BRITISH children are believed to be among 160 being held in care last
night after being rescued from a religious sex cult in Argentina.
About 30 adults were arrested in raids on 10 Children of God homes on
Wednesday night by police investigating claims of child abuse.
Prosecutor Carlos Villafuerte said they probably included British and
Irish children. ''Some preliminary reports have indicated predominantly
delirious characteristics in some of the children.''
According to local news reports the group includes youngsters from the
UK, America, Canada, and France.
Prosecutors have already said some of the children showed signs of
sexual abuse. Some reports have also claimed they were involved in
Satanic rituals.
The raids against the cult are the latest in a worldwide crackdown
which has included similar operations in Australia and France. In the
French raids in June, several British children were among 138 taken into
care by the authorities after allegations against the cult, which
preaches a creed of free love offering salvation through sex.
The Children of God was founded in the US in 1968 by David Brant Berg,
a former priest known as Moses David, now 74 and thought to living in
Japan. It spread to the UK in the early 1970s attracting scores of
followers but also a string of allegations about child sex and women
members being forced into prostitution.
Scotland Yard said officers from the Obscene Publications Squad have
been monitoring the activities of the cult in Britain and had been in
touch with the Argentine inquiry. According to reports, the
investigation has centred on an address in north London and a manor
house at Lutterworth, Leicestershire.
However, the UK branch, which has since changed its name to The
Family, strenuously denied the allegations in Argentina and accused a
''small group of disgruntled ex-members'' and anti-cult organisations of
spreading ''outrageous'' lies.
''We are a Christian missionary fellowship dedicated to spreading the
message of salvation,'' said a statement from spokesman Gideon Scott,
who lives with a group of followers at Lutterworth. ''The suggestion
that we are involved in Satanic rituals, child abuse, prostitution, and
kidnapping are deplorable.
''In total, approximately 500 of our children to date have been
examined for sexual abuse . . . yet not one single allegation of abuse
has been substantiated.''
The statement singled out the London-based Cult Information Centre for
criticism.
However, a former cult member, Marie-Christine Haworth, whose husband
Ian runs the centre, said: ''Ex-members have come to me saying this has
happened to me, that has happened to me.''
Mrs Haworth, who left the cult in 1978, said women were encouraged to
''spread the word'' through what Berg called ''flirty fishing'':sleeping
with strange men to encourage them to join the cult.
Berg's eldest daughter also claimed she was sexually abused by her
father. Debra Davis, 47, told Reuters from her home in California that
Berg also had sex with other children.
Dozens of British cult followers are thought to have gone to South
America in the 1980s.
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