Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 1, 2006, Page 74
News Summaries
Apostolic Faith Church Body of Jesus Christ of the Newborn Assembly
A Portsmouth, OH, judge has granted child custody to David Butts after hearing evidence
that the children‘s mother was turned against him by Rev. Charles Keyes, Sr., head of the
Apostolic Faith Church Body of Jesus Christ of the Newborn Assembly, in Jefferson.
Social workers say church members abuse women and children and practice mind control.
Aryan Brotherhood
Members of the violent white supremacist Aryan Brotherhood, which has infiltrated nearly
every federal and state prison, face a series of trials that prosecutors hope will dismantle
the highly organized racketeering enterprise allegedly responsible for many prison murders.
Aum Shinrikyo (Aleph)
Aum Shinrikyo (renamed Aleph) leader Fumihiro Joyu has earned some 10 million yen
from holiday season seminars in Shiba and Osaka, while the head of a rival Aum faction,
Tatsuko Muraoka, collected about 30 million yen from 260 followers at various locations. ..
Authorities report that Aum still keeps video masters of guru Shoko Asahara justifying his
orders for members to commit murder, clearly demonstrating, they say, that followers are
still loyal to him. ..The Public Security Examination Commission has decided to extend for
three years its surveillance of Aum. The agency says Aum is earning a great deal from its
illegal profit-making businesses. ..Former Aum official Takashi Inoue had been sentenced
to 30 months in prison and fined two million yen for the unlicensed sale of skin ointment in
2003 and 2004.
Lawyers for Aum Shinrikyo guru Shoko Asahara have challenged the credibility of a
court-appointed psychiatrist who says that Asahara is mentally fit to stand trial in his appeal
and that he is only pretending to be senile. A team of psychiatrists supporting the defense
position says Asahara is suffering from pseudologia phantastica: he tells extravagant and
fantastic lies about himself. ..Aum member Tomomasa Nakagawa, sentenced to death for
his role in the group‘s gas attack and other crimes, has begun an appeal of his sentence. He
says he was not aware that Aum planned to release the poison gas which he prepared.
The Tokyo High Court has upheld the death penalty sentence for Tomomitsu Niimi, Aum
Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara‟s chief lieutenant, convicted in the Aum 1994 and 1995
gas attacks and other crimes. The court dismissed the argument that the once gentle and
intelligent college student was duped by Asahara into thinking the crimes expressed divine
will. Nimi said he was sorry to have caused ―so much grief, but please understand that
some may hold other values.‖ The father of a former Aum member whom Niimi tried to kill
said, ―Deep down,‖ Niimi ―is horrified at what he did. But he can‘t admit that, not even to
himself. It would mean a denial of all that he‘s done for Aum.‖. ..The High Court as well
rejected Shoko Asahara‘s own death sentence appeal, saying his lawyers failed to present
their case on time. They argued originally that he was mentally and physically unfit to stand
trial and now refused to submit appropriate appeal documents on the ground that making a
mentally incompetent defendant stand trial was against lawyers‘ ethics. ...Asahara‘s
daughters, who were children when the crimes were committed, have been ostracized by
Japanese society. They say their father is mentally ill and that he should not be executed.
Their mother, found guilty of conspiring with him to kill another member, was released from
jail in 2002. In February, a junior high school refused to admit Asahara‘s youngest son
because it could not guarantee the safety of the 11-year-old, saying also that he could
conceivably be under the influence of the cult. ..Following police raids in April on 11 Aum
facilities across Japan aimed to uncover possible plots related to the court proceedings
against Asahara (also known as Chuzio Matsumoto), the Minister of Justice said the

Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 1, 2006, Page 75
estimated 1,600 members still believe strongly in him and that their number is not
declining.
Bay County Boot Camp
In the wake of the death of a 14-year-old at the Bay County facility, the Florida legislature
has moved to close the state‘s juvenile boot camps and replace them with four Sheriff‘s
Training and Respect programs, in which guards would be prohibited from using
psychological intimidation or physical force. Despite videotape showing guards punching and
kicking Martin Lee Anderson, a coroner ruled that he died of sickle cell trait, a finding that
has been questioned by the boy‘s family and Gov. Jeb Bush. Regulations for the new
facilities demand that direct-care staff complete 200 hours of training in child abuse laws
and emergency procedures.
Beasts of Satan
Five members of the Beasts of Satan rock band, in Italy, have been sentenced to long
prison terms for killing several people in ritual murders in 1998 and 2004.
Benny Hinn
The $100,000 collected from the estimated 370,000 Fijians who attended Benny Hinn‟s
Miracle Crusade over three days at the National Stadium will be used to pay for the bus
transportation many used to get to the event, according to organizers. A Baptist minister
critical of the Crusade said: "Now I'm not saying that people who went on stage were lying
about being healed but I believe that they were deceived into thinking that was the case.‖
Wealthy American evangelist Benny Hinn drew large audiences — including the president
and leaders of the opposition party — for his faith healing crusade in Fiji despite some local
criticism that he is a fraud.
The Body/Attleboro Cult
Jacques Robidoux, former member of the Attleboro (MA) religious cult known as The
Body, sentenced to life imprisonment for starving his son to death on God‘s command, has
been refused a new trial. He claimed he was brainwashed by the group.
Boston Church of Christ/LaRouche Youth Movement
Stimulated by the campus activities of high-pressure organizations like the Boston Church
of Christ and the LaRouche Youth Movement, officials at Boston area colleges think they
might well do more to educate students about the dangers such groups pose. The head of
Emerson College‘s Center for Spiritual Life says students are too sophisticated to join
LaRouche, but also that ―It‘s always a lurking kind of danger, I admit that.‖
Bountiful/Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
The ruling Liberal Party government and the opposition New Democrats in British Columbia
have joined in saying they want to help women, especially those brought in from the U.S.,
escape from the polygamous British Columbia commune of Bountiful, a 1947 offshoot of
the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. A local member of
the provincial parliament says: ―There‘s the beginning of a kind of critical mass of interest
and also the beginning of discourse between governments, municipal, provincial and
federal, and between political parties.‖
Brethren
Sam Hunsaker, of Lawrence, KS, says he received a letter from his daughter saying she had
joined The Brethren, also known as the Garbage Eaters. She wrote: ―God has been