More than a hundred complaints on file about Word of Life Christian Church

News Summary/December 8, 2015

By Rick Alan Ross

104 pages of documents were obtained through a Freedom of Information request submitted to the Town of New Hartford, New York, regarding the Word of Life Christian Church located at 3354 Oneida Street, linked to the recent teen beating death. The responsive documents included complaints from church members mad about their neighbors. There were also two complaints filed about the church local residents.

The gathered documents included "quality-of-life complaints," "attempted trespassing," "vandalism" and “youth harassment.” There was a report about a dead bird found at the church’s doorstep. There were also complaints filed by church members about car tires slashed at the church parking lot.

The volume of complaints by church members increased during 2015 since the death of 19-year-old church member Lucas Leonard, who was beaten to death while receiving "spiritual counseling". There have been recent complaints concerning “disorderly protesters” and about news crews near the church property.

New Hartford police Chief Michael Inserra stated, “The neighbors really cannot see what is going on at the property and very few people come and go from the premises. This leads the neighbors to wonder what all the mystery is about,” The police chief also said, “Neighborhood youths grow up around this building and rumors abound about what goes on inside because of the secrecy, leading some of the youths to occasionally commit a quality-of-life incident.”

Some complaints resulted in official charges. One concerning a dog in 2004, and another regarding a verbal dispute with a neighbor also in 2004.

Fred Aiken, a nearby neighbor of the Word of Life Christian Church told a reporter, “They were very quiet and secretive,” He added, "No one in the community was involved in the church, as far as I know. They never let anyone in. No one wants to use the word cult, but I would.”

Neighbors complained about dogs on the property in 2009. There was concern expressed regarding animal welfare.

Note: This news summary is based upon an article by Micaela Parker titled "Word of Life filed complaints against public" published by the Utica Observer-Dispatch November 8, 2015

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