,‖ Kent said. ―He and others from that generation have never seen justice from all the
abuse they suffered.‖
In a video tape he made the day before Smith‘s murder, Rodriguez says: ―Anger does not
begin to describe how I feel about these people and what they have done. Rage. I get livid.‖
He apparently had a plan to kill several people who he says abused him in the group. "There
is this need... I have a need. It's not a (expletive) want. It's a need and I wish it wasn't, but
this need for revenge, it's a need for justice. ..My mom is going to pay for that. She is
going to pay dearly one way or another. If I don't get to her...man if I don't get to her and
life goes on, I'm going to keep haunting her in the next life."
Claire Borowik, a spokesman for The Family, which claims it has outlawed adult-child sex,
said that Smith had not been Rodriguez‘s nanny, and added that although he was ―an
obviously disturbed young man,‖ the group had given him ―ample financial and emotional
support‖ to help him with the difficult transition to independence of the group.
A Family spokesman describes the organization as a Christian fellowship with 4,000 children
and 4,000 adult members who lived in 718 communal houses in 100 countries. She said it
sends aid workers and missionaries to disasters, and its musical troupe, the Family Singers,
have at various times sung in the White House. (Don Lattin, San Francisco Chronicle,
Internet, 1/11/05 Becky Pallack, Arizona Daily Star, Internet, 1/12, 13/05 Laurie
Goodstein, New York Times, 1/15/05)
Children of Thunder/Impact Training
Defense Cites “Impact Training” Influence
Attorneys for convicted murderer Glen Helzer, formerly leader of the four-member
Children of Thunder, are telling a Sacramento sentencing jury that the personal problems
underlying his crimes may have been exacerbated by his passionate participation in Impact
Training and similar programs run by Impact graduates.
They say that trainers in the ―experiential‖ group sessions, similar to the ones pioneered by
est [Erhard Seminars Training] and Lifespring, and still widely available today, emotionally
tore down participants and humiliated them so they could recover their ―inner selves.‖ Many
claim to have been helped by such trainings. Some say the courses, given by non-
professionals, damaged them.
married them first. The judge said legislators never intended the civil codes governing
marriage to override criminal case protection of children from sexual abuse. "I consider that
his decision changes the definition of marriage," said the pastor, who awaits a trial date.
(Montreal Gazette, Internet, 2/12/05)
Children of God (Family International)
Founder’s Son Apparently a Suicide
California and Arizona police are investigating an apparent murder suicide involving Richard
Rodriguez, one-time heir apparent of Moses David Berg, founder of the Children of God
— now called the Family International — the evangelical sex cult. Rodriguez, who left the
group in 2000, was the subject of the Story of Davito, a book with explicit photographs
published by the Children of God to promote a lifestyle that included sex between adults and
children. Police think Rodriguez shot himself with a pistol after stabbing to death Angela
Smith, whom police say Rodriguez accused of sexually abusing him as a child.
Steven Kent, a professor of sociology at the University of Alberta, said the highly sexual
climate of the Children of God ―did real damage to that second generation,‖ and he agrees
that there have been suicides in recent years among children who grew up in the group.
―While no one can justify what he [Rodriguez] did, you can understand his frustration and
rage,‖ Kent said. ―He and others from that generation have never seen justice from all the
abuse they suffered.‖
In a video tape he made the day before Smith‘s murder, Rodriguez says: ―Anger does not
begin to describe how I feel about these people and what they have done. Rage. I get livid.‖
He apparently had a plan to kill several people who he says abused him in the group. "There
is this need... I have a need. It's not a (expletive) want. It's a need and I wish it wasn't, but
this need for revenge, it's a need for justice. ..My mom is going to pay for that. She is
going to pay dearly one way or another. If I don't get to her...man if I don't get to her and
life goes on, I'm going to keep haunting her in the next life."
Claire Borowik, a spokesman for The Family, which claims it has outlawed adult-child sex,
said that Smith had not been Rodriguez‘s nanny, and added that although he was ―an
obviously disturbed young man,‖ the group had given him ―ample financial and emotional
support‖ to help him with the difficult transition to independence of the group.
A Family spokesman describes the organization as a Christian fellowship with 4,000 children
and 4,000 adult members who lived in 718 communal houses in 100 countries. She said it
sends aid workers and missionaries to disasters, and its musical troupe, the Family Singers,
have at various times sung in the White House. (Don Lattin, San Francisco Chronicle,
Internet, 1/11/05 Becky Pallack, Arizona Daily Star, Internet, 1/12, 13/05 Laurie
Goodstein, New York Times, 1/15/05)
Children of Thunder/Impact Training
Defense Cites “Impact Training” Influence
Attorneys for convicted murderer Glen Helzer, formerly leader of the four-member
Children of Thunder, are telling a Sacramento sentencing jury that the personal problems
underlying his crimes may have been exacerbated by his passionate participation in Impact
Training and similar programs run by Impact graduates.
They say that trainers in the ―experiential‖ group sessions, similar to the ones pioneered by
est [Erhard Seminars Training] and Lifespring, and still widely available today, emotionally
tore down participants and humiliated them so they could recover their ―inner selves.‖ Many
claim to have been helped by such trainings. Some say the courses, given by non-
professionals, damaged them.
