Scientology loyalists will rule on allegations against church instead of a jury: report

A federal judge has ordered three former Church of Scientology employees to bring allegations against the organization of human trafficking and abuse before an arbitration panel made up of church loyalists instead of the U.S. justice system, The Tampa Bay Times reports.

The lawsuit alleges Scientology leader David Miscavige among other church entities trafficked them into the church when they were children and paid them little or nothing for work that was required of them through adulthood, the report said.

Gawain and Laura Baxter, a married couple, and Valeska Paris filed the lawsuit against the church in April.

All three were young adults working full-time in the church’s Sea Org when they signed contracts in which they agreed to resolve disputes through binding arbitration conducted by the church. The three had argued that they wouldn’t receive a fair hearing from a panel that views them as enemies of the church.

U.S. District Judge Tom Barber issued the order on Friday.

“An uninterested observer reading the (lawsuit) would likely be surprised and shocked by the conduct alleged,” Barber wrote. “But under existing law, plaintiffs are limited to seeking relief through arbitration within the Scientology organization itself, not through the courts.”

A U.S magistrate had just ruled six weeks earlier that Miscavige, the church leader, had concealed “his whereabouts or evading service,” declaring him officially served.

Scientology spokesperson Ben Shaw issued a statement declaring victory.

“We won,” Shaw said.

“This decision is another victory for the Church. The judge has rejected plaintiffs bringing false and scurrilous allegations against the Church in court.”

Shaw dismissed the allegations as a “sham and a scam.”

“From its inception, this case has been nothing but the most blatant harassment. It has now been thrown out of court and into arbitration, where it always belonged.”

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