Scientology facilities in Cannon County, Tennessee, were closed after a 911 call led police to discover allegations that people were being held against their will with “no obvious amenity for life,” according to the local newspaper, the Cannon Courier.
“The Scientology facilities are closed and not operating,” said a statement from Cannon County Sheriff’s Department, the Courier reported.
The newspaper also reported that the department got a 911 phone call that allowed it to go in the gated facilities. Officers described them as “a double-wide trailer with several tiny cabins located behind it.”
The man there who made the call told officers that he was being held against his will and given unknown medications, according to the Courier. He told officers he was there for rehab and to “get cleansed through Scientology,” the Courier reported. The man told officers he’d been there for nine months.
Officers described the man’s bedroom as “a small room with a single bed in it.” They said the bed was “bare except for one sheet that he covers up with” and “his bathroom is the only room with a light.”
The man and a woman whom officers found while searching the facilities were taken to a local hospital.
Three suspects have been charged and are in custody. The Courier reports that two of them entered guilty pleas on two counts of false imprisonment. An attorney said the Church of Scientology didn't operate the facilities.
The Cannon County Sheriff's Department and the Church of Scientology did not immediately respond to Business Insider's requests for comment.
