Nation IN BRIEF : TEXAS : Cult Children Tell of Abuse in Compound
Children in the Branch Davidian cult compound say they were paddled for trifling sins, told to call their parents “dogs” and sexually abused by cult leader David Koresh, a newspaper reported. The children, who left the compound during the 51-day siege by federal agents, told social workers that Koresh gave girls as young as 11 plastic Stars of David that signified they were ready to have sex with him, the New York Times reported. A team headed by Dr. Bruce D. Perry, chief of psychiatry at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, interviewed 19 of the 21 surviving children of the cult, ages 4 to 11.
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