Jury Awards $1.5 Million to Expelled Sect Member

A Westlake Village man was awarded more than $1.5 million Wednesday for harm done to him while he was an architect for the Calabasas-based Church Universal and Triumphant.

“I was a victim of this cult for six years,” Gregory Mull, 64, said after a Los Angeles Superior Court jury announced its verdict against the sect and its leader, 46-year-old Elizabeth Clare Prophet, known to her followers as Guru Ma.

The jury deliberated for more than 40 hours before awarding the former church member $1,563,300. The award specified $521,100 in compensatory damages, plus $521,100 in punitive damages from the church, a nonprofit corporation, and another $521,100 in punitive damages from Prophet.

Moved From San Francisco

Mull testified during the seven-week trial that in 1979 he gave up a successful building and design business in San Francisco and moved to church headquarters, an estate called Camelot, to help Prophet build the “New Jerusalem.” Mull testified that he was expelled from Camelot in 1980 after a dispute with the church over money, emotionally broken and so destitute he had to forage for food in supermarket Dumpsters.

Mull, who is suffering from multiple sclerosis, is now unemployed.

While Mull was a disciple of Prophet, he believed her to be “God incarnate,” even acting on her advice to separate from the wife he loved, he testified.

Prophet, who claims to receive messages or “dictations” from Jesus, Buddha and other “ascended masters,” has been in court throughout the trial but was not present for the verdict.

Church to Appeal

Edward L. Francis, 35, vice president of the church and Prophet’s husband, said the sect would “unquestionably appeal.”

“The jury was presented with a barrage of prejudicial information about the church that was inaccurate,” Francis said after hearing the 11-1 decision. “We feel that, basically, our church and our beliefs were put on trial here.”

Francis and former church leader Monroe Shearer were co-defendants in the case. No damages were assessed against them.

Mull said he was pleased with the jury’s decision but had been praying for more in damages. He had asked for $253 million.

“I know many people who lost much,” he said. “If000 the jury had really wanted to go after the cult, they could have awarded more.”

Mull said he might use some of the money “to expose this destructive pseudo-religion.”

Sect Sued Mull First

Ironically, the church initiated the court action. It sued Mull in 1981, claiming that he failed to repay a loan of about $32,000.

Mull, who said the sum was owed him for expenses, countersued a few months later. Mull charged that he was subjected to a form of thought control by Prophet and her church, which allowed her to manipulate him and cause permanent emotional harm. He also alleged that Prophet had violated their priest-penitent relationship by revealing the contents of a letter in which Mull confessed to homosexual experiences.

Although attorneys for both sides claimed that religious belief was not at issue in the case, much of the testimony dealt with Prophet’s teachings, a unique blend of Eastern and Western philosophies, and church practices, such as therapeutic enemas. While a witness, Prophet read church prayers, high-speed chants called decrees, into the court record.

Formerly known as Summit Lighthouse, the church was founded by Prophet’s late second husband, Mark L. Prophet, in 1958. Former members estimate its membership to be about 100,000 worldwide.

Dozens of Prophet’s followers--the women attractively dressed in the pinks, purples and other bright colors favored by the group--sat in the courtroom each day, many taking detailed notes. Randall L. King, Prophet’s third husband and former church president, also attended regularly, as did a group sympathetic to Mull.

King, who has a similar suit pending against his ex-wife, testified that Prophet sought Mull out, befriended him, asked him to accompany her on shopping trips and otherwise cultivated him in order to exploit his professional skills. He testified that all important church decisions were made by Prophet, supposedly in concert with the ascended masters.

Francis said the church did not regret initiating the suit, despite the verdict. “I think he owed us the debt,” he said.

Mull’s obvious ill health, evidenced by halting speech and dependence on a cane, influenced the jury, Francis said.

“Obviously, contracting multiple sclerosis four years after he left the church was an advantage to him,” Francis said of Mull.

Francis would not disclose the church’s financial worth, which former members estimate to be in the millions, but commented, “I think the jury award is way out of keeping with what our financial ability actually is.”