Anticult group to appeal court ruling - Cult Awareness Network

Christian Century, Jan 31, 1996

The Cult Awareness Network will appeal a recent U.S. District Court ruling upholding a federal jury's decision to award nearly $5 million to Jason Scott, a Seattle man who charged that CAN and an independent counselor violated his civil rights during an attempt to "deprogram" him.

U.S. District Court Judge John C. Coughenour in November denied CAN's request for a new trial, ruling that "considering the extensive testimony on the destruction of Mr. Scott's family life as well as his physical and emotional problems after the deprogramming . . . evidence does not justify a new trial or a reduction in compensatory damages."

The Chicago-based CAN and Rick Ross were ordered in October to pay $4.8 million in compensatory and punitive damages to Scott, 23, a member of the United Pentecostal Church. Scott was abducted by Ross and two other men during an attempt in 1991 to convince him to leave the church. The three deprogrammers were hired by Scott's mother, Kathy Tonkin. Scott is represented by Kendrick Moxon, a member of the Church of Scientology who has previously represented other Scientologists in civil cases against CAN.

CAN is a victim of the Church of Scientology's "skillful propaganda," said CAN executive director Cynthia Kisser. "I am surprised the jury did not sort through Moxon's propaganda." According to Moxon, "CAN has taken the word cult, which used to be a common word in the English language, and has made it into a very dirty word. They try to tar minority religions just out of hatred."

Tonkin called a hotline four years ago to voice her fear that one of Scott's two younger brothers (both of whom were minors) was being sexually abused by a youth pastor at the Life Tabernacle Church, an affiliate of the United Pentecostal Church. The representative, Kathy Landa, a CAN volunteer, recommended three individuals known for their work in deprogramming. Ross, one of the deprogrammers, persuaded Tonkin's youngest sons to leave the church. Tonkin then hired Ross to "involuntarily deprogram" her oldest son, Jason Scott.

Landa made her recommendations without CAN's knowledge, Kisser said, and Landa assumed that Tonkin was hiring Ross only to counsel her two youngest sons and not Scott. Ross, who was acquitted of illegal restraint charges in criminal court, has never been an employee or agent of CAN, Kisser said. The other two deprogrammers pleaded guilty to reduced charges of coercion.

J. Gordon Melton, director of the Institute for the Study of American Religions, said that CAN has organized an intricate network that indirectly allows the organization to recommend deprogrammers, including Ross. "If I called the office in Chicago, they would refer me to someone who would refer me to a deprogrammer. It was this whole network that was effectively demonstrated in the court case," Melton said. Echoing Melton, Moxon said that "CAN has set itself up as a point of referral to deprogrammers."

Despite CAN's efforts to appeal the case, the organization, which describes itself as "a network for ex-cult members to share their experiences and help each other heal," may not survive the judgment. CAN was assessed more than $1 million in damages and filed for bankruptcy in October. The recent judgment "will probably lead to the destruction of CAN," Melton said. Ross was assessed $3.8 million in damages.