George Feigley
George Feigley (June 23, 1940 – April 13,2009) was an American church leader. He has been described as a sex cult leader.[1][2][3] Fiegly served over 32 years in prison for sex crimes against children, from 1976 to 2008.[1]
In 1971, Feigley founded an organization he called the Neo American Church (not be confused with the more notable and unrelated Neo-American Church, a psychedelian religion founded by Arthur Kleps in the mid 1960s) and the associated Neo American School. The church and school were located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
| “ | We hold that the changes called creation and procreation are divine and that human sexuality is to humans the most available expression of that function of divinity... Sexual activity is the greatest act a human can do. | ” |
| — Neo American Church Manifesto, described by Scott Portzline[2] | ||
Church doctrine emphasized the transcendent or mystical power of orgasm.[1][4] According to police reports, it also advocated the use of children for sexual gratification.[1]
The charismatic[1][5] Feigley, who called himself "The Light of the World",[2][5][6] gathered a small group of followers, mostly women, into his church.[4][6] As of 1983, the group, which at one point had numbered over twenty persons,[6] included about ten adults, one or two of whom were men (five children of group members were then living in foster homes where they had been placed by the state).[4]
Feigley led the church in freedom for only about five years, as he was arrested in 1975 on multiple counts of statutory rape, indecent assault, and corrupting the morals of minors. He was found guilty of statutory rape of two teen-age girls and was sentenced to 10 years to 20 years in prison.[4] His wife was found guilty of corrupting the morals of minors.
| “ | I require total devotion to my desires. You may not have a will nor desire of your own which do not project my wishes. I expect this complete commitment from my wives, my concubines and my children... Make yourselves my delight... May my peace abide with you. | ” |
| — George Feigly, Letter from prison[6] | ||
Notwithstanding his imprisonment, some of Feigley's followers remained loyal, roaming to follow him as he was moved from prison to prison or when he was a fugitive.[4] (In 1976, Feigley scaled a prison wall and fled to West Virginia, not being apprehended until 1978, after which he escaped again less than a month later, being free for two months.[1])
His women followers visited him regularly at the State Correctional Institution at Huntindon, Pennsylvania.[4] The organization continued to operate; a 1983 raid on Feigley's home found young children playing with sex toys and boxes of child pornography. Feigley's wife and others pleaded guilty to corruption of minors and were sentenced to prison.[1]
In 1983, two of Feigley's followers, a man and a women, died in circumstances that led authorities to believe they were intending to break Feigley out of prison. (They drowned in a sewer line close to Western Penitentiary where Feigley was then held.)[1]
In 1994, while still in prison, Feigley was convicted of instructing his wife and another man over a prison phone to have sex with a 14-year-old girl. Feigley was found guilty of conspiracy to commit involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and sentenced. Because of problems with the search warrants, Feigley's wife and the girl's mother were able to plead guilty and receive probation.[1]
Feigley became eligible for parole in 1990, but parole was denied then at each subsequent annual review.[6] Having served the full time for all his convictions, Feigley was released from prison on August 15, 2008, to some consternation.[1][2][7] His convictions were not covered under Pennsylvania's Megan's Laws (his 1976 conviction preceded Megan's Law, and conspiracy to commit involuntary deviate sexual intercourse – his 1994 charge – isn't covered under the law), so he was not required to register as a sex offender,[1] nor was he on parole as he had served his sentences in full.
His return home was met with a crowd of protestors.[8] A neighbor circulated a petition to prevent Feigley's return to his home.[9] Feigley, who left prison in poor health,[6] died on April 13, 2009.[10]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Goldwerd, Lindsay; Whitcraft, Teri (August 14, 2008). "Child Sex 'Cult' Leader Freed from Prison". ABC News. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 "Terms of Sex Cult Leader's Release Anger Community". CNN. August 15, 2008. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
- ↑ Harki, Gary (August 22, 2008). "Sex Cult Leader Lived in West Virginia". Charleston Gazette. West Virginia. Retrieved June 16, 2016. posted at Cult Education Institute
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Associated Press (December 4, 1983). "Inmate Said to Lead Cult Mixing Sex and Religion". New York Times. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
- 1 2 Cassidy, Carrie (August 10, 2008). "For Feigley, Prison Was New Beginning". Harrisburg [Pennsylvania] Patriot-News. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Harrisburg Rapist to Be Released from Prison". Penn Live. August 9, 2008. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
- ↑ Turley, Jonathan (August 16, 2008). "Community Outraged by Unrestricted Release of Religious Pedaphilic Leader". Jonathan Turley. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
- ↑ Fernandez, Michael (August 15, 2008). "A Small Crowd Protests as Convicted Rapist George Feigley Arrives at His House". Penn Live. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
- ↑ "Single Mom Fights Sex-Cult Leader's Return to Neighborhood". Penn Live. August 12, 2008. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
- ↑ "George E. Feigley". Tributes.com. Retrieved June 17, 2016.