Odessa American: Suit Against Parents Is Withdrawn

Suit Against Parents Is Withdrawn

Odessa American/1973-07-24

DALLAS (AP) - A $1.1 million libel and slander suit filed by Children of God religious sect members against some of their parents has been withdrawn, according to the Dallas colony of the group.

The suit, which had been set for hearing Aug. 13, arose from events in October, 1971, when an organization called the "Parents' Committee to Free Our Sons and Daughters from the Children of God" was formed. The parents held a demonstration in Dallas in which some of them charged that the Children of God was a subversive group that drugged, hypnotized and kidnapped young persons.

Russell Droge, spokesman for the Dallas Children of God, said they withdrew the suit because of "their firm belief that the defendants' allegations have proven to be only a reproach upon themselves."

The parents' efforts "to discredit the Children of God were futile as has been evidenced by the fact that the Children of God have continued to grow and prosper in their work," Droge said. Further, he added, the legal action might sidetrack the Children from their main objective, "to witness and win souls of the lost in the Dallas area."