After reportedly failing to locate Scientology leader David Miscavige nearly 30 times, attorneys have officially served him in a federal human trafficking lawsuit, according to information obtained by TrueNews.com.
The lawsuit was filed a year ago by three former Scientology members who claim that they were trafficked into the church as children and then forced to work as adults.
In a recent ruling, a United States judge declared that Miscavige has now been officially served in the case.
U.S. Judge Julie S. Sneed has declared that the 62-year-old Scientology leader, David Miscavige, was “actively hiding his location or avoiding service” as lawyers tried to serve him with the federal human trafficking lawsuit 27 times.
This information comes after former Scientology members Valeska Paris, Gawain Baxter, and Laura Baxter filed the human trafficking lawsuit against Miscavige in 2022, as previously reported by TrueNews.com.
Between May and August 2022, attorneys for the three plaintiffs attempted to serve Miscavige nearly 30 separate times at ten different Scientology properties – including the church’s Hacienda Gardens facility in Clearwater, Florida where Miscavige allegedly lives.
On January 25, lawyers for Paris and the Baxters reportedly asked Miscavige’s lawyers if they would accept their client’s service notice – but his lawyers allegedly declined.
“For years, David Miscavige has succeeded in evading accountability,” a recent joint statement from Paris and the Baxters’ lawyers read.
“[The] ruling brings our clients — who alleged to have endured unimaginable abuses in Scientology as children and into adulthood — one step closer to getting their day in court and obtaining justice against all responsible parties,” the joint statement added.
According to Daily Mail, Florida law dictates that defendants of a lawsuit must be personally served – but U.S. Judge Sneed revealed there is a legal loophole that allows for substitutes for “nonresidents and individuals concealing their whereabouts.”
Despite Miscavige being considered officially served the human trafficking lawsuit, Scientology officials have argued that the three plaintiffs previously signed contracts agreeing to solve all disputes internally.
“The allegations are both scurrilous and ridiculous and the lawsuit is both a sham and a scam,” a Scientology spokesperson said when the suit was filed last year.
Miscavige reportedly has 21 days after the lawsuit was ruled served to respond to the federal human trafficking complaint.