On April 28, Valeska Paris and two other Australian former Scientology Sea Org workers, Gawain and Laura Baxter, filed a new labor trafficking lawsuit against David Miscavige and the Church of Scientology, alleging that they had been forced into hard labor and harrowing punishments while still only children.
Then, on Thursday, Tracey McManus at the Tampa Bay Times revealed that in 2019, Valeska had approached the Clearwater Police Department with the same allegations, looking for a criminal prosecution of Scientology officials. McManus had obtained a copy of the Clearwater PD report, which indicated that the department hit a stone wall when it asked the state attorney’s office for a subpoena to compel Scientology to turn over Valeska’s files, which, she said, would corroborate her allegations.
As any Scientologist will tell you, the organization builds up huge files about every parishioner, and those files should contain such things as “Knowledge Reports” that Valeska remembers writing.
McManus compared the situation to the lawsuit filed by Laura DeCrescenzo, which we covered so closely here from 2013 to 2018. DeCrescenzo was also a former Sea Org worker who was alleging abuse, and that she had been forced to have an abortion by the church. She won a court order to have her files turned over to her, and Scientology went all the way to the US Supreme Court trying to fight it. But their petitions were denied, and ultimately the church had to turn over Laura’s files, which contained horrific material backing up her allegations.
Valeska wasn’t so fortunate. In her case the state attorney refused the Clearwater PD’s request to issue a subpoena, and when the police department asked Scientology to turn over Valeska’s files anyway, they were told by Scientology’s Sarah Heller that no such files existed.
Now, we’ve obtained a copy of the full police file from Clearwater PD, which not only describes this investigative process more fully, but also includes the full 32-page legal declaration that Valeska submitted to the police in 2019.
There’s a lot of material here, covering a large number of years and numerous locations, and some of it may be familiar. We first interviewed Valeska about her years in Scientology’s Sea Org and on its cruise ship the Freewinds for the Village Voice in 2011. Other parts have showed up in reporting at the Tampa Bay Times, such as the story of Don Jason’s escape from the ship.
But taken as a whole, Valeska’s declaration is a devastating portrait of indentured servitude in an organization that has little regard for children or families. Even so, as you’ll see the police department decided that her allegations described events that were too far in the past to prosecute, and closed the case. Now, she and the Baxters have taken a different approach, suing the church in federal court.
What follows are the narrative portions of the entire police file. Valeska’s name has been redacted by the police, as well as some others. We have redacted a few more after consulting a legal adviser. Also, any links to other stories were added by us and did not appear in the original report.
OK, so here goes.
The case is initiated on April 29, 2019…
SYNOPSIS OF EVENT: Of a course of time from the 1980s to 2010, [redacted] was a member of the Church of Scientology. She advised she was born into the Church, and during her time she alleged to have been a victim of child abuse through hard labor and mental abuse. She further alleged to have been trafficked by David Miscavige when he ordered her to the Freewinds Ship for 11 years.
INVESTIGATIVE ACTION TAKEN: In the Spring of 2019, I received a call from [redacted] who advised that she grew up in the Church of Scientology and during her childhood, she stated that she experienced child abuse in the form of hard labor and mental abuse by many members of her Church. In 2010 she left the Church of Scientology, and is now working with an attorney on a civil case. She advised that she resides in Australia, and it would be difficult to meet in person. Her Attorney, Graham Berry emailed me a declaration authored by [redacted].
On 09/24/2019, I received a declaration from attorney Graham Berry who is representing [redacted]. The document was put together by the attorney but voiced by the victim in this case who is alleging that she is a victim of labor trafficking and child abuse during her time as a child at the church of Scientology.
Much of the declaration talks about her entire experience in Scientology.
This report is only concerned with her time in Scientology while in the City of Clearwater.
The declaration authored by [redacted] states that in July of 1992 [redacted] was 14 years of age. She claimed that while she was a member of the Church of Scientology, in the City of Clearwater, she joined the Sea Org and she was made to go to classes and work 7 days a week from 0600 to 2230 hours. She alleged that the living facilities were filthy and that bugs were everywhere. According to [redacted] some of her laborious tasks were to clean the Fort Harrison Hotel, and dumpsters with no protective gear from the harmful chemicals. She was then moved to another post where she alleged to have worked 7 days a week and from 0800-0000 hours. [Redacted] advised that she was paid $50.00 a week for her time.
According to [redacted] when she was 15-16 years old, she claimed a boy her age [redacted] picked her up from behind and rubbed his clothed penis against her crotch. She advised he did this for 10 minutes each time, and that she froze. She advised she never reported this to anyone, as in her organization anything that happens to her is her fault and she would get punished. [Redacted] stated that [redacted] did the same thing to another girl and she reported it. Nothing happened to [redacted] according to [redacted].
According to [redacted] this concluded her time in Clearwater, Florida as she was relocated to the Scientology Cruise Ship called the Freewinds.
The complete declaration of [redacted]:
DECLARATION OF [redacted]
“I, [redacted] hereby declare and state as follows:
1. I have personal knowledge of the matters set forth herein and, if called upon to do so, I could and would testify thereto under oath as follows:
2. I am a former member of the Church of Scientology (“the Church of Scientology”). As a child and then as an adult in the Church, I was subjected to child abuse, sexual abuse, human trafficking, imprisonment and other wrongful conduct.
3. I am going to describe what occurred to me from the beginning of my time in the Church because it shaped who I became, and why I did nothing effective about the sexual abuse I endured at the Church in Florida, as well as other child abuse and human trafficking, which I contend is an epidemic in Scientology. Why have you heard nothing about it? Because most of us didn’t even know that touching a child sexually is illegal. Notwithstanding, sexual, physical, and mental abuse, often in children, is an everyday occurrence in Scientology. It is also in the Church teachings to cover it up upon the belief it will get fixed with Scientology.
4. We are also taught to protect the Church because not doing so will destroy mankind’s only hope for salvation and reporting a Scientologist will get us expelled and ex-communicated from all that we have ever known. If that happened, we would lose our eternity as promised by Scientology.
5. My story is just one of thousands of children in the Church’s Sea Organization (“the Sea Org”). The Sea Org is a paramilitary group within the Church. The Sea Org is compromised of the most dedicated Scientologists. All the Church’s management organizations are controlled by members of the Sea Org. They are also the Church’s ministers.
BACKGROUND
6. I was in Scientology for 32 years. I was born in Geneva Switzerland. When I was 6 years old my parents divorced, and it was decided that my sister, brother and I would go to the Sea Organization’s “Cadet Org” with the intention that when we completed the Cadet Org program, we would then join the adult Sea Organization. This is the paramilitary section of Scientology.
7. This is the Church’s branch that runs and operates Scientology. We were forced to sign billion-year contracts were separated from our families and lived and worked communally with other Sea Org members. We were provided for by the Sea Organization. We were housed, clothed and fed by the Sea Org, and our parents signed over their parental rights to the Sea Org. After that, the Sea Org and its employees became our parents. They groomed our thoughts, opinions and conduct according to the policies, practices and procedures of L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology.
8. Our adolescent schooling was minimal, and a higher education was out of the question. Our main schooling was studying Scientology. We were segregated from the outside world and we learned nothing about the laws of the land. In fact, we were taught to fear governments and police. We were taught not to speak to them. We were also taught who our enemies are, and that is any person or any organization who or which opposes or criticizes Scientology. This was all covered by written Scientology policies, procedures and practices and is executed by all Scientologists and Sea Org members.
9. In short, I did not comprehend that many of the things that I was taught by the Church were wrong until after I had left the Church and the bubble within it.
MY LIFE WITHIN SCIENTOLOGY
10. In September of 1984 my entire family went to England to join the Sea Org. I was age six, my sister was age four, and my brother was age two. Our Dad (who still had custody of us at the time) brought us in to the Church in England. Our mother was standing outside with two men standing next to her. They were dressed in Sea Org uniforms. Our mother was in tears. She told us she was going to go to the Canteen to get a cup of hot chocolate and that she’d be right back. Then she walked off escorted by the two men in the Sea Org uniforms. She never returned and never said goodbye to us.
11. We were then stuffed in the back of a minivan with my dad. The driver turned the engine on and the little bus started driving away without my mom. I became hysterical and was screaming for my mom. But the minivan just kept driving away.
12. Eventually, we arrived at Stonelands, an old rundown mansion. We spoke no English, only French. We were hauled into a big dining room and told to line up for dinner. There were many other kids there, all ages from newborn babies to around fourteen. They were dirty and alone. They were called “Cadets,” a mini military section of the Sea Org for children of the Sea Org. However, due to Church policy, all the children were treated like adults and their sole purpose was to come of age and become full Sea Org members.
13. After dinner we were all put on a single bed with my dad in a dorm. The bed sheets stunk like pee. There was no heating and many of the windows were broken, so no matter what we did we were never warm. I threw up that entire night from the pain I felt at the loss of my mom.
14. The next day my father started in the Sea Org. His schedule was 8 am – midnight, seven days a week. We were also put to work; cleaning the huge house with pure bleach, de-weeding in the back and front courtyards, washing pots and dishes. That was the start of my new life in the Cadet Org.
15. We were also looking after the babies in the Cadet Org, changing their diapers and spending time with them. I was still only six years old myself. I was not of age and I was not qualified to be watching babies. However, the Sea Org, and Scientology in general, view children as adults in children’s bodies. Scientologists believe in past-lives and that children have lived very many previous lifetimes. So, children are considered to be ‘big beings in little bodies.’
16. I learned early that emotions were not acceptable. The first day I was crying because I was missing my mom. I was yelled at. I was told to knock it off and to stop “dramatizing.” If I continued this emotion I would be further penalized. At night I’d do headstands on my bunk and refuse to go to bed in protest. No one talked to me or consoled m. Instead I was hauled out of bed, physically dragged to the galley, and punished by having to wash huge pots for several hours. I’d be working with the Rehabilitation Project Force (the “RPF”) and specifically a red headed man. He had been on the RPF for seven years. I was six years old. This went on for two months, every single night, because I was doing head stands on my bed in protest.
17. From the first couple of years we could see our father for an hour a day. Then David Miscavige (the head of the Church) cancelled “family time” because it was a distraction to doing the job of Scientology and the purpose of the Sea Org, which is to “clear the planet.” That means to make most of the world Scientologists.
18. As part of our daily life, we would be put on the E meter, (Scientology’s lie detector) and asked questions about things we might be withholding from our Scientology superiors including anything sexual. This starts at the age of six. We were all required to do ‘confessional’ auditing on the E meter. Sexual questions were asked of us all. This is all written down in our ‘PC folders’ and recorded.
19. Another pre-emptive disciplinary action is writing down all the bad things that we had done which was then read by an adult. If you were found guilty of Scientology “Crimes” you were assigned a “Condition” (as in the military). For example, a condition of “enemy” or “liability,” where you would have to do specific remedial steps to get out of the condition. These would include telling other members what you did, “I told a friend I missed my mother,” to “I had bad thoughts about Scientology.” This would result in your having to make up the damage you did to the group and then you had to be accepted back into the group, after you had done a period of hard labor. In Scientology you are taught that anything other than being loyal to the group is ‘counter intention’ to the group’s purpose.
20. Emotion is considered bad and if you are not acting like a Nazi youth, with no emotion or empathy, you are dealt with swiftly or promptly. We were all drilled on how not to show emotion. We are taught how not to react to sexual predators but to see them as people who are just “aberrated” and who will eventually get help and be “handled” with Scientology.
21. In Scientology a “drill” is a method of training were a person does a lesson or procedure repeatedly in order to perfect the skill or master the lesson. Many of the drills are called ‘Training Routines,’ or ‘TR’s for short. All Scientologists and Sea Org members are required to do TR’s. One of the issues with these drills is that it is the grooming which clears the way for subsequent sexual and physical abuse.
22. Part of the culture of Scientology is that you are not allowed to report anything to authorities outside of the Church (e.g. the FBI). To do so is as bad as committing murder, and we knew that very well. We also knew that if we crossed Scientology we could be expelled from the Church and we would lose our parents to the Church’s “disconnection” practices. In Scientology, unconditional love does not exist to anyone but L. Ron Hubbard. L. Ron Hubbard was the founder of Scientology and claimed to be the author of all its written policies, practices and procedures.
23. Scientologists call the outside world and its people ‘Wogs.’ The outside justice system is called “Wog Law.” Generally, Scientologists, and especially the Sea Org, consider themselves to be above “Wog Law.” The same with the medical profession because, Scientology processing is believed to “handle” all mental and physical conditions. As children, when we got sick, we didn’t go to the doctor. We were left at home alone. I would get sick once a year, throwing up for 4 days straight. No doctors. I also got the mumps and we would be given vitamins as per L. Ron Hubbard’s policies. We were also given niacin at a young age with no medical oversight by professionals. I almost overdosed on it. This was another Hubbard policy.
24. There were also physical beatings on a regular basis as well as sexual abuse. Too many to document. One example concerns a man called Bo. he was one of our caretakers and his job was to look after the babies up to the age of two. One day me and some other Cadet girls saw him masturbating right in front of us in the boy’s dorm on one of the boy’s beds. We went and reported it to a Sea Org member named Dominique Feldmesser. She yelled at us and told us it was “normal.” It later was found that he was having two-year-olds touch his penis. He would get them to get naked and do the motion of having sex on top of each other. His justification was that it was sex education. This was never reported to the authorities. He was just kicked out of the Sea Org and let loose to cause harm in the world undetected. This is standard practice for Scientology; to kick out members but not report crimes to the Wog (civilian) authorities. This way, Scientology doesn’t have bad Public Relations.
25. When I was around eleven years old there was a man in his early 20’s who was leaving the Sea Org. He would come along and hang out with Cadet girls. As part of his leaving requirements, he had to undergo a ‘confessional’ interrogation on the E Meter. One day security was looking for him and he asked to get into a bed under the covers with him and lie on top of him so that he was hidden. I did. I was there for about 20 minutes. He was lying on his back. He had apparently confessed to something in his Scientology counselling because as a result, I was taken to Saint Hill and interrogated for four hours by a Sea Org male named Tony Langley who was about eighteen years old. Tony interrogated me and wanted to know if I had had sex with this man. I was accused of having sexual intercourse with this man. However, this was never reported to the Wog (civilian) authorities.
26. When I was 12-13 years old, a guy named [redacted] got in trouble for being a ‘Peeping Tom’ and watching Sea Org women shower. They decided that his punishment was to become one of our caretakers. The first thing [redacted] did was take a bunch of girl Cadets, me included, and got us to ‘get off’ our transgressions including anything sexual. He took a special liking to me and had me in a room by myself with him where I had to write all my transgressions as he looked over my shoulders at what I wrote. It was revealed years later that [redacted] had installed cameras in our girls’ dorms and that he’d watch us change and get off on it. This was never reported to the authorities. He was just kicked out of the Sea Org. His wife went with him and they now both live in France.
27. When I turned 14, I was expected to join the Sea Org in England. There were a couple of other Cadets who refused to join the Sea Org and they were kicked out to the Cadet Org and had to fend for themselves. No parents. One got a job in a fruit shop; another found a guy about ten years older than her. She was fourteen and she went and lived with him. Another girl went back to Switzerland and became a prostitute at age sixteen, to make money. One of my very close friends was homeless so she’d go to bars at night and go home with men to get a hot meal and a bed. One guy ‘beat the crap out of her’ and she ended up in a hospital and pregnant. I didn’t want to be left alone like that.
28. Leaving the Sea Org does not mean you are no longer a Scientologist, but your Scientology parents won’t take you in if you leave the Sea Org under unfavorable terms. Your family is tarnished in Scientology if your family member leaves and to avoid any tarnishing, the Scientology family will choose Scientology before their own family members. My parents were also both in the Sea Org at this point and the Sea Org is considered the most important thing in the world. Certainly, more important than your own child if that child is “out ethics” and doesn’t want to join the Sea Org. Both of my parents were in the Sea Org and I felt completely trapped; I didn’t want to end up on the streets and I didn’t want to go back to England.
29. In July 1992 I was fourteen years of age and I had no choice but to join the Sea Org which took me to Scientology’s Mecca which is called ‘Flag’ and is located in Clearwater, Florida. I no longer went to school. I was doing introductory Scientology training courses. My Scientology schedule was 6 am to 10:30 pm, 7 days a week. I lived in a cockroach ridden room with other girls. The showers were full of mildew. My sister and brother went back to England and I had no contact with them. I also had no contact with my dad, which I was used to at this point.
30. At ‘Flag’ in Clearwater we did laborious jobs cleaning hotel rooms for “public” (civilian) Scientologists staying at the Scientology hotel, cleaning bedrooms, and the Fort Harrison Hotel. We were also required to clean out the dumpsters with no proper equipment to protect us from harmful chemicals or diseases. After a full day of work, we were then required to do five hours a day studying Hubbard’s written policies. I was part of what is called the Estates Projects Force (the “EPF”). It was all part of the basic training for the Sea Org.
31. I was then put in the Commodores Messengers Organization (the “CMO”). This was an exclusive group within the Sea Org. The Sea Org members posted to the CMO are L. Ron Hubbard’s most trusted staff. My schedule was 8 am to midnight, seven days a week. No schooling. $50 pay a week for hygiene essentials. Working all night and day is usual for children in the Sea Org. Remember we are ‘adults in little bodies.’
32. My mother escaped the Sea Org one night, without any notice to me. I now had no one, although this too is common practice in the Sea Org. It would send us a message that your parents aren’t really your parents being you never see them, and once you join the Sea Org Scientology becomes your parent. L. Ron Hubbard policies dictate how you think, how you are punished, and that cycle of punishment and reward comes from your Sea Org handlers, caretakers and officials; not your parents.
33. After my basic training for the Commodore’s Messengers Organization, my job became to service the executives of Scientology who came to Clearwater. I did their laundry, cleaning, made their breakfast, and woke them up in the morning. I’d also go into the CB (Clearwater Building) where their offices were and clean the offices. This included David Miscavige who I was scared of as he would scream nonstop at other executives, and a couple of times at me when I was a kid.
34. There was a guy named [redacted] who was in the CMO with me. He was around my age. He was taller than me. I was tiny at that time, about 5’1″. I also weighed about 100 pounds. He was a bit chubby, probably around 160 pounds, he had blonde hair and green eyes. He and I would both have to go into the offices every morning. He was in administration. David Miscavige loved [redacted].
35. When I was 15-16 years old [redacted] would pick me up from behind and lift me up and rub his penis against my crotch. I would tell him to get off and put me down, but I would freeze and had no physical power to stop him. He would go for about 10 mins each time. This went on for three months straight. Why didn’t I report it? We were not taught the words, molestation, rape, paedophilia. At a very early age, we are taught that anything bad that happens to us is our fault. And we are guilty. We are taught that if you say you have been violated, you will get in trouble. You are reprimanded for going “Out-2D.” In Scientology the Second Dynamic deals with the family. Being “Out-2D” means you had sex outside of marriage. In Scientology the words are changed to shame the victim and so you never are to see yourself as a victim but rather someone who did something wrong. Someone who “pulled it in them self” (did something to cause what happened to them). Our only recourse is to write an internal report on the incident (a “Knowledge report”) but doing so would result in the author being investigated and penalized by Scientology’s Ethic Department. Also writing it down would mean everyone who sees your “folders” in Scientology could read what had happened to you and see you as “trouble.”
36. I felt guilty and I was ashamed. Reporting to the civilian (Wog) authorities is labelled a crime in the Scientology and doing so would get me instantly excommunicated. After three months of going through this every morning he went and did it to another girl.
37. However, something did happen to me. I got in trouble for “pulling that in,” for the way I must have looked or acted around him. It was my fault. A couple months later after I had reported [redacted], I was cleaning at the Hacienda and he came in and threw me on the couch and lay on top of me. He had me pinned down and he was aroused – he was right in my face and he told me this girl [redacted] had asked him out and said, “Do you want to know why I haven’t said yes?” I was just telling him to get off me. He then said it’s because he wanted to be with me. He then started rubbing himself against me and I froze. Another Sea Org member named Mark Ginge-Nielson opened the door and came in. As soon as [redacted] heard the door, he jumped off me. Mark asked what we were doing, and [redacted] made up some story. After what happened last time when I made a Knowledge Report, in my mind there was no point. All it would do was get me in trouble, so there was nowhere to go. When I was seventeen, I was told that my mom was attacking Scientology and planning on going to France and Switzerland and suing the Church. My stepdad [redacted] who had been a self-made millionaire, had his fortune fleeced by Scientology was found dead in his room, with a bottle of pills around his bed, by my six-year-old half brother [redacted]. That was the last straw for my mom, and she was going to expose Scientology’s abuses. I was used as a pawn by OSA Flag. OSA is the Office of Special Affairs. They are the attack dogs of Scientology.
38. I was instructed by OSA to call my mom and try to get her to not go on trial. OSA even had me call her in Switzerland the day before she testified to try to get her not to, which I had no idea at the time was obstruction of justice. She testified and my efforts were futile. I was ordered and made to write her a “disconnection” letter which I did do. I was in tears as I had just lost my mom. I was not allowed to ever talk to her again and had to “disconnect” not only with her but my six-year-old brother as he was connected to her and my Swiss grandma who was never even in Scientology. The last time I talked to my mother was 1995 when I was ordered to stop her from testifying in litigation against the Church of Scientology. I was then kicked out of CMO as I was no longer qualified; I now had a mother who was labelled, a “Suppressive Person.”
39. I was then put to work in the service org called ‘Flag Crew.’ I worked in the crew dining room. I would be up until 3 am every morning and have to report to post at 6:30 am every morning, seven days a week; I was there for six months.
40. When I was 18, I was serving in the dining room and a woman from OSA came up to me and told me I was going to the Freewinds (the Scientology cruise ship) for a couple weeks This was because my mom had returned to Florida. David Miscavige (the Church leader) had issued an order to get me out of her reach. I started crying because I didn’t want to go to the Freewinds. I was then put under 24-hour watch.
41. I had to move dorms so my mom couldn’t find me. When I got home to get my stuff from my dorm, I found a white sweater, a photo of my brother [redacted] and a note from my mom saying she loved me. I kept it all and hid it.
42. After about one week of 24-hour watch (which meant never being alone) I was told I’d be going to the Freewinds for about two weeks, or to LA OSA International. David Miscavige hadn’t decided which one yet. I was ordered to pack a suitcase. I reluctantly did. I made sure to pack the photo of [redacted] and the sweater from my mom in my carryon bag.
43. The next morning, I was woken up early in the morning and told to only grab my carryon as my plane was leaving in an hour and I was going to Curaçao. I couldn’t even take my suitcase, only a small carryon. I was escorted all the way to the Freewinds by a Sea Org escort.
44. I vividly remember arriving in Curaçao. I didn’t want to go up that gangway, the guy coaxed me to go up. I felt the same horrible feeling I had felt when I was six. At the gangway my passport, green card and social security card were all confiscated by the Security Guard who was posted at the top of the gangway every time the Ship was docked.
45. I was then escorted to a very small dorm on D-Deck, there were three metal Bunks in a tiny room. The closets were also metal. I was then taken to the Sky Lounge, a public food canteen, and introduced to Captain Mike Napier, an American. I didn’t even say “hi,” all I said is when am I going to back to Flag. He responded that he didn’t know and that’s when it really sunk in that I wasn’t, and I had no way out. No phone, no bank account, no passport and nowhere to go.
46. I’d been in Scientology my entire life and I had no idea how to get off the ship. The guy who escorted me left the next day. I was told that I was restricted to the ship in case my mom came and tried to get me. This is also standard practice in Sea Org. If there is trouble, Sea Org members are taken to different countries, or to the ship, so parents who are looking for their children is made difficult and more importantly out of reach from the authorities. I felt complete and utter despair.
47. The next day a Sea Org member handler was assigned to take me around. She took me to work in the Public restaurant. I said I didn’t want to be there. I wanted to go home. This was refused. I was escorted to the discipline division of the Sea Org and yelled at for being selfish and “off purpose.” As punishment for asking to leave, I was then sent to the Engine Room to do bilge work until I had a “cognition” (realization) that I was messed up for wanting to leave. My complete distress and tears didn’t matter. There was no empathy. I was then put to work on the decks for about a week as punishment.
48. I got yelled at daily for not wanting to be there. It was unacceptable. I was sent to the Captain’s office and he yelled at me with an audience for 15 mins straight at the top of his lungs, telling me that I wasn’t going anywhere. I was then sent to the Restaurant to work there serving Scientology public. I didn’t have a choice
49. My sister was in Sea Org in England, she married at 16 to a guy who was the son of a very wealthy artist. He was a security guard and his name was [redacted]. They came to the Ship for a week to see me. It was December and I had been there over three months restricted to the Ship and still fighting being there. I was even allowed to go ashore one afternoon in Aruba as her husband was Scientology ‘security,’ so he was tasked with keeping an eye on me at all times.
50. The night before my sister left back to England, I lay next to her in her cabin, with a fever. I told her I didn’t want to be there and that I was so miserable. Knowing full well, she might report me. The next morning, she left and right after she departed the ship, I was escorted to Security to the Captain’s office where I was berated and ridiculed for 30 mins straight for not wanting to be there, for being “off purpose” and a bad Sea Org member. This while he had five other Sea Org members there. I just sat there holding back a waterfall of tears. As a Scientologist and Sea Org member, you are trained to hide your emotions, ‘drilled’ to do so in fact and that drilling started at the age of four for me. You are supposed to be tough, loyal and dedicated to the purpose of Scientology. The captain then told me I was being put under 24 hours watch and being put to work ‘on the decks,’ which is where you go when you’re in trouble on the ship; that or the engine room. This is like a military prison.
51. I was on ‘Decks,’ cleaning the ship, under 24-hour watch. There was a radio in front of my room so if I walked out the door security would hear and run down. I was a prisoner. I was on 15 min meal breaks; I had to do deck work and then report to Security and do a write up each day on my realisations of how bad and selfish I was for not wanting to be there. Everyone stopped talking to me. I had 15 mins to shower at the end of the day as well. No phone calls were to be made. I had to put into clay models (another Scientology practice) the ‘Code of a Sea Org member.’ There are about 20 points; one being that I go wherever I’m expected to go in the line of duty.
52. I was then reassigned to washing huge pots and pans all day long with 15 minutes meal breaks, and 15 minutes to shower, and 15 mins to write my ‘realisation’ in front of Security at the end of each day. This went on for 6 months. The way I survived this, and this is also what I did as a child, was to just escape into my mind and daydream all day about being at the beach, or my mom coming and rescuing me. And even the ship sinking so I could get off. My mind was far away, and my body would just mechanically wash pots and just do what I was told. I was of course groomed to turn off any human emotions for fear of being punished.
53. In late June, I was told that David Miscavige was coming to the ship. David Miscavige is Chairman of the Board of the Religious Technology Center (“COB”) and the leader of the Church. I had previously written his wife Shelly Miscavige, who I had been close to, telling her I hated the Freewinds and I wanted to leave. Shelly was also COB’s assistant. I was told that my letter had been destroyed and not sent. But security had seen it. Any mail incoming or outgoing gets read before being delivered or sent. That say if there is anything negative it is stopped.
54. I wrote to COB’s assistant and asked her if I could take a holiday to Chicago to go and see my dad. That was my last attempt at escape. They actually sent her the letter and she contacted Security at Hemet where she worked and had them call Security on the ship to tell me that I couldn’t leave the ship as it was too risky with my mom being in the country. She might locate me and help me leave the Church.
55. At Scientology’s annual Maiden Voyage event, when David Miscavige came to the Ship, he saw me in the hallway on B deck in front of one of the restaurants. He called me over. He said that he had forgotten he had sent me to the ship. He didn’t even remember sending me there. He asked me how I liked it and I said I didn’t for a while, and he was in shock. I just said I was getting used to it now. He then asked me if I was married yet and I said that I wasn’t. Resigned to my fate, I did the best I could and did my job. There were MANY, MANY months where we would stay up until 4 am getting the ship ready for the Maiden Voyage or for something else.
56. When SOLAS (safety of life at Sea) was implemented in 1998 on the Freewinds, they installed sprinklers all over the ship. All of us waitresses, and the cabin cleaners, were on our hands and knees with dustpans and brushes cleaning up the overheads that had been ripped out of the walls by workers. This went on for months, then when it got closer to the Maiden Voyage event it was all night. We had no protection. We didn’t know that there was Blue Asbestos in the overheads that we were inhaling and cleaning with our bare hands. There is a public record of the Blue Asbestos as in 2008 when the ship was getting a full renovation done the local authorities found the blue asbestos and all the Ship Crew and workers had to be evacuated off the ship. Only people in full body suits were allowed on the Ship to clean it all up. The Captain of the ship knew about the blue asbestos and knowingly exposed us to it.
57. When I went back and worked in the Restaurant in late June 1997, I started dating the Security Chief. He was 24. Every week all Sea Org members had to hold ‘the cans’ of the E-Meter with someone on the other end just looking at ‘the needle.’ If the needle is ‘dirty,’ meaning making little erratic movements, you must go and write down all your wrong doings for others to read. Carlos had a dirty needle, so he wrote down what he did with me sexually which was ‘Out 2D’ and violated the rules. I got dragged into the disciplinary division and yelled at and interrogated on what I had done. I was a virgin.
58. Later I was yelled at by a high-ranking executive, Pilar Saldariaga, who told me I had betrayed David Miscavige by doing this as he had sent me to the ship. I wasn’t allowed off the ship. She threatened with assigning me to the RPF and having me to do it on the ship which luckily never happened. The RPF is the Rehabilitation Projects Force. This is a prison camp for “criminal Scientologists.” I was then put in a room and not allowed out until I wrote every single thing I had ever done sexually with Carlos, with every detail. This is something that is read by a lot of people and put in your Scientology files forever.
59. Church policy demands that every Scientologist and sea org member have a file from the moment they can speak (some Scientologists have files from the time in the womb). There are numerous policies on how to maintain these files, and these files are kept and stored throughout your whole Scientology career. Even after your death, your files are kept for when you come back in another life. The Church will then have your files from your previous life. Every confession, every counseling session, and every disciplinary action that was ever taken against you is contained in these files. It is strict Scientology policy that these files and their contents are never to be changed, and nothing can ever be taken out of them. I was so ashamed that I wrote what I did in tiny handwriting so no one could read it. I got yelled at for that and made to do it again in bigger handwriting, which I did.
60. As a result of my confessions I had a disciplinary action. The Church issued what’s called a “Golden Rod.” It contained the details of what I had done sexually with Carlos. It was placed on the ship’s notice board for every single Sea Org Member on the ship to read.
61. Carlos dumped me with a written note. He later changed his mind and wanted to go out with me again. I declined. He got angry and was demanding to know why. I had to encounter him every day being we were on a ship and he was assigned to work where I worked. He constantly demanded an answer of why I didn’t want to be with him anymore and I didn’t want to communicate with him. Then Carlos started getting physical with me. One time I was trying to bring a platter of food out for the public. He grabbed me and stopped me from leaving the galley. He demanded to know why I wouldn’t be with him and wouldn’t let me go without an explanation. I told him to get off me, but he wouldn’t, so someone called Security. Carlos did it again when I was in the restaurant with his direct senior Jose, demanding to know why I wouldn’t be with him. Jose then started pressuring me to talk to Carlos. I lost it and went and started hitting Jose and ripped his T-shirt to shreds which I got in trouble for. The harassment just kept on going, he’d come and whisper in my ear that he knew why I didn’t want to be with him etc. I had nowhere to turn because I was getting in trouble for his actions. I ended up going out with someone else who I didn’t really know and marrying him only after two months; just to avoid being abused every day.
62. Carlos continued to make my life hell by purposely sleeping in every morning, so that we would have to wash all the dishes for him. We reported him. Another girl and I got in big trouble and another “Golden Rod” on the ship’s Notice Board for being bad Sea Org members and causing ‘upsets.’ One night when I was in my cabin by myself, as the guy I had married was off the ship, I woke up in the middle of the night because I couldn’t breathe. I looked at the floor and it was covered in bleach. Carlos had come into my cabin when I was sleeping and poured an entire gallon of bleach onto the floor and then closed the door. I got up and called Security. They came and I had to clean it all up myself. The next day I was put on the E meter. I was interrogated and yelled at for ‘restimulating’ Carlos and for ‘pulling’ that in (causing it to happen). I was disciplined and had to do the Scientology ‘steps’ of making up the damage for my actions.
63. Ten years later I found out from a girl I was working with that Carlos was a paedophile. She had read his ‘files.’ When his sister was 14 years old and he was about 19 years old, he had made her have sex with him repeatedly for at least a year. It only stopped when she refused to let him continue. Carlos was not reported to the civilian (“Wog”) authorities, not even by his parents. The whole family just joined the Sea Org.
64. Around 1998/1999, the middle son of the Captain of the ship came up to me. He asked me if I could give him a Scientology ‘assist’ as he had a sore back. I said sure. He took me to the office and locked the door. He said he had found a really good way to crack your back and he was going to show me. I was a waitress and I was wearing a skirt. He pulled my skirt up pulled his pants down, and picked me up. He rubbed his penis against my crotch. There was only underwear between us, and he kept on going till he had an orgasm. I didn’t even fight him. I just froze. I couldn’t believe he was doing that. He was my friend. When he was done, he asked me to hold him and I said no. He let me go. I thought it was my fault and all that went through my head was what did I do to “pull this in?” I went and called my husband on the phone who was off the ship in Australia. My husband was completely nonchalant about it and just told me to write a report. He wasn’t outraged or angry at all. I wrote the report, and nothing happened. He was the Captain’s son and the captain protected his three sons. However, I got in trouble for having done something to make him feel he needed to do what he had done to me. A couple of months later it was found out that he was having sex in the bathroom with a girl named [redacted] She was sent to LA to do the RPF and he left the Sea Org. He was never reported to the authorities for what he did to me.
65. In about 2003 I became a counsellor in the Sea Org. I would ‘audit’ people on the E-meter. My job was to ‘audit’ Sea Org members. A Scientology ‘auditor’ functions like a therapist. There are countless incidents where I would ‘audit’ guys and have ‘pull’ and get details of transgressions they had committed where they masturbated and thought about sleeping with me. I’d have to ‘pull’ every detail of their fantasies with me and just sit there without reacting. If I reacted, I’d get in big trouble. If I didn’t ‘pull’ every detail again, I’d also get in big trouble. One guy, who was about 20 years my senior, wanted to leave the Sea Org and the highest person on the ship, Lurie Belotte, made me ‘audit’ him. I had to ask him question on bad things he had done, while using the E-meter. He started talking about masturbating and his fantasies about sleeping with me. He was intense. I had to video everything and send it to people to watch. I had to show absolutely no emotion and ‘pull’ all the details. When I was done, I went and told the person that had made me audit him that I didn’t want to do it. I was in tears about it because it was way worse than what I was used to. I got yelled at and told to ‘get my TR’s (Training Routines) in’ (i.e., get my emotions under control).
66. To get rid of my emotions I then had to have someone in front of me for hours sexually taunt me while I just sat there without reacting. I had to ‘drill’ being okay with listening to sexually explicit material being directed at me until I no longer reacted to it. This is the grooming that starts very early on in Scientology. I was then forced to ‘audit’/counsel him. This daily sexual assault went on for months.
67. When you counsel someone on the E-meter, the thing you are looking for is what is called a ‘floating needle.’ A ‘floating needle’ means the subject you were talking about is ‘clean’ and you can end that ‘session’ of the day. I wanted the ‘sessions’ to end so I pretended that he had a ‘floating needle’ on all the end rudiment questions, which are the questions you ask at the end of a ‘Confessional’ to ensure nothing is missed. So, I miscalled about six ‘floating needles.’ It was caught on video camera, so I got in huge trouble and I was assigned the ethics ‘condition’ of ‘Treason’ for a false report. I was yelled at, disciplined, and forced to audit him again.
68. Every auditing ‘session’ in Scientology around the world for every Scientologist (public or Sea Org) is videoed and watched. In this case, I had to video each session and send it to be watched by about four people dialing including the Captain of the ship, to make sure I did a perfect job and didn’t miscall any other ‘floating needles.’ I audited him for total of about 4/5 months on a daily basis. By the end I was numb.
69. In 2004, David Miscavige came to the Freewinds and I was on his ‘service lines.’ I had a cold sore and he saw it. I got taken off his lines for that and in big trouble. My cold sore was seen as evil towards David and Shelly Miscavige. I was then interrogated on the E meter to find out what my ‘evil intentions’ were towards David and his wife. After that incident I was sent off the ship during every Maiden Voyage event, so that David Miscavige wouldn’t have to see me, which was great!
70. In 2006 I was sent to Los Angeles, CA., to look after an audit of Rolf, a Church Security Guard who had been diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer. I had to sleep on the floor on a fold out bed in his room at City of Hope, which was a facility for people with stage 4 cancer. It was miserable and depressing and heartbreaking. I audited Rolf and I couldn’t make him better even though I was using Scientology procedures which are supposed to fix everything physical and mental. Rolf and I became really good friends. I was there for him until the end. I then went back to the Ship which I didn’t want to do but I had no choice.
71. At this time, I divorced my Sea Org husband. I also got in trouble for doing this. Because I initiated the divorce, I was disciplined for distracting him from making money. I had one week to get through our marriage counselling, or I would get a Committee of Evidence (like a military court martial). I was assigned the condition of ‘Treason,’ not only with my Organisation but to the International Association of Scientologists (the “IAS”) which is the Church organization which makes the most money for Scientology. I was blamed for [redacted] not making enough money and I had to read every ‘Flag Order’ written by L. Ron Hubbard on how to behave as an officer. Lurie Belotte also ripped the bars off my uniform shoulders. I didn’t get the shoulder bars back for about six months.
72. In 2006, a guy was sent to the ship. His name was Steve Varell. He was the ‘Flag Landlord’ and he was responsible for all the renovations at the Flag Land Base. However, David Miscavige was sick of him and discarded him to the Ship. Steve was 24 years older than me. He, I and a girl named Ines became really good friends. I liked Steve because I could talk to him about anything and he never reported me to management for my thoughts or comments.
73. One day Steve gave me a note in which he basically said he loved me. Every letter going off and, on the ship, gets read. So was his. I never got the letter. However, it got me in huge trouble and I was put on the E meter and interrogated. I had no sleep for 48 hours and Alma and me were both sent to work in the ship’s engine room even though the Ship’s doctor said “no.” Alma was sent with me because she had been working with me and she didn’t catch my “bad indicators” and report me.
74. Steve and I were under a separation order which was plastered on the ship’s Notice Board for everyone to see. We were also under a Committee of Evidence which is a very heavy disciplinary action. This too was plastered on the ship’s Notice Board. Then I was placed under a Scientology gag order. It’s called a ‘non-enturbulation’ order. If I ‘upset’ anyone, they were instructed to write a report on me. If I got too many reports while under a ‘non-enturbulation’ order, I could be kicked out and declared a ‘Suppressive Person’ which means I would lose my dad, my brother, and all the Scientologists I knew. These were the only people I knew. I’d have nowhere to go.
75. On a daily basis there were about 20 reports written on me. These reports were also from men who I had apparently “restimulated” with my presence, my body or my face. Meaning if any guy wanted to have sex with me or thoughts about me, I had done something to provoke (“restimulate”) those thoughts in them. I was literally painted with the scarlet letter, I was made out to be a charlatan, a complete whore. All this despite the fact that I had had sex with only man in my life, and that man had been my husband.
76. At the time we were sleep deprived, getting an average of two to three hours of sleep a night. We were being forced to sell Basic Scientology books all night long. I was being shunned on the ship because I had been labelled ‘trouble’ with the public statements on Golden Rod for all to see on the ship’s Notice Board. I also had to audit people all day and keeping my eyes open was torture. All this while being watched for any wrong conduct.
77. One day I was walking in the hallway and Lurie Belotte, (the highest ranked person on the ship) asked me if I was the reason Steve had moved out of his room and into a dorm. I just said yes, I didn’t want a scene in front of half of the ship’s crew who were on the phones trying to sell Scientology books to “public” Scientologists. Lurie yelled at me and ordered me to go to the engine room for 48 hours straight. I refused and Lurie had a girl named Tracy physically escort me to my dorm to change clothes. Tracy said she’d carry me to the Engine Room if I didn’t go, so I went. I was ordered to work there for 48 hours straight on top of no sleep. I was not allowed to work with anyone. I was put under a deck plate to work in a claustrophobic tiny space. I got stuck and I couldn’t move. I started crying uncontrollably and hyperventilating. I was there for 45 minutes straight crying and hyperventilating screaming for help before an engineer found me and called the ship’s doctor. My legs were completely numb from a lack of oxygen and I was in hysterics. The ship’s doctor made me breathe into a paper bag slowly till I filled my legs. The doctor was annoyed that I had been put down in the Engine Room on no sleep, but she had no control over what was done. I was given a Scientology ‘assist’ by Margaret, and then sent to the doctor’s office where Paolo Cocodo came in and screamed at me at the top of his lungs for “dramatizing” and overreacting. I was then sent to bed.
78. A couple of weeks later Steve came up to me and said hi and gave me some chips. Someone wrote a report on me for that, so I was sent back to the Engine Room on no sleep for another 48 hours straight. I was cleaning part of an engine when I blacked out. Four hours later Colm McLaughlin shook me, and I came to. He told me I had been unconscious and wanted to call the ship’s doctor. I declined for fear of being yelled at again for being “dramatic.” I drank water and went back to work. Few days later, the bars I had on my shoulders were ripped off and I was screamed at by Sue Price, the Commanding Officer of the CMO (“CO CMO”) (another high exec). Sue Price accused me of being like my sister and mom who I had been ‘disconnected’ from.
79. I saw Steve and told him to meet me in a room where I knew there were no cameras. This was because the ship had cameras everywhere. Steve met me there and we talked about leaving the Sea Org which is a High Crime. Being the brainwashed good Sea Org member that I was, I turned myself in for what I did. I was then escorted to my room to get some of my clothes and put in a room with cameras in front of my room. I was put under 24-hour watch.
80. Later, ship’s Security escorted me to the Engine Room to work there full time. Steve was put on ‘decks.’ My life for the next three months became working in the engine room full time. I would find small spaces at night under engines and try and sleep on hard metal because I was so tired. I had no protection and was in a boiler suit working in very harsh, hot conditions in claustrophobic tight spaces.
81. I was forbidden from working with or talking to anyone else. I was interrogated on the E meter every day to find my “crimes.” At this point my schedule became working in the Engine Room from 8:30 am to midnight, as I had to have enough sleep to go on the E meter daily to be interrogated on my “crimes.” I had 15-minute meal breaks which I had to have in the ship’s Boiler Room. Security would bring my meals down to me. At the end of the day I’d have to write a report of what I had ‘realised’ and on how bad I was. I would make stuff up. I was so miserable, and I couldn’t escape into my mind this time. The mental abuse was so much for me to handle. I didn’t want to live anymore. It was too painful. I also believed that I’d come back again in another life. I found a scrap of metal in the engine room and put it to my wrist. I was about to cut my wrist but then I thought about my sister who was out there somewhere. I had no idea where, as I hadn’t spoken to her for about ten years, but I thought maybe she would take me in. In late December I was put to work with this girl full time, she was also sleeping in my room with me and basically with me all day. I was back in the ship’s galley washing pots.
82. On December 25, 2007, I was sent to Australia to do the RPF. It is a punishment rehabilitation and re-education program which is like a prison camp where the worst Sea Org members go. My Committee of Evidence had come back and said that I was a “Suppressive Person” but they were going to give me one last chance with the RPF. They were going to send me to Copenhagen to do the RPF and I refused. I said I’d go to England where my stepmom was in the Sea Org, or Australia as there was a guy there named Jose who was sent to the RPF from the Freewinds. I was yelled at by Paolo and told I had no choice and was not in a position to decide where I went. I told him it was my life and that I wasn’t going to Copenhagen.
83. I was escorted to my room by Security and left there. Isoble, the Master at Arms came to my room and handed me a report that she had written to the International Justice Chief in Los Angeles. It said that I was being difficult, and they were going to ‘declare’ me a ‘Suppressive Person.’ I said “OK, declare me. I didn’t care anymore. I just wanted to get off the ship.” I felt relief. That was not the reaction she expected as getting ‘declared’ is the worst thing possible that can happen to a Scientologist. Isobel said nothing in response and left the room. Later, I was escorted by Security to wash pots in the Galley.
84. Sue Price, the CO CMO came and saw me. Sue told me I looked like shit and if I looked like that on the RPF I would be sent to the RPF’s RPF, (where RPFers who mess up go) for “dramatizing.” Sue then sat me down and told me that she had arranged for me to go to Australia to do the RPF. I would either go to the RPF or back to the Engine Room till I cracked. So, I caved to the RPF.
85. On the RPF you have to run everywhere you go. You have to wear black, and you can’t ever watch movies or read books. You can’t talk to anyone other than those on the RPF. I was in a three-bunk bed high dorm with tons of other girls. We’d share a bed between the two of us. One on night schedule and one on day schedule. If a Sea Org member comes in your presence you have to run away because even your presence will be upsetting to that Sea Org member. You are not allowed to write letters to anyone without them writing you first and all your mail is read. You do hard labour all day and then five hours of getting brainwashed basically with interrogations on the meter of everything you’ve done wrong. You are the scum of scum and basically treated like a murderer. I was there for eleven months. I was paid $200 for the entire time I was there. The payment was by the ship after I had been on the RPF for six months.
86. For the first six months on the RPF I had received no ‘allowance’ at all. I had to borrow all my hygiene essentials from other girls on the RPF. They were paid around $5 to $10 a week. We could not even do our own shopping. The person who runs the RPF did it for us. We also could not go and get haircuts, or anything else. We’d have to cut each other’s hair. It was hell but compared to my last six months on the Freewinds it was freedom. I wasn’t getting yelled at every day and I had friends; fellow ‘scums of the earth’ to talk to.
CRIMES AND OTHER ABUSE THAT I WITNESSED OR KNEW OF
87. One overriding principal that is indoctrinated into all Scientologists and Sea Org members is that the Sea Org and Scientology is saving mankind. “Scientology is mankind’s only hope.” Scientology believes that it is above the law. All Sea Org members are taught to lie to the civilian authorities “for the greatest good” [of Scientology].
88. All Sea Org members are subjected to grooming. We were not taught the basic laws of the world outside of Scientology.
Flag – Clearwater, Florida
89. 1993/1994: There was a minor girl, [redacted] who was about 15 years old. She was raped by about six to eight men who were not minors. I was in at a staff meeting and we were all told what “she” had done. Angie Blankenship announced it to all of us in the Commodore’s Messenger Org. [Redacted] was painted as a complete whore. She was under 24-hour watch and was being kicked out of Sea Org from what I remember. The men were either put in Scientology’s version of their punishment camp, which is called the RPF, or expelled from the Church. Unfortunately, I do not know the guys’ names, other than [redacted] and [redacted]. This was not reported to authorities.
90. Debbie Cook who was then the Captain of the Flag Land Base in Clearwater, Florida, announced at a Base briefing to over 1,000 Sea Org members what a particular girl had done. The girl/victim was blamed. I do not remember her name. This was in 1993/1994.
Child Labor
91. All Sea Org children are used for child labor. Some of it would be called “hard labor.” I was in the Commodore’s Messenger Organization (the “CMO”) which is an exclusive organization within the Sea Org with a lot of minors. None of us went to school. We worked long hours for the Church. Many of us had no parents or guardians. They had signed their parental rights and responsibilities over to the Sea Org management. Some of these minors’ names were: [redacted]
92. This is not something anyone in the Sea Org or Scientology would ever report, because it is a “high crime” to report anything to the civilian (“Wog”) authorities. It is in the same category as murder. We were also groomed to believe that we were adults in small bodies and that we should work at young ages. We didn’t even know it was unlawful child labour because in Scientology, and especially the Sea Org, you are kept naive about the laws of the land. What you are taught is that L. Ron Hubbard’s word are all you follow. You cannot think for yourself. In fact, if you violate anything L. Ron Hubbard writes it is also under the category of a ‘high crime’ and, according to L. Ron Hubbard, reporting anything to the authorities is completely unacceptable. It results in instant excommunication. Which means in my case I’d lose everyone I knew, and at this time that would have included both my parents.
94. All Sea Org members work from 8 am to midnight. This includes minors. When you are a child in the Sea Org parents have absolutely no authority over you, what you do, or your disciplinary actions. The Sea Org, and essentially L. Ron Hubbard, are your parents.
The Motor Vessel Freewinds
95. In 2004 an Engineer named Jorge Arroyo who was originally from Mexico went insane (or ‘Potential Trouble Source Type 3’ in Church lingo). He needed professional mental help. Instead of getting this he was put under Hubbard Policy ‘Type 3 watch’ as they call it. It is also called the Isolation Rundown or ‘Baby Watch.’ He was locked in a small room all day with a camera in front of his door. There was a security guard watching him full time. No one could talk to him, in accordance with written Hubbard policy. He went to take a shower and snuck sheets into the shower with him. He hung himself in the shower.
96. When his body was found Lurie Belotte, Sue Price and Captain Mike Napier decided to sail the ship from either Aruba or Bonaire, with his dead body on the shower floor, to Curaçao as the Freewinds had better Public Relations in the port there. His body was removed in a black bag so no one saw. An autopsy was done in Curaçao. A girl named Evelyn Van Rompay was made to go and testify that he committed suicide because he was obsessed with her. This was a lie. His brother, who was an engineer on the ship, was also lied to and told that he had a heart attack. Jorge’s family in Mexico was told the same lie.
97. Previously I had been Jorge’s auditor and I had written a long note in his folder to his superiors in the supposedly separate Scientology organization called the Religious Technology Center (David Miscavige’s organization) stating that he needed help. My long note was ignored. After Jorge’s suicide I was ordered to go through his folders with a black marker and black out anything that mentioned either the Religious Technology Center or the Commodore’s Messenger Organization.
98. I was crying after I found out Jorge had died. The Religious Technology Center representative on the ship told me not to cry because Jorge was an ‘SP’ (a ‘Suppressive Person’) and that she was angry because she had wanted to put him in a hotel ashore. Then Jorge could have killed himself there for all she cared, but now we had bad PR because he had died on the ship. The Captain had insisted Jorge stay on the ship. She said he wasn’t getting a funeral as he didn’t deserve it and that I was never to speak of it to anyone.
99. Leaving the Sea Org on the Ship took about one year of Security Check interrogations on the E-meter. I witnessed so many people on ‘decks’ who wanted to leave but ended up giving up and staying. In 2004, [redacted] wanted to leave the Sea Org. She had spent a year in the Engine Room and on the ‘decks.’ [Redacted] got to the point where she carried a pocketknife in her shorts and put the blade to her wrist. The only thing that stopped her is that she didn’t want to hurt her mom. She was also married at 16 years of age, to a 26-year-old man named [redacted]. [Redacted] was publicly shamed for him masturbating. The Church deemed it was her fault for not having enough sex with him, and not satisfying him. [Redacted] is out of the Sea Org and Scientology now. She has had to do ten years of therapy and has been institutionalized a few times from the trauma she went through in the Sea Org.
100. Legally for the Ship to sail an Engineer needs to have either seven or eight hours of sleep straight. There is a log that they are supposed to sign to prove this before the Ship sails. This was would be falsified if the engineer had done an all-nighter or had slept less then the required amount.
101. On the Freewinds, and in the Sea Org, there were many, many times where we were required to stay up and work until 4 am every night, sometimes for months on end. Children and elderly Sea Org members, in their 60s and 70s, and even in their 80s, were subjected to slave labor, sleep deprivation, and held against their will.
The IASA
102. The International Association of Scientologists (the “IAS”) is the organization that brings in all the money in donations for Scientology. The IASA is the organization that administers the IAS. The IASA was located on the ship. The IASA was involved in severe financial irregularities. Under the umbrella of being tax-exempt its staff would get a lot more money than they should have and this was covered up with false bonuses. The higher up in the IASA organization the more extravagant were the false bonuses. For example, crew would sign that they were each getting a $200 bonus. However, they would never receive the bonuses. Instead, the bonus money would be used to buy extravagant gifts for the President of the IASA, Janet Light. The IASA staff purposely didn’t update their computers so that they could mess with financial reports. Once a year three accountants would come on board. It was always the same three people and they were treated like royalty. They were taken out to fancy restaurants and excursions on the islands that the ship visited. In the ships restaurant we were told to give the accountants the absolute best service possible.
103. When I married my now ex-husband [redacted] who was an IASA staffer his first Christmas present was $4,000 Mr. Lim Tailor made suits. Parishioner donations were being used for the benefit of IASA staff.
104. The IASA was also a racist organization. You were not qualified to be IASA staff if you were Latin American, Eastern European or from other such countries. IASA staff were also not permitted to marry anyone from these countries. There was one man named Mislav Raos who was paid less bonuses than other IASA staff as he was Eastern European.
105. I was one of four auditors who audited all of IASA staff when David Miscavige took the entire organization down. Every session we did was videoed and all reports were sent, through the RTC Rep Ship, directly to COB David Miscavige, who was the Chairman of the separate RTC.
106. Colm McLaughlin was the husband of Janet Light, the President of IASA. In 2006, he was sent to the Freewinds ship. His wife Janet was sent to “the Hole” at Scientology’s ‘Gold Base’ at Gilman Hot Springs near Hemet in Riverside County, California. “The Hole” was a prison for senior Church executives who had displeased David Miscavige for some reason.
107. Colm didn’t want to be on the Freewinds. However, he and the rest of IASA were put in the Engine Room full time. They were also getting “Confessional” security checks which I was part of delivering. Colm didn’t want to be there, and he made that very clear. Colm wanted to be with his wife. Instead, he was ordered and pressured to divorce her, but he refused to do so. Colm was then posted in the Engine Room as a Wiper.
108. In 2008, Karl Tivan came to Australia (where I was on the RPF) and told me that when the Freewinds was in dry dock Colm had tried to escape from the ship. He had run down the gangway and literally had to be forced onto another Scientology ship, the Diana, which was docked right behind the Freewinds. Colm was placed under 24-hour watch. The non-Scientology Drydock workers were disturbed by this. They asked about it and were lied to. They were told that Colm was drunk. He wasn’t. He didn’t manage to get off the ship until years later, and that was only because I was out of Scientology, wrote his story, and published it on Marty Rathbun’s website. Colm’s stepson is Carl Light. Carl saw the story I had written, and we spoke. Then Carl made so much noise with Scientology to get Colm off the ship that they sent Colm to the Church’s ‘Pacific Base’ in Los Angeles. Carl had been threatening to cause some very bad PR for the Church if they had not done so.
109. In around 2009 I found out that Alan Lake, a young guy, wanted to leave the Freewinds and the Church was not letting him go. Alan was so desperate to leave that when the ship was sailing to Curaçao he literally jumped overboard while the ship was sailing in the middle of the ocean. They had to get a helicopter and speedboats to try to find him. He would have been around 18-20 years old. Luckily, he was located, half-dead. He got medical treatment and was then kicked out of the Sea Org because he was a ‘liability.’
More Freewinds mania
110. There was a period of time when the Captain of the Freewinds was refusing to allow Sea Org members from getting married. On the Freewinds one had to get the Captain’s approval to get married. He never approved any marriages for a long period of time. Here is a list of Sea Org members on the ship who I remember were not allowed to ever get married, or who took years to get married: Stefan Kundert and Crieseda Leon, Alan Lake and Kerensa Whitman, Karl Tivan and Sheila Tivan, [redacted] and [redacted], JP Smith and Susan Hora. Later: Stefan Kundert and Evelyn Van Rompay, Ilanit Diner and Orlando Serano.
111. A guy named Stefan Kundert wrote an internal report on the Captain. For doing this, Stefan was taken off his ‘post’ and put full time in the Engine Room. I had to give him auditing to find his ‘evil purposes’ on the Captain. Stefan was in the Engine room and washing pots for six months. I fought for him as I thought it was complete injustice. This got me in trouble for being reasonable. ‘Reasonable’ in Scientology means “being too soft.” Having empathy is not the right Sea Org attitude. Stefan’s auditing and security check sessions had to be videod and watched daily by the Captain and the RTC Rep Lurie Belotte.
112. In 2005, the Captain had an affair with a lady who lived in Curaçao. The port Captain, Ludwig Alpers, was blamed for what the Captain did because he didn’t see it. Ludwig was constantly being harassed by Sue Price, Lurie Belotte and the Captain. I was assigned to give Ludwig auditing/security checking, to find his ‘evil intentions’ against the Captain. He was a grown man in tears, sobbing in front of me daily, from the harassment he was getting for something he hadn’t even done. Specifically, it was the Captain and Sue Price who would harass him and humiliate him in front of others on a daily basis. Honestly, I had had enough, and I found Lurie Belotte and got really angry about the way Ludwig was being treated. I actually had a screaming fight with her which is really not smart. That’s unacceptable behavior in the Sea Org and I was disciplined for being “reasonable” for talking back, and I also had to get corrected as an auditor.
113. David Miscavige would go diving daily when he came to the annual Maiden Voyage event on Freewinds. This occurred between 1996-2004 when I personally saw it. In 2003, when Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz came to the ship they would go diving daily and ride dirt bikes, eat the best possible food, etc. This caused certain problems for the non-profit organization. For example, the sailing yacht was $2,000 a day to hire. This was money that was donated to the IASA by Scientology parishioners. A lot of those parishioners would be broke from their donations yet David Miscavige and Tom Cruise were diving daily for a couple of months and spending a lot of tax-exempt donations to do so.
114. In around 1999 a guy named [redacted] came to the Freewinds. He was 15 years old [redacted] had been in the Cadet Org at the “Flag Land Base’ in Clearwater, Florida since he was two weeks old. He did not want to be on the ship, and he made it very clear. [Redacted] was on ‘decks,’ Engine Room, and in trouble for about three years for not wanting to be there.
115. In 2004, at Tom Cruise’s birthday party on the Freewinds, three girls were sent to the Engine Room for being ‘interesting’ in front of Tom Cruise. Their names were [redacted]. They were then locked in a room to write up all their Overts (bad deeds). They were not allowed out of the room. [Redacted] had to pee in a garbage can as they wouldn’t let her out to go to the bathroom. They were then put on ‘Decks’ and Engine Room duty. They were in trouble for a year, getting their ‘evil intentions’ ‘pulled’ during ‘Security Checks’ on the E meter. I was assigned to audit [redacted].
116. In late 1996, Don Jason, who had previously been the Chief Officer Flag Service Org at Flag Clearwater, Florida (a high Executive). He was sent to the Ship to do the RPF for having had an affair with Bitty Miscavige. I knew him well because I had been Bitty’s personal steward for 3.5 years at Flag where I had actually reported that I thought they were having an affair. I got in trouble for that. No one could talk to Don Jason. A guy from Int (International management) whose name I forget, was sent to the ship to do the RPF with Don. This was all arranged by COB (David Miscavige). Bitty is his sister-in-law, so it reflected bad on David which he didn’t like. This was why Don was went to the Freewinds. Don didn’t want to be there, and he made that very clear. Don was there for about a month, from memory. He was under 24-hour watch and we were all told that we were not to talk to him. He knew me and said “hi” to me in the hallway and I said “hi” back. I also didn’t want to be there. I got in trouble for saying “hi” to him.
117. Then one day the Security Chief and a Security guard were on ‘decks’ and ‘off post.” Peter Ramaker was Security Chief and Sean Scandal was the Security Guard. Sean was kicked out of Security and posted as a plumber. Peter was computer savvy was taken out as Security Chief and positioned as a Security guard that did all the computer and camera work. The reason? Don Jason had kept his driver’s license, or some such document, hidden when he got on the ship. He had then made a genius device which looked like a rolling pin, using wood and cloth. Don then went over the side of the ship. sliding down the cables that were using to keep the ship docked.
118. I know that Sea Org members had rushed ashore to try and physically bring Don Jason back on the ship but Don got into a taxi and was yelling at the taxi driver to take him to the airport, and that he was being held against his will. He slammed the door on Sean and the taxi took him to the airport. Sean is out of both the Sea Org and Scientology now and can corroborate this. Obviously, Don is also out now.
119. On the Freewinds, and everywhere in the Sea Org there is major lack of medical attention. There just aren’t enough funds and Hubbard also frowned on the medical profession. There were deaths on the ship that could have been prevented. When I was in the Sea Org in Australia, I wrote a report on this to David Miscavige. I have a copy of that report. I took it with me when I left the Sea Org. All that happened is that I was investigated, and I was supposed to be sent back to the RPF in Los Angeles for being ‘disaffected.” In 2005, Rolf Kallanich was diagnosed with stage four stomach cancer. This was after years of complaining of stomach pain and discomfort. He was never properly examined; blood tests were not done as well as ultrasounds and whatever else is standard medical procedure. In 2005 the pain was so unbearable that funds were approved for him to get a proper medical examination check. It was too late. He had stage four stomach cancer that had spread to his lungs. His lungs were so filled with water that they had to be drained. He was sent to Los Angeles to City of Hope Hospital to get chemotherapy as Scientology does not want any bad PR. In 2006 I was sent to audit him. I slept in his room at City of Hope on a fold out bed. I’d audit him and take him for his chemo appointments. When he went out of remission and the cancer had spread to his bones and come back with vengeance, there was nothing that could be done. Rolf died at the age of 42.
120. Peter Hill, the Cashier of the Freewinds, was diagnosed with stage four brain cancer. The only reason it was diagnosed is that he was losing his memory and not making sense in his speech. He was sent to the City of Hope Hospital too and died. He was in his 50’s.
121. When I was on the RPF in Australia I learned that the ship’s Deputy Captain Paul McEleveen, had died. He was in his 40’s and his organs just started shutting down. He was sent to Los Angeles and died in a hospital there. It may have been from TB.
122. Ray Fenech was late for work one day. He was responsible for the Crew Dining Room. About an hour after he was supposed to show up, Security went to find him. He was collapsed on the floor in his room and had had a stroke. He wasn’t dead and was taken to hospital. This was in Bonaire. The hospital was too small, so he went by helicopter to Aruba but died on the way there; his organs shut down one by one.
123. In the three cases above, one of us Auditors were sent to be with these individuals. Ines Hernandez was sent with Ray Fenech and was in the Helicopter with him when he died. Jody Zagury was sent to Los Angeles to city of Hope Hospital, to be with Peter Hill. She was there for a couple of months. We were supposed to use Scientology Auditing processes to help make these people better. It was not fair to us as the auditing did nothing. I’d have to sit and audit Rolf to find why he got the cancer using procedures called Dianetics Auditing on the E-meter, going back to his past lives. Rolf would be screaming in pain during the session; either from his lungs being too full of water, or from pain in his stomach. We didn’t even get to stay in a hotel. I had to sleep next to Rolf at the end, when he would get up and throw up, and squirm and scream in pain. I was not medically trained, and I honestly didn’t know what to do. I was not qualified and a nurse should have been hired for him. One time near the end he completely zoned out and wasn’t responding to me when I was talking to him but just blankly staring. I thought he was dead but then he moved. But per Hubbard policy, Scientology is better than anything else so an auditor with no medical training is better than a nurse. I know it was traumatizing for me and I also audited Ines and Jodi, so I know it was traumatizing for them too. These deaths could have been prevented and occurred because of lack of medical care.
124. In 2006 [redacted], the Cold Galley Chef in the ship’s Public Restaurant, wanted to date [redacted]. She was a former IASA Executive and now positioned as a Cabin Cleaner as she had been ‘taken out’ with all the rest of the IASA. [Redacted], for background information, is the daughter of the PR lady at Int Base (near Hemet, California) who attacked the blonde lady who was doing the recent Sixty Minutes television show on Scientology. She has two children, Corwin and [redacted]. Both of them were child Sea Org members and were stationed in Curaçao as Sea Org Cadets in a small building with other Sea Cadets. They would see their parents whenever the ship was docked in Curaçao, which was once a week when the ship was in the ABC’s, and when it sailed elsewhere, they’d go for months without seeing their parents.
125. [Redacted] was not allowed to date [redacted]. She was considered to be a ‘suppressive’ who they couldn’t kick out. He was shown her Ethics files, but he didn’t care. They were put under a Separation Order so they couldn’t talk or even see each other. They protested and had sex in the elevator in the Public galley on many occasions. This was found out and [redacted] was put in the Engine Room full time and [redacted] on ‘decks.’ I have to say I think it’s really wrong that in my case and in hers that the girls are put in the Engine Room and the guys are put on ‘decks.’ [Redacted] was pregnant. [Redacted] was not to know that she was pregnant, and [redacted] was forced to have an abortion. Her choice was either an abortion or excommunication from the Church. Her entire family was in Scientology, and she was born in Scientology. Scientology was all she knew. [Redacted] had the abortion and she was completely devastated by the experience. [Redacted] wasn’t told that she was pregnant.
126. Then [redacted] was assigned to the RPF on the ship. She was paired (“twinned”) with a girl named Julie Graff. They worked in the Engine Room full time and did five hours of Confessionals on each other every day. They were under 24-hour watch and living together in a cabin with a camera in front of the door. [Redacted] and I were in the Engine Room at the same time and I worked with her and Julie for a couple days till Sue Price found out and it was stopped, as I had to work alone.
127. [Redacted] was sent to the RPF in Australia. They lied to him and told him that he would be able to come back to the ship when he had finished the RPF and be with [redacted]. The truth is that he was never going back to the ship. I ended up on the RPF with [redacted] and he was a broken man.
128. [Redacted] was on RPF from 2007-2010 wen he ‘blew’ (left the Sea Org without permission and ‘routing out’). He took off from the RPF and just ran away, along the roads in Sydney, Australia. His RPF twin, Darien Shea, chased him to come back. [Redacted] actually beat him up because he wouldn’t leave him alone. The Church had his passport as they confiscated that on the RPF. He asked for it back and they refused to give it to him. He was from Venezuela. In his mind dying was better than going back to Scientology and the Sea Org. He had nowhere to go so at night he would roam the streets of Sydney. He had no money and no food so he would eat out of garbage cans and eat grass. In the daytime he would sleep on a park bench. He’d always be moving so he wasn’t found. After weeks of this was walking in Sydney and Ramana Dienes who lives in the Blue Mountains in NSW was down in Sydney. She saw [redacted] and took him in. He was scared that she was sent to get him at first. She saved his life.
129. [Redacted] contacted me by email. I was in America at the time. He told me that he had Left the Sea Org and Scientology and that he didn’t want to live. He did the same with Ramana. We both spent time talking to him and convincing him that suicide was not the answer. I got him in contact with Liz Anderson, a former Scientologist in Australia. She got him in contact with the Australian Federal Police who did a whole investigation on his situation, and it was determined that he had been Human Trafficked by the Church of Scientology. This resulted in him getting an Australian Visa for being a victim of Human Trafficking. Scientology was forced to give him back his passport and belongings. They tried to get him to sign gag documents which he refused to do. This had a very bad effect on [redacted]. He has been off alcohol for a year now, but from 2010 until last year he was an alcoholic. He turned to alcohol to take away the pain of what had happened to him in the Sea Org. He called both me and Ramana on many occasions, when drunk or just when he was in pain. The damage Scientology causes to people causes scars that never fully heal.
130. When I was transported to the RPF in Australia there were children on the RPF. Some were now young adults, but they had been there for some years and they had started on the RPF as children. These children, who I knew had been ordered to the RPF included: [Redacted] — Assigned to the RPF at the age of 14/15 for stealing food from the Canteen. He had been a Sea Org Cadet and was now in the Sea Org. The Scientology pay in Australia was an average of $10 a week, and [redacted] stole because he was hungry and underfed. He didn’t go to school and he was held on the RPF which is like a prison. He was there for around four years until he “blew” (left without permission) and went with his dad; [Redacted] — RPFed at the age of 16 for ‘blowing’ the Sea Org. She was there for 2/3 years; [Redacted] — RPFed at the age of 15 for making out with a guy. She was there for about four years; [Redacted] — RPFed at 16/17. He came from Flag in Clearwater, Florida. He as RPFed for having bad thoughts about David Miscavige and was on the RPF for several years. There were also two elderly women in their 60’s who were on the RPF in Sydney, Australia when I was also there. One was called Vicki Dicky and another was Wendy. They had been confined on the RPF for twelve years.
Conclusion
131. I know this is a long summary of my Scientology experience. However, believe me there is a lot more. It explains the mentality of a person born into Scientology. The fact that I didn’t even know what I went through was sexual abuse until about two years ago was because those words didn’t even exist in my vocabulary and, in my own mind, it was my fault. To some degree, because of the years of Church of Scientology indoctrination and abuse, I still think that way.
I declare under penalty of perjury according to the laws of the State of California that the forgoing is true and correct.
Executed this 30th day of August 2019, at Los Angeles, California.”
****END OF DECLARATION****
After review of this declaration, I will need to speak to [redacted] in order to narrow down any specific offenders as the declaration is vague and describes doing chores for the Church while working as a Sea Org member within the Church of Scientology. It should be noted that she made an agreement with the church and parents to volunteer for the church which included chores. In this case she mentions that her parents were not with her and that they either abandoned her or allowed the church to raise her. These details will need to be clarified in a future report to determine if any crimes actually occurred, and if the[y] occurred in Clearwater, Florida.
CASE STATUS: Open
Second report: March 24, 2020
INVESTIGATIVE ACTION TAKEN:
In the Spring of 2019 [redacted] reached out to me in reference to being abused as a child while in the Church of Scientology. This case is historical and goes back to the 1980s. It should be noted that [redacted] lives in Australia, and it is challenging to contact her on a regular basis.
Due to her residing in another country and having such a distant time zone, [redacted] provided me via the mail, a 32-page declaration documented by her attorney. She documented in her declaration her experiences as a child and adult within the Church of Scientology. Her entire declaration was documented in the previous report.
For this case, I will be focusing on her allegations which occurred within the City of Clearwater. [Redacted] advised that in 1992, when she was 14 years old, she moved to Clearwater, Florida and resided on the property of the Church of Scientology. She stated that she had just joined the Sea Org. She alleged that she was abused as a child in the form of forced labor and inappropriately touched by another juvenile while in Clearwater.
On 05/24/2020 I was able to conduct a phone interview with [redacted].
[Redacted] advised both her parents were Sea Org members. When she arrived in Clearwater, Florida at the age of 14 (1992) with her mother, she was forced to join the Sea Org. She advised that she was separated from her mom and lived with several other girls in a room ridden with bugs and mildew in the showers. [Redacted] explained that during her time in Clearwater, she had to do laborious jobs such as cleaning hotel rooms, and dumpsters. She advised she cleaned with harmful chemicals and no equipment to protect them. This in addition to 5 hours a day of studying was required as basic training for the Sea Org. In this allegation of hard labor while she was a child, [redacted] does not name any specific suspect. She just advised that she had to do these jobs as part of her being in the Sea Org. [Redacted] said that if she didn’t join the Sea Org, she would have been thrown out on the street to be homeless. Because both her parents were Sea Org members, she advised she was not allowed to live with them per Hubbard policy. [Redacted] advised she was never physically harmed by anyone in Clearwater.
The challenges posed in this allegation of Child Abuse is that at this time, no specific suspect has been identified, there is a lack of witnesses and physical evidence, and the statute of limitations has expired.
[Redacted] advised one time when she was 14 years old, she was in the swimming pool at 1030 at night. She advised an 18-year-old male who was Hispanic touched her breasts by reaching under her one piece bathing suit top. She stated that he grinded his penis against her body as well over her bathing suit. She advised she does not have any information on this person, other than his first name she believed to be Jacob, she did not know a last name. [Redacted] told me she never reported this to anyone, not even to the Church. She eventually told her attorney as an adult. It should be noted that this was not mentioned in her declaration sent to me written by her attorney This incident would be a Lewd and Lascivious Molestation. Due to lack of physical evidence, corroborating witnesses, and expired Statute of Limitations, this case cannot be prosecuted at this time.
[Redacted] reported that when she was 15 and 16 years old a boy slightly younger than she, identified as [redacted] would lift her up and grind his clothed penis against her vagina which was covered by underwear. She stated that this would last for ten minutes at a time and she would just freeze. [Redacted] stated this went on for 3 months. [Redacted] did not report it at first, because she stated she was taught at an early age that “Anything bad that happens to us is our fault.” She further stated that “Reporting to civilian ‘Wog’ authorities is labeled a crime in Scientology and doing so would get me instantly excommunicated.” [Redacted] advised Wogs are local law enforcement. Once another girl complained on [redacted], [redacted] stated that she then filed her complaint against him. [Redacted] stated that she got in trouble and nothing happened to him. This allegation of simple battery and Lewd and Lascivious Molestation, can no longer be prosecuted due to a lack of physical evidence, corroborating witnesses, and expired statute of limitations, at this time.
When [redacted] was approximately 17 years of age her mother fled the Church and left her behind. [Redacted] stated her mom was a terrible mother and still is.
When [redacted] turned 18 years old, she was advised that she would be going on the Church of Scientology ship called the Freewinds. She stated she did not want to go on the ship, but she was taken there anyways. She advised she was under 24 hour watch. She stated that she then left Clearwater, Florida and moved to Miami, Florida where she boarded an airplane and flew out of the United States of America.
This concluded [redacted’s] time in the City of Clearwater. [Redacted’s] allegation of being Human Trafficking by the order of David Miscavige occurred out of the City of Clearwater, as she left for Miami, Florida and from there flown out of the Country. In reference to this specific claim, I advised [redacted] to contact law enforcement in Miami, Florida or the FBI to report the allegation of Human Trafficking.
CASE STATUS: Closed — Solved in house
Third report, dated June 8, 2020
INVESTIGATIVE ACTION TAKEN:
On 06/08/2020, I created a subpoena request for the files and folders containing any and all information of former Church of Scientology member, [redacted].
[Redacted] told me that the evidence to her being abused as a minor while in the Sea Org, would be located in her Knowledge Reports, Ethics Files and PC Folders.
The subpoena request was sent to the State Attorney’s Office for review and the next report will document the results as provided by the Church of Scientology.
A copy of the subpoena request is attached to this report.
CASE STATUS: Open
Fourth report, dated June 9, 2020
INVESTIGATIVE ACTION TAKEN:
On 06/16/2020 I received the subpoena return from the State Attorney’s Office which relates to the request of Knowledge Reports, Ethic files, and PC Folders relating to [redacted]. The State advised that “The justification delineated in Detective Eli Glenn’s Subpoena request for records from the Church of Scientology — does not meet the criteria needed to obtain the records requested.”
Based on this return from the State Attorney’s Office, I then contacted Sarah Heller of the Church of Scientology’s Legal Affairs Division and asked her for those specific files. She advised she would get back to me about my request.
The Church of Scientology Department of Legal Affairs provided me with a letter of response stating, “As the designated Custodian of Records for the Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization, I have undertaken to locate any documents concerning [redacted] from any time period up to the present day and, notwithstanding and religious or privacy issues, have found none.”
The letter is signed by Sarah Heller.
A PDF copy of the letter provided to me by the Church of Scientology was attached to this report.
CASE STATUS: Closed — Solved in House
Fifth report dated August 6, 2020
INVESTIGATIVE ACTION TAKEN:
In 2019, [redacted] contacted the Clearwater Police Department to report that she was forced to do hard labor and live in horrible conditions while a juvenile in the Church of Scientology. Her allegation of child abuse began when she was 14 years old and living in Clearwater. She was a member of the Church of Scientology at the time and she advised that she was forced to work on the Fort Harrison Hotel.
[Redacted] did not name any specific suspect responsible for forcing her to do hard labor and forcing her to live in filthy conditions.
In one instance when she was 16 years of age she had a boy her same age molest her over her clothing. This was never reported to police prior to this report. [Redacted] advised that she told a church member, but nothing happened to the male.
She then left the City of Clearwater where [redacted] advised she was forced to work on a Scientology cruise ship.
In her allegation of child abuse and battery with sexual overtones, there is no corroborating witnesses or evidence provided to support the allegations. There was no named suspect in the child abuse allegation. In both the child abuse and battery allegations, the statute of limitations had run out.
This case will be closed in House.
CASE STATUS: Closed — Solved in House
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Jon Atack and Chris Shelton
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“Now you get down toward the Center of this galaxy and the possibility of finding somebody without the Helatrobus Implants, of finding any foreign implant system, will probably be totally negligible. Probably nonextant, you see? But out here you got a mixed bag and we don’t know what they did in the next galaxy. See? Now, science fiction writers following the cue of some chap, I’ve forgotten his name now, Einstein, Beinstein, something like that, who said that MC squared over C wouldn’t go, man, and that the speed of light could not be excessive. And actually I was looking up some speed tables the other day, and a trillion light years per day is not full throttle on a space wagon. So there’s traffic between galaxies and there’s traffic between islands of galaxies and other islands of galaxies. Interesting.” — L. Ron Hubbard, May 21, 1963
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“The auditing was in general better today. Auditors go in fads — now it’s ‘feelings.’ Nobody has any aches, pains or misemotions. They have ‘feelings!’ What happened to good old PAIN. Some aren’t able to confront the flak we get into. It takes a bit of guts to be around Flag. And some get very nervous and want to leave. We have 3 or 4 good things I don’t quit. Thanks for holding the ship together.” — The Commodore, May 21, 1969
“The local ruling corporeals sit around in their disposable clones in their underground arenas doing figure-figure on who will be the prophesied coming messiah, poor devils. I’m glad you saw this for yourself and on the higher levels of the playing field(s). I can only ask myself, ‘What is your (meaning ‘my’) cause?’ so as not to get into self-defeating contention with those who hold onto non-life and covert goals. Eyes wide open.”
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1999: Amazon.com this week removed Jon Atack’s book A Piece of Blue Sky from its offerings. Amazon later announced that it would reverse the decision, but the book is still missing from Amazon, despite continued availability on other bookstore sites. From Wired News: “Amazon.com has removed a controversial book from its listings, a book well known for angering the Church of Scientology. A Piece of Blue Sky, by UK writer Jon Atack, is an expose of the Scientology movement from its creation in 1959 until the death of founder L. Ron Hubbard in 1986. The book disappeared from Amazon’s site only recently. Amazon spokeswoman Lizzie Allen would only say that ‘under certain circumstances, for legal reasons, we need to stop selling a book. I really just can’t comment any further.’ Officials at the Church of Scientology said they have had nothing to do with the removal of the book from Amazon’s site. One woman told Wired News that the book was illegal to sell in the United Kingdom, and that was why Amazon had removed the book. ‘It was declared defamatory because it contained false statements,’ said church spokeswoman Linda Peters. ‘Amazon didn’t know about it. We don’t really know who alerted them. There are a lot of Scientologists around the planet.’ Peters said the ruling took place ‘four or five years ago.’ Amazon’s Allen said she was surprised that the church would speak for Amazon, but she still couldn’t say what had prompted the bookseller to remove the book. But the ‘legal reasons’ can’t be very far-reaching, since both barnesandnoble.com and Books.com still offer it for sale. ‘We haven’t been contacted by anyone to remove this book,’ said Lisa Lanspery, manager of external communications for barnesandnoble.com. ‘It’s on our site and it’s going to stay there.'”
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“The only other ‘church’ I can think of that stoops to calling people names is the Westboro Baptist Church.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Next pretrial conference May 31. Trial scheduled for August 29.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Last hearing was on January 18, referred to grand jury. Additional charges also referred to grand jury after January 5 assault while in jail.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Pretrial conference May 20 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for June 2.
— Joseph ‘Ben’ Barton, Medicare fraud: Pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Found guilty of criminal and civil contempt.
Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court.
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Eleventh Circuit affirmed ruling granting Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Garcias considering next move.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Valerie’s motion for reconsideration denied on March 15.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Next hearing scheduled for June 29.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for December 6.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior ruling.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.
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THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON
We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links, including our four days in Los Angeles covering the preliminary hearing and its ruling, which has Danny facing trial and the potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.
After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.
LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH
An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.
SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z
Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Other links: SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Day four of the Danny Masterson prelim: The arguments and a ruling!
[TWO years ago] Scientology so stoked you watched ‘Spread a Smile’ video, it’s trying to cash in tonight
[THREE years ago] A Scientologist is brutally murdered in Peoria, but you didn’t hear it from Scientology
[FOUR years ago] Scientology’s elaborate use of child labor for pennies an hour, spelled out in black and white
[FIVE years ago] Scientology may be crumbling, but around the world it’s still plotting a planetary takeover
[SIX years ago] Atack: Contradictions in L. Ron Hubbard’s ‘tech’ only increase Scientology discipline
[SEVEN years ago] Leah Remini and Paulette Cooper? Scientology can start worrying now
[EIGHT years ago] No, LA Weekly, Tom Cruise’s career was not ruined by a GIF
[NINE years ago] Disconnection: Scientology’s Most Toxic Sacrament
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,671 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,176 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,726 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,716 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,607 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,913 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,782 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,556 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,887 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,360 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,676 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,242 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,161 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,329 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,909 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,171 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,207 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,922 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,447 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 802 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,977 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,528 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,677 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,997 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,852 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,971 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,327 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,630 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,736 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,134 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,010 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,593 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,088 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,342 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,451 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on May 21, 2022 at 07:00
E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.
Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.
The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2021 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2021), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…
Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.
Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele
Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
