Kittery, USA - A Kittery-based nonprofit group that bills itself as a healing organization has filed a defamation and invasion of privacy lawsuit against former members who have described it as a dangerous cult.
The Gentle Wind Project filed the suit in York County Superior Court last week after its federal racketeering and defamation lawsuit against a Blue Hill couple was dismissed this month.
The former members, Judy Garvey and her husband, Jim Bergin, maintain a Web site that accuses Gentle Wind of thought control, financial exploitation and performing sexual rituals.
Mary Miller, president of Gentle Wind Project, said Garvey and Bergin's accusations are untrue and have hurt her organization. Garvey said she stands by her claims, and said the case is an important test of free speech rights on the Internet.