United Nation of Islam, Legal, Cult Awareness Day, Anne Hamilton-Byrne, Australia
"Following a 26-day trial, a jury in Kansas recently convicted Kaaba Majeed, 50, Yunus Rassoul, 39, James Staton, 62, Randolph Rodney Hadley, 49, Daniel Aubrey Jenkins, 43, and Dana Peach, 60, of conspiracy to commit forced labor. The jury additionally convicted Kaaba Majeed of five counts of forced labor. Two other co-defendants, Etenia Kinard, 48, and Jacelyn Greenwell, 45, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit forced labor.
According to the evidence presented in court during the course of the trial, the defendants were all former high-ranking members of the United Nation of Islam (UNOI), or were wives to the UNOI founder, Royall Jenkins.
"The United Nation of Islam and these defendants held themselves out as a beacon of hope for the community, promising to educate and teach important life skills to members, particularly children," said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "Instead, the defendants betrayed this trust, exploiting young children in the organization by callously compelling their labor. Prosecuting this case is a testament to the Justice Department's unwavering commitment to hold human traffickers accountable. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute parasitic criminals who target vulnerable victims to finance their lifestyles."
"The bravery shown by victims of the United Nation of Islam is inspiring, because they spoke up about heinous atrocities committed against them as vulnerable children," said U.S. Attorney Kate E. Brubacher for the District of Kansas. "In childhood, they suffered physical and emotional abuse, were denied a proper education, and were subject to forced labor. As adults, these victims found the strength and courage to pursue justice and face their abusers."
"Under the guise of false pretenses and coercion, these victims, some of whom were as young as 8 years old, endured inhumane and abhorrent conditions," said Special Agent in Charge Stephen Cyrus of the FBI Kansas City Field Office. "Today's convictions should serve as a stark warning that forced labor will not be tolerated by the FBI."
UNOI principles included many rules that members had to follow, required "duty" or unpaid labor and emphasized the negative eternal religious consequences of noncompliance. UNOI operated businesses in various cities around the United States, including Kansas City, Kan.; New York City; Newark, N.J.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Dayton, Ohio; and Atlanta, among other locations.
In their former leadership roles in UNOI, the defendants agreed to compel the labor and services of over a dozen victims, including multiple minors, some of whom were as young as eight years old, between October 2000 and November 2012. The victims worked in UNOI-owned and operated restaurants, bakeries, gas stations, laboratory and a clothing and sewing factory, often up to 16 hours a day. The victims also provided child care and domestic services inside defendants' homes. None of the victims was ever compensated for the years of work they performed at UNOI businesses or at the behest of the defendants. The victims all lived in deplorable conditions, in overcrowded facilities often overrun with mold, mice and rats. In contrast, the defendants and their immediate families lived comfortably."
November 18th is recognized as International Cult Awareness Day
2007 - Adam House
In 2007, in Mymensingh, Bangladesh, a family of nine, all members of a novel "Adam's cult", committed mass suicide by hurling themselves under a train. Diaries recovered from the victims' home, the "Adam House", related they wanted a pure life as lived by Adam and Eve, freeing themselves from bondage to any religion, and refusing contact with any outsiders. After leaving Islam, they fell out of boundaries of any particular religion.
"Anne Hamilton-Byrne was a charismatic and dangerous cult leader who convinced followers she was Jesus Christ reincarnated. She had an obsession with raising children as her own, isolated from the outside world.
The group dubbed The Family lived in a secluded property outside Melbourne Victoria and was prominent in the 1960s and 70s.
Former detective Lex de Man investigated The Family for more than four years and helped rescue dozens of children.
Lex de Man unpacks his investigation of The Family on Crime Insiders:
"Under the drug LSD. They were indoctrinated that they were seeing the Messiah. They were seeing Anne Hamilton-Byrne," Man said.
Hamilton-Byrne was obsessed with the Von Trapp family from The Sound of Music. She acquired children through adoption scams, dressed them in matching outfits and dyed their hair peroxide blonde.
The children, after suffering years of abuse at the hands of Hamilton Bryne and her followers, were eventually rescued after a police raid in the mid-80s.
Lex de Man came face to face with Hamilton-Byrne on the tarmac at JFK airport, New York while extraditing her back to Australia.
Crime Insiders: Detectives host Brent Sanders asked, "That first time that you saw Anne Hamilton-Byrne, you were described as looking into the eyes of the devil?"
"She's the most evil person that I've ever come across in my personal and professional life, and I stand by that," Man said."
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