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	Testimony Continues in Bent Trial KOAT December 9, 2008 http://www.koat.com/news/18225172/detail.html Bent Accused Of Inappropriate Sexual Contact TAOS, N.M. -- After jury selection Monday, opening statements began the trial of Wayne Bent, the self-described messiah on trial on charges of sexual contact with two young female followers. Deputy District Attorney Tomas Benavidez told a jury in state district court in Taos that Bent touched the breasts of girls who at the time were ages 14 and 16. He said Bent betrayed his followers in The Lord Our Righteousness Church and abused his authority. "But when you break the law that is not a religion, that is a crime, and ladies and gentlemen, that is what we are going to show in our evidence here today," said Benavidez. But the defense claimed the incident is all a part of the group's religion and said Bent is a kind and gentle person who never touched the girls in their intimate areas. "These girls are not going to tell you that the part covered by the bikini was touched by Wayne Bent," said defense attorney Sarah Montoya. "Just because somebody is different, doesn't make them wrong, doesn't make them a criminal." Montoya said there was no criminal sexual contact. She said Bent touched the girls but not on their breasts and not in a sexual way. She stood before the jury with her hand on her chest in a pledge of allegiance pose to demonstrate how he touched them. Jury selection was behind closed doors for the leader of the sect, which has a compound called Strong City near Clayton in northeastern New Mexico. Some of Wayne Bent's former followers spoke by phone Sunday. They are now witnesses in the case against him, and couldn't say much because of a gag order. They said they are preparing for what will likely be an emotional week in court. Dozens of witnesses will testify about scenes inside the Strong City Cult. Wayne Bent called himself the Messiah. "I am the embodiment of God," he told a documentary crew with National Geographic earlier this year. "I am divinity and humanity combined." People who've since left the Lord Our Righteousness Church will tell a jury about how Bent controlled their lives. Before the gag order was in place, Prudence Welch, a former cult member, said, "You could come and go you still can but it's like a mind trip like you're not going to heaven if you leave." "We weren't allowed to contact any of our relatives," said Trina Golden, another former cult member, before the gag order. "We were supposed to be dead to them." Authorities said the problems inside the gates of the Strong City Cult went far past isolation. Bent will go on trial for what police say was inappropriate sexual contact with young girls at the Union County compound. A grand jury in Clayton last spring indicted Bent on two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. "He picked seven virgins, he laid naked with them," said Welch. "He picked seven messengers or angels and they put out the plagues to plague the earth. And there are seven wives who he's had sex with." Both of the women have since left the cult. One moved to another state to start a new life far way from Strong City, but she is ready to take the stand to try to keep Bent behind bars. Since the allegations of sexual abuse first began, Bent and his followers have been on various food and water fasts in protest. Bent has staunchly denied any wrongdoing. Calls to him and his family members were not returned Sunday night. Bent was arrested in October for failing to appear at a court hearing, but was able to post bond. He predicted the end of the earth in November and his attorney said church members were disappointed when that didn't happen. Over two dozen followers from Strong City showed up for the proceeding, arriving early in the morning and continuing to watching the trial from the gallery. The trial is expected to last five days. After opening arguments, the prosecution called its first witness, a state police officer who had one of the girls temporarily removed from the Strong City compound.
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