Read Online “It’s Not About the Sex” My Ass by Joanne Hanks, Steve Cuno - Free Book Online
Authors: Joanne Hanks, Steve Cuno
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believed public schools were
evil—they didn’t teach religion—so we opened our own school.)
But over time, I grew wary of her.
Perhaps my suspicions started with the socks. Each morning,
Laura prayed for a revelation as to which pair of socks to put on. That was
weird enough. Weirder still, each morning God obliged her with an answer. You’d
think at least once he’d have said, “For heaven’s sake, I’m busy. Pick out your
own damn socks.” Being religiously deluded was all well and good, but even I
knew that praying over your socks took things to the extreme.
No, that wasn’t it. There was something else about her.
Something intangible, something unsettlingly weird. Which, when you think about
it, is saying a lot. At that time in my life, I registered high on the weirdo
meter myself. So did my friends. What was it about Laura that seemed to push
the needle way up into the red?
Try as I might, I couldn’t put my finger on what was wrong.
But I knew there was something . Not
wanting to take chances, I pulled my little son out of her class.
It was not until a few years later that I learned about her
horrifying past. She had belonged to an Ogden, Utah, cult led by infamous polygamist
and convicted child molester Arvin Shreeve. Laura was part of his equally
infamous “Sisters program.” The Sisters molested underage girls— in the name of God —supposedly to
prepare them for their future as wives in polygamy. When a brave victim escaped
and reported them to the authorities, a police raid yielded 12 arrests,
including Laura’s.
In November 1992, Shreeve pleaded guilty to two charges of
first-degree felony child sodomy and two charges of second-degree felony child
sexual abuse. Four months later, Laura pleaded no contest to child sexual
abuse. Shreeve was sentenced to serve 20 years to life in Utah State Prison,
where, 17 years later, he died of natural causes. As for Laura, she was placed
on a registered sex offender list, fined $1,200, sentenced to 15 years in
prison—and then, amazingly, inexplicably, a judge suspended her sentence.
Laura was out on probation after a scant 120 days in jail. She headed to Manti
and promptly became a Harmston wife.
And then became a schoolteacher. My little son’s schoolteacher.
I wanted to vomit.
Upon learning that Laura was a registered sex offender, I
checked up on a few other members of the TLC who had creeped me out. I learned
that another woman, who arrived in Manti at about the same time as Laura, was
also one of The Sisters. Charged with molesting a 13-year-old girl, she had
pleaded no contest to a second-degree felony charge of forcible sexual abuse.
After serving 60 days in jail, she was placed on probation, ordered into
counseling, fined $740, and ordered to pay restitution—how you “pay
restitution” for sexual abuse is a mystery to me—and moved to Manti.
There were other people in the TLC whom all of us knew to
avoid and to make sure our children never went near. There was the man who
lived at the local campground and spied on boys as they showered. There were
men who found ways to “accidentally” rub themselves against women. I
experienced that myself when I was hanging a painting in one of our meeting
places and a man stepped up from behind to “steady” me.
Heartbreaking stories emerged from quite a few of the cult’s
blended families. Imagine multiple women moving to town with children of their
own, marrying one man, and bringing their children together into his home. It
doesn’t take much imagination to see the potential for abuse. There were cases
of adults abusing children, children abusing one another, and children
perpetrating abuse they learned at home on children outside the home.
Only rarely was
anything done. Even when Laura’s past became known, no one in Manti thought
to object when she would share a bed with an about-to-be-married teenage girl.
No one dealt directly with the other known perverts either. Rumor, a
evil—they didn’t teach religion—so we opened our own school.)
But over time, I grew wary of her.
Perhaps my suspicions started with the socks. Each morning,
Laura prayed for a revelation as to which pair of socks to put on. That was
weird enough. Weirder still, each morning God obliged her with an answer. You’d
think at least once he’d have said, “For heaven’s sake, I’m busy. Pick out your
own damn socks.” Being religiously deluded was all well and good, but even I
knew that praying over your socks took things to the extreme.
No, that wasn’t it. There was something else about her.
Something intangible, something unsettlingly weird. Which, when you think about
it, is saying a lot. At that time in my life, I registered high on the weirdo
meter myself. So did my friends. What was it about Laura that seemed to push
the needle way up into the red?
Try as I might, I couldn’t put my finger on what was wrong.
But I knew there was something . Not
wanting to take chances, I pulled my little son out of her class.
It was not until a few years later that I learned about her
horrifying past. She had belonged to an Ogden, Utah, cult led by infamous polygamist
and convicted child molester Arvin Shreeve. Laura was part of his equally
infamous “Sisters program.” The Sisters molested underage girls— in the name of God —supposedly to
prepare them for their future as wives in polygamy. When a brave victim escaped
and reported them to the authorities, a police raid yielded 12 arrests,
including Laura’s.
In November 1992, Shreeve pleaded guilty to two charges of
first-degree felony child sodomy and two charges of second-degree felony child
sexual abuse. Four months later, Laura pleaded no contest to child sexual
abuse. Shreeve was sentenced to serve 20 years to life in Utah State Prison,
where, 17 years later, he died of natural causes. As for Laura, she was placed
on a registered sex offender list, fined $1,200, sentenced to 15 years in
prison—and then, amazingly, inexplicably, a judge suspended her sentence.
Laura was out on probation after a scant 120 days in jail. She headed to Manti
and promptly became a Harmston wife.
And then became a schoolteacher. My little son’s schoolteacher.
I wanted to vomit.
Upon learning that Laura was a registered sex offender, I
checked up on a few other members of the TLC who had creeped me out. I learned
that another woman, who arrived in Manti at about the same time as Laura, was
also one of The Sisters. Charged with molesting a 13-year-old girl, she had
pleaded no contest to a second-degree felony charge of forcible sexual abuse.
After serving 60 days in jail, she was placed on probation, ordered into
counseling, fined $740, and ordered to pay restitution—how you “pay
restitution” for sexual abuse is a mystery to me—and moved to Manti.
There were other people in the TLC whom all of us knew to
avoid and to make sure our children never went near. There was the man who
lived at the local campground and spied on boys as they showered. There were
men who found ways to “accidentally” rub themselves against women. I
experienced that myself when I was hanging a painting in one of our meeting
places and a man stepped up from behind to “steady” me.
Heartbreaking stories emerged from quite a few of the cult’s
blended families. Imagine multiple women moving to town with children of their
own, marrying one man, and bringing their children together into his home. It
doesn’t take much imagination to see the potential for abuse. There were cases
of adults abusing children, children abusing one another, and children
perpetrating abuse they learned at home on children outside the home.
Only rarely was
anything done. Even when Laura’s past became known, no one in Manti thought
to object when she would share a bed with an about-to-be-married teenage girl.
No one dealt directly with the other known perverts either. Rumor, a
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