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Tuesday, May 06, 2008

N.M. State Police Arrest Head of Doomsday Cult on Sex Charges

By Deborah Baker
Associated Press
      SANTA FE — State Police today arrested on sex charges the leader of an apocalyptic sect in northeastern New Mexico.
    Wayne Bent was arrested on three counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, said Sgt. Bobbie Long of the Clayton Police Department.
    Bent was being held in the Union County Detention Center in Clayton, Long said.
    "There was no incident, no commotion, no problems" when Bent was arrested, said state police spokesman Peter Olson.
    The state Children, Youth and Families Department recently removed three children — two girls and a boy, all under 18 — from the compound on a former ranch in a remote area near the New Mexico-Colorado line.
    Agency officials have said state police and the district attorney's office were investigating whether there was inappropriate contact between Bent and minors.
    Bent, 66, who goes by the name of Michael Travesser, is the leader of The Lord Our Righteousness Church, which moved to the site in 2000.
    A posting on the church's Web site attributed to Bent's grown son, Jeff Bent, said State Police served an arrest warrant about 8:15 a.m. It called them "false charges."
    The younger Bent said he was interviewed by State Police at their request in Clayton, then saw his father as he was being escorted out of a State Police office.
    "He was in handcuffs, but looked serene and contented," said the posting.
    Bent has acknowledged having sex with followers — including his daughter-in-law — and lying naked with virgins. He said the virgins asked for sex, but he refused.
    In a posting on the church's Web site, he has denied that there was any molestation of children or adults at the community, which Bent's followers call Strong City.
    Bent accused the state of kidnapping the children.
    A former member of the sect has estimated there are about 50 people on the compound. The three children removed last month are believed to have been the only minors there.
    A posting attributed to Bent on the church's Web site on Monday said:
    "Jesus had not committed any crimes, so the authorities had to invent some crimes to crucify him over. It is the same for me also. I have committed no crimes, but many crimes are being imagined and concocted in the minds of men to try and kill me again."
    Bent had predicted the end of the world last Oct. 31.

Copyright ©2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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