Smurf, Marko Rubio is a big advocate of smashing human trafficking and I would wonder what he thinks about this going on in his home state?

http://blogs.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/archi ... -hill.aspx

I've been reading a number of articles that make disturbing accusations of child neglect at best, and abuse at worst. Some seem to suggest that the CofS is not entirely welcoming of children in general, for any number of reasons.

I began to wonder if there's a point as a child becomes a young adult and thus able to contribute monetarily to the cult, that s/he is treated better (as long as the cash flows in the right direction).

Does such a deplorable and patently greedy pattern of treatment exist, or am I reaching an erroneous conclusion?

Just an FYI about using the strategy of a neglectful education for this 12-year old.

If he is in Clearwater, that is the Pinellas County school district. Homeschool requirements can be very loose. For instance, a file must be kept on educational activities, but a 15-day notice is given before the file is inspected. A yearly certified annual evaluation is also required, which may be administered by a Florida certified teacher of the parents' own choosing. No doubt there are Scilon teachers in Pinellas Co. who would be happy to give a young Cadet passing flying colors.

The Scn Community Learning Center, which they just received the $50K Pepsi grant on, is within walking distance north on Ft. Harrison Ave. They probably have at least some traditional learning materials there.

I think the Cadets is a bad deal for a young person, and don't want to see anyone a part of it. But trying to prove education neglect may be difficult in the setting he's in.

http://pinellashomeschoolhelp.webs.com/ ... #127447762
http://www.floridaschoolchoice.org/Info ... Evaluation

Wow. Thanks for the local county/state information. It will save a lot of time and leg work.

You may have read some of the new articles about how Tom & Katie are spoiling their daughter, keeping her up with them till the early morning hours, how Suri is not disciplined for throwing temper tantrums, etc.

Scientologists view children as adults living in child's bodies. They are treated no better & no differently than adults in the cult.

http://www.scientology-lies.com/sptimeschildren2.html

http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/children.htm

Their is even a Children's RPF.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kW8ZqGSkXjI

Homeschooling has been a much debated topic in many states, and it's no different in Florida. The key issue is in deciding what constitutes home school versus child labor law violations.

It's been brought to the attention of authorities before. http://www.scientology-lies.com/sptimeschildren2.html.

It's a mostly no-win situation when dealing with the cult. The authorities says the decisions lies with the courts. The courts take the position that all parties are going to tell the truth when they take the "under the penalty of perjury" oath. The fact that Scientology dismisses the courts as wog courts unworthy of their trust, especially in matters concerning the cult, and commit wholesale perjury all the time... is lost to our courts. The courts are left with deciding wholly on evidence they can see & read on their own.

Thanks, I'll check it out!



I had the dubious pleasure of knowing a number of heroin addicts when I lived in San Francisco. One couple in particular had a girl who sounds just like what you described. I always blamed it on her mother, who was either too nodded out to give her the proper amount of attention, or out of heroin and on the verge of withdrawal. Then she'd be irritable beyond belief, and not in any condition to patiently deal with an active 5 year old.

I called various agencies, trying to get them investigated, but the typical response was "well, we can't really do anything". So much for that! Sooner or later they'd have to get involved, since I know that these sorry excuses for parents had shared dirty needles, and it was only a matter of time before they gave themselves AIDS. I'm sure this was the tip of the iceberg.

The CofS attitude towards children is something I only recently became aware of. I would think this may present an excellent Achilles Heel and could lead to a major scandal if handled correctly . . .

It's a sad fact that there is SO MUCH child neglect & abuse in society, that the agencies that are supposed to protect the children, are overwhelmed. The same agencies are funded by the county & state, which always have their ups & downs when it comes to funding, especially with our current economy, where child advocacy agencies have had to cut back & layoff people, meaning that investigators caseloads become even more burdensome.

Often, you hear or read on the news how abused children have fallen through the cracks of a broken system and they end up seriously abused or dead. It's the world that we live in. Those of us who give a damn, have to do the best we can.

Your doing a good job, Smurf.

Thanks. Trying.

Monday, Jan. 16:

I called several agencies today, but as I expected, they are closed today in observance of Martin Luther King Day. I am working on a statement of complaint complete with links & supporting dox which law enforcement has advised & said get's more results then simply calling it in or emailing it. A child advocate attorney is assisting me with the statement.

Well at least in this case, that is probably because no one cares that a mother "misses" her son. Moms miss their sons when they go to summer camp, study abroad or join the Peace Corps or Armed Forces. It worries me that all this began over the mother's Facebook comment. If critics "cry wolf" (claim wrong-doing with no evidence of wrong-doing) too many times, authorities might pay even less attention. No one cares about sub-standard education either. Substandard education happens within the contexts of home schooling, some religious schools and some inner city public schools. Especially if the parents and kids don't disagree, no one cares. By "no one" I do not mean all the caring individuals in the world (like Smurf for example), I mean the collectives that actually have the power to do something (institutions, courts, bureaucracies etc.).

Perhaps the best question to ask in all this is whether or not a "Ministerial Exception" applies to children as it (apparently) does to adult workers in scientology. The Cadet Org still exists in CoS whether they still call it that or not. It's primary purpose is to extract maximum hours of work/labor from the children in its control. The children are 100% controlled and run by the cadet org. If the parent is not in the Sea Org, the child's "legal guardian" has no actual role other than a signature on a piece of paper. If the parent is in the Sea Org, some cadets only see the parent for 1 or 2 hours per week (depending on where the parent is posted in the scientology apparatus). Some children who are handled to sign the billion year contract because their parent signed, feel betrayed and abandoned by the parent(s).

LRon says children are adults in little bodies, but in actual fact these child "adults" have NO RIGHTS and NO FREEDOM. Therefore they are less than children, they are slaves. They have no choices and no way out of their situation. One could argue that no harm is done if the kid is happy and "likes" their life. But what if the kid doesn't? This is when the abuse (imo) really begins, as the child goes through "handling". These parents negate and sacrifice their own child's freedom, future and safety for the "greatest good".

To the child, yeah they are being treated the same as the adults in terms of being made to work. The difference is, an adult can "route out" (though it is very difficult). A child cannot route out. This is why Laura DeCrescenzo felt she had to swallow bleach as her only way to escape her prison:
http://infinitecomplacency.blogspot.com ... wsuit.html

So any such cases should focus on child labor laws only (imo). My rough guess is that "Ministerial Exception" does not apply to children. I don't see how children can become ministers (in a legal sense) until they are adults.

Therefore IMO, any true investigation into Sea Org treatment of children would turn up loads of violations. Therefore I wish you good luck Smurf.

PS. If they move the child, wouldn't they have to move the Legal Guardian as well in order to keep up the appearance that the LG does play a role in the child's life?

PPS. I have personal knowledge of a recruit cycle done fairly recently on an 11 year old. The child was coerced into signing a billion year contract unbeknownst to the parent and without the parent present, the child was very upset and consequently the parent was upset too.

I wish the social worker would call a meeting of all the Cadets at "school," (while you're at it photograph them to keep for evidence if they get work injuries). Tell them the State can't prove they're working instead of being full time students, but the State is on their side. If the students under 16 signed a work contract, that's underage labor. If they feel they can't quit work that's slavery. If they want to quit "school" (use hand quotes) meaning Cadet work, they can go to the nearest fire station, police station, post office or library, or get on a bus and tell the bus driver you're escaping and you want to get off at these places. Their parents or teachers or Sea Org can't make them stay in Cadets. Their parents owe them a home, no matter what the parents' situation.
Then, ask if anyone wants to go home to their parents now.

Here's an excerpt from the Florida State labor laws regarding children
http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/re ... Hours.html


"Minors 14 and 15:
When public school is in session, minors may work a maximum of 3 hours per day on school days and up to 8 hours per day on Saturday, 8 hours on Sunday and 8 hours on non-school days, when a school day does not follow. Remember these daily times are options as this age group is able to work only 15 hours per week (seven day period). They may work between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. but may not work during public school hours.

When school is not in session, June 1st through Labor Day, 14 and 15 year old minors may work up to 8 hours each day and 40 hours per week between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. "

I couldn't find anything regarding those 13 years and under working, so not sure if it's allowed. However, if they call him a volunteer, that could be a different story.

Some have speculated CoS may transfer this boy to a different location because of interest being shown. But I believe they already know he is in the easiest place to keep him, because of the more lenient laws in Florida. Although there are child labor laws in FL, in general, it is a "right to work" state.

Don Carlo is on the money when he suggested the cult might be using the "home schooling" exemption allowed in Florida. There are established rules for home schooling, which goes largely unsupervised, and if the department that monitors home schooling, demands to see student records & progress reports, it would be very easy for the cult to forge documents.

Personally, I think officials should be empowered to pull Scilon kids aside and give them tests on various subjects to see what their intelligence & comprehension levels are.