Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 6, 2006, Page 48
FLDS members coming from the sect‘s Arizona and Utah communities. He said, ―We need to
be proactive and send a very clear signal that Nevada is not a hospitable environment to
polygamy and/or child labor.‖ Utah and Arizona policy seems to be that authorities will
investigate criminal activity but not prosecute consenting adults engaged in polygamy. ..A
Mohave County, AZ, jury has acquitted FLDS member Donald Barlow of sexual offenses
related to his polygamous marriage to an assigned underage girl who bore his child when
she was 17. The defense says the basis for the acquittal was the state‘s inability to prove
where the sex occurred. ..Even though the FLDS has lost control of the local public school
and its communal property trust, the Hilldale, UT, City Council recently chose two staunch
sect followers as new members. One Councilor said he voted for them because, ―if they
were on the ballot today, the public would vote that way.‖ Former follower Jethro Barlow,
who is a consultant to the court-appointed fiduciary overseeing the FLDS trust, hopes to
meet with one of the new councilors, his brother Philip, in an attempt to build relations
between the council and the overseers. ..Colorado City police officer Mica Barlow has
resigned. He is being investigated by police certification agencies for dereliction of duty
following his refusal to cooperate with probes of the FLDS and failing to help the fiduciary
track missing equipment taken from trust properties.
Lawyers for arrested Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
leader Warren Jeffs have filed a motion in federal court to order the FBI to return his
personal papers, computers, and recordings on the ground that they ―include confidential
religious writings and teachings of the FLDS, as well as privileged communications with
FLDS members,‖ and that they are protected by clergy-communicant privilege. The Utah
court-appointed fiduciary in charge of the FLDS trust says sources have told him the
material contains a great deal of evidence about FLDS businesses that can help him
―investigate, preserve, trace inventory and recover Trust property.‖ ...Jeffs, charged in
Utah with two counts of rape as an accomplice, a first degree felony, is specifically accused
of forcing a teenage girl into a polygamous marriage with an older man and then allegedly
threatening her with loss of salvation if she refused. He is charged in Arizona with sexual
conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct in connection with his
arranging child bride marriages there. ..A study by a University of Toronto law professor,
commissioned by Justice Canada, says Canada is violating international human-rights law
by allowing polygamous relationships, which flourish without prosecution in FLDS
communities like Bountiful, British Columbia. The report called for a time-limited working
group in the Justice Department to help with legal action against polygamy.
Gentle Wind
The State of Main‘s lawsuit against Gentle Wind, for falsely claiming that its products have healing
qualities, also alleges, under the Unfair Trade Practices Act, that the organization falsely claimed that
medical studies proved its healing instruments were effective. The suit also says Gentle Wind
manipulated followers into sex rituals and disbursed more than $500,000 in so-called medical grants to
patients who were asked to use the instruments and provide testimonials. A Connecticut physician who
is also an associate professor at Yale University School of Nursing says, ―My experience with the
instruments is that they do help people ...enough people that I don‘t believe it‘s a placebo.‖ Maine
also alleges that Gentle Wind misused charitable funds by purchasing personal property (albeit these
were declared in tax filings).
Maine has filed a 13-count complaint accusing the Gentle Wind Project of violating the
state‘s Unfair Trade Practices Act. Earlier, the Attorney General entered into a consent
decree with the Project that dissolved the organization and forbade the founders from
making false claims about its healing instruments. The state became involved after former
members published autobiographical essays comparing Gentle Wind to a ―mind control cult‖
and the organization sued them for defamation (a suit the Project says it is still pursuing).
FLDS members coming from the sect‘s Arizona and Utah communities. He said, ―We need to
be proactive and send a very clear signal that Nevada is not a hospitable environment to
polygamy and/or child labor.‖ Utah and Arizona policy seems to be that authorities will
investigate criminal activity but not prosecute consenting adults engaged in polygamy. ..A
Mohave County, AZ, jury has acquitted FLDS member Donald Barlow of sexual offenses
related to his polygamous marriage to an assigned underage girl who bore his child when
she was 17. The defense says the basis for the acquittal was the state‘s inability to prove
where the sex occurred. ..Even though the FLDS has lost control of the local public school
and its communal property trust, the Hilldale, UT, City Council recently chose two staunch
sect followers as new members. One Councilor said he voted for them because, ―if they
were on the ballot today, the public would vote that way.‖ Former follower Jethro Barlow,
who is a consultant to the court-appointed fiduciary overseeing the FLDS trust, hopes to
meet with one of the new councilors, his brother Philip, in an attempt to build relations
between the council and the overseers. ..Colorado City police officer Mica Barlow has
resigned. He is being investigated by police certification agencies for dereliction of duty
following his refusal to cooperate with probes of the FLDS and failing to help the fiduciary
track missing equipment taken from trust properties.
Lawyers for arrested Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
leader Warren Jeffs have filed a motion in federal court to order the FBI to return his
personal papers, computers, and recordings on the ground that they ―include confidential
religious writings and teachings of the FLDS, as well as privileged communications with
FLDS members,‖ and that they are protected by clergy-communicant privilege. The Utah
court-appointed fiduciary in charge of the FLDS trust says sources have told him the
material contains a great deal of evidence about FLDS businesses that can help him
―investigate, preserve, trace inventory and recover Trust property.‖ ...Jeffs, charged in
Utah with two counts of rape as an accomplice, a first degree felony, is specifically accused
of forcing a teenage girl into a polygamous marriage with an older man and then allegedly
threatening her with loss of salvation if she refused. He is charged in Arizona with sexual
conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct in connection with his
arranging child bride marriages there. ..A study by a University of Toronto law professor,
commissioned by Justice Canada, says Canada is violating international human-rights law
by allowing polygamous relationships, which flourish without prosecution in FLDS
communities like Bountiful, British Columbia. The report called for a time-limited working
group in the Justice Department to help with legal action against polygamy.
Gentle Wind
The State of Main‘s lawsuit against Gentle Wind, for falsely claiming that its products have healing
qualities, also alleges, under the Unfair Trade Practices Act, that the organization falsely claimed that
medical studies proved its healing instruments were effective. The suit also says Gentle Wind
manipulated followers into sex rituals and disbursed more than $500,000 in so-called medical grants to
patients who were asked to use the instruments and provide testimonials. A Connecticut physician who
is also an associate professor at Yale University School of Nursing says, ―My experience with the
instruments is that they do help people ...enough people that I don‘t believe it‘s a placebo.‖ Maine
also alleges that Gentle Wind misused charitable funds by purchasing personal property (albeit these
were declared in tax filings).
Maine has filed a 13-count complaint accusing the Gentle Wind Project of violating the
state‘s Unfair Trade Practices Act. Earlier, the Attorney General entered into a consent
decree with the Project that dissolved the organization and forbade the founders from
making false claims about its healing instruments. The state became involved after former
members published autobiographical essays comparing Gentle Wind to a ―mind control cult‖
and the organization sued them for defamation (a suit the Project says it is still pursuing).
