Karen de la Carriere has a new video, and this one is about the woman behind the Ex-Scientologist Message Board, Melbourne’s Michelle Sterling.
Otherwise known by her nom de guerre, “Emma,” Michelle started up ESMB in 2007, and it’s still a hive of activity for people who have left the church.
But in November 2010, Sterling found herself being put into handcuffs after five police detectives interrupted her while taking her daughter to school.
“They wouldn’t let me leave, so the cops took her to school,” she says.
Scientology had complained to Victoria police detectives that Sterling was involved in DDOS attacks on Scientology websites by Anonymous two years earlier. They based those complaints on chat transcripts — but Sterling says many people were talking about what Anonymous was up to in 2008.
She was held in custody for a few hours. And seven months after her arrest, in June 2011, she found out that the police had dropped the matter.
“When Anonymous first showed up, they landed on ESMB and I did have a bit to do with educating them. So I was in their chat rooms,” she says. “But seven months later it was all over.”
We wondered if the police or prosecutors ever got around to admitting that they’d been duped by Scientology.
“No, never.”
It wasn’t the only hassle she’s been through because of her outspoken criticism of the church.
“When I first got out they tried to get my husband to leave me and take my daughter. I’ve caught them going through my mail and taking pictures of my house. I had my tires let down and can only assume it was them. The local DSA calls my ex every week to get an update on my activities,” she says.
But six years after starting ESMB, Sterling says she’s more determined than ever to keep it going. Here’s Karen’s tribute to her…
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Posted by Tony Ortega on June 14, 2013 at 07:00
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