Source of article: The Epoch Times.com

Source of FBI records: FBI.gov

FBI records on Twelve Tribes in PDF file you can view and download: FBI files Twelve Tribes Part 01 of 01

June 28, 2019 Updated: June 30, 2019

The FBI released redacted documents this week on the cult community known as the “Twelve Tribes,” revealing numerous allegations against the group, including child sexual abuse, drug trafficking, ritual abuse, and forced labor.

The 61-page document—released by the bureau’s Vault library on June 25—included separate complaints detailing the alleged crimes, mostly against children. The cult has communes all over the United States, including Vermont, New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Florida, California, Tennessee, and more.

In 2013, a preliminary investigation was conducted by the FBI, based on a complaint the bureau received from the Alexander County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina that children were being “sexually exploited” at a Twelve Tribes compound in the town of Hiddenite. The case was closed the same year.

Twelve Tribes has communes around the world, with the Hiddenite location being one of its training centers.

Documents showed that drugs were used at the commune and placed into “ritual” bread—usually LSD and hallucinogenic plants, as well as heroin and meth. There were also ritual ceremonies once a month that involved the bread being broken and gang rapes.

Punishment within the cult involved being beaten with a rod and having the wife or children of the accused being sexually assaulted by other cult members. The sheriff’s office had been aware of the Hiddenite location since 2006 and that much of the land in the area was owned by the cult, since families who joined had to turn over their property.

Members of the Hiddenite compound also allegedly were forced to go to a location and work all night and day for “three straight days,” in what was known as a “push” that involved three or six members. Those working were allowed to drink coffee that may have had something added to it to keep them awake.

In a prior complaint included in the released documents, a name that was redacted had contacted the public access line to report child sexual abuse in a Twelve Tribes commune located in Manitou Springs, Colorado. The person had said children were threatened not to tell the police or anyone else about the beatings or sexual abuse, and that the cult ran a restaurant in the area.

Yet another document, one from 2010, detailed how a former member was allegedly sexually and physically abused by cult members as a child but had repressed the memories. In 2009, the former member had seen a psychologist, who reported the abuse to local authorities, and had also contacted national leaders of the cult to inform them of her abuse. The former member also attended personal meetings with the cult leaders.

After a meeting on a date that was redacted, the former member was killed in a car crash that “was not accidental” and was allegedly “orchestrated” by cult members to prevent the woman from “propagating the claims of abuse.”

In the Twelve Tribe cult, members were also “allowed to punish any child belonging to the community.” The FBI document detailed how members would take their children to be “wooped,” meaning beaten, if they smiled at another child during a gathering, or if they were “horsing” around.

“Bigger children have missed ‘gathering’ for a couple of days at a time because they were beaten so badly and left in a condition where they could not attend,” the documents said, based on an interview with an FBI agent.

One former member said that they were once “locked in a cellar, beaten, and deprived of food.”

The release of the FBI documents came days after Keith Raniere, the former leader of purported self-help organization NXIVM was found guilty on all charges at a Brooklyn federal court on June 19.

NXIVM Collapse

A federal jury, made up of eight men and four women, deliberated for less than five hours before finding Raniere guilty of all 7 criminal counts including sex trafficking, forced labor conspiracy, and racketeering.

Raniere listened attentively but showed no visible reaction as he learned the verdict. His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 25.

The accusations against Raniere center around a secret society within the group—which he allegedly created in 2015—named DOS, an acronym for the Latin “dominus obsequious sororium,” loosely translated as “master of the slave women.”

Prosecutors say Raniere was the “highest master” of DOS and forced other members—all women—to have sex with him. Many of the DOS members were branded with a cauterizing pen while naked and being filmed.

Days ago, during closing arguments in the high-profile trial, assistant U.S. Attorney Moira Penza alluded to the prosecution’s May 7 opening statements, telling the jury that Raniere was chiefly after “sex, money, power.”

Penza brought up the testimony of former NXIVM members, including one identified by prosecutors as “Daniela,” who had spoken about being locked up in a room for nearly two years after Raniere found out she had kissed another man. Another member, identified as Sylvie, testified about being forced into a sex act with the leader. Another, a senior board member, detailed Raniere’s manipulation and fraud.

The verdict comes after a 7-week long trial. Raniere could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Follow Bowen on Twitter: @BowenXiao3

2004-Broward Palm BeachNew Times: Protect the Abuser,The Twelve Tribes sect defends its own aiding accused child

molesters

2005 TheChamplainChannel.com/Church member arrested for abuse-5 years later

2005-The Caledonian record: Massa. Man Cited For Sex Abuse Had Links To Church-2005

2007-Boston Globe: Former Island Pond Church Teacher Gets Time Served in Sex Case

2014-Burlington free press: Jury awards $35M to victim of sex abuse

2013-PrinceGeorgeCitizenNews: Man convicted after ‘bizarre’ child-porn confession

2014-Cap Cod Times-Lawyer: Convicted abuser dodging payment

2015-CBC Manitoba: Controversy over children’s safety at religious community

2015-CBC Manitoba: Controversial religious group Twelve Tribes reported to Cybertip

It’s hard to imagine that a convicted child rapist would be allowed to lead a church from prison, but that’s exactly what’s going on with Warren Jeffs….

…Brower said he was able to confirm similar reports of “seed bearers” through his own sources. “It’s ritualistic procreation,” Brower said, “performed on a ritualistic bed-slash-altar.” As part of this new system, Warren Jeffs has withheld any relationships between husbands and wives, Brower said. Any touching between spouses outside rituals like these, even a simple handshake, can now be considered adultery in the church….

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

There are questions about child safety within the Twelve Tribes, a controversial religious group

A Queens Bench Justice was so “concerned” for the “safety” of a child in a controversial religious group called the Twelve Tribes that she banned a member of the group from bringing her child to any of their Manitoba locations.

That condition was set at an emergency custody hearing last summer, and was finalized as permanent in February.

The case came to light when Jo Hawkins — whose former wife joined Twelve Tribes — learned the group practised corporal punishment. But his biggest concern was when he learned they were hosting a man previously convicted of possessing child pornography.

“For me personally, it was kind of a perfect storm,” Hawkins said.

“I easily had half a dozen reasons where my guard went up and red flags went up. And then you’re getting corroborating evidence and statements. It’s just really quite stunning.”

‘My guard went up and red flags went up.’- Jo Hawkins

The man was convicted of possessing child pornography back in 2013 in a British Columbia courtroom.

At the time, court was told he planned to live with the Twelve Tribes community in Winnipeg, once he was released from jail.

Upon his release, he was ordered not to be around children for three years, unless he had special permission to be accompanied by a pre-approved adult. He was also ordered to register with the Sexual Offender Information Registration Act, ostensibly as a means of keeping track of convicted offenders.

The cover of one of the Twelve Tribes manual on child rearing

He then, as planned, moved to Winnipeg to join Twelve Tribes.

Fast forward to the summer of 2014.

During the emergency custody hearing, Hawkins presented the court with sworn affidavits by witnesses who said they saw the man interact with children at Twelve Tribes.

Court was also presented with affidavits from past members who said they practised corporal punishment on their children.

In response, a Twelve Tribes spokesperson presented another affidavit confirming the man had joined their group, but said he lived in a different location than the children. Their lawyer also said the children were not at risk.

Regardless, the information presented by Hawkins so concerned the Queens Bench Justice that she banned the mother from bringing her son to any of their Manitoba premises.  But close to 30 other children still remained there. And on the week of March 15, a Winnipegger who briefly lived at Twelve Tribes and was roommates with the convicted offender said he, too saw him in the company of children.

‘They seemed to be very relaxed about his presence around the children.’- Michael Welch

Michael Welch said he saw the man at three of the four Twelve Tribes Manitoba locations.

Child welfare officials only confirmed they launched an investigation into allegations of corporal punishment months later, after a member of the Twelve Tribes told the CBC about their method of punishment.

“We discipline our children with a balloon stick, ” Maurice Welch told the CBC in October. “It’s a thin, reed-like rod.”

Child and Family Services officials did not respond to a request to comment on the current status of that investigation, nor whether they knew about the earlier concerns from last summer about the member convicted of possessing child pornography.

And while the province dictates that anyone who suspects child abuse is obliged to report those concerns, in this case, justice officials said there was reasonable doubt.

Jo Hawkins surrounded by court documents involving the custody of his son and the Twelve Tribes

A spokesperson for the courts told the CBC that because the information the Queens Bench Justice heard was hearsay and not legal evidence, involving the custody of a single child, she was under no obligation to report these concerns to the appropriate authorities.

“A belief triggering an obligation under section 18 (1) of The Child and Family Services Act must be a ‘reasonable’ belief.  Where conflicting evidence exists, as in this case, it may be neither safe nor justifiable for a Judge to draw conclusions from the specific to the more general,” a spokesperson said in a written statement.

A Twelve Tribes spokesperson would not comment, except to say the man convicted of possessing child pornography does not live with them anymore.

Source: Cape Cod Times

Amy Anthony
April 26, 2014

A man recently ordered by a Vermont jury to pay $35 million in damages to a woman he was convicted of sexually assaulting years ago joined the Twelve Tribes religious community in Hyannis to avoid paying the victim, the victim’s attorney alleges.

On April 18, after a four-day trial, a Chittenden County Superior Court jury ordered Scott Isaacson, 56, to pay damages to the now 24 year old victim, whom he was convicted of assaulting between 1993 and 1999. The jury ultimately decided on the sum, but the victim’s lawyer, Jerome O’Neill, said the suggested $50 million in compensatory and punitive damages based on Isaacson’s “beyond outrageous” actions.

Isaacson was found guilty in 2000 by an Essex Superior Court in Massachusetts of three counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 stemming from the assaults, which took place in locations throughout Massachusetts and during ski trips in Vermont. The victim told a babysitter and a YMCA employee, who reported the abuse, O’Neill said.

Isaacson, who served about 4 ½ years in prison, denied abusing the victim. In 2006, the Massachusetts Appeals Court upheld a lower court’s decision to deny him a new trial.

In 2012 the victim discovered Isaacson was set to inherit a home in Marblehead and filed a civil lawsuit against him, O’Neill said. The house was sold in May 2013 and the net proceeds, which amount to about $200,000 were placed in escrow, O’Neill said. In June 2013, Isaacson filed a complaint against the victim to prevent her from obtaining any of the proceeds from the sale if she were to win the civil case, O’Neill said.

Isaacson, who represented himself in court, moved to the Cape around the time the lawsuit was filed, according to public records.

Isaacson began working at Common Ground Café in Hyannis about a year ago, said Nazer Aldokhi, café manager. The café is owned and operated by members of the Twelve Tribes, a religious community that adheres to a communal lifestyle and requires members to live modestly. Like other members, Isaacson worked at the café in exchange for room and board and did not receive any wages, Aldokhi said. In a 2013 deposition, Isaacson said he had no income.

“For (Isaacson), it’s an incredibly good way to prevent any money ever being recovered by this woman,” O’Neill said. “I think he has joined the Twelve Tribes because it’s a way to avoid paying the (victim).”

Aldokhi said Isaacson was forthright about his conviction when he started working at the café but he has denied that he abused the victim. He said Isaacson has not worked at the café since the most recent trial, and Twelve Tribes is “working on” how he will continue to earn to earn his room and board.

Aldokhi said he believes Isaacson and attended the recent trial to support him.

“No one can know definitively what the truth is in a situation like that,” said Aysh Harris, a Twelve Tribes member who answered the organization’s information line Friday.

Harris said he does not know Isaacson but trusts Aldokhi’s judgment.

“Anyone who was living immorally in any way wouldn’t be allowed to live in our community,” Harris said. A tribe member who committed abuse or another crime would not be turned over to the police but would be told to go to the police, he said.

“We definitely believe in the justice system,” Harris said. People who have made mistakes deserve a chance to live a “good, moral life,” he said.

“What I can’t fathom is why Twelve Tribes, whatever their beliefs, would have somebody who is a convicted child molester in their midst,” O’Neill said. Isaacson is required to register as a sex offender each year.

On April 3, Isaacson registered as a Level 2 sex offender with the Barnstable Police Department and provided a home address of 14 Main St. In Hyannis. Paul Sage owns the three-bedroom property according to public records. Phone calls and visits to the property Friday evening also confirmed Sage is a member of Twelve Tribes.

Isaacson could not be reached for comment Friday. A woman who answered the door at 14 Main St. said she did not know him. Aldokhi said Isaacson did not have a phone. A message left with Aldokhi for Isaacson was not returned Friday.

More links on this story: Jury awards $ 35 Million to victim of sex abuse

Sam Hemingway, Free Press Staff Writer 12:13 p.m. EDT April 23, 2014

A Vermont jury has ordered Scott Isaacson, 56, of Hyannis, Mass., to pay $35 million in damages to a 24-year-old woman he is accused of repeatedly molesting in Vermont and elsewhere when she was a young girl.

The decision by the 12-person jury was reached after three hours of deliberation on Friday following a four-day trial at Chittenden County Superior Court in Burlington. It is believed to be one of the largest jury verdicts the court has ever issued.

The Burlington Free Press does not publish the names of alleged victims of sexual abuse without their permission. The woman’s lawyer, Jerome O’Neill, said it was unlikely his client will recover much in monetary damages but the jury verdict was still important.

“Scott Isaacson’s six-year sexual abuse of this child and the destruction he brought upon her make it easy to understand the jury’s verdict,” O’Neill said in a statement Tuesday. “He denies to this day having molested her despite the overwhelming evidence that he regularly abused her for years.”

According to court records, Isaacson sexually assaulted the girl at locations in Massachusetts and during ski trips to Vermont in the 1990s when she was between 3 and 8 years old. The abuse stopped after she spoke to a doctor about the molestation.

Isaacson was found guilty in a Massachusetts court in 2000 of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and served four years in prison, records show.

The alleged victim, her mother and two brothers testified at the civil trial in Burlington, O’Neill said.

“I … still suffer from the abuse,” the woman said in an affidavit filed with the Burlington court. “I have flashbacks of the abuse. I suffer post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Isaacson represented himself during the civil trial and testified in his own defense. Isaacson told the Associated Press afterward that he was wrongly convicted in criminal court and plans to appeal the civil court verdict in Vermont.

The Burlington Free Press was unable to reach Isaacson for comment Tuesday. Isaacson, in court documents, said he works at a coffee house and lives in a home with other people in Hyannis.

A Free Press review of the addresses he provided the court for his work and home found that both properties are owned by members of the Twelve Tribes religious sect.

A man answering a telephone call Tuesday at the Twelve Tribes-owned Common Ground Cafe in Hyannis said no one named Isaacson worked at the business.

“I’m pretty sure I’d know if we had someone by that name,” the man, who identified himself as Nick Jacobs, told the Burlington Free Press.

Contact Sam Hemingway at 660-1850 or shemingway@freepressmedia.com. Follow Sam on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SamuelHemingway.

More links on this story: Lawyer: Convicted abuser dodging payment (hiding in the 12 T.)

In a case Crown prosecutor Geoffrey McDonald called “comical” and defence lawyer Keith Jones termed “bizarre,” a former Prince George resident was handed a 45-day jail sentence Tuesday for possessing child pornography.

Ross Haynes Sandwell, 42, pled guilty to one charge in B.C. provincial court, but it was the circumstances of how police became aware of the crime that had both the Crown and defence lawyers in awe.

On Oct. 21, 2011, Sandwell walked into the Prince George RCMP detachment with a complaint that someone had stolen his identity to access child pornography. He presented police with what he believed was a letter from a Russian police agency regarding the possible identity theft.

Police began an investigation into what they thought was some sort of fraud and brought Sandwell into a room to give a statement. Over the course of that questioning, Sandwell mentioned that he had viewed child pornography himself.

That revelation prompted police to shift gears and begin investigating Sandwell himself. Sandwell subsequently admitted that he had recently looked at child pornography on his home computer and told police, “I’m here to face the consequences of my poor choice.”

A search of Sandwell’s computer turned up some images of child pornography, consistent with his statement to police. McDonald said the collection of images wasn’t extensive and didn’t depict violence.

“We don’t usually have offenders walk out of the cold and into a police station and confess,” McDonald told Judge John Milne as part of his joint submission with Jones. “If everyone who committed a crime came into the police station and confessed, the jobs of police officers and the Crown would be easier.”

Sandwell told the court he was sorry for his crime, which he said stemmed from a “depraved way of thinking.”

“I cannot give you excuses for my actions, there are none to give,” he said, noting his crime perpetuated harm against children who had already been victimized.

Jones told the court his client was now living with a religious group called The Twelve Tribes of Israel in Winnipeg and that the organization was having a positive impact on his client.

“The leaders of The Twelve Tribes are well aware of his record and conditions of his bail,” Jones told the court.

Colin Whiteside, an elder with The Twelve Tribes, told the judge that his group believed Sandwell was changing his way of life “from his thoughts to his personal habits” and that a jail sentence would “remove the one in need from the people who care enough to help him.”

According to the religious group’s website, there are a few thousand members of the The Twelve Tribes worldwide. The members of the group share all of the money they earn for the good of the community, dress modestly and do not watch television.

Jones said his client does manual labour as part of his duties with the group.

The case took another odd turn during the middle of McDonald’s submission when Milne said he recognized two men in the court room – one of whom was Sandwell. Milne said he shared a cab ride from the airport on Monday with Sandwell and the other man, but said it would have no bearing on his decision.

“I’m not swayed by a cab ride,” the judge said.

Both the Crown and defence recommended the minimum jail term of 45 days. In addition to his time behind bars, Sandwell will also have three years of probation during which time his access to the Internet will be limited to employment purposes and he’ll be barred with associating with people under the age of 18. He must also submit a DNA sample to a database.

© Copyright 2014

http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/news/local/man-convicted-after-bizarre-child-porn-confession-1.1039030

Source: Boston Globe September 25, 2007 (through Bishop accountability.org)

GUILDHALL, Vt. — Molested as a child, a 23-year-old man wept in court Monday as he confronted the former church teacher who abused him when he was 11, telling him: “Don’t you ever do it to anyone else.”

John W. Thomas, 37, of Savoy, Mass., pleaded guilty to molesting two boys in the stockroom and basement of the Simon the Tanner shoe and clothing shop maintained by the Twelve Tribes Community Church. He was given a 6-to-10-year sentence, all but 16 months suspended. But he has already served that time, and is expected to be released from prison soon and then to move to join family members in Wisconsin. “John Thomas was my teacher. He was one person I really trusted,” the young man, M.W., told the court.

The Associated Press does not identify sex crime victims. That trust was placed in Thomas by the adult members of the church, who later banished him, said the young man’s father. “I would spank my son if he didn’t listen to Mr. Thomas as his teacher.”

The case was the latest round of trouble for a religious sect long troubled by allegations mistreatment of children. A 1984 raid by Vermont State Police and social workers — on allegations of physical abuse of children — largely unraveled when a judge ruled that church members’ rights had been violated.

Other branches of the church have been accused of violating child labor laws in New York state and education laws in Germany by home-schooling children. Monday’s plea-change hearing in Vermont District Court for Essex County marked the near end of a case that has taken more than a decade to resolve.

Another victim, who was 9 when he was molested by Thomas, also testified in court. Thomas was a teacher in the church in the mid-1990s and lived at various times in Island Pond, Bellows Falls, Massachusetts and New York state. A bid by Essex County State’s Attorney Vincent Illuzzi to introduce “evidence of prior bad acts” — including alleged sex crimes by Thomas against children in Boston and Hyannis, Mass., and Coxsackie, N.Y. — was recently rejected by a Vermont judge.

The hearing resulted from plea talks in which Illuzzi agreed to drop charges that Thomas had engaged in oral sex with the boys in exchange for Thomas pleading guilty to two counts that he had masturbated in front of them. Illuzzi said no forensic evidence remained from the sexual molestations, which occurred in the 1990s. The plea was accepted because “I didn’t want to take the risk that Mr. Thomas would remain an untreated sex offender because a jury might find him not guilty,” Illuzzi said. That happened when Thomas was tried on child sex abuse charges in Barnstable County, Mass. While the two pending counts at Monday’s hearing related only to the masturbation incidents, during his statement to the court, M.W. mentioned oral sex, and Judge Thomas Zonay threatened to reject the plea agreement unless Thomas admitted to engaging in it with M.W. In a tense exchange, Thomas said “I never forced anyone” to have oral sex. “Do you really believe that an 11-year-old boy can make that decision on his own?” Zonay replied. Thomas ended up admitting to engaging in oral sex, though not in the context of the charges against him. That appeared to satisfy Zonay, but he left one hurdle remaining: He wanted assurances that Thomas, who could have been released Monday, would not be let free until he had a place to live.

In the end, the judge accepted the plea agreement, with the condition that the lawyers work with the state Corrections Department to determine what Thomas’ near-term housing would be after being released. Thomas’ probation comes with a long list of strict conditions, barring his access to children, among other things. “If you violate the terms and conditions of your probation and you come back before me,” Zonay said, “you’re going to face a long time in jail.”

originally posted here: http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2007/09/24/ former_island_pond_church_teacher_gets_time_served_in_sex_case/

TheChamplainChannel.com/February 11, 2005

Island Pond, Vt. — Police charged a former member of the Twelve Tribes Church in Island Pond with molesting a young boy.

John Thomas, 32, is accused of sexually abusing at least one of the children at the church in the Northeast Kingdom.

Church elders believe there could be many more victims — at least eight have already come forward.

According to prosecutors, Thomas sexually abused one of the young members on church property. Church elders said they found out about the allegations in 2002 and asked Thomas to leave. He’s been living in Massachusetts since then.

Police arrested him last month and brought him back to Vermont.

Thomas pleaded not guilty in St. Johnsbury Wednesday and was released on $10,000 bail. He could face up to 35 years in prison if convicted.

Thomas has also been ordered to stay away from all children under 16 years old.

Court documents show the boy told members of the church as early as 1997 but the church said it didn’t know about it until 2002. At that point, they didn’t call the police because the alleged victim had become an adult and was no longer with the church.

This is the second time there has been trouble in Island Pond with the church.

Twenty years ago, police raided the town and took more than 100 children from the religious group. However, hours after the raid, a judge ruled the raid unconstitutional and ordered the children be returned.

By James Jardine

St. Johnsbury Vermont — John W. Thomas of Savoy, Mass., is scheduled to be arraigned in Caledonia District Court on one count of sexual assault on a minor and three counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child.

The state alleges Thomas sexually abused four children, all of whom were members of the Twelve Tribes Church. The church has communities in a number of states, including Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Missouri and Colorado. One of the church’s communities is located in Island Pond and there are other Vermont communities in Bellows Falls and Rutland as well as Lancaster, N.H.

The state alleges Thomas is a former teacher with the church and had sexually abused as many as eight minor children, all of whom resided in the church community, during a period of time around 1995.

According to Jean Swantko, a member of Twelve Tribes, the church first became aware of the sexual molestations in 2002 and expelled Thomas from the church at that time.

Although the alleged sexual abuse took place about nine years ago, the state of Vermont was not approached until 2004.

Thomas, whose ex-wife is still a member of the Island Pond Twelve Tribes community, up until recently had custody of his children.

Vermont issued a fugitive from justice warrant to Massachusetts, where Thomas was arrested.

Thomas has posted $5,000 bail in Massachusetts and agreed to return to Vermont for arraignment. Thomas has also arranged for $10,000 bail here in Vermont.

According to Caledonia County Deputy State’s Attorney Kyle Sipples, Thomas’ children are now in the custody of Massachusetts and now being cared for by Thomas’ mother.

During a hearing in Caledonia District Court on Wednesday, Sipples argued Thomas should be held without bail, while Thomas’ attorney for purposes of arraignment, Douglas Willey, argued that his client could be released on conditions set by the court.

After arguments, Judge Brian Grearson told both sides he would weigh their arguments and announce a decision on bail today.

Throughout the hearings, approximately eight members of the church have observed the proceedings.

Swantko said on Wednesday the Twelve Tribes Church strongly opposes Thomas’ release on bail.