VOLUME 11 |ISSUE 2 |2020
wound to his right temple, which appeared to have been self-
inflicted.” (The New Daily, 11/17/19)
Bill that changes polygamy to an infraction passes Utah
House
“After a huge majority of the [State of Utah] House voted
Wednesday in favor of a bill that would change polygamy
from a felony to an infraction, the bill has one concurrence
vote left in the Senate set for Friday [February 28]. The Bigamy
Amendments bill, SB102, changes a law that dates back to
1935, when, in an attempt to eliminate polygamy, the state
of Utah made unlawful cohabitation a felony, chief sponsor
of the bill Sen. Diedre Henderson said. In a previous article,
Henderson said that far from eliminating the practice of
plural marriage, ‘these government actions merely isolated
polygamist families, drove them underground, instilled fear
and led to a culture of secrecy within their communities.’ After
being passed by the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice
Committee, the bill was amended, a technical clean-up of
language pertaining to what could be charged as a felony. One
of the items listed was sexual battery. Since sexual battery
is never charged as a felony, the bill was amended to include
misdemeanor offense otherwise, sexual battery would be moot
under the previous definition. St. George resident, and former
member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints, Shirlee Draper said she is hopeful this will
allow people to come out of the shadows and that others will
‘stop being so prejudicial to them, and so they start reporting
crimes.’ The next step in this progression will be a process
of going through and cleaning up some other laws that are
surrounding this, she said. For example, there is a law defining
polygamy as preliminary injurious conduct.” (St George News,
02/27/20)
Note: The Bigamy Amendments bill, SB102, was signed into law
by the governor of Utah in late March 2020.
Amazon to donate to drug charity linked to Scientology
“Exclusive: Experts have queried methods of Narconon, which
has given talks in UK schools ...Amazon has agreed to channel
funds to a controversial drug rehabilitation charity linked to
the Church of Scientology, the Guardian has learned. The
web giant will make donations to Narconon—which runs
programmes for drug addicts based on the teachings of the
Scientology founder, L Ron Hubbard—when supporters buy
products through the site, with shoppers able to pledge 0.5% of
purchases to selected charities under Amazon’s ‘Smile’ feature.”
(The Guardian, 02/22/20)
Sarah Lawrence parent accused of sex trafficking and
abusing students
“Lawrence V. Ray showed up at his daughter’s elite college, in a
New York City suburb, in late 2010, shortly after being released
from prison, and moved into her dormitory. Soon, he started
doing ‘therapy sessions’ with her roommates, convincing them
he could help with their problems. Over time, using threats and
coercion, he persuaded the young adults he first met at the
school, Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, N.Y., to confess to
crimes they had not committed and then extorted hundreds of
thousands of dollars from them, prosecutors said. He eventually
compelled some of them to work without pay on his family
property in North Carolina, and he threatened others with
knives. He forced one young woman into prostitution, taking
nearly everything she made from selling sex to strangers, the
prosecutors said. On Tuesday, Mr. Ray, 60, … was charged in a
federal indictment in Manhattan with conspiracy, extortion,
sex trafficking, forced labor and related charges. For eight
years, through 2018, the indictment said, Mr. Ray ‘subjected
the victims to sexual and psychological manipulation and
physical abuse. … For the better part of the last ten years, Ray
has continued to mentally and physically torture his victims,’
William F. Sweeney Jr., the head of the F.B.I. office in New
York, said at a news conference on Tuesday. The charges depict
Mr. Ray as a man who exploited his victims, initially college
sophomores, like a cult leader, learning intimate details of
their private lives and their mental health struggles under the
pretense of helping them.” (The New York Times, 02/11/20)
South Korean “cult” at center of local coronavirus outbreak
“A mysterious religious group described by the government
of South Korea as a ‘cult’ has emerged as a hotbed of new
coronavirus cases, according to official statistics. At least 33 of
South Korea’s 104 confirmed cases as of Feb. 20 are linked to
the Shincheonji sect, which is also known as ‘Church of Jesus,
the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony.’ The group,
an offshoot of Christianity, was founded in 1984 by a man
claiming to be a prophet sent by Jesus Christ. It reportedly has
more than 120,000 followers worldwide. Its adherents believe
the religion is the one true version of Christianity, and that they
will be the only ones to achieve salvation when judgement
day arrives, according to its scripture. Relatives of adherents to
the sect have said in media reports that they have been cut off
from contacting family members. One woman is believed to
have spread the virus (officially named as COVID-19) among
the Shincheonji sect. Officials said she had come into contact
with 166 people, who were asked to quarantine themselves,
according to the Associated Press. The cases linked to the sect
are clustered in the city of Daegu, in the south of the country.”
(Time, 02/20/20)
More than 550,000 sign petition to dissolve Shincheonji by
force
“Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans have called for
the forcible dissolution of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus,
Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, a shadowy
Christian sect that has been identified as a hotbed of new
coronavirus infections. Over 552,000 people have signed an
online petition to that effect since Saturday, when it was filed
on the website of the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae.
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wound to his right temple, which appeared to have been self-
inflicted.” (The New Daily, 11/17/19)
Bill that changes polygamy to an infraction passes Utah
House
“After a huge majority of the [State of Utah] House voted
Wednesday in favor of a bill that would change polygamy
from a felony to an infraction, the bill has one concurrence
vote left in the Senate set for Friday [February 28]. The Bigamy
Amendments bill, SB102, changes a law that dates back to
1935, when, in an attempt to eliminate polygamy, the state
of Utah made unlawful cohabitation a felony, chief sponsor
of the bill Sen. Diedre Henderson said. In a previous article,
Henderson said that far from eliminating the practice of
plural marriage, ‘these government actions merely isolated
polygamist families, drove them underground, instilled fear
and led to a culture of secrecy within their communities.’ After
being passed by the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice
Committee, the bill was amended, a technical clean-up of
language pertaining to what could be charged as a felony. One
of the items listed was sexual battery. Since sexual battery
is never charged as a felony, the bill was amended to include
misdemeanor offense otherwise, sexual battery would be moot
under the previous definition. St. George resident, and former
member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints, Shirlee Draper said she is hopeful this will
allow people to come out of the shadows and that others will
‘stop being so prejudicial to them, and so they start reporting
crimes.’ The next step in this progression will be a process
of going through and cleaning up some other laws that are
surrounding this, she said. For example, there is a law defining
polygamy as preliminary injurious conduct.” (St George News,
02/27/20)
Note: The Bigamy Amendments bill, SB102, was signed into law
by the governor of Utah in late March 2020.
Amazon to donate to drug charity linked to Scientology
“Exclusive: Experts have queried methods of Narconon, which
has given talks in UK schools ...Amazon has agreed to channel
funds to a controversial drug rehabilitation charity linked to
the Church of Scientology, the Guardian has learned. The
web giant will make donations to Narconon—which runs
programmes for drug addicts based on the teachings of the
Scientology founder, L Ron Hubbard—when supporters buy
products through the site, with shoppers able to pledge 0.5% of
purchases to selected charities under Amazon’s ‘Smile’ feature.”
(The Guardian, 02/22/20)
Sarah Lawrence parent accused of sex trafficking and
abusing students
“Lawrence V. Ray showed up at his daughter’s elite college, in a
New York City suburb, in late 2010, shortly after being released
from prison, and moved into her dormitory. Soon, he started
doing ‘therapy sessions’ with her roommates, convincing them
he could help with their problems. Over time, using threats and
coercion, he persuaded the young adults he first met at the
school, Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, N.Y., to confess to
crimes they had not committed and then extorted hundreds of
thousands of dollars from them, prosecutors said. He eventually
compelled some of them to work without pay on his family
property in North Carolina, and he threatened others with
knives. He forced one young woman into prostitution, taking
nearly everything she made from selling sex to strangers, the
prosecutors said. On Tuesday, Mr. Ray, 60, … was charged in a
federal indictment in Manhattan with conspiracy, extortion,
sex trafficking, forced labor and related charges. For eight
years, through 2018, the indictment said, Mr. Ray ‘subjected
the victims to sexual and psychological manipulation and
physical abuse. … For the better part of the last ten years, Ray
has continued to mentally and physically torture his victims,’
William F. Sweeney Jr., the head of the F.B.I. office in New
York, said at a news conference on Tuesday. The charges depict
Mr. Ray as a man who exploited his victims, initially college
sophomores, like a cult leader, learning intimate details of
their private lives and their mental health struggles under the
pretense of helping them.” (The New York Times, 02/11/20)
South Korean “cult” at center of local coronavirus outbreak
“A mysterious religious group described by the government
of South Korea as a ‘cult’ has emerged as a hotbed of new
coronavirus cases, according to official statistics. At least 33 of
South Korea’s 104 confirmed cases as of Feb. 20 are linked to
the Shincheonji sect, which is also known as ‘Church of Jesus,
the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony.’ The group,
an offshoot of Christianity, was founded in 1984 by a man
claiming to be a prophet sent by Jesus Christ. It reportedly has
more than 120,000 followers worldwide. Its adherents believe
the religion is the one true version of Christianity, and that they
will be the only ones to achieve salvation when judgement
day arrives, according to its scripture. Relatives of adherents to
the sect have said in media reports that they have been cut off
from contacting family members. One woman is believed to
have spread the virus (officially named as COVID-19) among
the Shincheonji sect. Officials said she had come into contact
with 166 people, who were asked to quarantine themselves,
according to the Associated Press. The cases linked to the sect
are clustered in the city of Daegu, in the south of the country.”
(Time, 02/20/20)
More than 550,000 sign petition to dissolve Shincheonji by
force
“Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans have called for
the forcible dissolution of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus,
Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, a shadowy
Christian sect that has been identified as a hotbed of new
coronavirus infections. Over 552,000 people have signed an
online petition to that effect since Saturday, when it was filed
on the website of the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae.
3133
