The Church of Scientology has been taken to court for a host of abuses, including kidnapping, false imprisonment and human trafficking in a bombshell lawsuit filed on Tuesday in Los Angeles, according to a legal document obtained by Sun Online.
The suit details how the victim, a former member of the controversial religion described in the legal paper as “nothing more than a cult built on mind control” was allegedly made to work as a child in inhumane conditions for little pay after forced to sign a “billion-year contract” before being human trafficked and unlawfully confined as an adult.
The lawsuit reads: “At approximately 10-years-old, Jane Doe was also subjected to “bullbaiting.”
“Bullbaiting is a technique during which members, including children, are trained not to react to harassment, verbal assault, threats, and/or sexually explicit and inappropriate comments, among other things.”
“Specifically, Plaintiff was forced, at the age of 10-years-old, to sit in a chair while adults screamed things in her face such as, 'I am going to f**k you and then your mother,' and 'You are going to suck my d**k'.”
“These actions fall squarely within California’s definition of child abuse.”
Referred to as Jane Doe, the victim had been born into the religion. According to the suit, in around 1994, Doe was knowingly lured to Los Angeles by the religious group, where she was made to working long, gruelling hours for meagre pay.
At 15 the alleged victim became a member of Scientology's para-military group Sea Org, and relocated to their "Gold Base" in San Jacinto, California.
Jane Doe alleges she worked from age 15 to when she escaped at 37 “with virtually not a single day off” for $15 a week as a child and $46 a week as an adult.
The suit claims that Scientology members “verbally, physically, and psychologically restricted Plaintiff from leaving the Gold Base at all times.”
According to the lawsuit, the accuser was isolated and totally dependent on the religious group, and as such particularly vulnerable to their psychological abuse, with all of her communication with relatives and friends heavily censored.
As a member of the para-military group, Doe worked for Scientology's leader David Miscavige and claims he was “increasingly hostile and verbally abusive” towards his wife, Shelly, who has not been seen in public in years.
Jane Doe claims she witnessed a vehicle pull up to the main building at the Base; several men, she alleges, then dragged a crying Shelly Miscavige out of the building and put her in the car.
Doe first made an attempt to flee in 2016 by hiding in the trunk of a car during the filming of a video to promote Scientology.
However, the Church had her mother and brother threaten “disconnection” from Doe –a practice of cutting all ties with someone Scientology brands as hostile.
To avoid this she returned to the religion, and was kept for three months “like a prisoner”. The alleged victim claims to have finally left for good in 2017, joining the team of famous Scientology defector Leah Remini.
The Hollywood actress’s series, Scientology and the Aftermath, where she works alongside former church official Mike Rinder, tells the stories of those who claim they have been scarred through participation in the extremist organisation.
Doe, who is being represented by a group of attorneys who have represented victims of abuse within the Catholic Church, complained she was still the target of public attacks by the Scientology Church online and on social media.
In response to the lawsuit, a representative for Scientology told Sun Online: “From what we have seen in the press, this is another shameful publicity stunt by Leah Remini and one of her employees.”
Many groups and individuals have challenged Scientology's legitimacy as a religion. Several of the church's followers are Hollywood celebrities.
