Katrina Anne

From 1988-1991, I was sent away to what my parents believed was an all-girls "Christian" boarding school in Indiana called Hephzibah House (HH), run by Pastor Ron Williams. My parents were wrapped up in a whacko Baptist cult here in Michigan and were encouraged to send me away for reprogramming. I was among several young teenage girls that church sent to HH. The night I left, I was drugged, bound & gagged, taken in the middle of the night to prevent anyone from seeing and reporting to police and to prevent me from fighting. I was driven almost 3 hours away to Warsaw, Indiana. There I was stripped naked in front of people I didn't know, just shy of a body cavity search and forced to shower in front of a woman I had never met--I was just 14 years old! On day two or three (I can't remember), I was blindfolded and forced into a van and taken somewhere (I vividly remember the brown panel walls and the exam table). A man came in and said he would be doing an exam, then two of the female staff members held me down on the exam table, pried my legs apart while he forcibly performed a vaginal exam on me. I was screaming and crying and told if I didn't stop struggling, I would be punished when we got back. I later learned that this exam was at the direction of Ron Williams to determine if I was a virgin (no idea why this was so important to them). I was blindfolded again and taken back to the compound (yes it was an isolated compound out in the country--the only analogy I can give is Waco). 

During those three years, I was physically tortured (beaten by Patti Williams, Ron's wife at the time-forced to lay on the floor face down while two staff members held my arms above my head and one held my legs at the ankles so I couldn't get up. She then hit me with a large wooden paddle 5 times. I was black and blue from above my tailbone to the top of my hamstrings for almost two weeks. It hurt to sit for days), brainwashed, starved, isolated (I wasn't allowed to speak to/or look at anyone for over 15 months-expect the 4 staff), emotionally beaten and broken as a human being. Phone calls to my parents once a month were monitored with a staff member sitting right beside me under threat of abuse, if I said that I wanted to come home or if I said anything bad about my life there. Visits with my parents three times a year were also heavily guarded by a staff member sitting right next to us for the three hours. Again threat of punishment and abuse, if I said I wanted to come home or that anything was wrong. Outgoing mail was also monitored. So no way to cry out for help. On any given day, there were typically 30 other girls there with me. 

I completed my entire high school in 2 1/2 years, in hopes of getting released sooner. That didn't work and I was forced to stay until I turned 17 and could be immediately sent off to a "Christian" college also in Indiana. I spent the next two years at this school studying elementary education (there were only three paths for women--pastor's wife training, secretary or Christian school teacher--all of which are unaccredited). During my second summer away from Hephzibah House, I was forced to go work at a "Christian" camp in Iowa, also against my will. I know, you're thinking--but you were 18, why didn't you just leave...? Anyone who truly understands abuse, knows that when you are under someone else's mental control, you don't have the capacity to make your own decisions, out of fear of retaliation. (This is probably why I became a police officer and have been so incredibly good at investigating sexual assault and child abuse cases the past 24 years.) During my second year at the "Christian" college, the blinders started to come off and I managed to meet up with some former HH students. I took that summer off and went back to Michigan where I got back into contact with a former friend and her mom who helped me eventually tell my parents that I was done! (Thank you Nina and Sonya--you two saved my life!). 

You're probably wondering how on earth I have any kind of relationship with my parents...again, I understand the power of brainwashing and how cults draw on the insecurities of people. My parents made mistakes, but I believe they would not have made the same decisions, if they would have had all of the facts! This has taken me years to realize.

Sharing my story publicly has been one of the hardest things I've ever done. In 2010, I went on a Fox news affiliate in Fort Wayne, Indiana, along with several other former students, in an effort to tell our stories, to shed light on what is REALLY happening at this "school" and to try to get the local authorities to shut the place down. We also went to the local police department and filed official abuse reports. We did several demonstrations on the steps of the County Courthouse in an effort to raise awareness to the citizens about what is really happening in their backyard. That was TEN years ago and it is still open despite our efforts!! 

Several news/journalist outlets have picked up our story here and there, including Anderson Cooper in 2011 and A&E in 2019. Finally our story has gotten the attention of Dr. Phil. In December 2019, several former students and one of Ron Williams' sons travelled to California to talk about the abuse. Because of my work schedule, I wasn't able to be with my girls but I was there in spirit. The Dr. Phil story is airing in two parts beginning tomorrow Monday January 13 and Tuesday January 14. You will see the woman on the left, Lucinda Pennington, attempt to refute the truth. She and I were there TOGETHER. I have no idea why she continues to defend Ron Williams and Hephzibah House, but I can tell you that I personally witnessed her being abused. I haven't seen anything but this preview, so this will be a difficult two days for me...I stand with an army of survivors who are no longer willing to sit back and do nothing!