EXCLUSIVEI risk my life to help people escape dangerous cults – here are the signs someone has been brainwashed
Published By admin with Comments 0
A man who works as a ‘cult deprogrammer’ has lifted the lid on the gruesome realities of his job – from dealing with ‘pedophiles’ to constantly fearing for his life due to ‘threats’ from powerful leaders.
Back in the 1980s, Rick Alan Ross, 71, from Ohio, was left horrified after he found out the nursing home that his grandmother was living in had been ‘infiltrated by an extreme religious group that targeted the elderly.’
After working with the head of the facility to ‘expose’ the corrupt staffers, it sparked a fierce passion in him to want to aid other victims.
Rick has since dedicated his life to helping members of cults break free from their sects by staging ‘cult interventions,’ and over the last four decades he has helped more than 500 victims.
He has worked alongside law enforcement on some of the most infamous cases, and has been called to the stand to testify in trials against powerful cult leaders and sadistic pedophiles.
He helped put NXIVM founder Keith Raniere behind bars, and he was ‘consulted’ by the FBI before the 1993 Waco ‘standoff’ because he was the only ‘cult expert’ who had ‘deprogrammed’ its members in the past.
Now, he has given DailyMail.com a fascinating look inside his job, revealing how he helps even the most brainwashed victims return to their families.
And while aiding in cult victims cutting ties with the horrific sects is certainly rewarding, he has also spoken out about some of the downsides to profession, like being ‘harassed’ by cult leaders.
In fact, Rick told DailyMail.com that his ‘life has been threatened a number of times,’ and that he has had to have protection from the government.
But that hasn’t derailed him from his quest to help cult victims.
‘I’ve testified in criminal trials, in child custody cases. I’ve worked with law enforcement,’ he shared. ‘And I’ve launched the largest database online with information about cults.’
But most importantly, he has performed more than 500 successful ‘cult interventions’ across the U.S.
So how do they work? Well, first, Rick explained that families who believed a loved one had joined a cult reached out to him.
He said they needed to have ‘some level of communication with the cult-involved family member’ before he could stage an intervention.
‘I come in as a complete surprise. Much like a drug or alcohol intervention, the person does not know the family is gonna do an intervention,’ he dished.
‘Initially, they may be shocked, they may be angry that the family has done this.
But you never tell the person in advance because they would then probably communicate with members of the group who would try to sabotage the intervention or tell them they should not attend or insist a member of the cult is present for the intervention.
Content retrieved from: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-13498417/cult-deprogrammer-job-gruesome-realities-threats.html.
