A bombshell new lawsuit accuses the Church of Scientology of brainwashing and enslaving young children — then banishing them to a ship at sea when they dared to complain!
In court papers, two of the accusers say they were separated from their parents as six-year-olds, forced to sign one-billion-year contracts and “indoctrinated” into the organization’s elite Cadet Org.
A third plaintiff, Laura Baxter, says she also was raised in Scientology, although in Germany, and joined the adult version of Cadet Org — called Sea Org — when she was 16.
“This was not a peaceful or loving environment,” the trio claim. “Instead, it was a world filled with abuse, violence, intimidation, and fear.”
All three plaintiffs say they were treated as “possessions, void of any rights,” and forced to provide “back-breaking free labor” for as little as $8 a week, all of which church honcho David Miscavige is aware of.
The lawsuit also accuses a senior Sea Org member of sexually assaulting plaintiff Valeska Paris when she was a minor, and that she was forced to “relive her experiences” in a “humiliating manner” through so-called auditing sessions.
Accuser Gawain Baxter claims when he complained about doing manual labor as a child, he was exiled to Scientology’s seagoing vessel, Freewinds, where he scrubbed decks, repainted pipes and prepared food for 16 to 24 hours a day for the next 14 years!
Scientology officials slam the claims as “scurrilous and ridiculous” and branded the lawsuit “a sham and a scam,” saying Valeska’s charges were previously dropped by law enforcement due to a lack of corroborating witnesses or evidence.
The Church of Scientology is also facing a sensational trial later this year when celebrity member Danny Masterson, former star of the sitcom That ’70s Show, heads to court on charges of raping other members of the religious group.
