I was interviewed for over an hour by a reporter from TWH and they opted to only use a handful of my most tepid comments from the entire process. I find it exceedingly frustrating and I wonder what the point of the article was at all. Why even publish anything?
To be clear, I was a member of CAYA for just over 10 years; I was on the Council and I was the Financial Steward (treasurer). I experienced and witnessed innumerable occasions of verbal and emotional abuse, gaslighting, and cruelty that increased in severity and frequency over time. The most extreme personal case of it was in February of last year when Jessica Matthews had a couple of cocktails and then proceeded to spend 90 minutes publicly (as in, in a crowded restaurant) berating me about my parenting and how awful she thought my kids were. She only stopped when I finally broke down in tears and said that I understood that she thought I was a terrible mother.
I personally witnessed the shaming and exclusionary practices she had and promoted, I personally heard her say terrible, bigoted things about trans women and was there when she swore us all to secrecy about it under the guise of being in "sacred space."
She also sexually coerced and exploited me during an extremely vulnerable time in my life when I had just split with my husband of 17 years. It involved her, me, another clergy member, and an initiate who was also romantically involved with JM despite it being against the stated policies of CAYA. JM had kept it secret from her own husband and said to me that sisters should be able to have sex with each other whenever they want without telling anyone and outside of whatever other relationships or commitments they had. This kind of encounter happened on three separate occasions (only once with the initiate) when I was away from home with her, had ridden to the location in her vehicle, and no material means of leaving.
I have been told by multiple people that I have grounds to take legal action, but honestly I see how our "justice" system works and I have no faith in it. Plus I've already given her too many years of time and devotion and I really just want my life back.
However, I agreed to be interviewed by TWH (however uselessly in the end) because I feel it is imperative to do whatever I can to protect others from predation by Jessica Matthews (or Rabbit Matthews, Yeshe Rabbit, Yeshe Matthews, Jessica Rabbit, Jessica Yeshe Rabbit Matthews Robles, or whatever other name she is publicly using now).
I also wrote a more general blog post about it as a way of processing my own feelings and experiences and also, potentially, as a warning to others who may be in harm's way. If you want to read it, it is here:
http://www.arts.jennybach.com/2018/02/06/i-defended-a-terrible-person-for-years-why/I won't engage with trolls. I'm not interested in having further conversation about this. I just want to be done, but I won't feel done until the warning gets out there.
You may choose to believe me or not, I have no control over that. I have no property, resources, or reputation to protect. I am not "somebody" in the pagan world. I just need to do my best to tell the truth so others may make their own decisions with all the information to hand.
Please be careful and examine all the information and sources critically; beware of gurus and anyone who claims to have all the answers. Be well. Be safe.