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Former Scientologist and wife 'have been stalked by church for 4 years since they left Scientology
Daily Mail, UK
Sat September 14, 2013
A Texas couple have told a court they were subjected to harassment by a group of Scientologists, who allegedly taunted them in the street, pointed cameras at their home and sent a sex toy to their office.
Monique Rathbun is bringing a lawsuit claiming she suffered emotional distress after a 199-day campaign of harassment that she claims was directed by Scientology leader David Miscavige.
She claimed that whenever she or her husband and former Scientologist Marty went outside, a group known as the 'squirrel busters' would approach them and tell Mr Rathbun to stop what he was doing.
Mrs Rathbun alleged the harassment was part of a wider three-year campaign against her husband, that began when he left the church in 2009 and started to criticize Mr Miscavige and the way the church was managed.
The 41-year-old's husband has advised others who have left the church and given them the same style of counseling offered by Scientology facilities, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
The church frowns on people practicing its methods outside of the official community and those who do it are known as squirrels - hence the name for the group of people accused of harassing the Rathbuns.
According to Mrs Rathbun, the harassment began when a photo of the couple's home appeared in Scientology magazine Freedom.
Shortly after, she claimed she received emails from anonymous accounts telling her to leave her husband and was given a hand-delivered envelope at her office containing secrets about her husband, Radar reported.
'They were trying to get me to leave him,' she told the court, alleging that she soon became targeted.
She claimed several websites were set up saying that she was a man who had a sex operation, which was why the couple couldn't have a baby.
Later, a group known as the Squirrel Busters allegedly rented a house near the couple's home and would turn up in a golf buggy, wearing T-shirts showing Mr Rathbun's head on a squirrel's body.
'Every time we left our house, any time we went out the door, here they came in golf carts,' Mrs Rathbun said during testimony at Comal County court.
She claimed the church tried to distance her from her husband by allegedly sending private investigators to friends and family, delivering a sex toy anonymously to her office and installing cameras next to their San Antonio home.
When the cameras were installed Mrs Rathbun said she decided to sue because 'we just can't keep running'.
In court, Mrs Rathbun confirmed to the church's attorney Les Strieber III that no church representative had ever physically assaulted the couple or trespassed on their property.
And, although she had seen cameras pointed at their house, Mrs Rathbun had not seen any photos taken.
Mr Strieber, who is part of a team representing the seven defendants named in the lawsuit, suggested in court that the couple had infringed on church trademarks through the counseling.
The Rathbuns are suing Mr Miscavige, two church entities, three private investigators and one of the Squirrel Busters.
The hearing will also seek to determine whether a temporary injunction against Mr Miscavige should be made permanent.
Lamont Jefferson, who is representing the church leader, said Scientology had a right to protect its practices and had not broken any laws when it confronted the Rathbuns.
The case continues.
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