A former member of cult Kenja Communications has been granted an apprehended violence order following allegations the co-founder instigated a bizarre plot to intimidate and harass her.
Alison Pels, 20, thought Jan Hamilton and another Kenja co-member “were going to kill her” when she discovered they had disguised themselves and posed as directors at a stage audition she attended, Fairfax newspapers have reported.
"My whole body had shut down, I was in absolute terror," Ms Pels, who left the “personal development” cult in February last year, was quoted as saying.
Ms Hamilton was ordered yesterday not to stalk, harass or intimidate Ms Pels for two years after it was found that she and other Kenja members had staged auditions for a Chekhov play, Three Sisters,at a hall in Sydney’s West Pymble last October.
They had used wigs and facial hair to prevent her from recognising them, according to Ms Pels.
Magistrate Roger Clisdell said the hoax audition had the "bizarre hallmarks" of the Kenja group.
Ms Pels's lawyer, Brett Longville, said the plot was a sinister attempt to intimidate Ms Pels for making allegations of sexual assault against Ms Hamilton’s late husband, Kenja’s founder Ken Dyers.
Dyers committed suicide last year facing 22 charges of sexual assault against two young girls, including Ms Pels.
But Ms Hamilton's lawyer, Harland Koops, said Ms Pels was a "habitual liar", and accused her of faking her distress.
Ken Dyers was a controversial figure who had multiple sexual offence accusations lodged against him between 1993 and 2007.
The family of unlawfuly detained Cornelia Rau blamed Kenja for her mental decline.
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