Toronto Sun

5/15/92

Scientologist taught crime OK

by Bill Dunphy

One of Scientology’s former top spymasters testified she’d been trained to believe criminal actions which protected the church weren’t violations of Scientology’s moral code.

Marion Evoy, a former Canadian head of Scientology’s Guardian Office, made the comment yesterday at the end of four days of testimony in the trial of the Church of Scientology of Toronto Inc. and five members on charges of criminal breach of trust.

The charges arise out of a Scientology spy network that in the mid-1970s infiltrated the RCMP, the OPP, Metro Police and Ontario’s Attorney General’s office.

Evoy, 43, who left the church a decade ago, has been testifying about her involvement in allegedly criminal Scientology intelligence-gathering activities as part of an immunity agreement.

Yesterday Crown Attorney James Stewart asked Evoy how she reconciled her criminal activities with some of Scientology’s statements of principles regarding honesty and freedom.

"It was the way I was trained," Evoy explained, adding she and her co-workers believed they should do "whatever was necessary to protect" Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology itself.

Criminal acts of that kind were "not considered against any code or moral in Scientology because you were protecting Scientology, Evoy testified.