Midtown AA Accused Of Sexual Exploitation

Church Removes Meetings Pending Investigation

WASHINGTON — Officials of a prominent church in Northwest Washington said the church has barred an Alcoholics Anonymous group from meeting on its property pending the outcome of an investigation.

The group, called Midtown AA, has come under scrutiny for unusual practices in the past.

Many of the former members have described the group as a cult.

One woman, a former member of Midtown AA, claims she was pressured to have sex as a teenager with the leader of an Alcoholics Anonymous group called Midtown.

Kathy* said that at the time she was 17 and the group leader was 56. She said members told her to engage in sex with him because it would increase her chances of being sober, and that she would be more accepted in the group.

An article about Midtown was featured in Newsweek Magazine. The article stated that the group sexually exploited members and pressured them to do unusual tasks.

David* said he was a member of Midtown for about a year.

”I would say that Midtown is a shiny apple with a rotten core,” he said.

Laura* said that while she attended meetings there, members advised her not to take her anti-depression medicine. She said she ended up being suicidal.

“Then they still were trying to convince me that I didn’t need to be on medication,” she said.

“There’s a lot of sex stuff, but beyond that there’s so much mind control and so much fear. I was constantly under a state of fear,” said Kathy.

Midtown AA met in the basement of the Church of the Pilgrims in Northwest Washington for more than a decade, News4’s Pat Collins reported. The group would meet on Sunday nights at 8.

Collins said that Midtown was reportedly the largest Alcoholics Anonymous group for young people on the east coast.

Church officials said they launched an investigation into the group’s conduct last year after they learned of the allegations.

A short time later, Midtown leaders informed the church the group was leaving, saying the meeting place had gotten too small, officials said.

Midtown moved its meetings to St. Patrick’s in Northwest. This week, the church sent a letter to parishioners that said Midtown AA would “no longer meet at St. Patrick’s until we complete the appropriate investigation,” Collins reported.

The current leader of Midtown did not respond to calls or letters from News4.

D.C. police and the city’s prosecutor’s office said they are unaware of any active investigation into Midtown. The national office of Alcoholics Anonymous said that each group is autonomous and follows its own conscience.

*News4 has concealed the identities of the former members of Midtown AA because of the nature of this story.

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