Reader's comments on this article Add a new comment on this article

from Cult Surfer Wednesday, February 09, 2005 - 14:51 (Agree/Disagree?) CBS affiliate KMFB - local San Diego channel 8, will air 2 segments on the FCF and the Family starting tonight (9th ) at 11:00p and tomorrow (10th) at 11p. We will post the streamer after it airs. (reply to this comment)

from Jim LaMattery Sunday, February 06, 2005 - 07:36 (Agree/Disagree?) For complete copies of the case file regarding Philip Slown aka 'Jay,' aka Philip Slown, aka Philip Salazar, please email me at jimlamattery@hotmail.com. Does anyone out there have a recent pic of Slown? If so, please email it immediately to me for use on an upcoming TV broadcast. Also, this man brutally raped and beat my young daughters and nieces. I believe that he may have hurt others. The FCF, and Family did nothing to break his cycle of abuse. They may have perpetuated it by coercing my niece not to turn the court's finding of sexual abuse committed by Slown to the FBI. On the FCF's 990's (Federal Tax Returns) payments to Philip Slown and his foundation "From The Heart" are substantial. More than $28,000 was paid to "From the Heart" in the very year of this adjudication-1998! If anyone has been abused by this man, the time to come forward and substantiate your allegations is NOW. Ex-communication was merely dumping this sexual predator into our neighborhoods. It was grossly irresponsible of TF and FCF to not inform authorities of his behavior. Instead of informing the public, FCF chose to pay large sums of money to Slown and his charitable foundation called "From The Heart." I need information and help on this case as soon as possible. Slown was last in the San Francisco area and is not reachable by phone as it was recently disconnected.Thanks-Jim (reply to this comment)

From Bella Sunday, February 06, 2005, 08:00 (Agree/Disagree?) Excellent! I just sent you an email U.Jim.(reply to this comment)

from Jim LaMattery Sunday, February 06, 2005 - 07:20 (Agree/Disagree?) Thanks newsboy- I didn't know how to paste the article from Don on the site. Thank goodness for early birds! (reply to this comment)

from newsboy Sunday, February 06, 2005 - 00:00 (Agree/Disagree?) New article in San Francisco Chronicle http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/02/06/CULT.TMP IRS documents show ties between charity, sex cult Tax-exempt foundation that raised money for projects around world denies links to sect Don Lattin, Chronicle Religion Writer Sunday, February 6, 2005 now part of stylesheet --> Dulzura, San Diego County -- Internal Revenue Service documents filed by the Family Care Foundation, a not-for-profit charity in Southern California, show deep, ongoing ties between the organization and the Family, the evangelical sex cult rocked by a recent murder-suicide. But officials with the Family Care Foundation deny any connection to the controversial cult. The religious sect, formerly known as the Children of God, was started in the late 1960s by Oakland native David "Moses" Berg, who attracted tens of thousands of devotees in the 1970s with his strange brew of evangelical Christianity and sexual license. But J. Gordon Melton, an authority on new religions who has studied the Family for years, said the sect established the charitable foundation to help raise money for church projects. "The Family Care Foundation is the Family," said Melton, who directs the Institute for the Study of American Religion in Santa Barbara. According to federal tax documents and annual reports, from 1997 to 2003, the foundation raised more than $9.9 million in donations including cash and other types of gifts for projects around the world -- ranging from assisting orphans and street children to medical and education programs to disaster relief. James Penn, who spent more than a decade in the inner circle of the globe-trotting cult, said the Family Care Foundation is a "public front" that enables the Family to attract tax-deductible donations and fund missionaries around the world who endorse the cult's "bizarre beliefs and practices." "People wouldn't give to a charitable foundation if they knew that its leaders endorsed the sexual abuse of minors and religious prostitution," said Penn, who helped start the foundation before leaving the Family in 1998. Larry Corley, executive director of the foundation, said his organization funds many "independent projects around the world." "There is no relationship, period," he said. "It is not a front for the Family. It is not tied to the Family." Former members say the vast majority of projects funded by the foundation are run by the Family. Two children's programs, including one which was based in San Francisco, were run by one-time cult members who had faced separate allegations of child sexual abuse. All six officers listed on Internal Revenue Service documents filed by the foundation last year have ties to the cult, according to those who have left the sect. One of them, Angela Smith, who is listed as a member of the foundation's board of directors, was killed on Jan. 8 in Tucson, apparently by Ricky "Davidito" Rodriguez. Rodriguez was the son of Karen "Maria" Zerby, who was married to Berg until he died in 1994 and is now the Family's chief prophetess and spiritual leader. Rodriguez, who defected from the cult in 2000, was born into the sect in 1975 and raised to join his mother as one of the "two witnesses" to usher in the apocalyptic "end time" battles foretold in the Bible's Book of Revelation. In a chilling videotape shot the night before Smith's murder, Rodriguez said he planned to torture Smith, his former nanny, to get information about the whereabouts of his mother and her current husband, Peter "King Peter" Amsterdam. The whereabouts of Zerby, Amsterdam and other top cult leaders have been unknown for years. Rodriguez blamed them and other sect leaders for years of sexual and spiritual abuse he and other children suffered while they were growing up in the sect. But after driving all night through the Arizona desert toward Southern California, Rodriguez stopped in the Riverside County town of Blythe, just across the California border, and shot himself in the head. Just before leaving the cult, Rodriguez lived at the Family Care Foundation headquarters at Brookside Farm, a four-acre spread along Marron Valley Road in Dulzura, a small town east of San Diego. "Ricky was never part of Family Care Foundation," Corley said. "He passed through briefly." In addition to Smith and Corley, who is identified by Penn and other defectors as a longtime member of the Family, the four other officers listed on the foundation's IRS forms are: -- Grant Montgomery, the program director and highest paid official with the Family Care Foundation. He is the former "prime minister" and third-ranking leader of the Family International, according to Penn and other former members. -- Dr. Chris Mlot, the foundation treasurer and board member. She is a longtime member of the sect, and shown on property records as the owner of one of the Family's properties in Escondido. -- Cheryl Brown, a member of the foundation board. Penn said Brown, whose birth name is Kathleen Fowler, is another longtime member of the cult and is a registered domain owner of the sect's Web site, www.thefamily.org. -- Kenneth L. Kelly, the brother of Amsterdam, whose birth name is Steven Douglas Kelly. Kelly co-owns Family property with Mlot, and according to Penn, is closely tied to the sect and has several children with Mlot. Despite those deep connections, Family spokesman Claire Borowik said the sect "has no say or vote on the activities of the Family Care Foundation board." "There is no legal relationship between the Family and the Family Care Foundation," Borowik said. Borowik conceded, however, that the foundation "has under its umbrella many projects run by Family members." Jonathan Thompson, a former Family member who said he worked as an accountant for Family Care Foundation, said the San Diego-based charity "refuses to say they have any link to the Family." At the same time, Thompson said the foundation does get legitimate donations from outside sources for rank-and-file members doing good work. "They are people who are just part of a messed-up system," Thompson said. "They've helped a lot of people." Leaders of the Family International acknowledge that sexual activity between adults and children was condoned in the group during the 1970s and 1980s, and that it was encouraged by the writings and prophecies of the sect's founder, including one famous tract titled "The Devil Hates Sex." Berg said the "law of love" encouraged sexual "sharing" among group members and sanctioned "flirty fishing" by female devotees who would attract male recruits with sexual favors. Family International spokeswoman Borowik said the Family "enacted stringent policies to ensure the safety and protection of our children" in 1986. Other members insist the cult has long abandoned past practices and has since enacted new policies. Yet at least two members of the Family accused of sexual molestation in child custody cases in England and California in the 1990s went on to start charities funded by the Family Care Foundation. One of those cases is described in sealed court documents filed in San Diego in connection with a 1998 custody case and obtained last week by The Chronicle. They tell the story of a girl born into the Family International in 1981 and sexually abused from ages 5 to 16. Her alleged abusers included a stepfather, Phillip Slown, who she says repeatedly molested her in Thailand, where her mother was serving as a missionary for the Family International. According to an investigative report by the San Diego County Department of Social Services, the girl "experienced multiple incidents of sexual abuse with numerous men." "This group has advocated sexual activity with minors as a pathway to God," the report found. "Her mother continues to interact with this religious group and she encouraged sexual behavior between her daughter and three men as recently as March 1997." After investigating the case, county welfare workers removed the teenager from her parents' custody and made her a ward of the court. Slown went on to start a charity called From the Heart to help "at-risk youth." It was based in San Francisco's Mission District between 1997 and 1999 -- during which time the organization received more than $70,000 in donations collected by the Family Care Foundation. "They did a really good job with drug addicts and street kids, but I haven't heard from them in a long time," Corley said. Slown could not be reached for comment, and his San Francisco phone number had been recently disconnected. The two others cases are mentioned in a lengthy child custody decision rendered in England in 1995 by Lord Justice Alan Ward. The decision names "Paul P. -- Josiah" as a member of the sect's Music with Meaning team in Europe. "He corrupted and abused the young girls who were part of the singing and dancing troupe," Ward writes. Penn and other former members say that is a reference to Family member Paul Pelequin, known in the cult as "Josiah." Pelequin was later funded by the Family Care Foundation for a project in Africa called "Focus on Kidz." He could not be reached for comment. Corley said he was not aware of the abuse allegations against Slown and Pelequin. As for the Family ties of the other Family Care Foundation leaders, Corley said, "I know nothing about their personal lives." Penn and other former members say Corley himself has been a leading member of the Family International for about two decades. Asked about that, he replied, "It's irrelevant." (reply to this comment)

From Sunday, February 06, 2005, 00:44 (Agree/Disagree?) It's on the front page of Chronicle http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/(reply to this comment)

From Shaka Sunday, February 06, 2005, 00:18 (Agree/Disagree?) YES!!! They nailed it!(reply to this comment)

From Big Sister Sunday, February 06, 2005, 11:34 (Agree/Disagree?) Directly below this article on the S.F. Chronicle front page is another article, headlined: Christian crusaders go to battle over spanking Tools of discipline horrify some of faithful, in link at: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/02/06/MNGJ4B6UE11.DTL This article discusses child rearing methods espoused by many Christian fundamentalists and evangelicals and describes 9 inch long spanking paddles of blue polyurethane and "the Rod", a 22 inch white nylon whipping stick used to provide a "faith based way to discipline children and train them as Christians," according to its designer. This article continues further inside the newspaper, positioned directly next to the continuation of the cult story. I think it is no accident that the Chronicle chose to keep these 2 stories situated side-by-side. Good for them! (reply to this comment)

from joeyramone Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 12:32 (Agree/Disagree?) Definitely a Grand Jury should be convened in any County where there are enough survivors to give testimony. The use of false names and aliases must be addressed, and COG records seized to identify through passports and checking accounts, etcetera, who these people are. Then, like Catholic perverts whose day if justice has at last come around, these people should be prosecuted. This is essential to at last give allow survivors to breathe the pure air of social recognition that they have been wronged. This is the first step to healing for survivors, who cannot rest as Ricky could not, as long as the abusers still enjoy: Their money Their power Their status and prestige Their insulation behind the lies of the Borowick Bitch Their stupid, hypocritical, self-righteous "faith" It is very unfortunate that Ricky killed his nanny and himselves, both victims of the insane doctrine that Mo inflicted on foolish, vulnerable hippies like me. However, the deaths need not be wasted if the garbage gets exposed to view and everybody gets to smell the stink. We definitely need much more outing of all the organizations that hide their COG connection, which needs to be cut off and cauterized. The old guard must pay, and the new guard should be freed from serving a bunch of allegedly retired perverts. Cheers from Oregon (reply to this comment)

from challenger Saturday, January 29, 2005 - 00:26 (Agree/Disagree?) finnally a good artical. I liked it. It could have been more spcific about certin quotes that are used by zerby to condone certin freedoms. (reply to this comment)

from melzar Friday, January 28, 2005 - 05:35 (Agree/Disagree?) http://www.kfmb.com/stories/story.4373.html (reply to this comment)

from LTN Friday, January 28, 2005 - 05:13 (Agree/Disagree?) You're attacking them where it's going to start making a difference-- the pocket book -- a most sensitive nerve to say the least. Keep up the good work. (reply to this comment)

From FGA with sis still in the group Friday, January 28, 2005, 05:59 (Agree/Disagree?) I totally agree...keep at it!! (reply to this comment)

From Cult Surfer Friday, January 28, 2005, 12:13 (Agree/Disagree?) Got to http://www.kfmb.com/features/special_assignment/story.php?id=4372 For streaming video (reply to this comment)

From Saturday, January 29, 2005, 07:12 (Agree/Disagree?) Why not go after some of these...taken from exfamily.org website: It would seem from this list, that Family members freely use a variety of names rather than their official name(s), often making them up as they go. As ex-members will readily testify, the main purpose for using pseudonyms is to avoid being recognized as The Family and linked to their notorious past as the Children of God and Family of Love. Another major purpose appears to be bookkeeping. Documents, testimonies of ex-members and recent eye-witness accounts indicate that The Family uses a network of non-profit organizations to legally redistribute funds internally - they write them off as expenses or gifts to each other's charities and projects - in order to benefit from subsidies and tax exemptions designed for bona fide charity work. Sources [1] also indicate that The Family has been able to infiltrate countries closed to The Family's proselytization activities, as registered NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations). Although these names were collected through primary sources, it is difficult if not impossible, to stay completely up to date - members uproot frequently and adopt new names to avoid detection. They do however, use recognizable common themes in their literature, activities, style and presentation. An informative brochure, "More Than Meets The Eye" about The Family's fund-raising fronts, core beliefs and practices can be found at www.angelfire.com/clone/charityalert. DISCLAMER: exFamily.org understands the information on this page to be correct and factual and provides this list in good conscience for information purposes only . We urge you to make your own judgement as to whether each individual organization carries out bona fide charity work according to their claims, and if they do in fact tell the whole story about their affiliation with the Family. If you believe exFamily.org has made erroneous claims regarding The Family's suspected front organizations and/or their pseudonyms, or published inaccurate information of any kind on this page, we welcome your suggestions/corrections. We will compare them with our own evidence and make any necessary adjustments. Please write to us Official Names, Documented names, Associated Names and Suspected Pseudonyms currently used in The Family's "non-profit organization" mode Name / Pseudonym Domain and Era The Children of God 60s to late 70s Les Enfants de Dieu The Family of Love late 70s to late 80s The Family since the 90s La Famille Heaven's Magic late 80s to 90s World Services 70s to current day Aurora Productions MWM - Music With Meaning English radio program Musica Con Vida Spanish radio program CWM - Chinese Wonderful Music radio show fashioned after MWM WM - Wonderful Music Chinese radio show, see CWM New Teens for Christ, The current day Mountain Streams Postfach 241, 8021 Zurich, Switzerland A Helping Hand - Mexico Mexico Asia Quest Cincinnati, Ohio, USA Asiavision Bangkok , Thailand www.beart.com Internet website www.bookesidefarm.net Internet website Brighter Horizons Foundation Portland, Oregon - member of the National Heritage Foundation Calico Charities, USA Oxnard, California, USA Caring Hearts, Hungary Budapest, Hungary Casa Cumbre Presentations Lima, Peru Casa de Corazones-Guatemala Guatemala, C. America Cheer Up Missions, USA USA China Bridge Ministries San Diego, USA China TIPS Pahrump, Nevada, USA Chinese Christian Literature Prod. Center Taichung, Taiwan Coloring the World with Love Mexico Cornerstone Project Thailand Creative Care Services McAllen, Texas, USA CVR Ministries Glendale, Arizona, USA East Taiwan Family Mission Taiwan Eastern US Family Outreach Norcross, Georgia, USA EECCC - Eastern European Christian Correspondance Center Budapest, Hungary Family Care Indonesia Indonesia Family Christian Outreach Arlington, Texas, USA Family Educational Services, Istanbul Istanbul, Turkey Family Intl. Vol. Serv. Croatia Brezovica, Zagreb, Croatia Family Mission/Corazones Unidos Birmingham, Alabama, USA Family Outreach Program, The Romeoville, Illinois, USA Family Project Hope Miami, Florida, USA Family Intl. Community Services Amman, Jordan Family Missions Family Missions KC Kansas City, Missouri, USA Family Missions Milk for Many Silver Spring, MD, USA Family Missions Services, Mexico Mexico Family Outreach Ministries, Inc Eaos, Tenessee, USA Family Outreach Program, The Romeoville, Illinois, USA Family Project Hope Miami, Florida, USA Family Services, Bangalore Bangalore, India Family Volunteer Services Kathmandu, Nepal FCF - Family Care Foundation FCWCEA Lagos, Nigeria Fellowship of Independent Christian Churches Friend-Ship Missions Carthage, North Carolina, USA Friends in Deed Mumbai, India >From the Heart San Francisco, California, USA "Frown-Busters" Outreach Indiana, USA Hands At Work Louisville, Kentucky, USA Hands On Saigon Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Hands That Help:Project India Ontario, Canada Hands to Hands, Hawaii Philippines Healing Columbia SantaFe de Bogota, Columbia Healing Hearts Bosnia Croatia Healing Hearts, USA Indianapolis, Indiana, USA Heart to Heart Connections-USA San Jose California, USA Helping Hand, South Africa Durbanville, South Africa Home Services HopeReach Missions Orange, California, USA Independent Christian Churches India Reach New Delhi, India Island to Island Hawaii Lifeline Ministries Texas, USA Lion, the Dragon & the Beast, the Family Band Love in Action Dallas, Texas, USA Love in Action, Guad Jalisco, Mexico Love in Action, Pakistan Karachi Pakistan Martinelli Matumaini - Hope for Tanzania Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Meet the Need Hacienda Heights, California, USA Mile for Smiles, Italy Bergamo, Italy Mission Assist Fairmount, Minnesota, USA Mission Care Taiwan Taiwan Mission Support & Humanitarian Services Program (MSHSP). Native American Outreach Flagstaff, Arizona, USA New Horizons, Mexico Mexico New Horizons Project-USA/India Santa Ana, California, USA New Improved Truth, The New Start-Etchnic Ministries Alaska, USA N.Thailand Outreach Mission Chiang Mai, Thailand Overseas Mission Santiago, Chile Pacific Family Mission Portland, Oregon, USA PEARL (Africa) Ulm, Germany Philippine/China Mission Muntinlupa City, Philippines Portico Foundation Bangalore, India Portland Family Mission Oregon, USA - discontinued name in 2002, changed to "Brighter Horizons Foundation" Project Queretaro Duluth, Georgia, USA Reachout Vancouver, Washington, USA Reaching Out, Colorado Lakewood, Colorado, USA Reaching Out, Peru Lima, Peru Refugio De Paz Carmel, Indiana, USA Salem Family USA/Africa, The Lancaster, California, USA Samaritans Bangalore, Karnataka Sharing and Caring Middlesex, North Carolina, USA Side by Side Intl Tokyo, Japan Silver Lining, Hope 4 Tomorrow Coahuilla, Mexico Stand Up For Jesus San Antonio, Texas, USA Step Towards Home, A Sunny-Side Up Entertainment California, USA South Reach Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico Taiwan Volunteer Services Kaohsiung, Taiwan Tampa Family Missions Tampa, Florida, USA Teens for Christ late 60s, California Teens-on-Track Texas Soul Clinic Texas, pre-COG era, in the 60s Voice for the Deaf-Hyderabad Hyderabad, India Youth Mission Network Nairobi, Kenya (reply to this comment)

From ErikMagnusLehnsher Saturday, January 29, 2005, 07:23 (Agree/Disagree?) If a couple families and their kids go to New Dehli or Darfur and start "side by side missions" or "Don't-Associate-us-with-COG ministries" and they're still in group, I don't think too many of us really care. If an individual abuser is identified then the abused individual can go after them if they want to. (reply to this comment)