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
‘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, 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.
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
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
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
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.