DECLARATION UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY PURSUANT TO 28 USCA 1746
I, Alexa Wilt declare and state as follows:
Name of Program:
Cross Creek Manor
Location of Program:
LaVerkin, Utah
Period of Internment (MM/YY to MM/YY)
07/26/2008 – 01/08/2008
Declarative Statement
I witnessed the program mandated “silent treatment” aka THE DESERT many times while at CCM. This treatment was something our director boasted about often that would “wear girls down until they were ready to comply.” Any challenging youth, and sometimes he would do it just for fun, would be unable to talk to staff, fellow peers, teachers and in turn we could not acknowledge they existed. If we did, we would get in BIG trouble and be forced to stay in the program longer. How hopeless and alone one must feel having their voice be taken away from them like that. If they rebelled against such cruelty, they got BFO tapes “BUTT FALLS OFF” in our worksheets room where you weren’t allowed to talk, look around, move, just sit and raise your hand if you had an 1,2,3,4,or 5’s (food, water, bathroom, meds and to scratch. Yes, we had to ask to scratch ourselves)
I did not experience the desert, but I did have my voice taken away from me. I was part of alleged scandal the program director made up and would not believe anything I had to say about the matter. Him and my therapist literally turned my group against me in attempt to make me confess to something I didn’t do by making me tell the group what I did. After stating the truth, my therapist looks around and says “Who in here believes that load of crap?” and a few raised their hands. I was informed I would now be switching groups and put on HOPE buddy status (basically starting from the beginning) while I was put on silence from the group I had known to grow and love and throw into another one with complete strangers while I tried to figure out what it was I had done to cause all this. They would not tell me the rules to their game, so finally after about 3 months of being on HOPE buddy I made up my own and made a deal with my therapist that if I made 9 basketball baskets during a game I would end this mess and be back on normal status with the group. I did, and he honored that promise, BUT WTF TYPE OF THERAPY IS THAT? LETS PLAY MIND GAMES JUST FOR FUN TO SEE IF SHE WILL BREAK?! I found out later their original plan was for me to go from F group, to C group (the one I switched into) just to go back to F group after my confession and learning my lesson…….
During all this we had a group rule that you COULD NOT TELL YOUR PARENTS how much you hated it there or how bad things were because it would be a “manipulation”. All letters were read before sent to see if they had any “manipulation” in them.
Can I outline 10 point of cult indoctrination for you all?
1. Isolation of the recruit and manipulation of his environment
2. Control over channels of communication and information
3. Debilitation through inadequate diet and fatigue
4. Degradation or diminution of the self
5. Induction of uncertainty, fear, and confusion with joy and certainty through surrender to the group as a goal
6. Alternation of harness and leniency in a context of disciple
7.Peer pressure generating guilt and requiring open confessions
8. Insistence by seemingly all powerful hosts that the recruits survival depends on identifying with the group
9. Assignment of monotonous or repetitive tasks such as worksheets
10. Acts of renunciation of self family and previously held values
Cross Creek just about met all 10.
I give WWASPSurvivors permission to use this statement. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed on(date: MM/DD/YY): 9/10/2014
