Wolrd Religion

A number of former employees of the church have told ABC's Lateline they were only paid a few thousand dollars per year for full-time work and had to resort to welfare payments to survive.

The Church of Scientology claims people who sign up to work do so as volunteers. But the former Scientologists Lateline spoke to deny that all staff are volunteers.

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Charles Flowers, who founded Love Demonstrated Ministries, International with his wife, and Stephanie Bassitt, a former staff member, were accused of using a rope to tie a 15-year-old girl to a van on June 12, 2007, and then dragging her behind it.

They were tried in 2008, but a judge declared a mistrial after jurors were unable to reach a verdict.

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