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Episode 5: The Second Generation

Some who spent their childhoods in the Students of Light now say that their upbringing left lasting scars. They claim children were told to spy on one another, and that some were even removed from their families by the group. There’s also one second-generation member whose story has cast a minor spotlight on the Students of Light in recent years. In 2019, John Hanas’s former right-hand man, Don Kollmar, was arrested in the U.S. due to accusations that he’d sexually abused a teenaged group member. 

Credits:

  • Written and narrated by Daniel Munro

  • Audio editing and production by Carolyn Smillie

  • Additional research by Robert Munro

  • Artwork and web design by Megan Hilario 

  • Voiceovers by Robert Munro and Carolyn Smillie

  • Excerpts of interviews with Genevieve Amaral, Joseph C., Cynthia Watson, and two anonymous contributors

  • Excerpts from Don Kollmar's Inner Light Meditation tapes

 

Sources consulted: 

 

Books: ​​

  • Robert Pollock, Twenty-Five Years with Jesus

 

Articles: 

  • Chico News and Review, “Soul Connection”

  • Mercury News, “Canadian fugitive, suspected of raping girl in ‘Students of Light’ religious group, arrested in Bay Area”

  • Mercury News, “‘Chosen by God’: Former leader of religious group extradited from Bay Area to Canada to face 1975 rape charge”

  • National Post, “Guru Faces Extradition over Rape Accusation”

 

Other: 

  • Assorted Reddit.com postings

  • Website of the Complete Self Attunement meditation process

  • Docket Entries for United States v. Kollmar (4:19-mj-70677)

  • Docket Entries for Kollmar v. United States Pretrial Services (5:20-cv-01388)

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