Nuwaubian leader's wife freed on bail

The Augusta Chronicle
December 4, 2002

Eatonton -- One of the four women facing charges of child molestation along with Nuwaubian leader Malachi York was released from jail Tuesday after making bail.
An Alpharetta man put up a $75,000 cash bond for Kathy Johnson, the woman described by Mr. York's followers as his "main wife."
Mr. York remains in custody without bail. He is the leader of the quasi-religious sect that moved from Brooklyn, N.Y., to Putnam County in 1993.
Mr. York and Ms. Johnson were arrested in May and face charges of sexually abusing children in a 208-count state indictment and a four-count federal indictment.

Man sues sect leader, alleging child abuse

Augusta Chronicle
July 3, 2002
By Stephen Gurr

Athens, Ga. -- A Florida man has filed a lawsuit against jailed religious sect leader Dwight York in northeast Georgia 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 on June 24, seeks punitive damages of $1 billion. The name of the plaintiff in the suit is being withheld because of his relation to the alleged victim, a minor.
The suit alleges that the girl and her mother, a member of Mr. York's quasi-religious United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors, moved into Mr. York's Putnam County compound in 1993. At the age of 11, the suit alleges, the girl was told by a member of Mr. York's "inner circle" that something "wonderful" was going to happen to her, and that it would have "deep significance for her spiritual development."
Mr. 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 says.
"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 victim named in the complaint is also listed as a victim in a 116-count criminal indictment against Mr. York on charges of child molestation and related crimes.
The indictment was returned by a Putnam County grand jury three months ago, and Mr. York remains in federal custody on charges of transporting minors across state lines for the purpose of sex.
Mr. York's attorney, Ed Garland, of Atlanta, could not be found for comment, but has said that his client is "completely, totally and absolutely innocent of these charges."
Athens attorney John Barrow, representing the plaintiff, would not comment on the suit.
Athens-Clarke Police looked into the possibility that Mr. York might have molested children in his sprawling Athens mansion. As of this week, police said, interviews with potential victims have turned up no indications of criminal activities at the mansion.

Grand Jury Indicts Nuwaubian Leader

The Augusta Chronicle
May 16, 2002

Dwight "Malachi" York preyed on children younger than 10, forcing them to commit all manner of sex acts with himself and others, and in some cases, videotaping the acts, a sweeping 120-count indictment returned by a Putnam County grand jury alleges.
Mr. York, the 56-year-old leader of the quasi-religious Nuwaubian Nation of Moors, faces one count of rape, 74 counts of child molestation and 29 counts of aggravated child molestation involving five alleged victims, both male and female.
In addition, his common-law wife, Kathy Johnson, and Nuwaubian members Chandra Lampkin, Kadijah Merritt and Esther Cole, are charged with child molestation.
"It's a voluminous case," Putnam County District Attorney Fred Bright said."We intent to prosecute it to the fullest extent under the law."
The indictment comes on the heels of Mr. York's arrest last week on four federal charges of transporting minors over state lines for purposes of sex. Mr. York remained in federal custody after being denied bail in U.S. Magistrate Court in Macon; Ms. Johnson was granted $75,000 bond.
Sheriff Sills said his office first heard allegations of child molestation at the rural Nuwaubian compound in 1998. His investigators and the FBI spent the next four years gathering information, and a break in the case came last May when a victim came forward, he said.
"That brought the investigation into a new light," he said.
All the acts are alleged to have occurred at Mr. York's gated compound, which Sheriff Sills likened to a "warehouse situation," with subpar, unventilated living quarters containing "room after room" of bunk beds. He said as many as 50 children lived in the compound. Five were taken into protective custody after last week's raid by federal agents and sheriff's officers.
The grand jury heard from four alleged victims Monday before returning the indictments. Mr. York is accused of molesting one victim as many as 30 times between 1995 and 2000, starting when the girl was younger than 14, according to the indictments. Another victim, a boy, is believed by authorities to have been molested at least 27 times, also starting in 1993 when he was younger than 14. Mr. Bright said the youngest victims were under the age of 10.
Mr. York had sex with adults in the presence of children, made children engage in sex acts with others and even enticed children into having sex with other minors, the 53-page indictment alleges.
Despite the allegations of Mr. York videotaping some of the acts, Sheriff Sills said he had no evidence Mr. York was in the business of distributing child pornography.
Mr. York has ties to Athens, where he owns a $525,000 home off Timothy Road and where followers planned to open a bookstore on West Broad Street. A search of the home on Mansfield Court by FBI agents turned up some $125,000 in cash, U.S. Attorney Maxwell Wood said.

Agent Details Nuwaubian Abuse

The Augusta Chronicle

May 14, 2002

The jailed leader of a middle Georgia religious group molested dozens of children, some as young as 4, during the past nine years, an FBI agent testified Monday.
United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors founder Dwight York and his partner, Kathy Johnson, are seeking bail on charges they transported minors across state lines for sex beginning in 1993, the year his group settled in rural Putnam County. The hearing, which will continue in federal court today, was held less than a week after more than 100 officers raided the Nuwaubian compound.
FBI Agent Jalaine Ward testified that three children told her they were forced to perform oral sex and other acts with Mr. York, 56, and Ms. Johnson, 33. The children, ages 4, 6 and 8 at the time, were photographed and videotaped engaging in sexual acts and posing in sexually explicit positions, she said.
Children at the compound were separated from their parents at an early age, with visitation dictated by Mr. York, Agent Ward testified. He also controlled devotees' money, food and clothing, dictated where they lived, and when they could enter and leave the compound. Also, men could not talk to or have sex with women without his permission.
The children who were abused were "treated more specially than children who weren't involved in sexual activities with York," Agent Ward said, adding that they were forced to watch pornographic cartoons. Some said they tried hiding in closets and under beds to avoid Mr. York.
Agent Ward said witnesses told investigators that 30 to 35 children ages 4 to 18 were molested during the past decade. She said Mr. York brought some children to the compound from New York. He also took 15 to 20 trips to Disney World in Florida in the past four years, transporting minors with him and abusing them there.
The United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors is a predominantly black, quasi-religious group whose members live in a rural compound resembling an ancient Egyptian theme park, with huge pyramids and a large gate covered with hieroglyphics. In some Nuwaubian literature, Mr. York has been referred to as the group's savior or god and as an extraterrestrial from the planet "Rizq."
Mr. York and Ms. Johnson were arrested Wednesday as they traveled a few miles from the 476-acre compound. Officers seized at least 30 handguns and rifles during the raid, the FBI said.
Mr. York, who also calls himself Malachi, faces four counts involving sexual exploitation of minors. The maximum penalty for each charge is 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Ms. Johnson faces one charge.
Defense attorneys' cross-examination of Agent Ward was delayed until this morning after U.S. Magistrate Judge Claude Hicks ruled that prosecutors had to turn over the affidavits they presented to obtain a warrant to search the Nuwaubians' Eatonton compound.
Mr. York's attorney Ed Garland said reviewing the affidavits and presenting character witnesses today will show that his client deserves to be free on bond.

Lawsuits overshadow Nuwaubian leader

Augusta Chronicle

May 11, 2002

By Stephen Gurr

Eatonton, Ga. -- They called him "The Love Man," and his followers hung on his words as prophecy. Dwight York, or Malachi York-El, the spiritual figurehead of the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors, was more than just a cult leader from Brooklyn.
He was a self-professed teacher and philosopher, a man of many faces and names. He dabbled in writing and music promotion and fancied himself a sort of new-age Marvin Gaye with his female singer-backed outfit, "Dr. York and She."
He threw Nuwaubian celebrations at Athens' Classic Center, and thousands flocked to his Savior's Day rallies in Eatonton each summer.
Now, Mr. York, 56, is in federal custody on child sex charges, suspected of molesting girls as young as 11 at his rural Putnam County compound. His followers, more than 100 in all, watched Wednesday as federal agents raided the quasi-Egyptian camp, carting out a trailer full of evidence yet to be examined. The future of Mr. York's group is in question.
"If he is found guilty, it would be a significant blow to the organization," said Monticello attorney Ronny E. Jones, who represented Mr. York in a land dispute with Putnam County and now says Mr. York owes him some $15,000 in legal fees. "If he's really taken out of the picture for a significant amount of time, I think it would just dissolve."
Mr. Jones has a case pending in Clarke County Superior Court against Mr. York, who lived for a time in Athens in a $528,000 home off Timothy Road. His is one of three civil suits filed against Mr. York in Clarke County over the past three years.
Two women claimed Mr. York failed to pay child support for three children he fathered. One case was closed by the custodial parent, while the other was transferred to the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit in Putnam County because deputies were unable to serve Mr. York with the suit in Clarke County.
"(According to a) housekeeper, Mr. York does not live here anymore because so many people are looking for him," reads a note written by a Clarke County sheriff's deputy on one child support claim that went undelivered at Mr. York's listed address.
"He's a slippery person," said Mr. Jones, who said he suspects Mr. York knew he was under investigation.
In 1996, according to Mr. York's former lawyer, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation paid Mr. York a visit to make sure he wouldn't cause any trouble during the Olympics.
"They were interviewing any group that might cause a problem during the Olympics," Mr. Jones said. "He assured them that they were a peaceful group."
Mr. Jones added that while he heard rumors of weapons being stockpiled at the Eatonton compound, he saw no such evidence.
The latest allegations are said to be the result of a four-year inquiry. They might have their roots in an anonymous whistle-blower within the Nuwaubian sect. In 1998 or 1999, an anonymous person who claimed to be a former member of Mr. York's group sent letters to various people in Putnam County accusing him of child molestation.
Eatonton attorney Frank Ford, who represented Putnam County in several legal battles with Mr. York, received one such letter, which he described as a cry for help.
"I could see these were very serious allegations," Mr. Ford said. "It basically said he was having sex with 11-, 12- and 13-year-old girls and in some cases impregnating them."
Mr. Ford said it was claimed in the letter, which he turned over to law authorities, that parents of the children "were just offering them up" to Mr. York.
A grand jury has yet to convene in Eatonton to consider bringing state charges of child molestation, which is not covered under federal law. Currently, Mr. York faces federal charges of the transporting of underage girls across state lines for the purpose of sex.
In Athens, the most visible sign of Mr. York's influence is the faux-Moorish structure at the corner of West Broad and Church streets. Originally envisioned as a lodge for the Nuwaubians, it is now intended to be a bookstore with an office and break room, according to public documents.
After six months without any work done on the site, workers have been seen in recent weeks doing masonry work on the exterior.
Mr. York's former legal nemesis Mr. Ford said this week's criminal charges could bring real upheaval among the true believers. In the past, he said, anyone charged with a crime was immediately cast out from the group.
"What will their reaction be now?" he asked.

Nuwaubian voting suit dismissed

Augusta Chronicle

April 11, 2001

Eatonton - A federal lawsuit accusing Putnam County voting officials of selectively purging members of the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors from county voting rolls has been dismissed.
U.S. District Judge Duross Fitzpatrick of the Middle District of Georgia signed a dismissal order last week with the agreement of the plaintiffs and the Putnam County Board of Registrars.
Attorney David Buffington, representing the Nuwaubians, said it was a pragmatic decision by his clients.
"They didn't see any practical purpose in pursuing it any further," Mr. Buffington said. He said his clients would pursue another suit if they thought their rights were violated again.
The lawsuit, which threatened to postpone Putnam County's July primary election last year, came after the Board of Registrars challenged the residency of 196 people registered to vote in Putnam County. The Nuwaubians filed suit, alleging the effort to purge them from voting rolls was racially discriminatory.
The Nuwaubians, a predominantly black quasi-religious group, have a rural compound in Putnam County. County officials had accused them of trying to stack the voter roles with nonresidents to boost their clout in local elections.