Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Thursday 14 december 2017
‘Nobody saved us’: Man describes childhood in abusive ‘cult’

By MITCH WEISS and HOL- dle,” he said.
BROOK MOHR, Anderson’s mother, Patri-
Associated Press cia Dolan, did not respond
SPINDALE, N.C. (AP) — to phone and text messag-
Jamey Anderson vividly es from the AP.
recalls being a skinny kid Noell Tin, an attorney for
trembling on the floor of a church leader Jane Whal-
dank, windowless storage ey, denied Anderson had
room, waiting in terror for been mistreated. “Mr. An-
the next adult to open the derson’s claims are disput-
door. ed not only by Ms. Whaley,
He was bruised and ex- but also by members of the
hausted after being held church,” he said.
down while a group of When Anderson fled Word
Word of Faith Fellowship of Faith, he left behind the
congregants — including only life he had ever known
his mother and future step- and lost all contact with his
father — beat him with a mother and brother.
wooden paddle, he said. He eventually graduated
As with most punishments from law school and was
at the secretive Christian hired by a respected firm
church, Anderson said, it in Charlotte, and his future
was prompted by some — for a change — seemed
vague accusation: He had In this Nov. 16, 2017 photo, Jamey Anderson becomes emotional as he talks about his time bright. Then one night last
sin in his heart, or he had with the Word of Faith Fellowship church during an interview in Charlotte, N.C. year, the police knocked
given in to the “unclean.” Associated Press on his door and arrested
The attacks could last for him for trespassing on his
hours until he confessed to Anderson describes his gregant is shrieked at, particularly brutal attack brother’s property.
something, anything, and childhood as nothing short sometimes for hours, to when he was about 9, Nick Anderson had sworn
cried out to Jesus, he said. of hell. drive out devils. The ses- when he said a female to a magistrate judge that
Sometimes even that Throughout his adoles- sions often graduate to church member pinned his another church member
wasn’t enough for re- cence, he was singled out punching and choking, arms down while his moth- spotted Jamey on his prop-
demption. Then, Anderson as a rebel and suffered according to more than er sat on his legs and beat erty. When presented with
said, he would be locked some of the most brutal 40 former members inter- him with a paddle. overwhelming evidence
in a dark place he called treatment in the church, viewed by the AP. “It hit me in many other that Jamey was nowhere
the “green room,” where nearly two dozen former But his most traumatizing places than where it was near his brother’s home
he would bang his head congregants told the AP. memories stem from the supposed to. But they that night, District Attorney
against the brick wall, Among his transgressions: “green room,” a storage didn’t stop, because I Ted Bell dismissed the case.
wanting to die. making a funny face at a area named for the color needed a ‘breakthrough.’ Reached by phone, Nick
“I just wanted it to end,” he classmate. of its outdoor carpeting in The demons were ‘taking Anderson declined to
recalled to The Associated Anderson said some of his a house his family shared me over,’ as a kid. I was comment.
Press. “Of course, they told earliest memories are of with more than a dozen going to go to hell. And Bell said he considered
us that killing yourself is the a church practice called church members. so they kept swinging the charging Nick Anderson
unforgivable sin.” “blasting,” in which a con- Anderson recounted a paddle, swinging the pad- and the second church
Today, Anderson is a member with intimidat-
29-year-old handsome, ing a witness, but instead
articulate attorney with would “send them a
a quick wit and a sarcas- strongly worded letter to
tic side. At first glance, he not do it again.”
seems well-adjusted. But That provides little solace
he finds it hard to trust any- to Jamey. Like the skinny
one. kid locked away in the stor-
He fled Word of Faith when age room anticipating the
he was 18, but he is not next beating, he still can’t
free. More than a decade escape the fear of what
later, night terrors jolt him the church might do next.
awake and he struggles to He does not want any oth-
find his footing in a world er child in Word of Faith to
that he doesn’t under- suffer like he says he suf-
stand, having been raised, fered, so he tells his story
as he puts it, in a “cult.” to “be the light that I used
As part of an ongoing in- to see as a small child, that
vestigation into Word of got extinguished when no-
Faith Fellowship, dozens of body saved us. . I don’t
former congregants have want to watch and see
told the AP that church as other kids grow up and
members were regularly they start to leave and
beaten in an effort to “puri- Jamey Anderson holds a photo on his phone of himself, bottom left, at the Word of Faith say, ‘Why didn’t someone
fy” sinners — even children. Christian School with classmates, from left, Liam, Risa Burgeson Pires, and Christopher Davies, come and help us? Why
But despite allegations of and teachers Lisa Brown, top left, and Marty Roper, top right, during an interview in Charlotte, was our childhood de-
abuse spanning two de- N.C., Monday, Dec. 11, 2017. stroyed, when you knew
cades, authorities have Associated Press better?’”q
done little to intervene. ___