Religious sect leader's trial date set for January Molestation case

Athens Banner-Herald/September 10, 2003
By Joe Johnson
The long-delayed trial of religious sect leader and admitted child molester Dwight ''Malachi'' York has been set to begin Jan. 5 in federal court.

Originally scheduled to start Aug. 4 in U.S. District Court in Macon, York's law-yers had requested a a new trial date because they said they needed more time to prepare in light of court-ordered psychiatric testing that is being done on their client.

York was transferred last month from a Georgia county jail to a federal penitentiary in order to undergo the testing to determine his fitness to stand trial.

The evaluation of the former Athens resident's competency is being done under the order of the new judge in York's case, U.S. District Court Judge C. Ashley Royal, who denied York's recent motion to void an earlier order for a psychiatric exam made by Royal's predecessor.

U.S. District Court Judge Hugh Lawson recused himself from the case July 18, after York's defense team alleged Lawson had lost his impartiality by becoming an unwitting participant in plea-bargain negotiations.

York had already undergone one court-ordered exam, which raised questions about his mental competency, and further evaluation was ordered by Lawson following the judge's June 25 rejection of a plea bargain York had made with federal prosecutors.

York, 58, is leader of a religious sect called the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors, and prosecutors allege that under the guise of spiritual leader and deity, he sexually abused the underage children of his followers at the Nuwaubian compound in Eatonton and at York's mansion on Mansfield Court in Athens. York pleaded guilty to 74 state counts of child molestation and other related charges, and as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors had pleaded guilty to a single count of transporting children across state lines for sexual purposes in return for a recommendation he serve 15 years in prison.

In rejecting the federal plea agreement, Lawson said 15 years in prison would be too lenient a penalty for York. He told attorneys he would agree to a 20-year prison sentence, which prompted the defense's motion for Lawson to recuse himself.

Suddenly faced with the prospect of a trial, York's attorneys asked Lawson for another psychiatric examination because they said York was unable to assist in his own defense, as he told the attorneys he was a Native American tribal chief over whom U.S. courts held no jurisdiction.

Two days after Lawson granted the motion, a new addition to York's defense team filed a motion asking Lawson to rescind his order for the psychiatric exam. Miami attorney Frank Rubino claimed in the motion that after spending two hours with his new client, he determined York was able to assist in his own defense.

In denying the motion, Royal said he was relying on the report that resulted from York's first examination, which concluded that York was possibly suffering from a ''mental disease or defect'' that could render him incompetent to stand trial.

Religious sect leader's wife denied access to son

Athens Banner-Herald/August 14, 2003

Eatonton -- A judge has denied a request by the wife of United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors leader Malachi York to see her son, who is an alleged victim in the child molestation case against York.

Kathy Johnson, 34, was arrested in May 2002 and implicated in federal and state charges of child molestation involving at least 13 children, including her son.

Authorities allege that Johnson knowingly allowed York to have sex with her son, who is now in state custody.

Johnson has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of failing to report a crime, but the state case against her is on hold while she appeals on grounds that she was denied a speedy trial.

In Tuesday's hearing before Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge William A. Prior, Putnam County Assistant District Attorney Dawn Baskin "argued against Johnson's request, saying Johnson's son is ''the one witness against her who she has the most control over.''

The Nuwaubians, a quasi-religious group based on a 400-acre farm in Eatonton, claim their leader, York, is an extraterrestrial. According to one of his defense attorneys, York was to have been transferred this week from the Jones County Jail to an undisclosed federal penitentiary where he will undergo psychological testing to determine his fitness to stand trial.

His trial on federal child molestation charges in U.S. District Court in Macon was to have begun Aug. 4, but it has been put on hold indefinitely until the exam is completed and a hearing is held on its results.

York, 58, allegedly molested the underage children of his followers at the Nuwaubian compound in Eatonton and at his mansion on Mansfield Court in Athens.

York pleaded guilty to 74 state counts of child molestation and other related charges, and as part of an agreement" with federal prosecutors had pleaded guilty to a single count of transporting "children across state lines for sexual purposes in return for a recommendation he serve 15 years in prison.

In rejecting the agreement in June, U.S. District Judge High Lawson said 15 years in prison would be too lenient a penalty for York.

Suddenly faced with the prospect of a trial, York's attorneys asked Lawson for a psychiatric examination because they said York was unable to assist in his own defense, claiming he was a Native American tribal chief over whom U.S. courts held no jurisdiction.

Nuwaubian sect leader will undergo psychological evaluation

Athens Banner-Herald/August 13, 2003
By Joe Johnson
Religious sect leader and admitted child molester Dwight ''Malachi'' York is to be transferred this week from a Georgia county jail to a federal penitentiary where he will undergo psychological testing to determine his fitness to stand trial, York's defense attorney said Tuesday.

Atlanta attorney Manubir Arora said exactly where his client will be examined was unknown as of Tuesday, but a likely place would be the Butner Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, N.C.

''This is something that will be determined by the (U.S.) Marshal Service,'' Arora said.

The evaluation of the former Athens resident's competency is to be performed under the order of the new judge in York's case, U.S. District Court Judge C. Ashley Royal, who denied York's recent motion to void an earlier order for a psychological exam made by Royal's predecessor.

U.S. District Court Judge Hugh Lawson recused himself from the case July 18, after York's defense team alleged Lawson had lost his impartiality by becoming an unwitting participant in plea-bargain negotiations.

York had already undergone one court-ordered psychological exam, which raised questions about his mental competency, and further evaluation was ordered by Lawson following the judge's June 25 rejection of a plea bargain York had made with federal prosecutors.

York, 58, is leader of a religious sect called the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors, and prosecutors allege that under the guise of spiritual leader and deity, he sexually abused the underage children of his followers at the Nuwaubian compound in Eatonton and at York's mansion on Mansfield Court in Athens.

York pleaded guilty to 74 state counts of child molestation and other related charges, and as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors had pleaded guilty to a single count of transporting children across state lines for sexual purposes in return for a recommendation he serve 15 years in prison.

In rejecting the federal plea agreement, Lawson said 15 years in prison would be too lenient a penalty for York. He told attorneys he would agree to a 20-year prison sentence, which prompted the defense's motion for Lawson to recuse himself.

Suddenly faced with the prospect of a trial, York's attorneys asked Lawson for another psychiatric examination because they said York was unable to assist in his own defense, claiming he was a native American tribal chief over whom U.S. courts held no jurisdiction.

Two days after Lawson granted the motion, a new addition to York's defense team filed a motion asking Law-son to rescind his order for the psychiatric exam. Miami attorney Frank Rubino claimed in the motion that after spending two hours with his new client, he determined York was able to assist in his own defense.

In denying Rubino's motion, Royal said he was relying on the report that resulted from York's first examination.

''Because (the) report provides reasonable cause for the court to believe (York) may presently be suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent to the extent that he is unable to "understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him or to assist properly in his defense, the court will proceed on its own motion for determination of (York's) mental competency,'' Royal wrote in his July 24 order.

York had been scheduled to begin trial Aug. 4, but the trial has been delayed indefinitely because of the change of judges and the pending psychological examination.

York federal trial delayed

Athens Banner-Herald/July 29, 2003
By Joe Johnson
The scheduled Aug. 4 start of the federal trial of religious sect leader and admitted child molester Dwight ''Malachi'' York has been postponed due to the recent replacement of the trial judge.

U.S. District Judge C. Ashley Royal last week replaced Judge Hugh Lawson after York's attorneys claimed Lawson had lost his impartiality in the case. A new trial date had not been set as of Monday.

''We have no information at this time as to when the trial will begin,'' said Pamela Lightsey, spokeswoman for U.S. Department of Justice's Middle District of Georgia.

York, 58, is leader of a religious sect called the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors.

He pleaded guilty to 74 state counts of child molestation and other related charges, and as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors had pleaded guilty to a single count of transporting children across state lines for sexual purposes.

Lawson last month rejected the plea agreement on the grounds the 15-year prison sentence it included had been ''too lenient.'' Soon after, York's attorneys filed a motion requesting Lawson to recuse himself from the case because he had inadvertently become a participant in the plea-bargaining process when he stated he would accept a plea agreement that included a 20-year prison sentence.

Lawson granted that motion, and he was replaced last week with Royal, a former University of Georgia law professor and school alumnus.

Upon his assignment to the case, Royal inherited several pending motions, which he may or may not choose to rule on.

''Judge Royal is taking the case as it exists, so he could have a hearing on the motions or not, and he can rule on the motions or not,'' Lightsey said.

Lightsey said it was her understanding that Royal could also overrule decisions Lawson had made on previous motions.

Among the pending motions are requests by the defense to suppress evidence, including certain items removed during searches of York's properties in Putnam and Athens-Clarke counties.

York in 1993 bought 476 acres in Eatonton, which was turned into a compound that housed more than 150 Nuwaubians and was headquarters for a sect-related business enterprise. York bought a mansion on Mansfield Court in Athens in 1998.

Also pending is a defense motion for a change of venue to a location where potential jurors would be less likely to be influenced by pre-trial publicity.

New judge in sect leader's trial

Ex-UGA law prof to hear case

Athens Banner-Herald/July 26, 2003
By Joe Johnson
A former University of Georgia law professor has been appointed the new judge in the trial of religious sect leader and admitted child molester Dwight ''Malachi'' York.

U.S. District Court Judge C. Ashley Royal replaces Judge Hugh Lawson, who recused himself July 18 on a motion by York's attorneys claiming Lawson was not impartial to their client's case.

They said Lawson had inadvertently become a participant in plea bargain discussions when he told defense attorneys and prosecutors that he would accept a recommendation for a 20-year prison sentence as part of a plea agreement.

Lawson had rejected an earlier plea agreement because it had called for a 15-year prison sentence, which the judge called ''too lenient.''

York, 58, is leader of a religious sect called the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors. He was accused by federal authorities in May 2002 of molesting more than a dozen minor girls, some as young as 11, but as part of the plea bargain later rejected by Lawson he pleaded guilty to a single count of transporting children across state lines for sexual purposes.

In addition to the federal charges, York has pleaded guilty in state court to 74 counts of child molestation, one count of child exploitation and two counts of influencing witnesses. Sentencing in state court is on hold until the federal case is disposed of, as his sentence is to run concurrent with any federal sentence that is imposed.

With the rejection of the plea bargain, York has the option of withdrawing his guilty plea and take his chances with a jury, or attempt to strike a new agreement with prosecutors.

York's trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 4.

York owns a home off Timothy Road in Athens, and his sect bought a storefront on West Broad Street it intended to turn into a lodge and book store. The Nuwaubians also have a 476-acre compound in Eatonton. Prosecutors allege child molestations occurred in both Eatonton and Athens.

Royal not only taught at the Athens-based university, but he graduated from the Georgia University School of Law in 1974. President Bush appointed him judge for the Middle District of Georgia in October 2001, and the appointment was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in December of that year.

Sect leader's hearing on plea delayed again

A crowd of Nuwaubian leader Dwight York's supporters gather Thursday outside the Federal Courthouse in Macon.
Athens Banner-Herald
July 11, 2003
By Joe Johnson

Macon -- Accusations, descriptions of ''sex props'' and a demand the judge remove himself from the case colored Thursday's federal court hearing for religious sect leader and admitted child molester Dwight ''Malachi'' York.
Already delayed once by concerns regarding York's mental competency, a hearing in which the former Athens resident will have an opportunity to withdraw a guilty plea has been delayed again by York's motion that the judge remove himself from the case because of alleged bias.
Defense attorney Ed Garland told U.S. District Judge Hugh Lawson he had tainted his appearance of impartiality in the case when he told both sides what prison sentence he would find acceptable should the defense and prosecution agree on a new plea bargain to replace the one Lawson rejected June 25.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Moultrie accused York of employing delay tactics in the case that has dragged on since York's arrest on child molestation charges on May 8, 2002.
''The government is concerned by Mr. York making an attempt to impede this trial,'' Moultrie told Lawson.
Originally from New York City, York led a quasi-religious group called the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors, which established a compound in Putnam County where York admittedly molested dozens of children. He had owned a house off Timothy Road in Athens, and his group purchased a storefront in the downtown area.
Because of York's motion for Lawson to recuse himself, a portion of Thursday's 90-minute hearing was spent creating a record of what had been said during an informal meeting in Lawson's chambers on May 28. During that meeting, Lawson indicated to prosecuting and defense attorneys that he would not accept the plea bargain the two sides had struck because the agreed-upon prison sentence of 15 years was ''too lenient.'' After excusing themselves briefly from the judge's chambers, the attorneys then asked Lawson what sentence he would consider fair, to which he replied, 20 years.
Garland told Lawson once he offered that possible prison sentence, he lost his impartiality.
A Nuwaubian supporter drums outside the Federal Courthouse in Macon during Nuwaubian leader Malachi York's hearing Thursday.
''When a judge becomes a participant in the plea bargaining process, he brings the full majesty and power of his office,'' Garland said. ''Your majesty and power has created an impact, and there's a prejudice against the defendant.''
Lawson adjourned the hearing without ruling on the motion to recuse himself or any other matters brought before him on Thursday.
Still pending is a motion for a competency examination and hearing requested by York's attorneys on June 30, when they told Lawson their client was unwilling and unable to assist in his defense because he claimed to be a Native American tribal chief who did not recognize the jurisdiction of the federal court.
The mental competency motion put on hold an opportunity Lawson gave York to withdraw his guilty plea in light of the rejection of the plea bargain. The judge had warned York that if he did not withdraw the guilty plea, he could face a stiffer sentence than what the plea bargain had envisioned.
York had initially been accused by federal authorities of molesting more than a dozen minor girls, some as young as 11, but in the rejected January plea bargain he had pleaded guilty to only one count of transporting children across state lines for sexual purposes. In state court, York had pleaded guilty to 40 counts of aggravated child molestation, 34 counts of child molestation, one count of child exploitation and two counts of influencing witnesses. Sentencing on those charges is on hold until the federal case is disposed of, as his state sentence is to run concurrent with any federal sentence that is imposed.
The other matters brought before Lawson on Thursday included a motion by the defense to suppress certain evidence obtained by the FBI in May 2002 when they searched York's $528,000 house in Athens and an estate in Eatonton inhabited by followers of York's United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors.
Defense attorney Manubir Arora told the judge that information used by an FBI agent to obtain search warrants of York's properties in Athens and Eatonton had been ''stale,'' since it came from confidential witnesses who had left York's sect nearly a year and a half before the warrants were obtained.
Reading from the warrants, Arora provided a glimpse into activities that led to York's arrest. The warrants referred to ''sex props,'' including grass skirts purchased during a trip York made with children to Disneyland, and an animal print bean bag on which children posed for pornographic photographs.
Also pending before Lawson is a June 30 motion for a change of venue, to a location where potential jurors would be less likely to be influenced by pre-trial publicity. Lawson has said he would grant the change of venue request, but would first have to decide where a trial would be held.
Lawson adjourned Thursday's hearing without ruling on any of the motions or setting a new hearing date.
York's trial is set to begin Aug. 4.
Originally named Dwight York, the 58-year-old defendant had led a sect in Brooklyn, N.Y., called the Ansaru Allah community, a segregationist religious group which incorporated Muslim traditions. Also claiming to be an extraterrestrial, York relocated followers to Putnam County in 1993, where his United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors established their Eatonton compound. At the corner of West Broad and Church streets in Athens, the group planned on opening a lodge, but later licensed the location as a book store.

Work on Nuwaubian building continues

Unsure if project will ever be complete
Athens Banner-Herald
May 21, 2003
By Janis Reid

The Nuwaubians are a quasi-religious sect that combines elements of black empowerment, biblical themes and Egyptian polytheism, as reflected in the Egyptian carvings emerging on the facade of the building at 815 W. Broad St.
The Broad Street property was deeded in March 2000 to Nuwaubian founder Malachi Z. York - who brought a group of followers from New York in 1993 to create a compound near Eatonton in east Georgia's Putnam County. Plans for the bookstore were received by the Athens-Clarke County Building Permits and Inspections Department in August 2001.
In January, York, also known as Dwight York, was sentenced to 14 years in prison after admitting in a negotiated plea agreement that he molested numerous children at the Putnam County compound and at his Athens mansion on Mansfield Court.
Last week, the contractors listed on the building permit for the Broad Street structure - Eatonton-based Nuwaubian General Contracting - asked the building permits department for permission to relocate an office in the building.
According to the site plan, half of the building is slotted for a customer section including bookshelves and tables, with the other side housing the office and a large open space for book storage.
Calls made to Nuwaubian General Contracting were not returned Wednesday.
Phillip Seagraves, assistant director of the building permits department, said it is unusual to have a building under construction for two years unless there is something holding up the project.
Seagraves added the building permit will remain current as long as the project does not go six months without progress.
Thomas Chism, owner of the All Eyes on Egypt bookstore and gift shop on Atlanta Highway, is listed as a contact person on the site plans filed with the building permits department.
But on Wednesday, Chism said he did not know anything about the progress of construction at the Broad Street location.
He did say, though, that once it is completed, he will be moving his bookstore into the building.

York's wife pleads guilty

Athens Banner-Herald
April 1, 2003
By Stephen Gurr

The wife of convicted child molester and cult leader Dwight ''Malachi'' York pleaded guilty to a felony charge Tuesday in federal court.
Kathy Johnson, 34, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Macon to misprision of a felony.
Misprision of a felony means ''she knew a felony was taking place and she didn't do anything about it,'' said U.S. Attorney spokeswoman Pam Lightsey.
Johnson, along with York, had originally been charged with crossing state lines for the purposes of sex with a minor. As part of the plea agreement, that charge was dropped in exchange for Johnson's admission that she knew the offense was taking place.
Authorities said York and Johnson took children from the group's Putnam County compound to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., where they engaged in sex acts with the minors.
Johnson faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison when she is sentenced by Judge Hugh Lawson in about two months. She remains free on a $75,000 bail.
Johnson still faces state charges involving the molestation of a number of young victims after being indicted last year in Putnam County Superior Court. That case has not yet gone to trial.
York, a self-styled messiah of the quasi-religious United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors, admitted in November to molesting at least 13 young boys and girls at his group's Eatonton compound. In exchange for the guilty plea, York was given a state-recommended sentence of 14 years in prison, to run concurrently with his federal sentence.

Fall of the Nuwaubian empire?

Athens Banner-Herald
January 25, 2003
By Stephen Gurr

Doctor, reverend, master teacher, rabbi -- Dwight ''Malachi'' York has used all those monikers almost interchangeably. But as he prepares to assume a new title -- inmate -- the future of his empire hangs in serious doubt.
Most believe the religious sect York founded some 10 years ago on 400 acres of Putnam County farmland -- the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors -- peaked in the late 1990s, when thousands would attend the group's Savior Day celebrations each June. Flush with the success of his movement, York bought a $550,000 home in a quiet Athens subdivision and spent another $385,000 on a commercial property on West Broad Street.
His followers, dressed in their colorful, quasi-Egyptian garb, were welcomed warmly in the Classic City, where they participated in city parades and were feted as honored guests at the fall 2000 local NAACP banquet.
But today there are few signs that the Nuwaubian movement continues to thrive. Work has halted on the faux-Moorish building at the corner of West Broad and South Church streets, first proposed as a lodge then licensed as a bookstore.
York's store at an Atlanta Highway strip mall, ''All Eyes on Egypt,'' was closed Friday, the same day he pleaded guilty to 77 counts of child molestation and related charges. No one answered the door at York's mansion on Mansfield Court.
Reached earlier in the week, Nuwaubian members declined to comment.
While the government seized $400,000 in cash and numerous guns found in searches of his Putnam County compound and Athens home, federal and state prosecutors have no plans to take any of York's other assets.
But others have claims against York. The father of one victim has filed a $1 billion civil suit against the Brooklyn-born sect leader.
''There will definitely be some people coming after him,'' said Manchester attorney Ronny Jones, who says York still owes him $15,000 in unpaid legal fees. Last month Clarke County Superior Court Judge Lawton Stephens issued a judgment against York for the bill, which was accrued when Jones was assisting York in a Putnam County zoning dispute.
''I'm trying to collect on the judgment,'' Jones said.
It may not be easy. While York's mail-order business selling Egyptian-themed jewelry, clothes and books was apparently thriving, he eventually had them incorporated in other people's names, according to former Putnam County Attorney Frank Ford, who had frequent clashes with York over zoning.
As for the properties still in York's name, including the home and building, Ford doubts they have much equity.
''Once payments stop being made, they will probably revert to the lender for foreclosure,'' Ford said.
Athens-Clarke County officials will move next week to rescind York's building permit for work on the Broad Street store, formerly the location of Ideal Amusements. Director of Building Inspections Ken Hix said officials can cancel a building permit if a project goes six months without significant progress.
''We have not had any inspections there since May,'' Hix said.
The aura surrounding York seems to have faded among his followers, as well. Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills described a ''noticeable exodus of sorts'' at the Putnam County compound.
''I can say a lot of them disappeared from around here after his arrest,'' Sills said.
While as many as 200 followers have packed court hearings for York in the past, only two supporters were present for his guilty plea Friday. Ford believes York put the word out for them to stay away.
''They didn't know this was going on,'' Ford said of the negotiated plea. ''He kept them out of the courtroom while he was making these admissions.''
''Based on what I saw today, (the group) has definitely weakened,'' said Putnam County Assistant District Attorney Dawn Baskin. ''I would seriously doubt they would continue as a community in Putnam County.''
Others aren't so sure. Jones believes York's daughter, Hagar York-El, could step into the void left by York.
''She could definitely speak for her father and continue his teachings,'' Jones said.
In Athens, it's harder to gauge the Nuwaubians' continued presence. But the predominantly black group has won friends in the African-American community and been praised as hard-working, self-sufficient people.
''They're people who go to work every day, pay rent or own homes,'' said local activist Thomas Oglesby. ''They bring entrepreneurship to this town. You've got brick masons, carpenters, locksmiths, bakers, all of them have something going.''
Oglesby doesn't think York's conviction will lead the group to dissolve.
''That's not going to happen,'' he said. ''This group is not a small group, this group isn't just in Georgia -- it's nationwide and worldwide.''
Said Walter Allen Jr., who runs the local African-American magazine ''Zebra'' and has employed some Nuwaubians, ''this case has been going on for eight months, and they've still been functioning.''

Sect leader admits he molested children

The Athens Banner-Herald
January 25, 2003
By Stephen Gurr

Dwight ''Malachi'' York admitted Friday to molesting 13 children from his quasi-Egyptian religious sect at their Putnam County compound, and prosecutors said he also molested numerous children in his Athens mansion on Mansfield Court.
In a negotiated plea, the 57-year-old leader of the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors agreed with Putnam County prosecutors to a sentence of 14 years in prison, followed by 36 years of probation, Assistant District Attorney Dawn Baskin said. The prison term will run concurrently with a federal sentence of 14 years he is expected to receive in U.S District Court after admitting to similar crimes on Thursday.
Among the state charges, York pleaded guilty to 40 counts of aggravated child molestation, 34 counts of child molestation, one count of child exploitation and two counts of influencing witnesses.
York pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to one count of unlawful transport of minors for the purpose of engaging in sex acts and one count of attempting to evade financial reporting requirements. Prosecutors are recommending 14 years to be served concurrently with the state sentence, U.S. Attorney Pam Lightsey said. The government is also seizing about $400,000 in cash and about 20 guns confiscated in Athens and Eatonton.
York will likely serve out his entire sentence in a federal penitentiary, Baskin said. ''This plea is pretty carefully calibrated where it's long enough to be real punishment,'' said former Putnam County Attorney Frank Ford, who was present at Friday's hearing and has had frequent clashes with the Nuwaubians over zoning issues at the group's compound. ''It's short enough that he won't die in prison, but it's long enough that he won't live too much longer after he's released.''
York would be 71 years old if he served the full prison term. With good behavior, he would be eligible for parole after 12 years and nine months.
During Friday's hearing, Baskin told Judge William A. Prior Jr. that witnesses could testify to at least 45 similar acts of child molestation that occurred in York's Athens home. York has never been charged with crimes committed in Clarke County, but was indicted last year on 208 counts involving molestation at the group's Putnam County compound.
Reached after the plea, Baskin said evidence gathered during a May 2002 search of the Athens home corroborated statements given by the victims.
''We know for at least half of the victims listed in the indictment, their sexual molestation began in Putnam County,'' Baskin said. ''From the time Mr. York moved into the house in Athens in 1999 until his return to Putnam County in early 2001, many of these victims were transported from Eatonton to Athens, where they would stay for weeks on end.''
Baskin said the children had to ask York for even the most minor things in writing, which he called ''request submissions.'' If the children refused to engage in sex acts with York, he would deny their requests, Baskin said.
Reached Friday, Clarke County District Attorney Ken Mauldin said he had been made aware of the alleged acts in Clarke County by Putnam County District Attorney Fred Bright. Mauldin said part of Bright's negotiated plea with York stipulated that he would not be prosecuted for the crimes alleged in Clarke County. All of the alleged victims in Clarke County were included in Bright's case against York in Putnam County, Mauldin said.
Baskin said though the 13 victims were prepared to testify, they also sought a resolution where they could avoid re-living their childhood traumas in open court.
''These victims all came under tremendous pressure from the followers of Mr. York,'' Baskin said. ''A lot of them wanted this to come to an end. Out of a courtesy to our victims we decided to agree to a plea of this nature. If there had been a trial and a conviction, we would have looked at years of appeals that would not bring a conclusion. This brings a conclusion.''
And the plea, Baskin says, unmasks York.
''What we gave to our victims is that Mr. York stood up in court and said, 'I did it,'?'' Baskin said. ''There's no way his followers can say he was railroaded or there was a conspiracy.''
Said Ford, ''The biggest thing is this guy who claimed to be a messiah stood up in court and admitted he was nothing less than a monster.''

Bars not thwarting York's progress

Athens Banner-Herald
September 16, 2002
By Stephen Gurr

Being in federal custody for the past four months hasn't kept religious sect leader Dwight ''Malachi'' York from going forward with plans to open a book store on West Broad Street.
Last week Athens-Clarke County officials issued a standard business occupation tax certificate in York's name, or rather his alias of Malachi Z. York. The sometimes-resident of Athens has been jailed in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary awaiting trial since his arrest in May on federal charges of transporting minors across state lines for the purpose of sex. York, 56, is also facing state charges after a Putnam County grand jury indicted York on 120 counts of child molestation and related charges.
Progress at the building at the corner of West Broad and South Church streets has gone at a glacial pace since it was deeded to York for $385,000 in March 2000. Workers transformed the former Ideal Amusements building into a quasi-Moorish structure complete with Egyptian hieroglyphics carved into the facade, and after months of inactivity, workers have been seen almost daily loading boxes, sometimes from a transfer truck.
Last week county officials received a registration form signed by York for the mandatory business occupation tax, Athens-Clarke Finance Director John Culpepper said.
''Wherever he was when he signed it, I don't know,'' Culpepper said.
Culpepper stressed that a business occupation tax certificate does not amount to a business license. County officials have little regulatory powers over the business except to make sure the stated business complies with zoning regulations.
The business at 815 W. Broad St. has been registered as ''Holy Tabernacle Store, Malachi Z. York, owner.'' In the late 1990s York owned a store by the same name in Savannah, which is apparently no longer in business.
A call to the number listed in the Athens-Clarke documents as the business phone resulted in a fax dial tone.
An employee answering the telephone at All Eyes On Egypt, another York-founded store near Georgia Square Mall, said she couldn't comment on the West Broad Street store. She referred inquiries to Cheryl Lampkin, who was unavailable for comment Friday. York's followers, known collectively as Nuwaubians, have generally declined to talk to the news media, particularly since their leader was arrested.
While York has paid his business occupation tax, the new store is far from being ready for business, according to building inspection officials.
''They don't have a certificate of occupancy,'' said Ken Hix, Athens-Clarke director of building inspections and permits. There have been no interior inspections of electrical wiring and plumbing, and the last exterior inspection was in May, he said.
''I haven't had contact with anyone over there in several months,'' Hix said.
According to public records, for a time York and his partner Kathy Johnson operated a thriving mail-order business from his mansion on Mansfield Court, flouting county zoning ordinances. After several neighbors complained, inspectors toured the area and found more than a dozen women working at computers in the house. The activity eventually ceased.
After York's arrest, federal agents served a search warrant at the house and seized $125,000 in cash, authorities said.
A federal trial date has not been set for York, who was denied bond, U.S. Attorney's office spokeswoman Pam Lightsey said this week. U.S. District Court Judge Hugh Lawson's next term of court is in November.
York also faces a $1 billion civil suit filed by the father of one of the alleged victims.

Nuwabian leader sued for $1 billion over sex abuse charges

Athens Banner-Herald
July 2, 2002
By Stephen Gurr

A Florida man has filed a lawsuit against jailed religious sect leader Dwight York in Athens federal court, accusing the one-time Athens resident of molesting the plaintiff's daughter when she was 11 years old.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court June 24, seeks punitive damages of $1 billion. The name of the plaintiff in the suit is being withheld by this newspaper because of his relation to the alleged victim, a minor.
The suit claims that the victim and her mother, a member of York's quasi-religious United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors, moved into York's Putnam County compound in 1993. At the age of 11, the suit alleges, the girl was told by a member of York's ''inner circle'' that something ''wonderful'' was going to happen to her, and that it would have ''deep significance for her spiritual development.''
York then showed the girl a pornographic movie and shortly afterward had sex with her, the suit alleges.
''He had (the girl) observe defendant York sexually abuse other children in a like manner, all for the purpose of gratifying his wicked, depraved, and corrupt sexual appetite,'' the suit claims.
''This pattern of activity began at the compound in Putnam County and continued in Athens-Clarke County after York began to reside in Athens-Clarke County in 1998,'' the suit claims.
The victim named in the complaint is also listed as a victim in a 116-count criminal indictment against York on charges of child molestation and other related crimes.
The indictment was returned by a Putnam County grand jury three months ago and York remains in federal custody on charges of transporting minors across state lines for the purpose of sex.
York's attorney, Ed Garland, was unavailable for comment Monday. Garland has previously said his client was ''completely, totally and absolutely innocent of these charges.''
Athens attorney John Barrow, representing the plaintiff, declined to comment on the suit.
Athens-Clarke Police looked into the possibility that York may have molested children in his sprawling Mansfield Court mansion, which he purchased in 1999 for $557,000. But as of this week, police said, interviews with potential victims have turned up no indications of criminal activities at the mansion.
Putnam County investigators and officials with the state Division of Family and Children Services interviewed a cult member's daughter who lives in Athens, but ''no criminal charges have been filed to date as a result of that interview,'' Athens-Clarke County Assistant Police Chief Mark Wallace said Monday.
The lawsuit says the molestations of the girl named in the complaint continued for six years, until she called her father in 1999 and told him she wanted to go home. In March 2002, she confided in family members about the abuses and the father contacted authorities, the suit claims.