Cincinnati woman "suspected" of lesbianism raped by "deprogramers"

by Jil Clark

Reprinted with permission of GAY COMMUNITY NEWS, 22 Brom-

field Street, Boston MA 02108

CINCINNATI, OH. A woman who believes her daughter is a lesbian hired cult "deprogramers" to kidnap the 20-year old and rape her daily during the week they held her in captivity.

A Hamilton County grand jury has leveled charges of kidnapping, assault and sexual battery against four of the persons allegedly involved in the attempt to "deprogram" Stephanie Riethmiller of Norwood.

Riethmiller was snatched from the street near the apartment she shares with 20year-old Patricia Thieman on October 8. Police located her with her mother and three other captors six days later in Leesburg, Alabama, 65 miles. northeast of Birmingham.

Stephanie's mother, 47year-old Marita Riethmiller, paid nationally famous cult "deprogrammer" Ted Patrick $8,000 to change her daughter's "lifestyle," according to reports in the Cincinnati Enquirer. The reports said the Marita Riethmiller objects to her daughter's relationship with her roommate.

Named in the indictment are Patrick of San Diego, Calif.; Naomi Faye Kelley Goss, 25, of Leesburg, Ala.; James Roe, 25, also of San Diego, and a man known only as "Ray," who is still at large. Each was charged with one count of kidnapping, one count of assault and six counts of sexual battery. They have pleaded innocent to the charges.

The charges were filed by Hamilton County Prosecutor Simon Leis, who is known here for his sympathy with the religious right and his opposition to the lesbian and gay rights movement. Some lesbians and gay men here are concerned that Riethmiller's alleged assailants will receive only light sentences for the serious crimes of which they are

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accused, according to Victoria Ramstetter, a member of the Lesbian Activist's Bureau. "Having to prosecute on behalf of a lesbian puts Leis in an awkward position to say the least," said Ramstetter, "and I'm skeptical."

The indictment alleges that James Roe had sexual intercourse with Stephanie Riethmiller on October 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14. Sexual battery, according to the Ohio Revised Code, is a third-degree felony involving "sexual conduct with someone other than a spouse" in a variety of situations where the offender takes "unconscionable" advantage of the victim."

Asked why the four are charged with sexual battery rather than the more serious offense of rape, Assistant Prosecutor Arthur Ney said he could make no comment.

Captain Frank Williams told Gay Community News that he doesn't know whether "Ray" also "had sexual intercourse with" Riethmiller.

Norwood Detective Lt. Denny Schlie said Patrick was not present at the time of the alleged offenses.

· Marita Riethmiller was not indicted in this second round of charges, although she was in the same house with the other suspects when Roe was put in a room alone with Stephanie Riethmiller. Ney refused to comment about this.

Marita Riethmiller along with Kelley-Goss, Roe and "Ray" was charged with abduction and kidnapping on October 14. The grand jury accused the four of having "restrained Stephanie Riethmiller of her liberty under circumstances which created a substantial risk of serious harm" to her. Riethmiller was released from Hamilton County Jail at 11:15 that evening, only two hours after police escorted her back to Cincinnati and booked her.

Ney said it is common for an indictment to be dismissed if a second one is returned that alleges similar conduct, but he

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would not say whether charges would be dropped against Riethmiller.

William Riethmiller, Stephanie's father, turned state's witness in return for immunity, according to the Enquirer. His role in the attempted "deprogramming" included his renting of the van used in the abduction and the dark blue Mercury in which Stephanie was driven to Leesburg. He originally told police his wife had left town on a business trip, but later cooperated with investigators and at one point established phone contact with his wife in Alabama.

Deprogrammer Patrick violated his parole by participatingin the abduction and he is now back in jail in San Diego. The judge there may decide to incarcerate him for the rest of the five year prison sentence he received for kidnapping, according to Steve Casey at the San Diego district attorney's office.

Kelley-goss and Roe have been released from the county jail on their own recognizance.

Roe was a defendant, along with Patrick, in a case involving the "deprogramming" of Paula Dain, a member of the Church of Scientology in Orange County, California. Roe was acquitted of kidnapping and all other charges against him except "false imprisonment" which he is still facing.

Upon his release from custody by Norwood police last week, Roe commented, "I hope the best for Stephanie. She's a very special person and that's true to the heart."

As Theiman and Riethmiller were returning home from work on October 8, two men approached them as if to ask-directions, sprayed mace in their faces, shoved Riethmiller into a waiting van and sped away, with a third person, a woman, behind the wheel.

Captain Williams, who made the initial contact with Riethmiller's captors, was the first to see Stephanie after the

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ordeal. He reported that she seemed "confusednot because she was in a confused state of mind but becaue she did not know where they'd taken her."

Concerned about Stephanie's condition, Williams said he had her flown back to Cincinnati. However, according to the Enquirer, police did not return her to her Norwood apartment, but rather left her at her. parents' home in the wealthy suburb of Indian Hills.

William Riethmiller's attorney, R. Scott Croswell II, later denied this report. McDonald told Gay Community News that when she called. the Riethmiller residence the night Stephanie was returned, William Riethmiller said that his daughter was there.

When Riethmiller returned to her apartment a few days later, her father taped a personal appeal to her at a local television station, in which he told her that the family loved her very much and urged her to seek professional help. William Riethmiller described his daughter as being "back under the influence of the people..." according to WLW-TV reporter Asa Smith.

Stephanie Reithmiller summoned Norwood police to her Hudson Street address at 6:40 a.m. on October 18, complaining that her mother was lurking about the hallway of her building. Stephanie Riethmiller told police she wanted to be left alone and wanted her mother's efforts to talk to her to be stopped.

Captain Williams told Gay Community News that he has received no complaints about Marita Riethmiller since.

The word. "lesbian" or "homosexual" has not appeared in any of the local newspaper accounts of the Riethmiller "deprogramming" attempt.

Police continue to describe Marita Riethmiller's motive as daughter's "lifestyle" or her being her objection to her "relationship with her that every reporter or roommate," despite the fact community member who spoke to Gay Community News said it is "common knowledge" that Marita Riethmiller believes her daughter is a lesbian. Gay Community News has been unable to contact Ms: Riethmiller to determine whether she is in fact lesbian.

"The real shame of the matter is that Stephanie is not even a lesbian," commentedMcDonald, and they put her. through all this anyway."