Issue 175 – March 2024

S.M.A.R.T.
(Stop Mind control And Ritual abuse Today)
P O Box 1295, Easthampton, MA 01027-1295 USA

E-mail: SMARTNEWS@aol.com
Home page: https://ritualabuse.us/

Issue 175 – March 2024

The purpose of this newsletter is to help stop secretive organizations and groups from abusing others and to help those who allege they have been abused by such organizations and groups. This newsletter is not a substitute for other ways of recovering from ritual abuse. Readers should use caution while reading this newsletter. If necessary, make sure other support systems are available during and after reading this newsletter.

Important:  The resources mentioned in this newsletter are for educational value only. Reading the books cited may or may not help your recovery process, so use caution when reading any book or contacting any resource mentioned in this newsletter. Some may have a religious or other agenda that may be separate from your own recovery process. Others may have valuable information on secretive organizations but have triggers or be somewhat sympathetic to those organizations. less explicitly stated otherwise, the views expressed in this newsletter constitute expressions of opinion, and readers are cautioned to form their own opinions and draw their own conclusions by consulting a variety of sources, including this newsletter. Resources listed, quoted and individual articles, etc. and their writers do not necessarily support all or any of the views mentioned in this newsletter. Also, the views, facts and opinions mentioned in this newsletter are solely the opinions of the authors and are not necessarily the opinions of this newsletter or its editor.

Copyright 2024 – All rights reserved.  No reproduction of any material without written permission from the editor and individual authors.

Information in this issue includes: Jeffrey Epstein, FBI, coverup, criminal sex trafficking ring, Prince Andrew,  President Clinton, Ghislaine Maxwell, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, Johanna Sjoberg, Donald Trump, grand jury records, underage girl abuse probe, Child abuse ring, Glasgow, sexual abuse, rape, murder, sexual assault,  Zone of Interest, Holocaust Tale, Höss villa, Auschwitz, concentration camp, Third Reich, Martin Amis= 2014 novel,  killing of nearly one million Jews and others, Nuremberg Trials, Auschwitz Exhibition, Barbarossa operation,  Joseph Goebbels Minister of Propaganda of the Reich, Der Untermensch, Utah bill, ritualistic sexual abuse of minors, Brett Bluth, House Bill 196, Rep. Ken Ivory, Kenya death cult leader, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, convicted child molester Rashad Jamal, child molestation, cruelty to children convictions, authoritarian structures, critical thinking, Dr. Steven Hassan, Dr. Janja Lalich, polygamy, sleep deprivation, manipulative language, irrational fears,  ex‑Olympian, Conrad Mainwaring, statute of limitations, Former La Luz del Mundo ‘cult’ members, religious event,  child sexual exploitation charges, Naasón Joaquín García, brainwashed, The Light of the World, Stressful Life Events, Traumatic Experiences, Onset of Obsessive‑Compulsive Disorder, OCD, trauma, development of major psychiatric disorders, PTSD, Dispelling Myths About Dissociative Identity Disorder Treatment, Empirically Based Approach, dissociative identity disorder, dissociative amnesia, DID treatment, DID patients, symptoms and functioning, Trauma‑Informed Care, Training Deficits, Doctoral Programs, psychological services, Trauma exposure

The Survivorship Trafficking and Extreme Abuse Online Conference 2024
Low Prices until March 15th.
Survivor Conference – Saturday and Sunday May 4 – 5, 2024
Clinician’s Conference – Friday May 3, 2024

Speakers and topics include:
Ritual Abuse, Sex Trafficking and Mind Control – Neil Brick
Masonic Ritual Abuse: Its Characteristics, Prevalence and Expression in Western Art and Culture. – Dr. Lynn Brunet
Uses of Art Therapy, Sensory Awareness and EMDR in Treating Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) – Patricia Quinn
Using Creative Choice and Flow to Engage Healing States – Patricia Quinn
Teaching Trauma and Dissociation in Higher Education – Randy Noblitt PhD
Tackling Complex Trauma Assessment Problems with Cybernetic Big 5 Theory – Dr. Rainer Hermann Kurz
Recovery Tips for and by Survivors – Moderated by Dr. Randy Noblitt and Neil Brick.  https://survivorship.org/the-survivorship-trafficking-and-extreme-abuse-online-conference-2024

Jeffrey Epstein victims sue FBI, allege coverup – Reuters – Jonathan Stempel February 14, 2024 NEW YORK (Reuters) ‑ A dozen victims of Jeffrey Epstein filed a lawsuit on Wednesday accusing the FBI of covering up its failure to investigate the late financier, enabling his sex trafficking to continue for more than 20 years.

The victims, using Jane Doe pseudonyms, said the FBI received credible tips as early as 1996 that Epstein trafficked young women and girls, yet failed to interview victims or share what it knew with federal and local law enforcement.

Victims said the FBI finally began a probe in 2006, but ended it two years later after Epstein pleaded guilty to a Florida prostitution charge, and kept ignoring tips until his July 2019 arrest….

“As a direct and proximate cause of the FBI’s negligence, plaintiffs would not have been continued to be sex trafficked, abused, raped, tortured and threatened,” the complaint said.  “Jane Does 1‑12 bring this lawsuit to get to the bottom ‑‑ once and for all ‑‑ of the FBI’s role in Epstein’s criminal sex trafficking ring,” it added….

Wednesday’s complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan seeks damages from the U.S. government, the only defendant. It cited a Dec. 5, 2023, Senate Judiciary Committee hearing where FBI Director Christopher Wray was asked why the FBI didn’t do more. He promised to “get with my team and figure out if there is more information we can provide.” The number of Epstein’s victims is believed to be well over 100. Victims previously reached approximately $500 million of settlements, before deducting legal fees and costs, with a program funded by Epstein’s estate and with two of Epstein’s banks, JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank. It is unclear whether the 12 plaintiffs received compensation from those settlements…. The case is Doe 1 et al v United States, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 24‑01071.4, 2024 https://www.aol.com/jeffrey‑epstein‑victims‑sue‑fbi‑185614994.html

 

Jeffrey Epstein documents unsealed, naming Prince Andrew and former President Clinton   By Samantha Delouya, Lauren del Valle and Kara Scannell, CNN Wed January 3, 2024

CNN  C Hundreds of pages of unsealed documents from a lawsuit connected to accused sex‑trafficker Jeffrey Epstein were publicly released on Wednesday. This is the first set of documents to be unsealed under a December 18 court order, with more expected in the coming weeks.

The documents in total, including material yet to be unsealed, are expected to include nearly 200 names, including some of Epstein=s accusers, prominent businesspeople, politicians and potentially more.

The first batch of documents didn’t appear to contain any bombshell revelations. Much of the information in them has already been released through media reports and other court proceedings. But this is the first time these documents, filed with a court, have been released through the legal system.

Attorneys for Ghislaine Maxwell said in a statement on Wednesday: AShe has consistently and vehemently maintained her innocence.@

The documents contain excerpts of depositions taken of Maxwell and Virginia Roberts Giuffre. There is also a deposition from Johanna Sjoberg, who in the document described Prince Andrew touching her breast in a joking manner while taking photos. Sjoberg=s story has been public, but this is the first time her deposition has been unsealed. She worked sometimes for Epstein, and she has said that he pressured her to go beyond her comfort level at times in giving sexualized massages. Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre previously reached an out‑of‑court settlement in her sexual abuse lawsuit against him, according to a court document filed by her attorneys Tuesday. Andrew has denied the allegations against him.

The deposition transcripts include references to several prominent names, as has been previously reported, including Andrew as well as Bill Clinton, the former US president.

Sjoberg recalled in her 2016 deposition that Epstein spoke to her about Bill Clinton.  AHe said one time that Clinton likes them young, referring to girls,@ she said. When asked if Clinton was a friend of Epstein=s, she said she understood Epstein had Adealings@ with Clinton. A spokesman for Clinton confirmed in 2019 that the former president had flown on Epstein=s private plane but said Clinton knew nothing of the financier=s Aterrible crimes.@        A Clinton spokesman on Wednesday reiterated that 2019 denial and told CNN that it has now Abeen nearly 20 years since President Clinton last had contact with Epstein.@ Clinton has not been accused of any crimes or wrongdoing related to Epstein.

In her deposition, Johanna Sjoberg also recalled a time she was with Epstein on one of his planes and pilots informed them they needed to land in Atlantic City. Epstein then suggested they contact Donald Trump. AJeffrey said, Great, we=ll call up Trump and we=ll go to B I don=t recall the name of the casino, but B we=ll go to the casino,@ Sjoberg said. Sjoberg later said in her deposition she never gave a massage to Trump. Trump is not accused of wrongdoing related to Epstein in the documents. CNN has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.

Giuffre alleged in her deposition that Maxwell directed her to have sexual contact with people including former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, Prince Andrew, tech guru Marvin Minsky, well‑known French modeling scout Jean‑Luc Brunel and American investor Glenn Dubin.

A Dubin spokesperson said in a statement in 2019, when Giuffre=s allegations were previously made public, that A@Glenn and Eva Dubin are outraged by the allegations against them in the unsealed court records and categorically reject them.@ The statement was widely reported at the time, including in the Washington Post, the Hill and Vanity Fair.

The same portion of that deposition still has three unnamed people that were not revealed Wednesday. Giuffre alleges Maxwell directed her to have sexual relations with an Aunnamed prince,@ the Aowner of a large hotel chain@ and a completely redacted out name.

It is not clear from the document whether Giuffre subsequently had sexual contact with any of the people named. Other records unsealed are legal motions filed by the attorneys. The documents are filings from a settled case brought by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, an American woman who claimed Epstein sexually abused her as a minor and that Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein=s former girlfriend, aided in the abuse. https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/03/business/jeffrey‑epstein‑documents‑list‑names/index.html

Jeffrey Epstein grand jury records from underage girl abuse probe to be released under Florida law      By CURT ANDERSON February 29, 2024

Grand jury transcripts from a 2006 Florida investigation into Jeffrey Epstein=s abuse of dozens of underage girls will be released publicly later this year under legislation signed into law Thursday by Gov. Ron DeSantis. A local judge cited the new law in denying release of the records for now.

The measure, which takes effect July 1, would carve out a limited exception to the secrecy that generally shrouds grand jury testimony in specific cases such as that involving Epstein, DeSantis said at a signing ceremony in Palm Beach, Florida, where many of the crimes took place at Epstein=s home.

Epstein, a wealthy financier, cut a deal with South Florida federal prosecutors in 2008 that allowed him to escape more severe federal charges and instead plead guilty to state charges of procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and solicitation of prostitution. He was sentenced to 18 months in the Palm Beach County jail system, followed by 12 months of house arrest. He was required to register as a sex offender…. https://apnews.com/article/jeffrey‑epstein‑grand‑jury‑records‑desantis‑8b6e5a3788f9caba6351321b83eb95f8

Child abuse ring warned of potential life sentence BBC Thu, January 4, 2024

A group of seven people convicted of sexually abusing children in Glasgow have been told that they face possible life sentences. Five men and two women were convicted in November in what is believed to be the largest prosecution of a child abuse ring in Scotland….

The assessors will help the judge to decide whether a lifelong restriction order should be placed on some or all of the gang, who carried out horrific abuse against three children in a Glasgow drug den known as the “beastie house” by one of their victims. It will look at whether the abusers would potentially “seriously endanger the lives or physical or psychological wellbeing of the public at large” and should therefore be subject to risk management for the rest of their lives.

They would also be ordered to serve a minimum period in jail ‑ a punishment part ‑ before they could be considered for parole. Iain Owens, 45, Elaine Lannery, 39, Lesley Williams, 42, Paul Brannan, 41, Scott Forbes, 50, Barry Watson, 47, and John Clark, 48, had denied all of the allegations against them but were found guilty after a nine‑week trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

All seven were convicted of sexual abuse ‑ including rape ‑ with Owens, Lannery, Brannan and Williams also being found guilty of attempting to murder a child by pushing her into a microwave and trapping her in other places. Judge Lord Beckett told the seven that they had been convicted of crimes of “extraordinary depravity” and they all faced a “very substantial prison sentence”.

He added: “Some of you have been convicted of sexually abusing three children and some of you two children. “All of you were convicted of sexual abuse of a young child in the most appalling circumstances. “All the crimes you were convicted of are serious. All the sexual cases are of extreme gravity.”

The court heard two girls and a boy, who were all aged under 13 at the time, were violently and sexually assaulted on multiple occasions between 2012 and 2019, and members of the group used Class A drugs in front of the children and caused them to consume alcohol and drugs. Charges related to causing the children to take part in seances and witchcraft were dropped during the trial which ran between September and November.

Jurors had returned verdicts on 21 charges which were committed between April 2012 and June 2019.    The court heard that the children first came into contact with social work in Glasgow in August 2017 and were deemed to be at risk in July 2018. But the allegations of violence and sexual abuse did not come to light until March 2020. https://news.yahoo.com/child‑abuse‑ring‑warned‑potential‑143123893.html

The Real‑Life Inspiration Behind The Zone of Interest=s Chilling Holocaust Tale

By Armani Syed January 12, 2024 The Höss villa in southern Poland is an idyllic two‑story building with a garden landscaped to perfection. It is also located in the shadows of Auschwitz, the largest and deadliest concentration camp of the Third Reich. The former house of Nazi Commandant Rudolf Höss, who served as Camp Commandant of Auschwitz from May 1940 to December 1943, shared the home with his wife Hedwig, and their two children. And the building is the locus of the action in Jonathan Glazer=s insidious Holocaust drama The Zone of Interest, his first film in the decade since Under the Skin (2013), and the winner of the Grand Prix and FIPRESCI prize at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

The film, adapted from Martin Amis= 2014 novel of the same name and releasing nationwide in the U.S. on Jan. 12, depicts the domestic bliss of the Höss family, who have built their Eden on genocidal foundations. And it never contrasts this utopia with the victims of the Holocaust on the other side of the wall. Instead, we stay with its perpetrators. The film opens with a family enjoying a lake‑side picnic, the sunshine ripe. But in the home setting, we learn that Rudolf (Christian Friedel) is at the forefront of exterminating European Jews. Hedwig (Sandra Hüller), who chillingly dubs herself AQueen of Auschwitz,@ runs a strict household that she places above all elseCeven her husband. The family tries its best to drown out the sounds of screams, cries, and gunshots, but the atrocities taking place beyond the wall are undeniable, and seep in through the cracks….

Instead, we are offered a detailed and frankly mundane insight into their domestic routine; the children play, the husband and wife reminisce about old memories, and Hedwig dolls herself up with lipstick and clothing taken from Jewish women. We come no closer to knowing these perpetrators, yet their lives don=t appear dramatically different from our own.

ATypically we may think of Nazis and people who commit atrocities as monsters and therefore not us, not humans[Y] which actually teaches us nothing,@ says Glazer. AIt leaves us feeling a very safe distance, imagining that none of us are capable of that.@ In inviting viewers to the perpetrator=s side of the wall, he invites us to reflect on our similarities with these people, to see that we are all capable of such evil.

By spending time on this side of the wall, we come to see how effortlessly the Höss couple compartmentalize the material success they=ve built on suffering. AThey were ordinary people who managed to separate their brains in such a way that that wasn’t troubling them,@ says Oddy. AThey sort of reveled in the nouveau riche lifestyle that they’d carved out for themselves on the back of this and didn’t bat an eyelid.@….

In his post as Commander of Auschwitz, Rudolph was ultimately responsible for the killing of nearly one million Jews and others held in the camp. After the war ended, he lived under a false identity before British intelligence tracked him down and arrested him. Rudolph testified in the Nuremberg TrialsCa joint tribunal ordered by France, the Soviet Union, the U.K., and the U.S. between 1945 and 1946Cbefore he was tried in Poland and hanged on April 16, 1947 at the site of his crimes.

Rudolph never admitted guilt for his actions, insisting until the endCin a refrain that became hauntingly familiar as the justification of so many other NazisCthat he was simply following orders…. https://time.com/6554425/the‑zone‑of‑interest‑true‑story/

Auschwitz Exhibition  @auschwitzxhibit  The Barbarossa operation was accompanied by an intense propaganda campaign coordinated by Joseph Goebbels, Minister of Propaganda of the Reich.  One of the most notorious pamphlets was Der Untermensch (“The sub‑human”), published in 1942 by the SS & displayed in @auschwitzxhibit https://twitter.com/auschwitzxhibit/status/1747000785102159874

 

Utah bill aims to define ritualistic sexual abuse of minors by Jim Spiewak, KUTVTue, January 23rd 2024 SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) C A new bill seeks to define “ritualistic sexual abuse” of children, a term that sparked public interest and grabbed headlines last year after a public spat between the Utah County Sheriff and a former Utah County Attorney over ongoing ritualistic investigations.  Survivor Brett Bluth, who said he was ritually abused by a therapist over twenty years ago, helped write House Bill 196. He described how religious practices were exploited to facilitate the abuse.

“I have struggled with that very thing for many years.” The bill aims to clearly define ritualistic sexual abuse, specifying it as an act that commemorates or celebrates an important event in a religious, cultural, social, or institutional context, which is then used to sexually abuse a child.  “It’s particularly heinous when a perpetrator uses a familiar component in our society, or culture or religion to coerce a child, to trick a child into coming closer,” Bluth said.

Rep. Ken Ivory (R B Salt Lake County), is sponsoring the bill. Bluth said the fact that the bill has been filed shows how far this issue has come, saying, “This is the first time those words ‘ritual abuse’ are going to be brought into this building (State Capitol) in Utah history.”  If passed, the legislation would focus only on the sexual abuse of minors. https://kmyu.tv/news/local/utah‑bill‑aims‑to‑define‑ritualistic‑sexual‑abuse‑of‑minors‑utah‑county‑sheriff‑former‑attorney‑therapist‑religious‑practices

Kenya death cult leader charged after hundreds found dead in forest

Self‑proclaimed pastor arrested over deaths of more than 200 people, most of whom had died of hunger  Agence France‑Presse in Nairobi Tue 23 Jan 2024

Paul Nthenge Mackenzie (centre) is alleged to have incited his acolytes to starve to death in order to >meet Jesus=.   A Kenyan court has charged a cult leader and dozens of suspected accomplices with manslaughter over the deaths of more than 200 people. Self‑proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and 94 other suspects, including his wife, pleaded not guilty to 238 counts of manslaughter, according to court documents seen by AFP.

Mackenzie, who was last week also charged with terrorism, is alleged to have incited his acolytes to starve to death in order to Ameet Jesus@ in a case that provoked horror across the world.  He was arrested last April after bodies were discovered in the Shakahola forest near the Indian Ocean. Autopsies revealed that the majority of the 429 victims had died of hunger. Others, including children, appeared to have been strangled, beaten or suffocated.

The site of a mass grave in Shakahola outside the coastal town of Malindi after the exhumation of bodies.  The 238 victims mentioned in Tuesday=s hearing were killed between January 2021 and September 2023 at Shakahola, court documents said.

The grisly case, dubbed the AShakahola forest massacre@, led the government to flag the need for tighter control of fringe denominations. Police and residents carry the exhumed bodies of victims of Paul Mackenzie Nthenge=s religious cult through the village of Shakahola last week. Questions have been raised about how Mackenzie managed to evade law enforcement despite having a history of extremism and previous legal cases.  A Senate commission of inquiry reported in October that the father of seven had faced charges in 2017 for extreme preaching. He was acquitted of charges of radicalisation in 2017 for illegally providing school teaching after rejecting the formal educational system that he claimed was not in line with the Bible.

In 2019, he was also accused of having links to the death of two children believed to have been starved, suffocated and then buried in a shallow grave in Shakahola. He was released on bail pending that trial, which is ongoing.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/23/kenya‑death‑cult‑leader‑charged‑after‑hundreds‑found‑dead‑in‑forest

Kenyan doomsday cult leader charged with murder of 191 children Reuters February 6, 2024 NAIROBI, Feb 6 (Reuters) ‑ Kenyan cult leader Paul Mackenzie and 29 associates were charged on Tuesday with the murder of 191 children whose bodies were found among more than double that number buried in a forest.

The defendants all denied the charges brought before a court in the coastal town of Malindi. One suspect was found mentally unfit to stand trial. Prosecutors say Mackenzie ordered his followers to starve themselves and their children to death so that they could go to heaven before the world ended, in one of the world’s worst cult‑related disasters in recent history. The followers of his Good News International Church lived in several secluded settlements in an 800‑acre area within the Shakahola forest. More than 400 bodies were eventually exhumed.

Mackenzie was arrested last April. He has already been charged with terrorism‑related crimes, manslaughter and torture. He was also convicted in December of producing and distributing films without a licence and sentenced to 12 months in jail. A former taxi driver, Mackenzie forbade cult members from sending their children to school and from going to hospital when they were ill…. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/kenyan‑cult‑leader‑charged‑with‑murder‑191‑children‑2024‑02‑06/

6 who went missing may be tied to a cult. Here’s how social media draws people in. Minnah Arshad Jeanine Santucci  USA TODAY Jan. 21, 2024

In an era when almost anyone can reach millions on the internet, where is the line drawn between a social media influencer and an influential leader who draws followers to something more sinister?

Six people are missing out of Missouri after investigators believe they were sucked into what appears to be a Aspiritual cult@ on social media called the University of Cosmic Intelligence. The group is run by convicted child molester Rashad Jamal….

Jamal is currently in prison on child molestation and cruelty to children convictions. Authorities say he built up an online following of hundreds of thousands of followers on platforms including YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, and shares his theories about Black and Latino people being gods and goddesses, while people of other races and ethnicities are not from this planet. He also shares conspiracy theories in his videos about government controlling the weather and elites and politicians being Areptilian shapeshifters@ who drink blood.

The missing people became increasingly isolated from family members, quit their jobs and were seen engaged in nude meditations outdoors, according to the Berkeley Police Department in Missouri.

The Apot of odd beliefs that=s bubbling outside of mainstream society@ has always existed, said Stephen Kent, emeritus professor at the University of Alberta=s sociology department. But experts say with the internet and the dominance of social media, people have easier access to them, and targeted content can drag them further in.

What is a cult?

What sets cults apart from other organized groups is they operate to benefit only a leader, and their authoritarian structures leave no room for critical thinking, according to Dr. Steven Hassan, a renowned cult expert with firsthand experience escaping the Unification Church. Hassan founded the Freedom of Mind Resource Center to help other survivors heal.

Cult leaders, Hassan said, construct authoritarian rulings that benefit only themselves either financially or by fueling their narcissistic beliefs. They become tyrannical, with no allowance for free will or anyone else’s needs. AIf you can create uncertainty, doubt and fear, it makes people=s minds more susceptible to an authoritarian voice,@ Hassan said.

Dr. Janja Lalich, a professor emerita of sociology at California State University, Chico and founder of the Lalich Center on Cults and Coercion, was also in what she describes as a political cult. She said in a Wired video that cults have four common characteristics: a leader who is charismatic and a narcissist, a transcendent belief system Athat gives you the answer to everything,@ a system of control that dictates things like how followers live or what they wear, and a system of influence that draws on emotions such as fear or grief to get followers to comply. AProbably 99% (of cult leaders) are con artists and they know exactly what they=re doing. Some of them may eventually become delusional because they get away with so much for so long,@ Lalich said in the video.

Jamal told USA TODAY in a lengthy statement provided by his publicist, Nataé Robinson, that his YouTube and other social media posts are intended to share his opinions “ranging from metaphysics to quantum physics to marine biology, Topography, Philosophy, Religion, Black History, World History, Yoga Meditation and Crystal healing.”  “I want to categorically state that I am not a cult leader. … I am not involved in any form of cult activities, and my teachings are focused on enlightenment, not control,” the statement said….

AThe dangers depend upon how one uses the internet and information,@ Kent said.       Hassan suspects other agents are also at work.  AIf you look at (Jamal’s) YouTube, how did he get so many followers? Was it really organic, or were there bad actors amplifying it, or was it just algorithms of YouTube trying to make money?@ Hassan said….

Police in Berkeley, Missouri, have said the missing people were followers of Jamal on social media, shared his content and referenced his teachings. Their behaviors included engaging in polygamy, changing their names to “a spiritual God or Goddess” and “referring to their mother as a ‘shell’ that brought their spirit into the universe,” police said.

It’s possible the missing people never had any in‑person contact with Jamal, Kent said, because the social media influencer has been imprisoned and was previously living in a different state. But that doesn’t mean they were not among his followers, Kent said. AThat=s one of the consequences of the internet: People can feel like they know a leader even if a leader doesn=t know them,@ he said.

While cults are often thought to only attract a fringe group of people, Hassan warned virtually anyone is susceptible, though cult leaders may take advantage of weak moments. They use behavioral tactics to gradually rope people in, such as sleep deprivation, manipulative language and instilling irrational fears to prevent recruits from leaving or fighting back. And in the age of the internet, recruiting a wide breadth of people is made even easier for cult leaders, Hassan said….

Lalich said in the Wired video that people on the outside of a cult should make sure to be a “safe haven” for anyone who might be involved in a cult to know they can go to.  “It’s not easy to leave a cult,” Lalich said in the Wired video. “It’s one of the hardest things someone’s ever going to do.”  https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/01/20/cults‑online‑social‑media‑missing‑people/72281211007/

An ex‑Olympian pleads guilty to sexually assaulting boys B but the total number of victims >remains unknown,= DA says Holly Yan and Nic F. Anderson, CNN February 10, 2024

As boys, they trusted him as a revered coach and mentor. As men, they say he=s a Amonster@ who used his Olympic fame to manipulate young athletes and sexually assault them. Now, more than four decades after Conrad Mainwaring trained young athletes at a Massachusetts sports camp, the 72‑year‑old pleaded guilty this week to 14 counts of indecent assault and battery involving nine male victims. In addition to the criminal cases in Massachusetts, at least seven men have accused Mainwaring of sexual assault in civil lawsuits in New York state, an attorney representing them told CNN. And there could be more victims who have yet to come forward….

Immediately after the Olympics, Mainwaring moved to Massachusetts to work at Camp Greylock B a boys= sports camp in Berkshire County B from 1976 to 1979, the district attorney said. AWhile working at the camp, the Defendant is confirmed to have sexually abused nine children,@ Shugrue said in a written statement. CNN has reached out to Camp Greylock for comment. For decades, the victims= abuse was a closely guarded secret. Some accusers told CNN they had felt too uncomfortable or even ashamed to speak out….

Waxman said Mainwaring was such an Aexpert manipulator@ that he didn=t realize he had been sexually assaulted until years later, when he was in college. Then he felt a wave of shame and self‑loathing, the victim told his abuser in court Thursday. AOver time, as I realized what you had done, I began to experience many self‑damaging thoughts: >What was wrong with me? Why did you choose me in the first place? Why didn=t I stop you? I must be defective in some way or ways,=@ Waxman told Mainwaring. AThose negative thoughts took up space in my head for decades.@

Mainwaring pleaded guilty to 14 counts B or instances B of sexual assault involving nine male victims who were between 13 and 19 years old at the time. As part of a plea deal, he was sentenced to 10 to 11 years in prison, a spokesperson for the Berkshire County District Attorney=s Office said. But more allegations of rampant abuse by Mainwaring have emerged….

After Mainwaring left Camp Greylock in 1979, he moved to upstate New York to study guidance and counseling at Syracuse University, according to a civil court filing. He was also employed as a resident adviser. In 1980, Mainwaring also started working with Ahigh school student athletes at the nearby Nottingham High School,@ another court filing says….

In a statement to CNN, the Syracuse City School District said it Ahas no records that Conrad Mainwaring was ever a staff member or a sanctioned volunteer at Nottingham or in the Syracuse City School District.@ But the Olympian quickly earned the teenager=s trust and friendship, and the pair would speak regularly B often in a guidance counselor=s office, Kriesberg said. AWe would talk about school and sports and whatever teenage boys want to talk about,@ Kriesberg told CNN. AHe was part counselor, part mentor, part coach, part friend, big brother, therapist.@

But later, Kriesberg said, he realized Mainwaring was actually a manipulative Amonster.@  AI was being groomed B sort of set up for the kill, so to speak.@ In the summer of 1981, when Kriesberg was 17, he visited Mainwaring at his Syracuse University campus home.

Mainwaring then started massaging Kriesberg….@ the complaint says. AMainwaring used intimidation, fear, fraud, force and his position of power and authority over Joseph,@ the lawsuit says. AMainwaring told Joseph that this procedure was necessary so he could properly understand Joseph=s sex drive and provide proper counseling. Joseph did not consent to Mainwaring=s sexual assault.@

The lawsuit names Syracuse University as a defendant, saying it Adid not conduct a background check, did not contact Mainwaring=s prior employment, including his employment with Camp Greylock, and did not collect references from Mainwaring@ prior to allowing him to live on campus and hiring him as a resident adviser.  A Syracuse University spokesperson declined to comment on Mainwaring and the sexual assault allegations against him, citing Astill active litigation.@

Kriesberg said he could not pursue criminal action against Mainwaring for the alleged 1981 incident at Syracuse because the statute of limitations in New York state has passed. That=s why he=s pursuing civil action. At least six other men have also accused Mainwaring of sexual assault in civil lawsuits filed in New York state, said Kat Thomas, an attorney representing those plaintiffs….https://www.aol.com/news/ex‑olympian‑pleads‑guilty‑sexually‑211219752.html

Former La Luz del Mundo ‘cult’ members protest religious event in Houston  The Houston First Corporation, which manages the George R. Brown Convention Center downtown, said it has “no legal basis for denying” the megachurch to host an event. By Eric Killelea Feb 12, 2024

The leader of La Luz del Mundo, a Mexico‑based Christian megachurch with 18 Houston congregations, has been locked up in a California prison since being arrested on child sexual exploitation charges in 2019. Naasón Joaquín García, the 54‑year‑old self‑described “Apostle of Jesus Christ,” pleaded guilty in 2022 to sexually abusing three minors and has been serving a nearly 17‑year sentence in prison. He is now facing another 40 years after being charged in October with two felony counts of producing and possessing child pornography.

Meanwhile, documentaries on HBO and Netflix have featured stories from former church members who claim they were brainwashed and sexually abused by leaders in the Christian church.

Regardless of the church’s reputation, La Luz Del MundoC”The Light of the World”Chas managed to book an event meant to attract thousands of members from Houston and across the United States and Mexico to the George R. Brown Convention Center near Discovery Green downtown, taking place Monday through Wednesday. In the past two weeks, Houston church members have been distributing digital flyers displaying animated versions of García on Facebook to promote the “Holy Supper 2024” event….

Judith Castillo is among the growing number of former members of the church’s Houston congregations that have been asking state lawmakers, Mayor John Whitmire, city council members and Houston First, the government corporation that operates the George R. Brown Convention Center, to cancel the event. Castillo told them that both she and her daughter had been sexually abused by church members in Houston.

“This convention is a way the church tries to prove that they’re still powerful,” Castillo, a PhD student at the University of Houston, said Sunday. “We need to protect the integrity of the city and protect our kids from the members of the church who will attend this event. So, knowing all the facts, why is the city allowing this message of corruption?”…. https://www.chron.com/culture/religion/article/la‑luz‑del‑mundo‑houston‑convention‑18662983.php

Unveiled: Surviving La Luz Del Mundo – HBO Documentary

This documentary series explores the horrifying, yet relatively unknown story of the Christian church La Luz del Mundo (LLDM) and the sexual abuse that scores of members, many of them minors, say they have suffered at the hands of its successive leaders, known as the AApostles.@ Told from the point of view of the survivors who met to share their stories of abuse, the series chronicles the history of one of the most powerful religious groups not only in Mexico where it was founded, but also in the United States, while giving voice to the men and women who were brave enough to stand up and call out the heinous crimes.

Under the guise of the only true church offering eternal salvation, LLDM, which claims to have congregations in over 50 countries and over five million followers, was founded in 1926 by Aarón Joaquín Gonzalez. Joaquín Gonzalez was succeeded by his son and then grandson, all three Apostles said to be appointed by Adivine revelation.@ Now, scores of former members have come forward to describe how the Apostles built and maintained a system to procure and groom children for abuse. The series culminates in the events leading up to the 2019 arrest of the current Apostle, Naasón Joaquín García and his present‑day trial, shedding light on a story that was all but ignored by mainstream media, and illustrating the positive power of social media to unite and provide agency to the survivors. https://www.hbo.com/unveiled‑surviving‑la‑luz‑del‑mundo

The Darkness within La Luz del Mundo 2023 Netflix Documentary   For the first time, complainants against La Luz del Mundo megachurch leaders expose the abuses they suffered through exclusive interviews. https://www.netflix.com/title/81404182

Impacts of Stressful Life Events and Traumatic Experiences on Onset of Obsessive‑Compulsive Disorder B Keitaro Murayama,1 Tomohiro Nakao,1,* Aikana Ohno,1,2 Sae Tsuruta,3 Hirofumi Tomiyama,1 Suguru Hasuzawa,1 Taro Mizobe,1 Kenta Kato,1 and Shigenobu Kanba1 Front Psychiatry. 2020; 11: 561266.      Published online 2020 Dec 3. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.561266

AIn the present study, we investigated the onset conditions of 281 patients with OCD and compared clinical characteristics among groups with or without stressful life events including traumatic experiences. As a result, 172 (61.2%) participants had experienced various stressful life events, and 98 (34%) participants had had traumatic experiences before the onset. Furthermore, the participants who had had stressful life events showed more contamination/fear symptoms compared with those without such life events….

We examined patients with OCD to identify the circumstances around the onset, including traumatic experiences and stressful life events. We found that around 61% of patients experienced stressful life events before the onset, and around 57% of patients had traumatic experiences within 1 month before the onset. We also found that patients with stressful life events showed significantly more contamination/fear symptoms, and patients with traumatic experiences showed a tendency toward more hoarding obsessions compared with patients with spontaneous onset.@ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7744562/

Trauma‑related obsessiveBcompulsive disorder: a review Kristy L. Dykshoorn a , Health Psychol Behav Med. 2014 Jan 1; 2(1): 517B528. Published online 2014 Apr 23. doi: 10.1080/21642850.2014.905207

“The interplay between obsessiveBcompulsive disorder (OCD) and traumatic experiences has been researched consistently in the anxiety disorder community. Many scholars, dating back to Janet’s work in 1903, are aware that trauma can and does impact the development of major psychiatric disorders (de Silva & Marks, 2001)….

2.2. Possible links between OCD and PTSD    Recent research has suggested that OCD and PTSD are, in fact, two disorders on the same continuum (Gershuny, Baer, Radomsky, Wilson, & Jenike, 2003). Gershuny et al. (2003) suggest that there is a tremendous overlap between the symptomatology of both OCD and PTSD. Both are characterized by recurrent and intrusive thoughts that are experienced as anxiety/fear inducing. They discovered that as PTSD symptoms reduce, OCD symptoms increase, and as OCD symptoms are treated, PTSD symptoms take over. They argue that OCD symptoms do not appear to Areplace@ the PTSD symptoms, but rather OCD symptoms are used to cope with, reduce, and avoid the trauma‑related symptoms and memories….

Regardless of whether a trauma theory of psychopathology is adhered to, the evidence suggesting the impact of trauma on OCD is irrefutable. Because trauma can complicate the treatment of OCD and/or have practical implications about the specific course of treatment, an accurate evaluation of the traumatic event, themes, and impact is necessary (de Silva & Marks, 1999).  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4346088/

Dispelling Myths About Dissociative Identity Disorder Treatment: An Empirically Based Approach Bethany L. Brand, Richard J. Loewenstein, and David Spiegel Psychiatry 77(2) Summer 2014

Objective: Some claim that treatment for dissociative identity disorder (DID) is harmful. Others maintain that the available data support the view that psychotherapy is helpful. Method: We review the empirical support for both arguments.

Results: Current evidence supports the conclusion that phasic treatment consistent with expert consensus guidelines is associated with improvements in a wide range of DID patients= symptoms and functioning, decreased rates of hospitalizattion, and reduced costs of treatment. Research indicates that poor outcome is associated with treatment that does not specifically involve direct engagement with DID self‑states to repair identity fragmentation and to decrease dissociative amnesia.

Conclusions: The evidence demonstrates that carefully staged trauma‑focused psychotherapy for DID results in improvement, whereas dissociative symptoms persist when not specifically targeted in treatment. The claims that DID treatment is harmful are based on anecdotal cases, opinion pieces, reports of damage that are not substantiated in the scientific literature, misrepresentations of the data, and misunderstandings about DID treatment and the phenomenology of DID. Given the severe symptomatology and disability associated with DID, iatrogenic harm is far more likely to come from depriving DID patients of treatment that is consistent with expert consensus, treatment guidelines, and current research….

The current literature provides considerable empirical evidence that DID treatment is beneficial. While RCTs have not been conducted with DID, current evidence is consistent with the conclusion that DID treatment is responsible for improvements in DID patients= symptoms and functioning.    https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bethany‑Brand/publication/262682220_Dispelling_Myths_About_Dissociative_Identity_Disorder_Treatment_An_Empirically_Based_Approach/links/0a85e538cb428ee6c2000000/Dispelling‑Myths‑About‑Dissociative‑Identity‑Disorder‑Treatment‑An‑Empirically‑Based‑Approach.pdf

Trauma-Informed Care? Identifying Training Deficits in Accredited Doctoral Programs    Robert Foltz, Aeysha Kaeley, Judy Kupchan, Andrew Mills, Katie Murray, Alexandra Pope, Hannah Rahman, and Colin Rubright  2023 American Psychological Association 2023, Vol. 15, No. 7, 1188B1193 ISSN: 1942-9681 https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001461  Department of Clinical Psychology, Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Chicago Campus

Trauma-informed care has become a pillar of competent psychological services.A foundation in understanding trauma and its treatment should be viewed as essential for clinical psychologists entering the field, as working with individuals that have experienced trauma is inevitable. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the number of accredited doctoral programs in clinical psychology that require a course in trauma-informed theory and intervention in their curriculum. Method: Clinical psychology programs accredited by the American Psychological Association were surveyed to determine their requirement for a course related to trauma-informed care. Program information was initially reviewed online and in the absence of clear indication within their program websites, survey questions were sent to the program Chair and/or Directors of Clinical Training. Results: Data were obtained from 193 of the 254 APA-accredited programs included in this survey process. Only nine (5%) require a course related to trauma-informed care. Of these, five were PhD programs and four were PsyD programs. This equates to 202 (8%) of graduating doctoral students having been required to take a course related to trauma-informed care.

Conclusions: Trauma exposure is common and a major factor to be considered in the development of psychological disorders and overall physical and emotional wellbeing. As a result, clinical psychologists should enter the field with a foundation in understanding the impact and treatment of trauma exposure. However, only a minority of graduating doctoral students have been required to take a course related to this topic in their graduate curriculum. Https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36913296/

March 5, 2024 · Filed Under Newsletter 2024 - Issue 174 - 179