Scientology leader David Miscavige is 'concealing his whereabouts' to avoid ... trends now
A U.S. judge has ruled that the Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige is officially served in a federal trafficking lawsuit filed by former church members.
Judge Julie S. Sneed said that Miscavige was 'actively concealing his whereabouts or evading service' and that attorneys had attempted to track him down.
Sneed said that opposing lawyers had gone to the proper extents to serve Miscavige, appearing at Scientology properties and asking for the man's location 27 times.
Guards and Scientology members have said Miscavige is 'nowhere to be found.'
The church leader is facing a trafficking lawsuit filed in 2022 by Valeska Paris and husband and wife Gawain and Laura Baxter who say they were trafficked into Scientology as children and forced to work as adults for little to no pay.
Paris also alleges that she was repeatedly sexually assaulted while working on the organization's controversial Sea Org ships.
A U.S. judge has ruled that the Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige is officially served in a federal trafficking lawsuit filed by former church members
The church leader is facing a trafficking lawsuit filed in 2022 by Valeska Paris (pictured above) and husband and wife Gawain and Laura Baxter
Judge Julie S. Sneed said that Miscavige was 'actively concealing his whereabouts or evading service' and that attorneys had attempted to track him down
According to local outlets in Tampa, Florida, process servers have attempted on nearly 30 occasions to deliver court papers at 10 different church properties.
The drops occurred between May and August and the servers were all turned away by security guards, including at the Hacienda Gardens facility where former members say he lives.
On January 25, lawyers for the plaintiffs asked attorneys for the Church of Scientology's leader if they would accept service and they declined.
Court papers were also delivered to Scientology properties but all attempts resulted in unsigned returned receipts. Some were refused at the location.
'For years, David Miscavige has succeeded in evading accountability,' a joint statement from the attorneys for Paris and the Baxters reads.
'(The) ruling brings our clients — who alleged to have endured unimaginable abuses in Scientology as children and into adulthood — one step closer to getting their day in court and obtaining justice against all responsible parties,' attorneys said.
Florida law
