36 ICSA TODAY
to Long Island, and was terminated when she didn’t. Two
women said they were fired after disclosing they were Catholic
and didn’t want to participate in Onionhead. The judge said
Onionhead’s approach—‘chants and prayers, mentions of
God, transcendence, and souls, and the strong emphasis on
spirituality’—compared to other ‘non-traditional’ belief systems
courts have found to be tantamount to religion, such as
Alcoholics Anonymous. The judge’s ruling, released last Friday,
said claims of a hostile work environment based on reverse
religious discrimination on behalf of all 10 plaintiffs would go to
a jury, but she also dismissed some claims.” (Newsday, 10/4/16)
Canada’s biggest polygamist says he doesn’t favor
legalizing polygamy
“The Canadian government is prosecuting Winston Blackmore
for polygamy… Blackmore has married 27 women and has 145
children… Blackmore, 59, was the bishop for the polygamous
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
[FLDS] in a community within Lister, British Columbia known
as Bountiful. In 2002, the Jeffs family ousted Blackmore. In
what residents there refer to as ‘The Split,’ many of Blackmore’s
parishioners followed him out of the FLDS. He still acts as a
bishop to those who follow him. Blackmore spoke to Sunstone
about his family history. Toward the end of his lecture,
Blackmore addressed the legal action Canada has taken
against him. He was arrested in 2007—handcuffed in front of
his children, he said—on a charge of polygamy. A court later
dismissed the case over concerns of how the special prosecutor
was selected… Blackmore contended Friday that Canada has
changed the definition of common-law marriages in order to
prosecute him. He said that he and his wives have officially
declared themselves ‘friends.’” (Salt Lake Tribune, 08/02/16)
Two polygamous leaders are arrested while awaiting trial
on food-stamp-fraud charges
“Seth Jeffs and John Wayman, two leaders in the
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
[FLDS], were arrested Monday on suspicion of violating the
terms of their release from jail as they await trial in a food-
stamp-fraud case. Seth Jeffs—brother to imprisoned FLDS
leader Warren Jeffs—and John Wayman, a business owner
and former bishop for the polygamous sect, were booked
into Washington County jail after being accused of violating
their pre-trial release conditions, said Melodie Rydalch,
spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Salt Lake City.
The men were ordered to wear GPS ankle monitors and remain
in Utah, though Seth Jeffs was given limited travel release
to South Dakota, where he leads an FLDS congregation.
Rydalch did not say which conditions the men are suspected
of violating. Jail records indicate Seth Jeffs was arrested by
a Washington County sheriff’s deputy, while Wayman was
arrested by a federal agent… Lyle Jeffs, Seth Jeffs, Wayman
and eight others have pleaded not guilty to fraud and money-
laundering charges alleging they diverted at least $12 million
worth of food-stamp benefits from FLDS members in Hildale,
Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., collectively known as Short
Creek. FLDS sect leaders instructed followers to donate
items they bought with their food-stamp cards to a church
warehouse, prosecutors say, then the leaders decided how to
distribute the products among the membership. In addition,
food stamps allegedly were cashed at sect-owned stores
without the users getting anything in return. The money was
then diverted to front companies and used to pay thousands
for a tractor, truck and other items, prosecutors say.” (Salt Lake
Tribune, 08/01/16)
Trial begins for three people facing child-removal charges
“A trial for three people associated with the polygamous [FLDS]
community of Bountiful facing alleged child-related charges
began on Monday in Cranbrook Supreme Court. Brandon
Blackmore, Emily Blackmore and James Oler are all facing one
count of removal of a child from Canada, with each charge
being approved by a special prosecutor in August 2014....
According to a government release, the unlawful removal of
a child from Canada charges were approved following new
information gathered during the investigations in the U.S., with
RCMP receiving a large volume of documentary information
seized by American authorities. Additional charges were
considered, namely, alleged offences of sexual exploitation
however, those charges were not approved after Wilson
determined that the standard was not met.” (Cranbrook Daily
Townsman, 10/24/16)
Minnesota cult leader Victor Barnard sentenced to 30 years
“On Friday, two rape survivors ended Minnesota cult leader
Victor Barnard’s reign. The 55-year-old was sentenced to 30
years in prison for sexually assaulting two women for years.
Barnard was the leader of the River Road Fellowship, an
offshoot Christian sect he founded and transformed into a
cult. The two women who ultimately filed 59 counts of sexual
assault against Barnard were the youngest of ten first-born
daughters, ages 12 to 24, whom Barnard selected to be the
group’s ‘Ten Maidens,’ in 2000. As chaste, exemplar virgins, the
girls lived apart from their families at Barnard’s private camp,
where he secretly raped them for a decade. Barnard pleaded
guilty earlier this month on two counts of felony sexual assault
and agreed to 30 years in a plea deal. The final sentencing
hearing on Friday ended four months of U.S. court proceedings,
following Barnard’s capture in Brazil, and allowed the two
survivors to read statements describing the impact Barnard’s
crimes had on their lives. …Defense attorney Marsh Halberg,
who represented Barnard with Dave Risk, said that if Barnard
complies with conditions, which include sex counseling, he
could serve only two-thirds of the sentence—about 17 to 18
years. ‘He really did want to spare everybody—the victims,
the church, the community,’ Halberg said, acknowledging that
other people considered Barnard’s decision to not enter a trial
as martyrdom. ‘I appreciate that they don’t see it that way. He
didn’t want to put people through it.’ Pine County attorney
Reese Frederickson said he shortened his own argument to let
the women’s powerful statements speak for themselves. ‘The
sentencing brings closure for the victims and the community,’
he said. ‘Justice was served.’” (New York Magazine, 10/28/16)
A fringe Hindu group suspected in the deaths of Indian
secularists
Abhay Vartak aspires to live in a divine kingdom in which
everyone is truthful and virtuous, leaving no room for violence
or crime. Justice would be dispensed by a benevolent king,
34
to Long Island, and was terminated when she didn’t. Two
women said they were fired after disclosing they were Catholic
and didn’t want to participate in Onionhead. The judge said
Onionhead’s approach—‘chants and prayers, mentions of
God, transcendence, and souls, and the strong emphasis on
spirituality’—compared to other ‘non-traditional’ belief systems
courts have found to be tantamount to religion, such as
Alcoholics Anonymous. The judge’s ruling, released last Friday,
said claims of a hostile work environment based on reverse
religious discrimination on behalf of all 10 plaintiffs would go to
a jury, but she also dismissed some claims.” (Newsday, 10/4/16)
Canada’s biggest polygamist says he doesn’t favor
legalizing polygamy
“The Canadian government is prosecuting Winston Blackmore
for polygamy… Blackmore has married 27 women and has 145
children… Blackmore, 59, was the bishop for the polygamous
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
[FLDS] in a community within Lister, British Columbia known
as Bountiful. In 2002, the Jeffs family ousted Blackmore. In
what residents there refer to as ‘The Split,’ many of Blackmore’s
parishioners followed him out of the FLDS. He still acts as a
bishop to those who follow him. Blackmore spoke to Sunstone
about his family history. Toward the end of his lecture,
Blackmore addressed the legal action Canada has taken
against him. He was arrested in 2007—handcuffed in front of
his children, he said—on a charge of polygamy. A court later
dismissed the case over concerns of how the special prosecutor
was selected… Blackmore contended Friday that Canada has
changed the definition of common-law marriages in order to
prosecute him. He said that he and his wives have officially
declared themselves ‘friends.’” (Salt Lake Tribune, 08/02/16)
Two polygamous leaders are arrested while awaiting trial
on food-stamp-fraud charges
“Seth Jeffs and John Wayman, two leaders in the
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
[FLDS], were arrested Monday on suspicion of violating the
terms of their release from jail as they await trial in a food-
stamp-fraud case. Seth Jeffs—brother to imprisoned FLDS
leader Warren Jeffs—and John Wayman, a business owner
and former bishop for the polygamous sect, were booked
into Washington County jail after being accused of violating
their pre-trial release conditions, said Melodie Rydalch,
spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Salt Lake City.
The men were ordered to wear GPS ankle monitors and remain
in Utah, though Seth Jeffs was given limited travel release
to South Dakota, where he leads an FLDS congregation.
Rydalch did not say which conditions the men are suspected
of violating. Jail records indicate Seth Jeffs was arrested by
a Washington County sheriff’s deputy, while Wayman was
arrested by a federal agent… Lyle Jeffs, Seth Jeffs, Wayman
and eight others have pleaded not guilty to fraud and money-
laundering charges alleging they diverted at least $12 million
worth of food-stamp benefits from FLDS members in Hildale,
Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., collectively known as Short
Creek. FLDS sect leaders instructed followers to donate
items they bought with their food-stamp cards to a church
warehouse, prosecutors say, then the leaders decided how to
distribute the products among the membership. In addition,
food stamps allegedly were cashed at sect-owned stores
without the users getting anything in return. The money was
then diverted to front companies and used to pay thousands
for a tractor, truck and other items, prosecutors say.” (Salt Lake
Tribune, 08/01/16)
Trial begins for three people facing child-removal charges
“A trial for three people associated with the polygamous [FLDS]
community of Bountiful facing alleged child-related charges
began on Monday in Cranbrook Supreme Court. Brandon
Blackmore, Emily Blackmore and James Oler are all facing one
count of removal of a child from Canada, with each charge
being approved by a special prosecutor in August 2014....
According to a government release, the unlawful removal of
a child from Canada charges were approved following new
information gathered during the investigations in the U.S., with
RCMP receiving a large volume of documentary information
seized by American authorities. Additional charges were
considered, namely, alleged offences of sexual exploitation
however, those charges were not approved after Wilson
determined that the standard was not met.” (Cranbrook Daily
Townsman, 10/24/16)
Minnesota cult leader Victor Barnard sentenced to 30 years
“On Friday, two rape survivors ended Minnesota cult leader
Victor Barnard’s reign. The 55-year-old was sentenced to 30
years in prison for sexually assaulting two women for years.
Barnard was the leader of the River Road Fellowship, an
offshoot Christian sect he founded and transformed into a
cult. The two women who ultimately filed 59 counts of sexual
assault against Barnard were the youngest of ten first-born
daughters, ages 12 to 24, whom Barnard selected to be the
group’s ‘Ten Maidens,’ in 2000. As chaste, exemplar virgins, the
girls lived apart from their families at Barnard’s private camp,
where he secretly raped them for a decade. Barnard pleaded
guilty earlier this month on two counts of felony sexual assault
and agreed to 30 years in a plea deal. The final sentencing
hearing on Friday ended four months of U.S. court proceedings,
following Barnard’s capture in Brazil, and allowed the two
survivors to read statements describing the impact Barnard’s
crimes had on their lives. …Defense attorney Marsh Halberg,
who represented Barnard with Dave Risk, said that if Barnard
complies with conditions, which include sex counseling, he
could serve only two-thirds of the sentence—about 17 to 18
years. ‘He really did want to spare everybody—the victims,
the church, the community,’ Halberg said, acknowledging that
other people considered Barnard’s decision to not enter a trial
as martyrdom. ‘I appreciate that they don’t see it that way. He
didn’t want to put people through it.’ Pine County attorney
Reese Frederickson said he shortened his own argument to let
the women’s powerful statements speak for themselves. ‘The
sentencing brings closure for the victims and the community,’
he said. ‘Justice was served.’” (New York Magazine, 10/28/16)
A fringe Hindu group suspected in the deaths of Indian
secularists
Abhay Vartak aspires to live in a divine kingdom in which
everyone is truthful and virtuous, leaving no room for violence
or crime. Justice would be dispensed by a benevolent king,
34
