High School Teachers Accused Of Indoctrinating Teens Into Religious Death Cult

Ben Yakas

Published May 24, 2014

Modified May 24, 2014

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Ben Yakas

Published May 24, 2014

Modified May 24, 2014

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The parents of three students at a Connecticut high school have filed a lawsuit alleging that a group of teachers and staff indoctrinated their kids into a death-obsessed religious cult. The parents, whose names aren't on the suit (you can see it in full at bottom), say their three daughters were manipulated by three Spanish teachers and a guidance counselor at Avon High School. Those teachers allegedly "taught students to believe in superstition, magic and a non-scientific, anti-intellectual world view."

"They lost their humor and their empathy. They began speaking in a bizarre new language. They became unable to think critically or independently. They became dependent on the school teachers and guidance counselor who had indoctrinated them," the suit reads. "All three girls experienced sudden and severe personality changes. They became flat and distant, reclusive, secretive, and non-communicative."

The people named in the suit are teachers Tanya Mastoloni, Rebecca Kessler, Christopher Esposito, and guidance counselor Laura Sullivan. The lawsuit doesn't specify what cult it was, but the suit alleges that the group promoted "martyrdom and celebrates death," and it caused their two older daughters, now 22 and 19, to become distant from their family and experience suicidal fantasies.

In addition to those four high school staffers, the parents also name the school system and Wellesley College in Massachusetts in the suit. Those two older daughters went to Wellesley and the suit claims the school didn't do enough to protect the girls from the teachers, who allegedly continued to have contact with the girls after graduating. The daughters would allegedly perform "whirling dervishes — religious dances — until the wee hours of the morning."

Mastoloni Et Al Complaint

Tagged

connecticut

death cult

high school

lawsuit

teens