'Pedophile ring raped eight girls at Edgar Cayce Virginia summer camp'

A pedophile ring raped eight underage girls while they stayed at a Virginia summer camp founded by a psychic called Edgar Cayce, a lawsuit claims. 

The victims – who are now adults – say they suffered sexual harassment, abuse and rapes at the hands of male workers while attending the Association for Research and Enlightenment’s (ARE) summer camp in Virginia Beach. 

One victim, who gave her name as Lynsey, told of how she was forced to participate in ‘massage trains’ with adult staff after first attending the summer camp in 2008, when she was 12. 

The lawsuit says that when Lynsey was 12, a male camp counselor aged 18 or 19 forced her to play ‘Spin the Bottle,’ forced her to touch his genitals and placed his hands under her clothing and digitally raped her.

An alleged victim of sex abuse at the ARE summer camp in Virginia Beach called Lynsey has shared her story

An alleged victim of sex abuse at the ARE summer camp in Virginia Beach called Lynsey has shared her story  

‘The first time I was raped by an adult counselor, I was 13. I reported it to the camp manager and nothing was done,’ she said, according to WTKR.

‘ARE spiritual teachings set the stage for a silent epidemic of sexual assault and violence against young children and women, including myself.’

The lawsuit says she told the camp manager what happened, but her alleged abuser was allowed to stay at the camp and no report was made to authorities.

When she was 17, she returned to the camp for a young adult retreat, where she said she was forced to embrace her abuser and tell him she forgave him, the lawsuit states.

‘I returned to camp and I was forced to participate in a so-called ‘Forgiveness Circle,’ which meant I had to hug my abuser and say I forgave him. It was a horrible, degrading experience,’ she said, according to WTKR.

Another plaintiff called Hannah Furbush described a 'Goddess Night' event in which female campers would run through a field naked while male campers watched and yelled at them

Another plaintiff called Hannah Furbush described a ‘Goddess Night’ event in which female campers would run through a field naked while male campers watched and yelled at them

Another plaintiff, Hannah Furbush, who attended the camp as a child and later worked as a camp counselor and staff member, estimates she experienced sexual abuse, molestation and harassment at least 100 times at the camp. 

The Associated Press does not generally name sexual assault victims, but Furbush gave her permission for her name to be used.

She said she was coerced into participating in a ‘Liberated Underwear Movement’ event in which underage female campers would run through the camp in their underwear.

In the lawsuit, Furbush also described a ‘Goddess Night’ event in which female campers would run through a field naked while male campers watched and yelled at them from a hilltop.

An unidentified woman who says she was also raped at the ARE camp

A fourth alleged victim who did not wish to give her name

Two other women who did not wish to be identified also spoke about alleged sexual assaults and rapes at the ARE camp 

‘Female campers were being preyed upon by male staff members. That’s because hugs and touch in between children and adults were encouraged, but it went well beyond,’ Furbush said, according to WTKR.  

Furbush said that when she was a 20-year-old staff member, a senior camp director massaged her against her will, touched her buttocks and tried to kiss her. She said she also was ‘sexually violated’ by a different male staff member. Both times, she told camp managers, but nothing was done, she said.

‘It was my job as the victim to meditate or go to healing prayer or journal my trauma away while these dangerous men were given promotions and allowed to stay,’ she said.

A woman who did not wish to be identified said during the video conference that: ‘We were taught to love and accept our abusers unconditionally.’

Former campers allege the camp was breeding ground for sexual abuse, rape and assault of underage girls

Former campers allege the camp was breeding ground for sexual abuse, rape and assault of underage girls

The woman said she was sexually abused by a staff member when she was 16 years old, WTKR reported.

‘It is deeply harmful when your voice is silenced and you come to believe that your voice doesn’t matter. I blamed myself for his sexual assault on me,’ she said.   

The women said the sexual abuse led to a variety of emotional and psychological problems for them, including substance abuse, anxiety and depression. Stephen Estey, one of the attorneys representing the women, said the lawsuits seek $10 million in damages for each.

The Association for Research and Enlightenment, a nonprofit organization founded in 1931, describes itself as an organization for people to explore meditation, holistic health and the meaning of life.  

In the lawsuits, filed in state court in Virginia Beach, where the organization is headquartered, the women describe what they said was a decadeslong camp culture that let adult male staffers sexually abuse young female campers with impunity.

During a virtual news conference, four of the women described the alleged abuse and a cult-like atmosphere at the camp, where they said they were taught unconditional love and forgiveness, even toward their abusers.

Eight women have filed lawsuits claiming they were sexually assaulted and raped as children at Virginia summer camp founded by 'psychic' Edgar Cayce

Eight women have filed lawsuits claiming they were sexually assaulted and raped as children at Virginia summer camp founded by ‘psychic’ Edgar Cayce

The lawsuits were filed in state court in Virginia Beach, where the organization is headquartered

The lawsuits were filed in state court in Virginia Beach, where the organization is headquartered

‘The organization made a rape culture possible,’ said one of the women, identified in the complaint only as Lynsey Doe.

The A.R.E. organization was founded by Edgar Cayce in 1931. On its website, the association says Cayce, who died in 1945, has been described as the ‘father of holistic medicine’ and ‘the most documented psychic of the 20th century.’ 

The organization describes its mission as creating opportunities for personal change in body, mind and spirt using Cayce’s readings.

The A.R.E. Camp opened in the early 1960s and is located in Rural Retreat, a small southwest Virginia town.

Edgar Cayce, the so-called prophet, was arrested in New York in 1931 on allegations that his psychic readings were fake

Edgar Cayce, the so-called prophet, was arrested in New York in 1931 on allegations that his psychic readings were fake

The women said the sexual abuse led to a variety of emotional and psychological problems for them, including substance abuse, anxiety and depression. Stephen Estey, one of the attorneys representing the women, said the lawsuits seek $10 million in damages for each.   

Reached Wednesday, Chief Executive Officer Kevin Todeschi, who is named as a defendant, said he had not yet seen the lawsuits and could not respond to the specific allegations.

‘We’re horrified. This is absolutely contrary to everything the organization stands for,’ he told The Associated Press in a brief phone interview.

In a statement, Todeschi said the organization first became aware of allegations last summer when several people who had attended the camp posted on its Facebook page ‘that they had experienced or had seen inappropriate behavior, and even sexual assault.’

Todeschi said the board commissioned an independent outside investigation agency to scrutinize the allegations ‘and to encourage anyone who experienced harm to come forward.’

Todeschi said the investigation is continuing, and two committees have been established, one to address any systemic or policy-based changes needed, and the other to review camp personnel.

The camp was closed last summer because of the coronavirus pandemic. Todeschi said it will remain closed ‘until we are satisfied we have addressed any still-existing concerns.’

‘Sexual assault or assault of any kind has never been even remotely acceptable. Such conduct is contrary to everything we believe in. The Camp is a Family Camp that focuses on healthy living for body, mind, and spirit,’ he said.

Edgar Cayce: The psychic who made prophecies while he was unconscious

 Edgar Cayce – born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky in 1877 – was famed for giving psychic ‘readings’ to thousands of people while ‘unconscious’ – claiming to diagnose illnesses while revealing so-called prophecies.

According to the organization’s website, Cayce claimed to have been able to talk to the spirit of his dead grandfather.

On March 31, 1901, Cayce gave his first psychic reading during which he regained his own voice after paralyzing his vocal cords.

Cayce would lie on a couch in a meditative, trance-like state and respond to questions posed by those seeking answers and provided homeopathic remedies for illnesses. 

The spiritual leader, a devout churchgoer, claimed to be able to see people’s ‘auras.’

Cayce was covered extensively in The New York Times in 1910 in which the author addressed how medical doctors across the country were baffled by Cayce and his diagnosing of diseases ‘though he has not the slightest knowledge of medicine when not in this condition.’

The outlet noted that the year prior, in 1909, a ‘reputable’ doctor named W. H. Ketchum had ‘made a speech of considerable length, giving an explanation of the strange psychic powers manifested by Cayce during the last four years, during which time he has been more or less under his observation.’

‘The speech created such widespread interest among those present that one of the leading Boston medical men who heard his speech invited Dr. Ketchum to prepare a paper as a part of the program of the September meeting of the American Society of Clinical Research,’ the Times reported.

In his paper, Ketchum had written: ‘About four years ago I made the acquaintance of a young man 28 years old, who had the reputation of being a ‘freak.’ They said he told wonderful truths while he was asleep. 

‘By suggestions he becomes unconscious to pain of any sort, and, strange to say, his best work is done when he is seemingly ‘dead to the world.’

‘I next give him the name of my subject and the exact location of same, and in a few minutes he begins to talk as clearly and distinctly as any one. He usually goes into minute detail in diagnosing a case, and especially if it be a very serious case.’ 

Cayce later built The Cayce Hospital for Research and Enlightenment ion 1928. There, Cayce gave psychic readings for patients ‘while a highly trained staff of physicians, physical therapists, nutritionists, body-workers, and other health care professionals carried out the treatment, according to its website.

The hospital was closed during the great depression but was repurchased by  A.R.E. in 1956 and renovated in 2014 as the A.R.E. Health Center & Spa. 

Cayce was arrested in 1931 on the charge of ‘pretending to tell fortunes’ after detectives raided the Victoria Hotel in New York City, The New York Times reported at the time. His hospital closed that same year.

The same outlet later wrote a news obituary after his death in 1945 – noting he ‘believed wholeheartedly in the Christianity of the Bible and at times suffered doubts lest his powers come from some other source.’

‘At Virginia Beach, he led a quiet, religious, not especially intellectual life, using giving two ‘readings’ a day, the limit of his strength.’   

Cayce is also credited as the inventor of the card game Pit. 

source: dailymail.co.uk