Updated at 10:33am (MST)
On its Web site, ABC News has just published its “exclusive” interview with Wayne Bent. While the article (written by three people) includes information from Taos on Tuesday, the actual interview with Bent took place on October 20, 2008 with Good Morning America.
The ABC News story on the ‘net appears beneath the headline, “Exclusive: Sect Leader on Trial for Alleged Molestation Speaks to ‘GMA’.” Here is an excerpt.
“I’m not saying I had sex with girls and I call it religion. … I never touched any sexual part ever,” Bent said. “They were there for healing, not for sex. They didn’t come to have me have sex with them.” (ABC News)
Analysis
It’ll be interesting to see if the prosecution draws attention to an October 19, 2008 letter written by the alleged victim L.S. (aka “Healed”) to prosecutor Tomas Benavidez. Here is an excerpt of that letter:
This letter was obtained by Beyond90Seconds.com more than a month ago and made available as a pdf download on November 3, 2008. The download appeared near the bottom of Beyond90Seconds.com post, Wayne Bent’s attorney speaks out.
More recently, the “mirror site” for Strong City’s Web site posted the excerpt of “Healed’s” letter that appears above.
Pingback: Day 3: Reporter’s updates from Wayne Bent trial « Beyond 90 Seconds
Mark, indeed it will be interesting if that letter is revealed at the trial. I wonder how exactly “Healed,” will explain some of what she said, specifially about where Wayne’s head was in relation to her breasts. The whole letter is very incriminating and it shows much desperation by Healed, to not wanting to testify at the trial. When you read that letter, you can see how very confused and troubled this poor girl is. It all makes what Wayne has done, so much more real and so much more disgusting. I just hope the jury is able to learn what kind of man Wayne Bent truly is.
ABC NEWS – “Bent admitted he [b]”laid next to”[/b] one of the girls who was naked and [b]put his hand on her sternum.[/b]”
HEALED LETTER – “The other instance was when we actually were naked and Michael did not fully lay his chest on mine but laid it below my breasts and laid his head on my sternum”
Apparently, one of them is lying….or maybe both of them are but they weren’t able to synchronize their stories?
When I read this letter, I wondered how one could lay their head on another’s sternum without also pressing against their breast’s. The assumption is that he laid his head sideways and unless Wayne has a really really small head under all that hair, (like orange size maybe) that would seem to put his mouth right about on the nipple area.
It makes me sick to my stomach just to think of him touching those girls. The DA should show that same Barbie Doll (he could, it’s admitted as an exhibit for the trial) but it should be completely naked because the girls were naked, they didn’t have a bikini on.
I laughed when his attorney showed the Pledge of Allegiance pose. She had her hand way up on her collarbone. It’s an oath of loyalty to our Country and the correct posture is your right hand over your heart. Your heart is under your sternum, not under your collarbone. If anyone has ever done CPR, you know that the area you compress is at the bottom of the sternum, a little below the breasts.
Like Raycot said, what she wrote in that letter is even more damning in regards to where he touched her. The distance between the waistline and the top of the breasts on an average size woman is about 12 – 15 inches. He would indeed have to have a tiny head for what was written to jive.
They should give it up! Where he touched them shouldn’t matter, the fact is they were naked in his bed and that is wrong in so many ways.
“I’m not saying I had sex with girls and I call it religion. … I never touched any sexual part ever,” Bent said. “They were there for healing, not for sex. They didn’t come to have me have sex with them.” (ABC News)
This reminds me of another quote:
“I did not have sex with that woman…Ms Lewinsky” (Bill Clinton)
I suppose in Wayne’s mind he is telling the truth. Adultery is not adultery, sexual intercourse is not sex, and child molestation is not child molestation when Wayne does it because he is “divine”. That any of us mere mortals might think otherwise is simply proof of our unworthiness to be among the chosen ones.
Raycot: “I suppose in Wayne’s mind he is telling the truth.”
I agree. One of the characteristics of a cult is creating/reframing language, and that’s what they’ve done.
I don’t know how they would frame the question to get the desired answer, but I want badly for the prosecutors to ask if this “religious activity” has a name . . . .
Consummation.
Case closed.
Shouldnt they get Wayne’s computer?
Sometimes it seems rediculous how technical the attornies get. Fact: Wayne layed naked with underage girls. Fact: One girl said he kissed her several times on the lips while laying naked together. These actions alone are wrong.
Wayne declares this action as healing!? Healing what? His need to be with young girls? Makes him feel more manly? It seems it harmed both girls mentally from their mother’s testimony.
I think Wayne is going down.
Certain parties to the case seem to think that “touching” is only possible with an individual’s hands. No matter how I consider the actors, if two people are laying skin-to-skin, chest to chest, contact with the intimate areas occurs. (Think about that darn Barbie doll – what part protrudes the most. I just don’t see any other way.)
I do think L.S. saying she “loves Michael” helps the prosecution. It allows them to impeach her ‘adjustments’ made as she came (through interviews) to understand what was and wasn’t acceptable.
do think L.S. saying she “loves Michael” helps the prosecution. It allows them to impeach her ‘adjustments’ made as she came (through interviews) to understand what was and wasn’t acceptable.
EMC
10 Dec 08 at 1:24 PM
I think it shows the jury what kind of control Wayne has over his victims.
You should go read the full explanation of that handwritten excerpt on the “mirror” site http://strongcity2.info/legal.html page. It really makes it quite clear that the way “Healed” has described it… Bent has no clothing, she has no clothing, his chest is somehow “laid” on her below her breasts, and Bent’s head is “laid” on her sternum (between her breasts, obviously). I’d like to see that represented with a couple of nude Barbie dolls.
What was even more interesting is that following that description, there is a discussion citing a quote where Bent wrote about this exact positioning (laying his head between the breasts, etc) in one of his lessons about how to make love to God (who just happened to be Wayne Bent).
You should go read the full explanation of that handwritten excerpt on the “mirror” site http://strongcity2.info/legal.html page. It really makes it quite clear that the way “Healed” has described it… Bent has no clothing, she has no clothing, his chest is somehow “laid” on her below her breasts, and Bent’s head is “laid” on her sternum (between her breasts, obviously). I’d like to see that represented with a couple of nude Barbie dolls.
What was even more interesting is that following that description, there is a discussion citing a quote where Bent wrote about this exact positioning (laying his head between the breasts, etc) in one of his lessons about how to make love to God (who just happened to be Wayne Bent).
———————————–
I have read this and it is shocking. It makes what really happened perfectly clear. What concerns me is that the jury may not ever see or understand the true implications.
“Hardly Working,” that section of the legal document is explosve and needs to be thoroughly examined by that jury … somehow … at some point!
You know what? We are all naked in God’s eyes. We don’t have to take our clothes off for him to heal us, touch us or talk to us. God knows all, sees all. He doesn’t need the middle man to do his work. Certainly not the way Wayne goes about it.
Wayne is a sick sick man. And all his followers are so deeply involved that they can’t see it. I believe the jury will see through his smoke and mirrors act.
Yes, this excerpt (the handwritten piece) from “LS” is a significant piece of evidence. It refutes the contention expressed by defense attorney Montoya in her opening statement that Bent will be on the stand and testify that that he “was not naked when he was
with the girls, though the girls were.”
If Bent does take the stand and he makes that assertion (or says that he was under a blanket, as he has maintained other times) this valuable bit of information from the alleged victim, that “there was nothing between us” will expose an obvious lie.
5:05pm MST
(Jeremy Jojolo posted the following on Twitter about one hour ago.)
“Bent’s attorney is asking court to dismiss charges. State says it has met it’s burden of proof. Update to come soon on this motion.”
Wow…underage girl testifies that Wayne Bent asks her to get naked and then he kisses her on the lips and breasts…then Ms Montoya asks the judge to dismiss the charges?
Is that some chutzpah, or what?
Thankfully though Raycot the Judge did not dismiss the charges. I suppose in many cases the “Motion to Dismiss,” charges is standard from the defense. I guess it is a ply to cause the Jury to perhaps question the validity of the case? Although as you pointed out with what has already been introduced in evidence it seems hard to believe this judge would take that request seriously.
One of Bent’s fortes is to redefine what happened… by having his spin on the past events, he controls how people see reality now. He tears down what the group defines as right and wrong and then repaints the whole picture in a light where he can do no wrong. To even question him becomes wrong.
Shouldnt they get Wayne’s computer?
ron
10 Dec 08 at 12:01 PM
It’s probably too late now if they don’t already have it. If you remember, early in the trial, the defense lawyers were making a bunch of noise in the media about the prosecution going on “fishing expeditions” and “putting their religion on trial”. The only reason I can think of for why the prosecution wouldn’t go after Wayne’s computer is that they really wanted to avoid the appearance of attacking the cult’s religious freedom and thought that they had enough evidence to convict without it.
I should clarify that it was before the trial, or during preparation for the trial that the defense lawyers were making noise in the media about religious freedom issues and fishing expeditions.
Seems the most important information related to this case is still available on line for all to see at the excellent Mirror site, http://strongcity2.info/legal.html
I just wish some of that were able to be entered into the trial.