Los Angeles

Superior Court Judge Ronald Sohigian today denied the Church of Scientology's motion for summary judgment in Laura DeCrescenzo’s lawsuit.

I have never *Ever* seen a judge view Sea Org life with such in-depth perception and understanding
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Judge Sohigian :
6:45 pm

Sohigian: There is a foundation in this record in which there are triable issues of material fact concerning… plaintiff was, in effect, a child in this Scientology. She started out by volunteering at only six or seven years old — and there may be question whether that’s really volunteering when she’s so young. She got involved at 12 in Sea Org, she moved away from her family. She lived in the Scientology facility in Los Angeles. This Sea Org is evidently a kind of a missionary activity or an office for a propagation for the faith, or something like that. This leaving and going with this organization, at that time she was just about beginning junior high school student. What they got her to do was sign some kind of a paper saying she would work for them basically indefinitely. There’s a number on the paper, a billion years. And that’s when she was 12. When she was 25 she left. When she went into that organization, she didn’t communicate in the standard way with her parents and other family members. Her mail was opened. There was someone present when she communicated with her family members. They did this evidently to make sure she didn’t say anything negative about the organization. She has given testimony that she was apprehensive about whether she was going to be punished. Part of the training was that she wouldn’t say anything negative about the Sea Org or Scientology, and if she did do that, she’d be declared treasonous. Then she’d be given base duties, extra duty. She was also told that she had to report anything that came out of the family, statements or behaviors, that was contrary to Scientology…

6:49 pm

Sohigian: So here you have a 12-year-old youngster who didn’t regularly interact with her family. And she would have to undergo a “check,” apparently a set of interrogations. (He’s talking about a “sec-check.”) And there’s evidence that you sort of had to pass this test to be able to leave. And the persons that give this test have to be sure that you’re not going to leave permanently. So in this time, middle and late adolescence, there is evidence to show that she went a couple of years without seeing her parents. And this period of time elapsed because she wasn’t let out.

(Clearly, the judge was deeply impressed by Laura’s description of her life in the Sea Org. He’s trying to sound neutral about it, but he was evidently impressed by what she described and how the evidence supported her story.)

When she was in this Sea Org, she had to make out a questionnaire — a life history questionnaire. He goes through some questions…
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6:53 pm

Sohigian is bringing up specifically the question about asking the Sea Org member to admit to homosexual acts and detail them. Yeah, great questionnaire, Scientology.

Now he’s talking about her incredible hours. And even when she wasn’t on the clock, she had to stay around the Scientology facilities, or go with an escort.

In 2001, she went to the RPF. He explains to the court reporter that it stands for “Rehabilitation Project Force.” Damn right, judge.

How her hours got even worse then, with lights out at 10:30. He’s relating it to his own days in the service! Wow.

6:56 pm

Sohigian talking about Laura’s sleep deprivation, and little time for hygiene or changing clothes.

Paid only 10 to 50 dollars a week. And during this time no formal schooling. She did take a high school proficiency exam. But didn’t get any other schooling.

She could not freely come and go. (He’s really taking his time. This has got to be torture for Deixler, et al.)

7:00 pm

Sohigian: She observed when people would escape, they would do a “drill” (a “blow drill”) that would rely on credit card records, etc. So if she tried to leave, she would be tracked down and brought back involuntarily.

Well, she did try to leave and was in essence detained. Then was watched 24 hours. Interrogated. And not just interrogation, but that she was told what to say.

During RPF, about three or four years, she left the facility fewer than 20 times. She did not have access to her identification or money. Never allowed to have more than 20 dollars on her. Her passport was locked up.

This means that the motion will go to a jury -- and this means that Laura DeCrescenzo’s can tell her horror story of how she entered the Sea Org as a young child and was forced to have an abortion as a young woman.

Joe Childs and Thomas Tobin of the Tampa Bay Times covered the Church of Scientology's forced abortions in a stunning video, a series of stories told by women who were in Sea Org and were forced to have abortions or face the harshly punitive consequences dished out by the Church:

Read more

http://tonyortega.org/2013/10/23/live-from-los-angeles-summary-judgment-hearing-in-decrescenzo-forced-abortion-lawsuit/

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