38 ICSA TODAY
of cover-ups. It was a role that ate at his conscience. What was
not clear at the time, to either McCorkell or me, was how far the
Exclusive Brethren would go to continue [to] resist the truth being
told.… The church’s response to my sexual abuse story was swift
and comprehensive. Before it was even published last June, they
warned me I was in danger of breaching the Racial and Religious
Tolerance Act and the defamation law. A Melbourne-based church
functionary, Lloyd Grimshaw, wrote to Fairfax Media chairman
Nick Falloon seeking ‘management oversight’ of my journalism.
A month after the story was published, a Brethren company
registered as a charity, the Plymouth Brethren (Exclusive
Brethren) Christian Church Limited, briefed Sydney lawyer
Mark O’Brien and sued Fairfax Media and me personally in the
Supreme Court for defamation. ...A second legal action over the
same story was taken against me by a church member described
as ‘Jane Doe’ who alleges my reporting illegally identified her
as a child victim of sex abuse. That case continues in a different
Sydney court. … Just three days after the defamation writ lodged,
Lloyd Grimshaw, a director of the company suing me, signed an
agreement with McCorkell. Entitled ‘Services and Confidentiality
Deed,’ the agreement proposed to pay McCorkell $920,000 over
10 years part up front, the rest in monthly payments of $6000,
along with a $75,000 ‘holding’ account, to keep his mouth shut.
McCorkell, though, did not want to wait 10 years for his cash. On
Friday, October 21, last year, he flew from his Queensland home
to Sydney to renegotiate. ...Before he signed the confidentiality
deed in July last year, McCorkell was keen to expose how they
had three times previously considered paying a bribe to shut me
up. The first was a decade ago when, through him, they offered
me and my family an all-expenses-paid trip to Noumea on the
understanding that I stop writing about the Brethren’s links to
then-prime minister John Howard and their secret donations
to Liberal and National Party campaigns. … After July 15 last
year, though, he suddenly went cold on the idea. Only later did
I find out that was the same day he signed the ‘Services and
Confidentiality Deed.’ McCorkell started saying he would not give
evidence in the defamation case. … On October 3, the Brethren
lost their defamation case against me and Fairfax. Supreme Court
Justice Lucy McCallum ruled that we could not have defamed
a company that did not exist when the events described in the
story took place. The Brethren were ordered to pay Fairfax’s
costs. Fairfax has been advised that the Brethren are appealing
that decision. A fortnight later, they still had not informed their
flock about losing a case they all prayed so fervently to win.” (The
Sydney Morning Herald, 10/21/17)
US psychic pleads guilty to $3.5 million tax evasion
“A self-proclaimed psychic who was paid $3.5 million by an
elderly Massachusetts woman in exchange for claiming to cleanse
her of demons pleaded guilty on Thursday to trying to avoid
paying taxes. Sally Ann Johnson, 41, for more than seven years
provided what she described as healing services to a resident of
the island of Martha’s Vineyard, who was more than 70 years old
when she first met the spiritual healer, according to court papers.
… Johnson, who has resided in New York, Florida, Illinois and
at times Massachusetts, faces up to three years in prison. She is
scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 17. Her lawyers declined to
comment. According to court papers, Johnson at various times
lived with the unnamed woman on Martha’s Vineyard, a favorite
vacation spot for the rich and famous. In an effort to evade the
IRS’s scrutiny, Johnson, using the alias Angela Johnson, directed
the woman to make payments in the name of Sally Johnson
and another of her businesses, Stones of the World, charging
papers said. … Johnson made significant cash withdrawals from
those accounts and also accrued charges on a credit card held in
the woman’s name, according to charging documents.” (Reuters,
10/05/17)
Popular Indian guru arrested over alleged rape of law student
“A popular spiritual guru has been arrested in India for the alleged
rape of a 21-year-old woman, Indian media report. Falahari
Maharaj is accused of raping the law student at his ashram in
Alwar, a village in Rajasthan state. The self-styled ‘godman’ faces
10 years in prison if convicted. ...The woman, who is studying law
in Jaipur, filed a complaint on 11 September alleging the attack
had taken place on 7 August. ...She was, she says, raped after she
agreed to stay overnight at the property, the Hindu newspaper
reports. Mr Maharaj, she says, warned her against reporting the
attack. However, she adds, she gained the courage to approach
the police after the conviction of Ram Rahim Singh, who was
found guilty of raping two followers between 1999 and 2002 in
northern Haryana state.” (BBC News/India, September 23, 2017)
Polygamist Warren Jeffs ordered to pay $16 million to former
child bride who testified against him
“A Utah judge Tuesday ordered Fundamentalist Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints President Warren Jeffs to pay
$16 million to a woman who was 14 when she was pressured to
marry her 19-year-old cousin. Elissa Wall will receive $4 million in
damages and $12 million in punitive damages, 3rd District Judge
Keith Kelly ordered in the lawsuit Wall first filed in 2005. Wall filed
the case under the pseudonym ‘MJ’ when the events occurred.
Wall’s attorney Alan Mortensen said Tuesday the ruling allows for
him and Wall to collect the money from Jeffs or the church. He
described pursuing FLDS assets in various states as well as Mexico
and Canada. ...Through Mortensen, Wall issued a statement
Tuesday. ‘The judgment handed down by the Court is a big step
forward in the fight for a strong and unmovable statement to the
world that no one, especially children, can be sexual[ly] exploited
and abused in the name of religion,’ Wall’s news release said.
‘Today is a victory for many thousands of victims of abuse. Many
of us have stood up in our own way to fight for justice and further
the protection of children.’ Neither Jeffs nor the church defended
himself or itself in the lawsuit. ...” (Salt Lake Tribune, September 5,
2017)
The Blackmores of the BC polygamous sect receive jail
sentences in child-bride case
“Brandon James Blackmore, 71, has been sentenced to a year
in prison and 18 months’ probation for taking his 13-year-old
daughter to the United States to be placed in a polygamous
marriage with Warren Jeffs, leader of the FLDS. Blackmore’s
estranged wife, Emily Ruth Gail Blackmore, 60, also was given 7
months in prison and 18 months’ probation for her part in these
actions. Both parents were convicted earlier in 2017 for removal of
36
of cover-ups. It was a role that ate at his conscience. What was
not clear at the time, to either McCorkell or me, was how far the
Exclusive Brethren would go to continue [to] resist the truth being
told.… The church’s response to my sexual abuse story was swift
and comprehensive. Before it was even published last June, they
warned me I was in danger of breaching the Racial and Religious
Tolerance Act and the defamation law. A Melbourne-based church
functionary, Lloyd Grimshaw, wrote to Fairfax Media chairman
Nick Falloon seeking ‘management oversight’ of my journalism.
A month after the story was published, a Brethren company
registered as a charity, the Plymouth Brethren (Exclusive
Brethren) Christian Church Limited, briefed Sydney lawyer
Mark O’Brien and sued Fairfax Media and me personally in the
Supreme Court for defamation. ...A second legal action over the
same story was taken against me by a church member described
as ‘Jane Doe’ who alleges my reporting illegally identified her
as a child victim of sex abuse. That case continues in a different
Sydney court. … Just three days after the defamation writ lodged,
Lloyd Grimshaw, a director of the company suing me, signed an
agreement with McCorkell. Entitled ‘Services and Confidentiality
Deed,’ the agreement proposed to pay McCorkell $920,000 over
10 years part up front, the rest in monthly payments of $6000,
along with a $75,000 ‘holding’ account, to keep his mouth shut.
McCorkell, though, did not want to wait 10 years for his cash. On
Friday, October 21, last year, he flew from his Queensland home
to Sydney to renegotiate. ...Before he signed the confidentiality
deed in July last year, McCorkell was keen to expose how they
had three times previously considered paying a bribe to shut me
up. The first was a decade ago when, through him, they offered
me and my family an all-expenses-paid trip to Noumea on the
understanding that I stop writing about the Brethren’s links to
then-prime minister John Howard and their secret donations
to Liberal and National Party campaigns. … After July 15 last
year, though, he suddenly went cold on the idea. Only later did
I find out that was the same day he signed the ‘Services and
Confidentiality Deed.’ McCorkell started saying he would not give
evidence in the defamation case. … On October 3, the Brethren
lost their defamation case against me and Fairfax. Supreme Court
Justice Lucy McCallum ruled that we could not have defamed
a company that did not exist when the events described in the
story took place. The Brethren were ordered to pay Fairfax’s
costs. Fairfax has been advised that the Brethren are appealing
that decision. A fortnight later, they still had not informed their
flock about losing a case they all prayed so fervently to win.” (The
Sydney Morning Herald, 10/21/17)
US psychic pleads guilty to $3.5 million tax evasion
“A self-proclaimed psychic who was paid $3.5 million by an
elderly Massachusetts woman in exchange for claiming to cleanse
her of demons pleaded guilty on Thursday to trying to avoid
paying taxes. Sally Ann Johnson, 41, for more than seven years
provided what she described as healing services to a resident of
the island of Martha’s Vineyard, who was more than 70 years old
when she first met the spiritual healer, according to court papers.
… Johnson, who has resided in New York, Florida, Illinois and
at times Massachusetts, faces up to three years in prison. She is
scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 17. Her lawyers declined to
comment. According to court papers, Johnson at various times
lived with the unnamed woman on Martha’s Vineyard, a favorite
vacation spot for the rich and famous. In an effort to evade the
IRS’s scrutiny, Johnson, using the alias Angela Johnson, directed
the woman to make payments in the name of Sally Johnson
and another of her businesses, Stones of the World, charging
papers said. … Johnson made significant cash withdrawals from
those accounts and also accrued charges on a credit card held in
the woman’s name, according to charging documents.” (Reuters,
10/05/17)
Popular Indian guru arrested over alleged rape of law student
“A popular spiritual guru has been arrested in India for the alleged
rape of a 21-year-old woman, Indian media report. Falahari
Maharaj is accused of raping the law student at his ashram in
Alwar, a village in Rajasthan state. The self-styled ‘godman’ faces
10 years in prison if convicted. ...The woman, who is studying law
in Jaipur, filed a complaint on 11 September alleging the attack
had taken place on 7 August. ...She was, she says, raped after she
agreed to stay overnight at the property, the Hindu newspaper
reports. Mr Maharaj, she says, warned her against reporting the
attack. However, she adds, she gained the courage to approach
the police after the conviction of Ram Rahim Singh, who was
found guilty of raping two followers between 1999 and 2002 in
northern Haryana state.” (BBC News/India, September 23, 2017)
Polygamist Warren Jeffs ordered to pay $16 million to former
child bride who testified against him
“A Utah judge Tuesday ordered Fundamentalist Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints President Warren Jeffs to pay
$16 million to a woman who was 14 when she was pressured to
marry her 19-year-old cousin. Elissa Wall will receive $4 million in
damages and $12 million in punitive damages, 3rd District Judge
Keith Kelly ordered in the lawsuit Wall first filed in 2005. Wall filed
the case under the pseudonym ‘MJ’ when the events occurred.
Wall’s attorney Alan Mortensen said Tuesday the ruling allows for
him and Wall to collect the money from Jeffs or the church. He
described pursuing FLDS assets in various states as well as Mexico
and Canada. ...Through Mortensen, Wall issued a statement
Tuesday. ‘The judgment handed down by the Court is a big step
forward in the fight for a strong and unmovable statement to the
world that no one, especially children, can be sexual[ly] exploited
and abused in the name of religion,’ Wall’s news release said.
‘Today is a victory for many thousands of victims of abuse. Many
of us have stood up in our own way to fight for justice and further
the protection of children.’ Neither Jeffs nor the church defended
himself or itself in the lawsuit. ...” (Salt Lake Tribune, September 5,
2017)
The Blackmores of the BC polygamous sect receive jail
sentences in child-bride case
“Brandon James Blackmore, 71, has been sentenced to a year
in prison and 18 months’ probation for taking his 13-year-old
daughter to the United States to be placed in a polygamous
marriage with Warren Jeffs, leader of the FLDS. Blackmore’s
estranged wife, Emily Ruth Gail Blackmore, 60, also was given 7
months in prison and 18 months’ probation for her part in these
actions. Both parents were convicted earlier in 2017 for removal of
36
