Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2005, Page 76
Freeman, a Fuller Seminary graduate, author, and owner of a publishing company, provides
financial support and defers to his wife, although he is said to be a great Bible teacher.
The Local Church, a worldwide Christian movement, reprimanded Bill Freeman almost
twenty years ago — he and his wife were leading members in the 1970s and 1980s —
saying: ―Splitting up homes and marriages for the sake of oneness with the Freemans
became acceptable, often resulting in great distress and irreparable damage.‖ The
reprimand declares that ―too many‖ husbands had wives more loyal to and dependant on
Freeman than their spouses. The Freemans have in the past recruited very successfully
among college students and young families. (Chris Collins, The Whitworthian [Whitworth
College], Internet, 2/15/05)
Kenja Communications (Ken Dyers)
Woman's Condition Linked to Group
Hearing about Cornelia Rau, a woman suffering from mental illness who was picked up by
police after she wandered from the Kenja Communications ―self empowerment‖ group
recently, the family of Richard Leape told the press that he vanished while being treated for
schizophrenia there twelve years ago. Now, police are investigating the organization, which
is headed by millionaire Ken Dyers in the Surry Hills suburb of Sidney, Australia.
"I'm appalled, said Annette Leape, ―to read this organization is still in existence, and I have
grave concerns that there may be many other persons who have had contact and so-called
therapies with this organization, and developed very serious mental illnesses." Leape says
her brother stopped taking his medication after attending Kenja (as did Cornelia Rau,
according to her family). She said her brother once confided to her that he‘d been told by
―the master‖ to sever ties with his family ―for the good of all concerned.‖ (Lisa Davies, Daily
Telegraph [Australia], Internet, 1/10/05)
Keroyan
Beaten to Death in Ritual
A woman was beaten to death in Tokyo during an October religious training session of
Keroyan, a group made up mostly of former Aum Shinrikyo followers led by Yuko
Kitazawa and including ex-Aumist Masataka Funibayashi. The thrashing, with a bamboo
sword, was aimed to eliminate the 36-year-old woman‘s ―bad kharma.‖ Finibayashi, who
reported the death after the incident came to light in September, was nonetheless arrested
along with three others in October on suspicion of causing it. Police placed in child care
custody five boys whom they found during a search of 13 places associated with Keroyon.
Authorities say Keroyan follows Aum founder Shoko Asahara’s teachings but is not
involved in its activities. (Kyodo News Service, Internet, 10/2104)
Kingdom of Jesus Christ, Name Above Every Name
Investigation Following Mother's Complaint
The City Council and government social workers are investigating a complaint by a mother
from Baguio City, Benguet, Philippines, that Apollo Quiboloy, founder and leader of
Kingdom of Jesus Christ, Name Above Every Name, has lured into his church her 19-
year-old daughter as well as other teenagers and young adults. Quiboloy has refused to
deal with government mediators on the ground that the issue is entirely a church matter.
He has also refused to let government psychologists counsel the young woman ―in the spirit
of Christianity.‖ (Vincent Cabreza and Donna Demetillo, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 1/19/05)
Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2005, Page 77
Marcus Wesson
Prosecution May Use Mind Control Argument
Prosecutors in the trial of Marcus Wesson will reportedly seek testimony from mind control
experts to suggest that Wesson, charged with killing nine of his children in Fresno, CA, last
year, actually influenced one of his daughters to commit the crimes before killing herself. A
similar strategy was used to convict Charles Manson.
At a December hearing, police said Wesson dominated and sexually abused his insular
family, and that he said he ruled them as Christ. They suggest also that he devised a
murder-suicide pact to be triggered if police or Child Protective Services personnel — whom
he called devils — tried to dissolve his family, (Matt Leedy, Fresno Bee, Internet, 1/5/05)
Raymond Russell George/Jacob
Trial Set for Molester "Jacob"
Raymond Russell George, 57, will stand trial in Reno, NV, in the spring on charges he
molested and raped two teenage girls in his ―fantasy room‖ and mentally and physically
abused their younger brother.
Authorities say George and his common-law wife lived with the two girls, ages 13 and 14,
while the girls‘ parents lived in an adjacent apartment with their 11-year-old son. The group
―behaved like a religious cult,‖ recognizing George, whom they called Jacob, as their leader.
The girls at first denied they were raped, saying they were married to George and behaved
as wives should. Their mother and father have pleaded guilty to one count of child
endangerment and are serving five- and three-year prison terms, respectively, while the
common-law wife was sentenced to six years. The girls now live with their grandparents.
(Martha Bellisle, Reno Gazette-Journal, Internet, 11/17/04)
Recovered Memories
Priest Found Guilty Despite Expert Testimony
Former Roman Catholic priest Paul Shanley has been found guilty in Boston of raping young
parishioners — one among several he allegedly raped between 1979 and 1989 — despite
testimony from an expert psychologist [Elizabeth Loftus, of the University of California at
Irvine], who said that evidence of a victim‘s recently recovered memories of alleged long-
ago abuse rested on faulty science. (AP in CNN News, Internet, 2/8/05)
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