Abuse and Neglect of Children in Scientology

serenitynow · Joined: 30 Sep 2005 Posts: 606

The Church of Scientology has had many victims over the years, but none have been as heartbreaking as the children.

Sea Org children were raised in squalor, both in Clearwater and LA. Some went months without seeing their parents. Stories of forced abortions were common among women in the Sea Org. In Class V orgs, many children are neglected and forced to live in poverty while their parents believed they were saving the world.

In many cases, such as my own, Scientology's youth are plucked from normal childhood and adolescence and thrust into the Sea Org, where all thought of normal education comes to an end and are replaced by the totalitarian control of the Church of Scientology.

Nothing is more important to the Church of Scientology than money. So it is easy to see why they would allow, even promote, neglect of children in order to forward their goals of "clearing the planet". Sometimes it is too late when the parents wake up and realize that all that time they were clearing the planet, they were really just making money for the Church of Scientology and losing their children. And that is the cold hard truth.

On the suggestion and ideas of Nunya, Tim, and Olska I started this thread to share stories of abuse and neglect of children in Scientology. The plan is to start collecting the stories and find those willing to speak out to shows such as Montel Williams, Oprah, and others.

I have stories to share and I know many of you do as well. I will post my own story shortly to get this going, and I hope it will help others to tell their stories too, so we can bring to light the injustice done to these children every day.

Serenity Now

nunya · Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2006 12:07 am Post subject:

I've been thinking, the information we collect here could be used to send to any media outlet. Any media is good.
The reason that I think the child abuse stories are important, is it is very difficult to ignore child abuse. People have an instinctive desire to protect children.
Thanks for starting this thread, Serenitynow.
Any links to stories, any ideas for compiling this information, or any ideas for media outlets to give the information to, would be helpful here. Lets just brainstorm.
_________________
We will never forget Lisa
http://www.lisamcpherson.org/

serenitynow · Joined: 30 Sep 2005 Posts: 606

I think one reporter who has done a lot lately on the CofS is Anderson Cooper. I think Tory even went on his show. I will pm her and ask her about it and to see if she has any suggestions as to what we can do to get the word out about this child abuse.

Serenity Now

PS Thanks Nunya for helping me with the links. Someday I'm going to catch up with everyone else on my internet know-how Smile

serenitynow · Joined: 30 Sep 2005 Posts: 606

Another Poster kindly reminded me that Sea Org kids are not only in the US, but also Copenhagen, England, and Australia.

So please, if anyone has any information to share on those children, please tell it here as well.

Serenity Now

Sara · Joined: 30 Nov 2005 Posts: 87

Some highlights of my childhood in the Sea Org in Los Angeles from 1972-1982:

My parents joined the Sea Org in 1972 when I was six years old. I remember my mom filling out my Sea Org contract, one of the questions was did I have any hobbies. I said I liked doing housework with my mom. I was brought to the Cadet Org and went to a public school. After school, I was supervised with a group of children. I saw my parents one day a week. I was never given a doctor’s checkup or taken to the dentist. Our living conditions were not sanitary. Many kids had lice and I remember a girl who had scabies.

Captain Bill Robertson came to the Cadet Org on a mission around 1973. At one point, he had all the kids line up for muster, and then had us yell “Hip, Hip, Hooray!�? to L Ron Hubbard forty times, while we were photographed. The kids at the Cadet Org were always encouraged to “write letters to Ron.�?

When I was seven or eight, I was given manual labor to do, such as cleaning toilets, scrubbing floors and washing dishes. I remember my mother being angry that they had children scrub toilets. She thought we could get a disease. I remember once when I was seven, my mom had to ask permission to take us from the Cadet Org to visit our dad at another location. She wasn’t given permission to take us, and as she sat angrily in the car, she shouted to no one in particular “This is insane!�? I asked her, what does “insane�? mean? She took us to visit our dad even though she didn’t have permission. When we got back we were assigned lower conditions for “blowing.�? Funny, a seven year old kid, being assigned a condition of Treason and made to do “amends�? which meant I was assigned to scrub the floor for a certain amount of hours. Someone tried to explain the conditions to me and help me through the steps of the conditions. I didn’t even know what the words meant.

They didn’t really put high quality people in charge of supervising the Sea Org children. I remember one man, named Fred, who used to terrorize us. He would shout “Revele, revele, roll-out!�? and walk through our bedrooms to wake us up. If we didn’t jump out of bed immediately, he would rip the covers off and tip the mattress over. He would yell at us, push us, and pull our hair. He was a strong, angry man. It was rumored that he had sexually abused his daughters. One time he brought me and other children (about 15 kids) to the backyard of a Sea Org house on Beacon Street in Los Angeles. We had some supplies, such as rakes to clean up the yard. He told us to line up against the wall of the house, in order by height. He then picked up a brick and said, you are all going to clean up this yard, and if I catch anyone fooling around, I’m going to make you line up against this wall just like you are now, and I’m going to throw this brick at each one of your heads, starting with her (pointing to the smallest child.)

When the Sea Org children were living on Melrose Ave, we used to have a secret word that was yelled whenever a health inspector was coming to the building. I believe it was “Code One�? it meant we all had to go in our rooms and shut the door. This was because the Health Inspector was told there weren’t any children living at the building.

I was taken out of public school while I was in the sixth grade. I got no further education. I joined the CMO when I was 12. I worked from 8:30 am to 11:00 pm, everyday of the week. I also had to participate in “all-hands�? which meant working all night, then working the next day as well. I had very little free time. Occasionally I’d get half a day off on Sunday for “hygiene time�? to do laundry and clean my room. Pay was about $5 to $20 a week. We were told we could have a day off once every other week if our stats were up. It was called “libs�? for “liberty�? (ironic, considering we had no freedom in the Sea Org). We used to joke around, as if we were quoting Patrick Henry, saying “Give me Liberty, or give me Hygiene time!�? More often than not, something would come up and libs would be canceled. But, I felt good, I was “saving the world.�? I was treated with respect by other Sea Org adults who thought I was such a cool kid for being in the Sea Org and working for the CMO.

I went to CMO Int when I was about 15 in 1980. I wasn’t told where I was going and had to sign a contract that I agreed to pay $50,000 if I ever told anyone where Int was. I told my parents I was going, but I didn’t know where it was or when I’d ever see them again. I was told that people who worked at Int couldn’t have children. I had to agree to not have children if I wanted to work there. The night I left for Int, I was driven there in a van with some other people.

At Int, I saw people being yelled at by David Miscavidge and others. I saw people woken up in the middle of the night and given “gang bang sec checks�? where two or more people interrogate you while you’re holding the cans of the e-meter. They would ask embarrassing questions about sex and whether you were trying to hurt Scientology. They basically would try to get you to incriminate yourself so they could punish you. I think they had already decided they were going to bust someone, and they would just do this sec check to further intimate the person and get any information they could out of the person. The people were usually soon assigned to the Running Program, EPF or RPF.

At Int, I was a secretary to an executive, but although I had to be constantly on call for any request, she didn’t give me a lot to do. So I would sit in her office, waiting for her to give me an assignment. After several months, I was removed from my post. I don’t really know why. My supervisor yelled at me and accused me of being “slow.�? I distinctly remember her saying that she could easily find some 12 year olds who could run circles around me. I remember thinking, cynically, “Sure you can, because 12 year olds don’t know anything and are easily manipulated.�?

When I was removed from my post, I was given a “gang-bang sec check�? by two people who led me to a small room, had me pick up the cans, and then angrily interrogated me, asking me if I wanted to have sex with David Miscavidge, among other embarrassing sexual questions. They also wanted to know if I had secrets or was trying to hurt Scientology execs. I replied “No�? to all their questions, I was taken off my post and assigned to do manual labor. I was scared and angry. I knew deep down that the way they were treating people was wrong, but I still believed in Scientology.

I helped build the “Clipper ship�? at Gold, worked on building renovations and was assigned to dig ditches for an orchard that was to be planted. I had calluses on my hand from the shovels, we didn’t have gloves. Our work schedule was ridiculous. It was literally 6:00am to midnight. We were given 5 hours to sleep. The lack of sleep was the hardest part. It was torture after awhile. Day after day with 5 hours sleep, all summer long. Some people used to sleep in the bathroom stalls or just lay on the bed in the sick room and sleep.

After several months of doing manual labor at Int, I was sent to the RPF in Los Angeles. Everyone on the RPF had to dress in dark blue clothes and run everywhere they went. We were not allowed to use the elevator, and had to address everyone as “sir.�? We had to eat leftovers after the regular staff had eaten. We were assigned manual labor all day long. We had no rights and no time off. On the RPF, a guard would sit outside our bedrooms all night in case anyone on the RPF tried to run away during the night. I remember having doubts about Scientology, thinking that if Scientology took over the world, they would treat everyone this way. There would be no freedom of thought or expression.

You couldn’t even confide in a friend. I made the mistake of telling a friend on the RPF about my former supervisor, I told my friend my supervisor had been a real b****, and not long after I was assigned to the RPF’s RPF. It turns out my friend told someone what I said while she was getting sec checked or audited. I don’t blame her, we were all encouraged to report anything that was “harmful to Scientology.�? I should have known better than to say anything critical to anyone.

So, I was assigned to the RPF’s RPF, when I was 16 years old. I was taken under guard to the boiler room and made to chip paint off the floor all day, while a guard sat in a chair and watched me. I was given 15 minutes to eat meals, and 6 hours to sleep. I was guarded day and night. I wasn’t allowed to talk to anyone. This went on for a few days, and then I was returned to the regular RPF. I felt numb.

While on the RPF I was put on the Running Program, and was on it over 200 days. I spent all day running around a red pole in Griffith Park while being supervised. The supervisor made sure I was running to “complete exhaustion�? and I didn’t spend too much time resting on the bench. I could easily have faked a “win�? and finished the Running Program, but at this point I believed in Scientology, and I wasn’t going to lie about having a win just to get off the Running Program. Even though it would have made my life easier to lie, I thought, if Scientology works, then I should have a win from this Running Program, and I’m not going to lie about one.

What finally helped me leave the Sea Org was my brother visiting me a couple of times while I was on the RPF and pointing out the many lies that Sea Org members are told. We are promised a day off, a vacation, that we would get paid, etc., etc. and then there are always reasons why we won’t get paid, can’t have our day off or have a vacation. The vacation promise was hilarious. There was a policy by LRH that every Sea Org member was entitled to a three week vacation every year. The catch was, you had to find someone to cover your post before you could leave. Of course, no one was available to cover for anyone, we were all too busy doing our own posts and trying to keep our stats up, so not many people ever took a vacation. Usually if someone was allowed to leave for a week or two, it was to go “handle�? their relatives who were causing “bad pr.�? The person would be drilled on how to talk to their relatives before they left, and they would be debriefed when they got back.

When I left the Sea Org, I had to sleep in my parent’s car. My parents were still in the Sea Org. I had nowhere to go, no possessions and no money, not even a high school diploma. I had been in the Sea Org for ten years. I was 16 years old, and I needed a job so I could support myself.

I’m just one of many people who were abused by the Cult of Scientology. This is what Tom Cruise endorses and donates millions of dollars to.

Sara · Joined: 30 Nov 2005 Posts: 87

Some highlights of my childhood in the Sea Org in Los Angeles from 1972-1982:

My parents joined the Sea Org in 1972 when I was six years old. I remember my mom filling out my Sea Org contract, one of the questions was did I have any hobbies. I said I liked doing housework with my mom. I was brought to the Cadet Org and went to a public school. After school, I was supervised with a group of children. I saw my parents one day a week. I was never given a doctor’s checkup or taken to the dentist. Our living conditions were not sanitary. Many kids had lice and I remember a girl who had scabies.

Captain Bill Robertson came to the Cadet Org on a mission around 1973. At one point, he had all the kids line up for muster, and then had us yell “Hip, Hip, Hooray!�? to L Ron Hubbard forty times, while we were photographed. The kids at the Cadet Org were always encouraged to “write letters to Ron.�?

When I was seven or eight, I was given manual labor to do, such as cleaning toilets, scrubbing floors and washing dishes. I remember my mother being angry that they had children scrub toilets. She thought we could get a disease. I remember once when I was seven, my mom had to ask permission to take us from the Cadet Org to visit our dad at another location. She wasn’t given permission to take us, and as she sat angrily in the car, she shouted to no one in particular “This is insane!�? I asked her, what does “insane�? mean? She took us to visit our dad even though she didn’t have permission. When we got back we were assigned lower conditions for “blowing.�? Funny, a seven year old kid, being assigned a condition of Treason and made to do “amends�? which meant I was assigned to scrub the floor for a certain amount of hours. Someone tried to explain the conditions to me and help me through the steps of the conditions. I didn’t even know what the words meant.

They didn’t really put high quality people in charge of supervising the Sea Org children. I remember one man, named Fred, who used to terrorize us. He would shout “Revele, revele, roll-out!�? and walk through our bedrooms to wake us up. If we didn’t jump out of bed immediately, he would rip the covers off and tip the mattress over. He would yell at us, push us, and pull our hair. He was a strong, angry man. It was rumored that he had sexually abused his daughters. One time he brought me and other children (about 15 kids) to the backyard of a Sea Org house on Beacon Street in Los Angeles. We had some supplies, such as rakes to clean up the yard. He told us to line up against the wall of the house, in order by height. He then picked up a brick and said, you are all going to clean up this yard, and if I catch anyone fooling around, I’m going to make you line up against this wall just like you are now, and I’m going to throw this brick at each one of your heads, starting with her (pointing to the smallest child.)

When the Sea Org children were living on Melrose Ave, we used to have a secret word that was yelled whenever a health inspector was coming to the building. I believe it was “Code One�? it meant we all had to go in our rooms and shut the door. This was because the Health Inspector was told there weren’t any children living at the building.

I was taken out of public school while I was in the sixth grade. I got no further education. I joined the CMO when I was 12. I worked from 8:30 am to 11:00 pm, everyday of the week. I also had to participate in “all-hands�? which meant working all night, then working the next day as well. I had very little free time. Occasionally I’d get half a day off on Sunday for “hygiene time�? to do laundry and clean my room. Pay was about $5 to $20 a week. We were told we could have a day off once every other week if our stats were up. It was called “libs�? for “liberty�? (ironic, considering we had no freedom in the Sea Org). We used to joke around, as if we were quoting Patrick Henry, saying “Give me Liberty, or give me Hygiene time!�? More often than not, something would come up and libs would be canceled. But, I felt good, I was “saving the world.�? I was treated with respect by other Sea Org adults who thought I was such a cool kid for being in the Sea Org and working for the CMO.

I went to CMO Int when I was about 15 in 1980. I wasn’t told where I was going and had to sign a contract that I agreed to pay $50,000 if I ever told anyone where Int was. I told my parents I was going, but I didn’t know where it was or when I’d ever see them again. I was told that people who worked at Int couldn’t have children. I had to agree to not have children if I wanted to work there. The night I left for Int, I was driven there in a van with some other people.

At Int, I saw people being yelled at by David Miscavidge and others. I saw people woken up in the middle of the night and given “gang bang sec checks�? where two or more people interrogate you while you’re holding the cans of the e-meter. They would ask embarrassing questions about sex and whether you were trying to hurt Scientology. They basically would try to get you to incriminate yourself so they could punish you. I think they had already decided they were going to bust someone, and they would just do this sec check to further intimate the person and get any information they could out of the person. The people were usually soon assigned to the Running Program, EPF or RPF.

At Int, I was a secretary to an executive, but although I had to be constantly on call for any request, she didn’t give me a lot to do. So I would sit in her office, waiting for her to give me an assignment. After several months, I was removed from my post. I don’t really know why. My supervisor yelled at me and accused me of being “slow.�? I distinctly remember her saying that she could easily find some 12 year olds who could run circles around me. I remember thinking, cynically, “Sure you can, because 12 year olds don’t know anything and are easily manipulated.�?

When I was removed from my post, I was given a “gang-bang sec check�? by two people who led me to a small room, had me pick up the cans, and then angrily interrogated me, asking me if I wanted to have sex with David Miscavidge, among other embarrassing sexual questions. They also wanted to know if I had secrets or was trying to hurt Scientology execs. I replied “No�? to all their questions, I was taken off my post and assigned to do manual labor. I was scared and angry. I knew deep down that the way they were treating people was wrong, but I still believed in Scientology.

I helped build the “Clipper ship�? at Gold, worked on building renovations and was assigned to dig ditches for an orchard that was to be planted. I had calluses on my hand from the shovels, we didn’t have gloves. Our work schedule was ridiculous. It was literally 6:00am to midnight. We were given 5 hours to sleep. The lack of sleep was the hardest part. It was torture after awhile. Day after day with 5 hours sleep, all summer long. Some people used to sleep in the bathroom stalls or just lay on the bed in the sick room and sleep.

After several months of doing manual labor at Int, I was sent to the RPF in Los Angeles. Everyone on the RPF had to dress in dark blue clothes and run everywhere they went. We were not allowed to use the elevator, and had to address everyone as “sir.�? We had to eat leftovers after the regular staff had eaten. We were assigned manual labor all day long. We had no rights and no time off. On the RPF, a guard would sit outside our bedrooms all night in case anyone on the RPF tried to run away during the night. I remember having doubts about Scientology, thinking that if Scientology took over the world, they would treat everyone this way. There would be no freedom of thought or expression.

You couldn’t even confide in a friend. I made the mistake of telling a friend on the RPF about my former supervisor, I told my friend my supervisor had been a real b****, and not long after I was assigned to the RPF’s RPF. It turns out my friend told someone what I said while she was getting sec checked or audited. I don’t blame her, we were all encouraged to report anything that was “harmful to Scientology.�? I should have known better than to say anything critical to anyone.

So, I was assigned to the RPF’s RPF, when I was 16 years old. I was taken under guard to the boiler room and made to chip paint off the floor all day, while a guard sat in a chair and watched me. I was given 15 minutes to eat meals, and 6 hours to sleep. I was guarded day and night. I wasn’t allowed to talk to anyone. This went on for a few days, and then I was returned to the regular RPF. I felt numb.

While on the RPF I was put on the Running Program, and was on it over 200 days. I spent all day running around a red pole in Griffith Park while being supervised. The supervisor made sure I was running to “complete exhaustion�? and I didn’t spend too much time resting on the bench. I could easily have faked a “win�? and finished the Running Program, but at this point I believed in Scientology, and I wasn’t going to lie about having a win just to get off the Running Program. Even though it would have made my life easier to lie, I thought, if Scientology works, then I should have a win from this Running Program, and I’m not going to lie about one.

What finally helped me leave the Sea Org was my brother visiting me a couple of times while I was on the RPF and pointing out the many lies that Sea Org members are told. We are promised a day off, a vacation, that we would get paid, etc., etc. and then there are always reasons why we won’t get paid, can’t have our day off or have a vacation. The vacation promise was hilarious. There was a policy by LRH that every Sea Org member was entitled to a three week vacation every year. The catch was, you had to find someone to cover your post before you could leave. Of course, no one was available to cover for anyone, we were all too busy doing our own posts and trying to keep our stats up, so not many people ever took a vacation. Usually if someone was allowed to leave for a week or two, it was to go “handle�? their relatives who were causing “bad pr.�? The person would be drilled on how to talk to their relatives before they left, and they would be debriefed when they got back.

When I left the Sea Org, I had to sleep in my parent’s car. My parents were still in the Sea Org. I had nowhere to go, no possessions and no money, not even a high school diploma. I had been in the Sea Org for ten years. I was 16 years old, and I needed a job so I could support myself.

I’m just one of many people who were abused by the Cult of Scientology. This is what Tom Cruise endorses and donates millions of dollars to.

tom_ · Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2006 4:11 am Post subject:

Imagine, child abuse with a tax exempt status!!! Yup, that's $cientology.

Read: www.TaxExemptChildAbuse.net

Anybody wanting "TAX EXEMPT CHILD ABUSE" bumper stickers can PM me and I'll mail ya one or two. No charge!

.

olska · Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2006 6:21 am Post subject:

Sara,

Your story breaks my heart. I know you somehow survived after the Sea Org, because here you are, telling your story -- and very well written it is!

I hope (when you are ready) you will tell us more about what happened after you left the Sea Org, and how you are doing as an adult, now.

Your story is a testament to your strength, and an inspiration to others to come forth and tell their own stories. Thank you for having the courage to tell it.

Please let us know if we can help you in any way.

Ladybird · Joined: 27 Jul 2005 Posts: 5459

Sara, I know from personal experience that you are telling the truth. Thank you so much for sharing your story. I sent my kids to live with their SP father, because I could not stand to see the way Sea Org kids were treated, but I still foolishly believed that I was saving the planet and leaving my kids was "greatest good for the greatest number of dynamics". Often, if I got libs I would take some of my friends kids to the beach or the mall if their parents were not off, the conditions at the QI in Clearwater were appalling! So were the "nurserys" at orgs I visited, and at the INT base and at PAC. I am ashamed that I didn't do more, and I am totally disgusted that scientology gets away with this abuse!

I think that the kids who grew up as virtual orphans and slaves in the Sea Org are the most incredible survivors of all. Your stories are going to crack this cult wide open. I know that all the parents I knew felt the same way in their hearts, and will never forgive themselves for allowing the cult to abuse their children and break up their families.

Big hugs to you, Ladybird

nunya · Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2006 6:42 am Post subject:

Sara, that is a horrible story. All of your stories are so similar, that it would be impossible for someone to read them and logically dismiss them as untruths.

I would like to know if the people that post their stories here are going to be okay with me gathering them together and copying and forwarding them. If not that is fine, but please at the end of your posts, specify whether or not your personal experiences can be relayed in letters. If there is no specification I will assume that it is not okay to use the personal experience. I absolutely do not want to stomp on any toes here.
_________________
We will never forget Lisa
http://www.lisamcpherson.org/

Tim · Joined: 09 Dec 2005 Posts: 189

Glad to see this thread has taken off - good job U 2! There is another thread in the main forum pointing to this one - I hope this works, if U guys get on oprah please send me a postcard!

I'd like to add that I truly do feel for you all and am sad that parts of your lives were stolen from you. I also believe that the only people who have the right and the privilage to take this job on are those who know what they are talking about. I hope you can put something together to make the world know how destructive this cult is.

If America. land of the free, home of the brave, can not destroy it's own destructive cult, then no other country will be able to do so.

This is a job for americans to do. Not the British, not the eurpoeans. Americans must destroy scientology if it is ever to be destroyed.

http://ocmb.xenu.net/ocmb/viewtopic.php?t=16375

Sara · Joined: 30 Nov 2005 Posts: 87

Thank you for your kind words. I had some hard times the first few years I was out, but things worked out pretty well for me overall. My sisters and brother helped me adjust to life on the outside. One of the hardest things is having parents who are still Scientologists. I can't talk to them about this. They have been through horrible experiences in the Sea Org as well, and they still believe in Scientology.

I'm fine with my story being copied and forwarded, and you can PM me if you need anything else. Reading the posts of other people has been very therapeutic to me. I appreciate Mr. Heldal-Lund for hosting this website, and all the good advice I've seen Ladybird, Magoo and others give people.

magoo1 · Joined: 24 Jan 2004 Posts: 10446 Location: Burbank, CA, USA

Sarah.......................

Wow. Amazing. No matter how many stories I hear of the cult, I never can hear enough, and each one has touched me deeply. Yours, being a child in the Sea Org, is especially vital to get out.

My greastest congratulations to you for telling your story! You have no idea how many, many kids and families, adults and staff you're helping just by telling your story, but I know it's WAY more than you can imagine.

I thank you, and please, if you need anyone to talk with, give me a call.

My very best Smile

Tory/Magoo~~
(818) 841-3632

Digger · Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2006 10:56 am Post subject:

Some links here:

http://www.whyaretheydead.net/childabuse/pedophile/Gabriel_Williams.html

http://sexual.taxexemptchildabuse.net/

http://www.factnet.org/CIF/child_abuse.htm

mickwenlock · Joined: 24 May 2002 Posts: 716

Sara,

I was in the SO during that same period. You have, FWIW, my sincere apologies for what you went through. The SO let it's children down, all of us let them down and it is a hard thing to own up to.

Mick