Marion Pouw has been a member of the religious order for over 40 years. She is a longtime friend of the Miscavige family and knew Ron Miscavige for 35 years.

 

I first met Ron Miscavige and his family in 1972 when they came to the United Kingdom for religious services. I worked at the organization there and Ron and my former husband were bandmates.

One day I was at the Miscavige family home and I heard this loud ruckus coming from the kitchen. So I went back there and I saw Ron pushing Loretta, his then wife, very heavily against the kitchen sink. No one else from the family was around but there was a mutual friend of ours, Quentin McDougal, who broke it up. I was stunned to see Ron touch a woman with such violence.

I was stunned to see Ron touch a woman with such violence.

That was the first and only instance of violence against Ron’s then wife that I personally witnessed, but Ron has admitted that beating his wife was routine. Or as Ron put it, when pressed on how many times he punched his late wife Loretta, “Maybe all the time, over a 10-year period—would happen maybe once a month or something like that.”

That rough treatment of women did not end with his wife. I know of one friend, a young black woman, who was trying to help Ron and he did not want her help. Instead Ron literally attacked her in a tone of hatred, with gritted teeth, saying “YOU SON OF A B - - - -! YOU F - - - - - - C- -T, YOU LITTLE F - - - - - - B - - - -, YOU MOTHER F - - - - -!” He then charged toward her and pushed her up against the door. The gentleman witnessing this pulled him off of her before he could do anything else, saying “Ron, she’s a woman!”

“Ron, she’s a woman!”

Even Ron’s daughters have recounted his mistreatment. One relayed an incident of being beaten by her father: “My dad picked me up and on the way home he said ‘Denise if there was any f***en way to get rid of you I would if I knew you wouldn’t come back.’ Took me up, beat me with a strap, bruised my whole back and sent me to bed… This morning again he hit me again, I can’t remember for what reason…We are (I am) afraid my dad will hit us…”

My experience with Ron and his treatment of women is overall bad. I personally have traveled with Ron to care for him and ensure he was well taken care of, on behalf of his son and as a family friend, and specifically on one instance when Ron attended his brother’s funeral.

While I was with Ron, I was having to constantly cater to him. I pressed his clothes, ironed his shirts, polished his shoes, did all manner of things, did the laundry and made sure that he looked perfect for the occasions that he was attending. Did Ron thank me? No. Was he rude? Yes.

As for his current wife, Becky, I have heard Ron refer to her as “stupid b—ch.” He also treats Becky as his lackey. I have seen Ron sitting on the couch and he needed his horn case and would say, “Becky, go get me my horn” or “Becky, get my vitamins” or “Get me a glass of water” or “Go iron my shirt” or “Get my clothes out.” He incessantly orders her around as if she’s his servant.

Ron cackled, “Isn’t that what women are for?!”

When I pointed out to Ron that it was not right to treat a wife like a lackey, Ron cackled, “Isn’t that what women are for?!”

Marion Pouw
Family Friend