Westlake Village Man Honored Posthumously for Fighting Cult

A Westlake Village man who died three months ago after winning a $1.5-million judgment against a Calabasas-based religious sect was honored Saturday by a national anti-cult group.

The man, Gregory Mull, was named the posthumous winner of the Leo J. Ryan Award by the Chicago-based Cult Awareness Network. His daughter, Linda Mull Witt of Thousand Oaks, received the award at a ceremony in Kansas City.

The award is named after U.S. Rep. Leo J. Ryan (D-San Francisco), who was killed in 1978 while investigating a cult being operated in Guyana by the Rev. Jim Jones. About 900 sect members later died in a mass suicide-execution at Jones’ People’s Temple jungle headquarters.

Mull was a six-year member of the Church Universal and Triumphant who served as architect for the sect’s Mulholland Highway headquarters. He left the church in 1980 after he became disenchanted with its doctrine and embroiled in a disagreement over money.

The sect sued him a year later over a disputed $32,000 loan and Mull countersued for $253 million, accusing sect leaders of fraud, extortion and subjecting him to involuntary servitude.

Mull testified during a seven-week jury trial in Los Angeles Superior Court earlier this year that the Church Universal was a dangerous cult.

He said he had believed that church leader Elizabeth Clare Prophet, known to followers as “Guru Ma,” was God incarnate. Mull said he followed her advice to leave the wife he loved.

A jury deliberated more than 40 hours in April before awarding Mull $1,563,300, including $521,100 in punitive damages from Prophet. The sect has appealed the judgment.

In July, Church Universal officials sold their 218-acre Calabasas compound to a Buddhist group for $15.5 million and announced plans to relocate their headquarters to Montana.

Mull, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, died the same month before collecting any of the judgment.

A Matter of Courage

Henrietta Crampton, a spokeswoman for the anti-cult group, said Mull was chosen for the award because of his willingness to speak up against Church Universal and Triumphant.

“He was picked, not because he won a lawsuit, but because he did so much in helping former members of Church Universal. He spoke at a danger to himself,” Crampton said.

Past winners of the Ryan Award have included clergymen, educators and legislators, she said.

The Cult Awareness Network is a 5,000-member group with 53 chapters across the country, Crampton said.