Scientology’s devious tricks to hold its members hostage for life | 60 Minutes Australia

the Church of Scientology is once again proving why it's such a contentious organization two months ago a court found one of its members Hollywood actor Danny Masterson guilty of multiple rapes as intolerable as that is the case has also exposed the extraordinary tactics the church used to protect its star recruit and how it cruelly attempted to silence his victims since then there have been more Revelations about life inside Scientology accusations of serious abuses and MOB style operations and attacks as you'll see though taking on an organization as bullying and belligerent as Scientology comes at a cost breaking news now an actor in Hollywood convicted of rape the jury has found any Masterson guilty of two counts of Rights that's right actor Danny Masterson has been found guilty on this is trial and conviction of Hollywood actor Danny Masterson for the rape of two women has made headlines around the world after the guilty verdicts came in Masterson was immediately handcuffed and sent to jail for Not only was he on trial but so too was the powerful Church of Scientology Masterson was one of the most visible celebrity scientologists all the accusers are former members Scientology played a huge role in this trial Danny Masterson was preying on Scientologist women in part because he knew the church would protect him thank you a celebrated Scientologist actor Danny Masterson was a star of the hit sitcom that 70s shows you need to learn to keep your hands off me me you're the one who can't keep her tongue to herself while his character was hip and funny off-camera Masterson was a rapist who in 2003 drugged two women before violently sexually assaulting them one at gunpoint I'm never going to be the guy who says the right thing at the right time okay journalist Tony Ortega broke the story first publishing the extraordinary allegations back in 2017. to me the primary story has been what these women have gone through I mean at so many turns these women have had to fight for this Justice and they've kept their dignity through all of it taking on Masterson meant the women were taking on the mighty billion dollar Scientology Church welcome to church as far as religions go Scientology is the new kid on the Block born from the imagination of American science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard in the 1950s he would have it that 75 million years ago humans were invaded by destructive and dangerous alien Souls only by Scientology can we exercise them through costly personality testing auditing and self-help courses is this a form of psychoanalysis no psychoanalysis Associates Scientology where such people that that's terrible that's Bad Manners after many years and much money those most deserving are saved deemed clear of bad alien energy it's the peak that every good Scientologist strives for and according to Tony Hubbard's very calculated grand plan to link his religion to celebrities has also helped bring in the money he literally put bounties on the heads of celebrities and asked his members to bring them in they didn't have very much success at first up your nose with a rubber hose but then in the 1970s they started to get people like John Travolta and Kirstie Alley in the 1980s they got Tom Cruise and they knew that this was a key to getting a better you know Public Image for Scientology with the Masterson conviction that Public Image is taking a battering thank you it was never a question for me that it was the right thing to do to testify former Scientologist Claire hidley was the prosecution's style witness in the Masterson rape trial after 30 years in the church her expertise was called on to expose to the court the disturbing inner workings of Scientology what were some of the tactics you talked about in the court the policies that forbid a Scientologist from reporting to law enforcement the consequences for a Scientologist if they were to violate that where Scientology will then work systematically to destroy your life your family your livelihood and silence you so you go to the police to report a crime or a rape in particular what happens to you then it is a high crime to do so initially the women who were raped by Masterson who are also scientologists reported the attacks to the church the shocking response was classic Scientology methodology the women were victim shamed and predictably forbidden from reporting to police eventually they did but it would take a staggering 12 years before the allegations were investigated by authorities they're not only alleged they were raped and that the church encouraged them not to come forward but then when they did come forward in 2016 they claimed that they've been harassed continually why would Scientology turn against these women if somebody is you know the victim of crime they're made to believe that they're at fault for it the testimony of Claire with the support of husband Mark was a pivotal point in the trial as once high-ranking Scientology officials turned whistleblowers they packed a punch Claire was able to decipher for the jury the church's own records she uncovered a paper trail that showed the church was doing all it could to protect Danny Masterson it was very important because particularly in this case there were Scientology reports that indicated these crimes had been reported immediately when they happened however the reports were Laden with the language of Scientology that had to be decoded in such a way that anybody could understand what took place and that was the role that I played was there specific evidence that in this case the church had knowledge of these rapes and covered them up 100 percent they actively coached and convinced the victims to when they did report things to not use certain words and not use certain terminology and not to say the r word and not to mention the firearm and all these sort of things all kind of add up to you guys were trying to brush this under the rug not that you were trying to uh spiritually Enlighten anybody along the way is this the most significant step towards the church becoming accountable in the eyes of the law at least the coverage has been devastating the testimony has been brutal but Tara I'm still waiting to see if there are any government agencies willing to do something I don't know how much longer we're gonna have to wait for a more serious probe of Scientology and the way that it's victimizing people those victims may feel they have a stronger voice now Scientology has been exposed through the Masterson rape trial but as you'll see for those disaffected by the church the first and greatest challenge remains getting out oh my gosh I was like I was panicking but I couldn't let anybody see me so you had one chance at this yes yeah that was it it's it's okay day two being followed by a different vehicle and I've tried to ditch them three times and by daring to leave it Valerie Haney has made the Church of Scientology very angry I've just spent the last half an hour trying to lose him in retaliation she says she is often followed and harassed to further intimidate her her house has been broken into oh are you the one who broke into the gate yes you remember me all this from a church that was once her entire existence I was born into it so there was there was no like I side schooling outside life outside friends outside anything you're completely shut out from the world and yeah it's it's that's the definition of a cult it's definitely all of that Valerie's memories shine a light on life within Scientology when she was just six she was made to work doing all of the dishes for 300 people in the cafeteria and mopping and sweeping the floor and I had to clean the dumpsters and there was maggots in the dumpsters and if you didn't work then you would be sent to interrogation if hard labor seems cruel for children so young the multi-life contracts they were made to sign for almost everything are insane at what stage did it cross your mind that signing a billion year contract was a ludicrous notion well [Laughter] Chris said all to me when I was eight years old believing in Peter Pan and Tinkerbell [Music] Golden Era Productions is part of the Church of Scientology International we produce all the audio visual used throughout the church even as an adult Valerie was unaware she was living in a parallel universe overworked underpaid and denied the freedom to even leave until she met visiting actors hired to make training videos for parishioners when did you decide that you needed to get out what made you decide so it was the first time that I had like interaction with you know with real people so so you know they would come and ask me like is it true that you work from like 8 A.M to midnight and is it true that you get paid 47 a week yeah and I was like Wow wait a second this is not right at all so that was kind of when I was like okay yeah I need to go the day she left in 2016 Valerie made a split second decision spurred on by a fast disappearing but high risk opportunity so how did you get out when I found out that there was um it was the last day that there was going to be any normal people coming onto the property and I totally freaked out I I was like I have I this is my last chance I have to go oh my gosh I was like I was panicking there was a section um in the parking lot where there wasn't any cameras and so I went to that section and there was four cars or five cars and I checked each car and one was unlocked and and I was like okay great and then I popped the trunk and I was like this is this is it the one car okay I don't know who you are I don't know where you're going so I tried to squeeze into the the trunk of the car close the trunk of the car and then I heard my name like they were looking for me already and I was like please don't don't Pop the trunk please don't Pop the trunk please don't Pop the Trunk if you had been caught at that time what would have happened to you I would have been um put on 24 hour watch and um never let out of anyone's sight ever again so you had one chance at this yeah that was it it's yeah it's it's insane it's crazy incredibly the car got through security with Valerie in the boot for the next two hours that's how I I escaped and and I still don't know what the guy's name was to this day that that helped me but when he discovered you there he must have got the shock of his life you it's like bleeped back about seven ten feet like oh my God you were in there this whole time and or you should he was like are you are you okay it's Unthinkable with such disparate lengths are needed to leave a church you no longer believe in that sadly simply walking away is not an option as Mark and Claire Headley also know their Escapes in 2005 could also be the stuff of Hollywood you just leave walk out the door unless you have prior authorization to leave the property you are not allowed to just come and go as you wish so when I decided to leave I'm just like I'm out of here I'm leaving and in the course of me driving down the highway they followed me with an SUV and ran me off the road on the motorcycle and that's actually the only reason that I was able to escape is because when they did that somebody that was driving down the highway witnessed it and then called the police without the help of the police I would I would very likely still be there to this day wow how did you get out of there clutches clear well um I concocted this need to leave the property even then I had a security escort so I managed to quite literally run away from this person jump into a taxi I made the mistake of turning on the phone when I was heading to the bus station and they use that to see the direction I was heading and therefore sent four staff members to intercept me um in my mind I decided if they haul me out of here I'm going to scream and I I had no faith no hope I just you know I I knew that if I didn't succeed I would never see Mark again Valerie Haney's Freedom came with a false start after making her dramatic Escape in the boot of a stranger's car her father still a Scientologist at the time insisted she returned if you could just let me go I will sign whatever you need me to sign I would never ever say anything bad about Scientology if she was to leave he wanted it to be on the church's terms which would require her to sign a contract and make a positive video about scientology Valerie's deprogramming was meant to take two weeks they held her for three months what did they want you to say what did they get you to say they wanted me to say how amazing it was and how I was never held against my will and I I was never abused at all and I loved it there and it was amazing it was like a Disneyland Paradise are you joking like I'm literally in a room with an armed guard and five people outside the room you have my passport you have my ID I have nothing on me I can't do anything but escaping to the real world is no protection against this bulletproof institution as Valerie discovered when she tried to sue it forced back to the compound once more to negotiate with her alleged abusers you were making this woman go inside of the place that she was abused trafficked kidnapped inside back into the belly of the Beast hello and welcome you've probably heard of Scientology he may not show it but the supreme leader of Scientology David miscavige is under immense pressure the church's reputation is taking a beating with multiple court cases hearing complaints of terrible abuses from former followers but miscavige has been missing in action found by a judge to have actively concealed his whereabouts to evade taking the stand journalist Tony Ortega has been covering the bizarre developments no doubt though he is still running the show oh there's no doubt he's still running the show he's not missing he's just hiding from process servers it's pretty embarrassing for Scientology I think quite extraordinary behavior from scientology's Pope though accountability has never really been their thing but Valerie Haney is the face of a growing legal fight back suing the church for human trafficking kidnapping harassment stalking and the violation of child labor laws in Scientology you have taken on a mighty opponent do you feel like he's still standing yeah yeah it's uh it's been a bit rough at times for sure they've tried to make it as rough as possible but I'm not going to let that stop me inconceivably Valerie's first legal hurdle has been to try to overturn the contracts she was made to sign while in Scientology amongst the many over her 37 years in the church she signed her first when she was just eight years old it was a billion year Pledge all of the the laws and and the documentation and everything that they're making me sign aren't binding in this in the real world because I was a child when I joined this cult but the real world is judging otherwise with courts claiming they can do no else religious freedom means the contracts no matter how long or onerous cannot be questioned by the law explain to me how these contracts can actually be considered legitimate in a court of law that's a great question what's happening is that the courts are saying under our first amendment that they can't read into or in any way assert the rule of law into what this quote-unquote religion believes which we're not asking them to do we're not asking them to do that guy diandria is Valerie's attorney he is asking the courts to judge what Scientology does not what it thinks you can believe in human sacrifice if that's what you believe you can believe that you can't commit that act right you can't do that and that's all we're saying here but the courts for whatever reason in Val's case are refusing to see that or refusing to look at it at least at this stage in other cases judges have said their hands are tied do you agree with that no their hands are not tied you don't have to look at the belief system but to resolve the case the court has ordered Valerie to return to the Lion's Den to enter scientology's internal arbitration process allowing the church to be its own judge and jury how let down do you feel by the legal system I was definitely um shocked when um when I was told to go back into their grips I was shocked when I was told that I had to do that Valerie will subject herself to arbitration if it means she might eventually get to a proper court that whistleblower Claire Headley says judges are being Hoodwinked scientology's arbitration has nothing to do with their religious beliefs rather it's a contrived legal strategy there is no such thing as arbitration it is not Hubbard policy it is not Scientology policy it is simply an effort by Scientology to cover up more crimes if we can just get into the litigation right if we can start taking depositions right interviewing their people on the record getting the documents getting the videos we will truly expose to the world which Scientology does not want what's really happening inside of those armed doors and I mean armed thank you I believe this building on the corner may be where Shelley lives just just here yeah right here well that's just too frustrating I know Scientology does secrecy better than anyone its most confounding and enduring mystery is the whereabouts of Shelly Miss cabbage David's missing wife not seen publicly for nearly two decades in 2019 Tony Ortega and I traveled to Twin Peaks California to the compound where it's believed the one-time High Priestess of the church has been kept out of sight since 2006. hello come out we'd like to talk to you has anything changed since you and I went looking for her uh there's been some new information but generally it's the same situation as when you and I went up to the compound there I still fully believe she's there I've seen some records that suggest she is just a month and a half ago this photo of Shelley surfaced it was taken when she managed to renew her driver's license in 2010 documents also confirm the LAPD met with Shelley and an attorney for Scientology in 2013. but since they're nothing apart from statements from the church denying Shelley is missing they don't say where she is only that she's working on a special project I think she's still cut off from the rest of the world I think she's cut off from her own family and saying you know the law enforcement just does not seem interested in the fact that David miscavige has managed to banish his wife to a small Mountain compound for 18 years now think that jelly would leave if she could do you think are you are you sure that this isn't her choice I'm not sure it's not her choice but until I hear Shelley say that she wants to stay there I guarantee you she's thought about leaving and she's thought about what life could be on the outside and she should have that choice you are a Scientologist you are a Mindless robot the great hope is that the recent conviction of Scientologist and actor Danny Masterson facing 30 years in jail for multiple rapes changes everything that once and for all Scientology will be unmasked allowing more and more victims to sue the church for their suffering [Music] time Valerie Haney's advice is simple steer clear what warning would you give others about scientology say think about it and I would say run for the hills do not get involved at all whatsoever you must feel like you're sort of betraying yourself sometimes to talk out about it well yeah it's going against everything I was ever taught it's it's I'm like dripping with sweat right now like I it it but I know that it's right and I know that I you know it's the truth so I have to you know help others and I have to make sure that it's it's it's not going to harm other people we sent the Church of Scientology a series of questions some of which they've responded to along with various legal threats you can read what they say on our website but predictably they completely ignored our inquiries about the whereabouts of Shelley Miss cabbage and our request to see and speak to her hello I'm Tara Brown thanks for watching 60 Minutes Australia subscribe to our Channel now for brand new stories and exclusive Clips every week and don't miss out on our extra minute segments and full episodes of 60 Minutes on 9now.com and the nine Now app

Channel: 60 Minutes Australia

Views: 4,560,303

Keywords: 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes Australia, Liz Hayes, Tara Brown, Tom Steinfort, 60Mins, Amelia Adams, news, world news, news australia, investigative journalism, 60 minutes australia youtube, 60 minutes youtube, 60 minutes episodes, 60 minutes australia episodes, 60 minutes australia, 60 minutes, scientology, church of scientology, hollywood religion, extreme religion, cult, faith, belief, danny masterson, scientologist, scientologists in hollywood, religious cover up, miscavige

Id: 4Na0EfFTp50

Length: 26min 28sec (1588 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 06 2023