Posted by C.A.N. replies on October 13, 2003 at 18:35:15:
In Reply to: RUSSELL DELLbert Johnson posted by RD School of Whatever (dragon@vail) on October 13, 2003 at 18:03:41:
A report prepared by Ross & Green 1010 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 811
Washington, DC 20005 202-638-4858 Fax 202-638-4857 July 1993, Copyright
1993 by Ross & Green DISCLAIMER: This text file is a partial reprint of an
original copyrighted report by Ross & Green.
INTRODUCTION As a lobbying firm concerned with the preservation
and
expansion of democracy both at home and abroad, we are writing to draw
your
attention to the activities of the Cult Awareness Network (CAN). The Cult
Awareness Network described itself as a 'national non-profit organization
founded to educate the public about the harmful effects of mind control as
used by destructive cults.' In fact, as the following evidence documents,
CAN has played a major role in propagating an atmosphere of intolerance
and
violence against new, smaller, non-mainstream religions (as well as
psychological movements and political groups), moreover, it has functioned
as an indirect referral agency, facilitating 'concerned' families getting
touch with individuals who can be hired to use coercion (including
forcible
abductions) to remove individuals from groups of which CAN disapproves.
DEPROGRAMMERS'
Information from a number of sources indicates that over the past
19 years, persons within the CAN network have been involved in thousands
of abductions or other coercive actions, which the perpetrators
euphemistically call
'deprogrammings.' 'Deprogrammers' charge between $5,000 and $20,000 for a
kidnapping. The payment is usually made in cash, so there will be no
record
of the transaction (Blocksom, 1992, p. 2).
A special report in `The Chief of Police,' the official
publication of the
NationalAssociation of Chiefs of Police, notes that 'During the 1970's and
`80's,
mercenary deprogrammers like Patrick kidnapped hundreds of adults from a
wide spectrum of organizations including Catholic, Episcopal, Evangelical
Christian, Mormon, Amish, political and even *karate classes*.
While the
deprogrammers celebrated their growing profits, for the victims, it was a
story of terror' (Arenberg, 1993, p. 60). The terror includes not only the
abduction itself, for the 'deprogramming' is not complete (and the victims
are not released) until she or he agrees to leave their religion or
political organization. According to former 'deprogrammer' Mark Blocksom:
'Some deprogrammers used techniques of sleep and food deprivation,
humiliation, ridicule, deprivation of privacy, and in some cases, physical
abuse and restraint to accomplish their goal of altering a person'
religious views' (Blocksom, 1992, p. 2). A number of former
'deprogrammers'
and CAN officials have reported, in sworn affidavits, that some of the
CAN-affiliated 'deprogrammers' have had sex with individuals they held
captive (Nordquist, 1991, p. 63, Sweeney, 1992, p. 2).
What is remarkable, given the large number
of abductions that allegedly have been carried out by CAN-associated
'deprogrammers,' is how few prosecutions--and even fewer convictions--have
resulted from their activities. This virtual immunity from legal liability
has resulted in a high level of arrogance among 'deprogrammers.' U.S.
Attorney Lawrence Leiser, who successfully prosecuted Galen Kelly, told
the
Times Herald Record in Middletown, New York: 'Mr. Kelly thinks he has the
right to go out, because someone pays him, and kidnap someone. That's
incredible, and he'd been doing it for 10 or 15 years. He admitted on the
stand that he has abducted 30 to 40 people' (Hall, 1993). This ability to
get away with breaking the law has to do with the success CAN has had in
demonizing non-mainstream religions and political organizations, as well
as
the policy employed by 'deprogrammers' of involving family members in the
kidnapping process, which tends to inhibit the victim's willingness to
press charges.
Other CAN-connected 'deprogrammers' who have recently faced
criminal charges
are *Joseph Szimhart* and Mary Alice Chrnalogar who were charged with
kidnapping
a 39-year-old mother of four in Boise, Idaho (Robertson, 1993, p. 3),
while
Rick Ross, who acted as an advisor to ATF in Waco and has boasted of more
than 200 'deprogrammings,' was arrested at the end of June on charges of
kidnapping an illegal imprisonment of a Kirkland, Washington teenager in
1991 (Holt, 1993).