Source: New England Monthly/December 1984 By Barbara Grizzuti Harrison NOTES: Barbara Harrison went to Island Pond and saw this bizarre cult in its daily life, interviewing various members, and learning what it is like to face fiercely judgmental hatred. She was especially concerned for the welfare of viciously treated children. In 1971 a carnival barker…
The Globe and Mail (Halifax, Nova Scotia) Deborah Jones August 1984 Clark’s Harbor, N.S. –Since last fall, when a child reported missing in the United States by her father was found living here under a false name with a Bible-based cult, a storm has been brewing in this small, tightly knit fishing community. Local residents…
Island Pond religious group blocked from buying property The Providence Sunday Journal July 29, 1984 Residents of a small town in Nova Scotia reportedly have banded together to keep members of a controversial communal religious sect from settling there. Members of the Northeast Kingdom Church – the group from which the police rounded up children…
In the pre-dawn hours of June 22, 1984, a swarm of police officers and social workers, with the approval of state officials all the way to the governor’s office (Governor Snelling was the governor at the time), raided the Island Pond group. They seized 112 of the group’s children and bused them to Newport with…
The Toronto Star Sandro Contenta June 24, 1984 Bruce Boutin peered from under his baseball cap and recalled “the good old days” before this “little paradise went to hell.” Those days – before 1978 – are growing hazy now for Boutin and other people in this scenic town just south of the Canadian border. But…
Source: the New York Times Published: June 23, 1984 NEWPORT, Vt., June 22— About 140 state police officers and social service workers raided 20 homes near here early this morning and took into custody 112 children of the Northeast Kingdom Community Church because members had refused to answer complaints about child abuse and neglect. However,…
source: the Associated Press, 18 November 1983, page 4 Associated Press Island Pond, Vt. —18 November 1983 When Juan Mattatall got his 4-year-old daughter back from the Northeast Kingdom Community Church, it was one of the happiest days of his life. But for some people in this village it was an unpleasant reminder of the…
Father battles sect over custody of girl Source: Boston Globe article archived by Factnet and Xenu directory By Colin Nickerson Globe STaff ISLAND POND, Vt. – lt’s been a year now since Juan Mattatall last saw his youngest daughter, Lydia, 3 years old. He knows where she is: Europe. And he knows who she’s with:…
Source: Facnet archives via Xenu directory 7 March 1983 A judge has ordered that a woman involved in a bitter custody battle be allowed to have her children visit — as long as she does not use any instruments “such as rods or other weapons” to discipline them. District Court Judge Frank Mahady also gave…
Source: Factnet archives via Xenu directory 6 January 1983 Prompted by a controversial religious sect in Island Pond, a statewide group has been formed to provide support and assistance to people trying to flee cults that use alleged mind control techniques on their members. Spokesman Alan Bouffard of Winooski said this week the organization -…