He seeks to stop 'deprogramming'

CLEVELAND (UPI) Los Angeles carpenter Michael Godby, who claims to be the legal guardian of Laura Chapman, 27, Santa Monica, Calif., filed suit Monday in federal court in an attempt to block the woman's parents from "deprogramming" her.

Godby, 30, charges that Ms. Chapman, who belongs to a religious cult, “is being brainwashed against her will to abandon her religious beliefs, her way of life and associates."

American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Charles M Delbaum said Miss Chapman has been a follower of Guru Maharaj Ji for seven years. He also said Godby is associated with the religious group.

Godby has asked the court to order Dr. and Mrs. Ben Chapman, Shaker Heights, Ohio, to pay their daughter $10,000 for each day they have "restricted her freedom and violated her rights."