Photo: WZTV
They were held against their will for NINE months.
By Liza Walter — Written on May 19, 2017
A self-proclaimed Scientologist in Tennessee has been arrested and charged with two felony counts of facilitation to kidnapping.
A man and a woman were both held against their will for several months in what was dubbed a "rehab facility" allegedly owned and operated by The Church of Scientology that seemed more like a horror film than an actual place for rehabilitation.
Three people are being held accountable for holding the two people in a cabin with little to no food or water, forcing them to take unknown medications, and administering assault.
One of the victims told law enforcement that he was there for rehab and to be "cleansed through Scientology". He said he had been there for 9 months and was being mistreated and wanted to go home.
DailyMail (One of the cabins in the "rehab facility")
Life Center For A New Tomorrow, the facility in which these crimes took place, is located in Woodbury, TN and has been described as a double wide trailer with several cabins behind it.
A judge ordered Life Center For A New Tomorrow to be permanently closed.
Both victims were taken to a hospital for treatment, though their condition is unknown at this time.
Here's are the sad details we do know about this alleged Scientology kidnapping:
1. The website for Life Center For A New Tomorrow is still active.
Life Center For A New Tomorrow
Their site states the following information for those seeking refuge from life:
The Center was created to provide a safe environment for people who have conditions difficult to deal with. The Life Center is not a medical or treatment facility. The main focus is to provide an environment that is peaceful and safe, where people can rest, destimulate, gradually calm down, regain their senses and with some help perhaps recover the social skills necessary to function successfully in life.
Food is prepared for the guests. However we do encourage them to participate in helping with the food preparation, engaging in daily chores and self-hygiene, when they are capable of doing so. We have found that these actions can be therapeutic and help the person feel useful.
We provide an environment where guests feel they can trust the staff working with them on a daily basis. The staff will never punish, threaten, argue, invalidate or make guests wrong. Any of the above is detrimental to the person's condition.
2. Both guests were barely fed and had been assaulted.
In February of 2017, a man called 911 to alert authorities that he was being held against his will. He had originally intended to be cleansed through Scientology but was held captive, assaulted, and given unknown medications.
According to CannonCarrier, police had this to say:
"We proceeded up the hill through a gated, makeshift paddock that is secured externally with a steel latch.”
According to officers, the man who reported the situation was peering out a window in one of the cabins.
"He is locked inside the cabin with no way to remove himself from the building. The caretaker unlocks the door and lets us enter the cabin. The cabin is bare there is a small pile of sheets in the corner, there are no obvious amenity for life … He states that he has been there for nine months and is being mistreated and falsely imprisoned and all he wants is to go home.”
Police describe the condition of the man's room, ”It is a small room with a single bed in it, the bed is bare except for one sheet that he covers up with, his bathroom is the only room with a light.”
After police searched the grounds, they found a mentally handicapped female who made similar claims and said she was held in her room for 14 hours a day.
3. Marc Vallieres claims to be a Scientologist.
Wordpress (Marc Vallieres)
Marc Vallieres, the manager of the facility, was charged with two felony counts of facilitation to kidnapping.
A judge ruled the Vallieres is no longer authorized to operate any facility in Cannon County.
4. Vallieres' two caretakers were also arrested and charged.
WZTV (Hans Lytle and Dennis Flamond)
Hans Lytle and Dennis Flamond were the caretakers of the facility that the two people were held prisoner in.
They both pleaded guilty to two counts of false imprisonment.
Hans Lytle, Dennis Flamond, and Marc Vallieres were sentenced to probation for 11 months and 29 days.
None of these men are licensed healthcare professionals.
5. The Church of Scientology denies any affiliation with the facility or the men.
A Church of Scientology pastor, Reverend Brian Fesler spoke with Fox17, saying "I had no idea what was going on down there. You can't open a Scientology facility unless it's approved by the church … It has nothing to do with our church. It's nothing we would be involved in, in any way."