Just up the hill from Plymouth Rock, the Blue Blinds Bakery has been a favorite among locals in ‘America’s hometown’ since it opened eight years ago. But lately, this usually serene cafe has been abuzz with talk of accusations made by an anonymous poster on its Facebook page.
The Christian sect that owns the bakery — The Twelve Tribes — has been forced to defend itself against allegations of racism and child abuse from the poster, who identifies himself as a former sect member and bakery worker.
About three weeks ago, messages began to appear accusing the sect of disciplining children with a cane or a wooden stick — on the open palm or bare buttocks — sometimes dozens of times each day. The messages also implied the sect was racist and endorsed slavery.
The poster identified himself as Kayam Mathias, 21, a former bakery worker who says he left the sect five years ago.
‘I saw many kids beaten as ‘discipline,’ many times out of anger. The idea is to drive out the evil one from as early as possible,’ he said.
The postings have bewildered some Facebook followers and prompted others to denounce the sect and the people who run the bakery. Still others pledge allegiance to a business they say they’ll continue to trust.
Lev Bryant, 41, a sect member who manages the bakery, denied the allegations of child abuse and racism.
‘There’s no child abuse here — period,’ he said. ‘We’re trying to deal with this fraudulent issue.’
Bryant confirmed that Mathias was a member of the sect and worked at the bakery.
A Twelve Tribes commune in Island Pond, Vermont, was raided by police in 1984 after allegations of child abuse. More than 100 children were removed but were returned hours later after a judge said the raid was illegal.
Last year, an elder from the sect in southern Germany was convicted in Noerdlingen state court in Bavaria of causing bodily harm by hitting a child in his care with a 4-foot switch.