ATLANTA (FinalCall.com)�The return of a 14-count indictment on Jan. 18 against Rev. Arthur Allen Jr. and 10 members of his northwest Atlanta House of Prayer Church has laid the groundwork for a landmark court case that will debate the use of corporal punishment on children, parental rights, abuse of power and religious authority.

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard, who announced the indictments, called the congregation�s alleged punishment of their children severe and extreme. "This is not a normal whipping," he said. "These are severe and extreme beatings. We think that is a clear sign of demarcation," Mr. Howard said.

Rev. Allen says his congregation is innocent of the DA�s charges and the facts of the case have been grossly exaggerated. Like any loving parent, parishioners want only the best for their children, said Rev. Allen.

In addition to the charges, eight children remain in the custody of the state of Georgia in undisclosed locations, pending a hearing scheduled for late February in juvenile court. The state wants to strip the parents of their rights over the children.

The saga began in February 2001, when a White teacher called the state Division of Family and Children Services (DFACS), reporting she found "thin red marks" on two children in her classroom. It is unclear whether the teacher spoke with other school officials before making the call to DFACS; however, the incident escalated into possibly the largest one-time seizure of children in state history. A total of 49 children�all Black�were removed from schools, homes and church grounds. They were placed in Atlanta-area detention centers pending hearings. Rev. Allen and some church members were arrested the following month and charged with conspiring to commit cruelty to children. Those charges were dropped as children were sent back home to their parents.

According to the accounts of the children, shared exclusively with The Final Call, they were harassed, brutalized and threatened by DFCAS workers, Atlanta police and male detention center supervisors.

"They pulled me off the couch and threw me to the floor," recalled 14-year-old Diana Fraizer. She along with her brother Quentin, were removed from their home by DFACS and Atlanta police in a fashion compared to a nighttime military raid. "They twisted my arms around my back, put handcuffs on me and placed their knees in my face and my back," she said, recalling how her face was banged into the ground as she pleaded for help from her parents. Her brother, handled in a similar fashion, received a busted lip and bruises to his forehead.

Both alleged constant use of abusive language by officers handling them, while in the squad car and in the detention center. They said they asked the officers to refrain from the foul language, saying their parents did not use such language around them. The officers became more abusive, directing their insults at the parents, said Diana and Quentin.

In recent months, DFACS has come under fire for their handling of the children, resulting in disciplinary action against caseworkers. Calls placed to DFACS spokesman Andy Boisseau by The Final Call were not returned.

Some of the children, who received similar treatment as officers removed them from homes and schools, were charged with assaults against police, resisting arrest and one was charged with trespassing after he was pulled from his own home.

The children spoke of horrible conditions in the Metro-Atlanta detention center for youth. Roaches and rodents were throughout the facility, they said. Bugs were frequently found in food and as they showered, the children charged, male supervisors would come in and watch.

"They would not let us talk to our parents, so my brother would sneak out to call them and tell them how we wanted to come home. We know we come from good homes," Diana Frazier said.

"In some cases, DFACS is needed," said Sharon Duncan, who along with her husband David, is named in the indictment. "Some children are in abusive situations, but not our children. Our children are in two-parent homes. Homes that are loving, clean and where the children are kept fed," she said. "These are happy, well mannered, well adjusted children who did not need rescuing by DFACS. They need to be rescued from DFACS," she said.

The couple will appear in juvenile court later this month, fighting to maintain custody of their children, some of whom remain in state custody.

In an appearance before the juvenile court, parents were told they could have their children back, if they would agree to only hand-spank the children. The pastor was also asked to cease performing marriages of couples as young as 14-years-old. The pastor and parents refused all the proposals. They look forward to their day in court.

"When the DFACS workers and Atlanta police came out to arrest our children, why did they slam them to the floor, twist their arms around their backs and brutalize them?" asked Rev. Allen. "Why didn�t they just hand-spank them, like the judge said and tell them to get into the van. If that is the method he wants us to use, why did not he instruct them to use it?" he said.

The pastor, and many in the community, see the move on the pastor and congregation as racist and politically motivated. A recent poll conducted by an Atlanta-based CBS-television affiliate found 74 percent of those polled favored the pastor�s actions and believed the parents have been misrepresented.

Corporal punishment, the beating of children, is not illegal in Georgia as a disciplinary tool. Since integration, said Rev. Allen, it has been discouraged in the school system because Whites did not want Black teachers beating their children. He also said church beatings of children were not only extremely rare, but were used as a last resort. Armed with biblical references, the congregation defends the right to discipline its children, referring to corporal punishment as an act of love.

"If our children were so abused in the homes, why were they seen throughout national television while being grabbed and snatched by DFACS workers and police pleading to stay home? If they were abused they�d be happy to leave," said indicted parent David Wilson. The case has received national and international attention, as well as support from clergies around the country.

Area residents have been heard comparing the use of corporal punishment in religious institutions and say they have never heard of a case against a White priest or pastor.

"I went to an all Catholic school," one Atlanta resident told The Final Call. "They used pointers, rulers, erasers and sometimes their fists. They beat the hell out of us. Show me one White priest who has ever been charged for brutality or the use of corporal punishment. Everybody knows we get our butts beat in Catholic school," the woman said.

"We are supposed to have certain rights, such as the freedom of religion, under the Constitution. But we have found this to be in writing only," Rev. Allen said. "You can put anything in writing but if it is not enforced, it�s null and void. We have a White society trying to tell us how we raise our children when they have no success in raising their own," he said.

As community support continues to grow, the pastor says his flock is only growing stronger and more determined to stand for God. He also said not one member of his church, neither parents under indictment nor the children, have recanted one aspect of their beliefs. "Faith is not our strength," he said. "Our strength is found in the power of God."