The other two former Bikram students
who spoke with Nightline are making
similar accusations. Larissa Anderson said
she was once a devoted disciple and a
member of Bikram’s inner circle until he
“raped me.” She said Bikram’s wife and
children were sleeping upstairs when the
alleged assault took place. She claims
there’s a pattern of vulnerability among
the women he targets. A third woman
asked that her name be withheld. She
claims Bikram raped her three separate
times in 2010. Because she was financially
dependent on Bikram and believed her
career as a yoga teacher was on the line,
she said she kept the alleged rapes to
herself until she agreed to be a part of a
civil suit against him. Mary Shea, the
attorney representing the women, said
that like Anderson and Baughn, Jane Doe
No. 3 did not file any police reports until
several years after the alleged incidents.
The Los Angeles district attorney declined
to bring any criminal charges against
Bikram, so all the current cases are in civil
court. Through their attorneys, Bikram
and his company declined a Nightline
request for an interview and issued a
statement categorically denying the
allegations. It said, “The defendants
strongly dispute the allegations at issue
and intend to vindicate themselves in
court. They do not intend to try this case
in the media.” (ABC News, 2/26/14)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Recent scandals involving yoga franchises
developed by Bikram Choudhury
(Bikram yoga) and John Friend (Anusara
yoga) indicate that even though they call
themselves teachers rather than gurus,
the game remains very much the
same: match a charismatic teacher
with eager and often vulnerable
students, add a touch of human ego,
and just enough mysticism that
students won't question any dodgy
practices too closely. Wait a few
years, then watch the whole thing
end up in court cases and
recriminations.
(Daily Life, 2/5/14)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Former Aum Shinrikyo fugitive Makoto
Hirata, who had turned himself in on New
Year’s Eve 2011 after eluding authorities
for 17 years, was found guilty and
sentenced March 7 to 9 years in prison for
his role in the 1995 kidnapping and
confinement of Tokyo notary Kiyoshi
Kariya and two other crimes. Those crimes
were two bombings in 1995 of a
condominium belonging to university
professor Hiromi Shimada and an Aum
facility in Tokyo, both intended to deflect
suspicion from Aum for other major crimes.
Prosecutors attacked Hirata’s claims of
total lack of foreknowledge, citing the
testimony of two of his superiors in the
cult, Yoshihiro Inoue and Noboru
Nakamura, whose sentences had
previously been finalized. Referring to
those claims, presiding Judge Hiroaki
Saito of the Tokyo District Court said that
Hirata “dutifully performed his roles in
organized crimes he was instructed to
engage in, fully aware of their nature,” and
that Hirata’s decision to participate in
three illegal activities in a short interval
suggests he had no hesitation to commit
the crimes. Judge Saito gave no credit to
Hirata for finally surrendering to the
authorities, saying that “…by staying on
the run for so long [Hirata] caused
nonnegligible consequences to society
and Japan’s legal system.”
The nearly two-month trial marked both
the first time an Aum cultist was tried
under the lay judge system introduced in
2009, and the first time that convicted
criminals on death row were summoned
to testify under this system. (The Japan
Times, 3/7/14)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Actress Michelle Pfeiffer says that when
she first went to Hollywood at the age of
20, she got involved with a “very
controlling” couple who introduced her to
Breatharianism and put her on a diet that
dispensed with food and water and relied
solely on sunlight for nourishment. She
says she realized that she was in a cult
when she helped her husband research a
movie about the Unification Church, in
which he was cast: Both the church and
the Breatharian couple practiced
psychological manipulation. The
Breatharians
were very controlling. I wasn’t living
with them, but I was there a lot, and
they were always telling me I
needed to come more. I had to pay
for all the time I was there, so it was
financially very draining.
(Telegraph, 11/2/13)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Two of the four lawsuits filed against the
Castlewood Treatment Center, a Ballwin,
Missouri eating-disorder clinic accused of
implanting patients with false memories
of ritualistic abuse, have now been
resolved out of court. All four of the
former Castlewood patients in the suits
claimed they were given false memories
of past abuse, Two of the patients claim
the false memories involved satanic
rituals. The Castlewood Treatment Center,
which has denied its therapists created
false memories or used hypnosis, released
a statement confirming that two of the
four cases had been resolved.
Plaintiff’s attorney Kenneth Vuylsteke says
he can’t discuss the settled cases but that
in the two pending cases patients were
misled to believe they had a dark past.
“During the course of hypnosis as well as
the time they were given psychotropic
drugs, they had implanted in their
memory false memories of abuse that
really did not occur,”Vuylsteke says. He
added that “These two patients at
Castlewood had false memories of sexual
abuse implanted in their minds by this
therapy that’s employed, mainly through
the hypnotic-type state that they’re [sic]
induced. (CBS St. Louis, 12/17/13)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Church of Bible Understanding (COBU)
leader Stuart Traill, an eccentric since high
school, dropped out of Lehigh College
when, after persuading US Steel and
General Electric to donate parts for a
cyclotron he said he’d build, his professors
realized he really had very little scientific
knowledge. When he became a father, he
decided there was a higher power, and
chose to become a Christian, although he
was convinced that his co-religionists
misinterpreted the Bible. Saying that the
Bible was written in a code only he could
understand, he preached his version of
the Gospel on street corners in Greenwich
Village, focusing on repentance,
retribution, grace, and forgiveness. His
followers, from the 1970s, could be found
in many cities around the country. At
meetings, he gave brutal and relentless
critiques of attendees, former members
say. He bullied followers to continue their
self-criticism and mutual bashing when
he wasn’t there, saying their salvation
depended on it. A former assistant said
Traill was a “master manipulator” and a
genius at using the weakness of others
against them. The clinical coordinator of
Ohio’s Wellspring Retreat and Resource
Center for cult victims says Traill is
one of those rare people leading a
group like this who is not terribly
VOLUME 5 |NUMBER 2 |2014 29
who spoke with Nightline are making
similar accusations. Larissa Anderson said
she was once a devoted disciple and a
member of Bikram’s inner circle until he
“raped me.” She said Bikram’s wife and
children were sleeping upstairs when the
alleged assault took place. She claims
there’s a pattern of vulnerability among
the women he targets. A third woman
asked that her name be withheld. She
claims Bikram raped her three separate
times in 2010. Because she was financially
dependent on Bikram and believed her
career as a yoga teacher was on the line,
she said she kept the alleged rapes to
herself until she agreed to be a part of a
civil suit against him. Mary Shea, the
attorney representing the women, said
that like Anderson and Baughn, Jane Doe
No. 3 did not file any police reports until
several years after the alleged incidents.
The Los Angeles district attorney declined
to bring any criminal charges against
Bikram, so all the current cases are in civil
court. Through their attorneys, Bikram
and his company declined a Nightline
request for an interview and issued a
statement categorically denying the
allegations. It said, “The defendants
strongly dispute the allegations at issue
and intend to vindicate themselves in
court. They do not intend to try this case
in the media.” (ABC News, 2/26/14)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Recent scandals involving yoga franchises
developed by Bikram Choudhury
(Bikram yoga) and John Friend (Anusara
yoga) indicate that even though they call
themselves teachers rather than gurus,
the game remains very much the
same: match a charismatic teacher
with eager and often vulnerable
students, add a touch of human ego,
and just enough mysticism that
students won't question any dodgy
practices too closely. Wait a few
years, then watch the whole thing
end up in court cases and
recriminations.
(Daily Life, 2/5/14)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Former Aum Shinrikyo fugitive Makoto
Hirata, who had turned himself in on New
Year’s Eve 2011 after eluding authorities
for 17 years, was found guilty and
sentenced March 7 to 9 years in prison for
his role in the 1995 kidnapping and
confinement of Tokyo notary Kiyoshi
Kariya and two other crimes. Those crimes
were two bombings in 1995 of a
condominium belonging to university
professor Hiromi Shimada and an Aum
facility in Tokyo, both intended to deflect
suspicion from Aum for other major crimes.
Prosecutors attacked Hirata’s claims of
total lack of foreknowledge, citing the
testimony of two of his superiors in the
cult, Yoshihiro Inoue and Noboru
Nakamura, whose sentences had
previously been finalized. Referring to
those claims, presiding Judge Hiroaki
Saito of the Tokyo District Court said that
Hirata “dutifully performed his roles in
organized crimes he was instructed to
engage in, fully aware of their nature,” and
that Hirata’s decision to participate in
three illegal activities in a short interval
suggests he had no hesitation to commit
the crimes. Judge Saito gave no credit to
Hirata for finally surrendering to the
authorities, saying that “…by staying on
the run for so long [Hirata] caused
nonnegligible consequences to society
and Japan’s legal system.”
The nearly two-month trial marked both
the first time an Aum cultist was tried
under the lay judge system introduced in
2009, and the first time that convicted
criminals on death row were summoned
to testify under this system. (The Japan
Times, 3/7/14)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Actress Michelle Pfeiffer says that when
she first went to Hollywood at the age of
20, she got involved with a “very
controlling” couple who introduced her to
Breatharianism and put her on a diet that
dispensed with food and water and relied
solely on sunlight for nourishment. She
says she realized that she was in a cult
when she helped her husband research a
movie about the Unification Church, in
which he was cast: Both the church and
the Breatharian couple practiced
psychological manipulation. The
Breatharians
were very controlling. I wasn’t living
with them, but I was there a lot, and
they were always telling me I
needed to come more. I had to pay
for all the time I was there, so it was
financially very draining.
(Telegraph, 11/2/13)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Two of the four lawsuits filed against the
Castlewood Treatment Center, a Ballwin,
Missouri eating-disorder clinic accused of
implanting patients with false memories
of ritualistic abuse, have now been
resolved out of court. All four of the
former Castlewood patients in the suits
claimed they were given false memories
of past abuse, Two of the patients claim
the false memories involved satanic
rituals. The Castlewood Treatment Center,
which has denied its therapists created
false memories or used hypnosis, released
a statement confirming that two of the
four cases had been resolved.
Plaintiff’s attorney Kenneth Vuylsteke says
he can’t discuss the settled cases but that
in the two pending cases patients were
misled to believe they had a dark past.
“During the course of hypnosis as well as
the time they were given psychotropic
drugs, they had implanted in their
memory false memories of abuse that
really did not occur,”Vuylsteke says. He
added that “These two patients at
Castlewood had false memories of sexual
abuse implanted in their minds by this
therapy that’s employed, mainly through
the hypnotic-type state that they’re [sic]
induced. (CBS St. Louis, 12/17/13)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Church of Bible Understanding (COBU)
leader Stuart Traill, an eccentric since high
school, dropped out of Lehigh College
when, after persuading US Steel and
General Electric to donate parts for a
cyclotron he said he’d build, his professors
realized he really had very little scientific
knowledge. When he became a father, he
decided there was a higher power, and
chose to become a Christian, although he
was convinced that his co-religionists
misinterpreted the Bible. Saying that the
Bible was written in a code only he could
understand, he preached his version of
the Gospel on street corners in Greenwich
Village, focusing on repentance,
retribution, grace, and forgiveness. His
followers, from the 1970s, could be found
in many cities around the country. At
meetings, he gave brutal and relentless
critiques of attendees, former members
say. He bullied followers to continue their
self-criticism and mutual bashing when
he wasn’t there, saying their salvation
depended on it. A former assistant said
Traill was a “master manipulator” and a
genius at using the weakness of others
against them. The clinical coordinator of
Ohio’s Wellspring Retreat and Resource
Center for cult victims says Traill is
one of those rare people leading a
group like this who is not terribly
VOLUME 5 |NUMBER 2 |2014 29
