Whatever Happened to ... 1993 : Revisiting some of View’s most talked-about stories, we find progress for anxious parents and neon signs, second thoughts about a controversial sect - and pregnant women still craving “magic” salad. : Image Still Proves Troubling for Sect

The Children of God--a controversial sect that recently returned to Southern California with a new name (The Family) and what it says is a new, wholesome image--is still trying to dispel accusations of child abuse, anti-Semitism and racism.

Since The Times reported on Family activities (“A True Conversion?” View, March 21, 1993), the group has courted other media, invited psychologists and sociologists to study its communes and--according to the Houston Chronicle--hired a lawyer whose brother represented Branch Davidian leader David Koresh.

But the public-relations campaign hasn’t gone smoothly.

In September, Argentine police raided five Family homes, placed 137 children in protective custody and charged 21 adults--one of them from San Diego--with child abuse and enslavement.

Unlike similar cases in other countries--which so far have all collapsed for lack of evidence--Argentine authorities claimed that forensic exams showed physical signs of sexual abuse on nine of the children. On Dec. 13, however, an appeals panel freed the adults and youths, ruling that the federal court handling the case has no jurisdiction in the matter.

The Family has vigorously denied the allegations, saying “corrupt officials are working in collusion with our detractors” to destroy the group. Spokesman John Francis says the alleged signs of abuse could have other causes and notes that the doctors originally appointed by the court found no evidence of mistreatment.

It has been difficult to determine the truth about such accusations. On one hand, Family members seem well-mannered, healthy and don’t appear abused. They argue persuasively that their image has been distorted by disgruntled ex-members and they have support from several university scholars.

Moreover, investigations conducted this summer by the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department and Children’s Services agency found no evidence of criminal activity at the Family’s La Habra Heights commune.

On the other hand, teachings by cult leaders David and Maria Berg clearly advocate sex among children, extramarital affairs, sex between adults and toddlers, and sex to lure converts. (Other literature contains anti-Semitic and racist diatribes, as well as David Berg’s claims of having sex with a green-scaled ghost.)

And some ex-members, including two of Berg’s granddaughters, say they were sexually abused as children. Even the late actor River Phoenix, who was raised in the Children of God and often recalled it warmly, told Details magazine in 1991 that he first had intercourse at age 4, and continued having sex with other children until age 10.

The Family--which began in Huntington Beach and now operates in about two dozen U.S. cities and 50 countries--admits to a freewheeling past. But members insist they never condoned sex between adults and children, and that other policies have been revised.

Even some critics concede changes have been made. A few are now reconciling with the group; others remain skeptical.