Hypnotic Mind Coach Accused in Teen Rapes

ABC News: Hypnotic Mind Coach Accused in Teen Rapes



The Fall of Carmine Baffa *UPDATED*
The True Crime Weblog: The Fall of Carmine Baffa *UPDATED*

Well....he is finally as famous as he always wanted to be.....

Hi Tom,

Of course these charges haven't been adjudicated yet, and if they turn out to be true, it's a very unfortunate situation on a number of levels, I think.

As an aside, both the ABC news article and the blog postings contain a number of factual errors and not-so-useful presuppositions. I expect that sort of thing in blog postings but was a bit surprised at the mistakes (NLP being trademarked, for example) and amateurish research (rephrasing internet posts of reviews of Baffa's seminars) in an article by a 'professional' news gathering organisation.

At any rate, I'll be following this story with interest to know how things turn out for all involved.

Be Well,

Michael Perez

Wow.

For those who have never heard of Carmine Baffa, you might be interested in reading his articles here. Also compare Dave Gould's two reviews of his trainings here and here, and Michal Wallace's recently updated review here.

Baffa, whilst not an out and out celebrity, is also not a total nobody in NLP. And as you might find from his articles, he comes over as really knowing his stuff (if sometimes a little dubious when talking of his life achievements and talents). His videos show he has more than a little charisma, and his teaching style echoes Bandler in some ways.

I don't want to get sucked into the "Shock! Horror! NLP Scandal!" bullshit - these are absolutely unproved charges as yet. Perhaps they're true, perhaps not, but Carmine Baffa's an enigmatic individual, and I'm afraid to say these charges make me even more curious.

From the reviews of his seminars it's clear he's been thought of as a "master of unconscious installation" doing more for his trainees' benefit than they can possibly track. Then the - clearly far from objective - news stories slip in several insinuations that he's just a socially awkward fraudster.

Any thoughts anyone - on the quality of his articles? On training experiences? Just curious...

Joseph.

joseph_kao wrote:

Wow.

For those who have never heard of Carmine Baffa, you might be interested in reading his articles here. Also compare Dave Gould's two reviews of his trainings here and here, and Michal Wallace's recently updated review here.

Baffa, whilst not an out and out celebrity, is also not a total nobody in NLP. And as you might find from his articles, he comes over as really knowing his stuff (if sometimes a little dubious when talking of his life achievements and talents). His videos show he has more than a little charisma, and his teaching style echoes Bandler in some ways.

I don't want to get sucked into the "Shock! Horror! NLP Scandal!" bullshit - these are absolutely unproved charges as yet. Perhaps they're true, perhaps not, but Carmine Baffa's an enigmatic individual, and I'm afraid to say these charges make me even more curious.

From the reviews of his seminars it's clear he's been thought of as a "master of unconscious installation" doing more for his trainees' benefit than they can possibly track. Then the - clearly far from objective - news stories slip in several insinuations that he's just a socially awkward fraudster.

Any thoughts anyone - on the quality of his articles? On training experiences? Just curious...

Joseph.

Yeah....fantasy is always interesting. As someone that was around....I know that his articles are fantasy.

I also know of other victims of his brand of sexual therapy.

I think this is only the tip of the iceberg and a huge black eye for NLP.

If Johnny Ramone were alive he'd be pissed this guy stole his haircut.

tomvizzini wrote:

I think this is only the tip of the iceberg and a huge black eye for NLP.

If he were an accountant would it be a huge black eye for accountancy?

J

jamesrolph wrote:

If he were an accountant would it be a huge black eye for accountancy?

J

Sure if the accountant wanted sex for advice on your taxes......and you were 13

The truth is that as someone who repeatedly presented themselves as a licensed therapist he had a level of trust with someone who was 13 years old.

I can't help but think that Tom is rather enjoying the Carmine Baffa story a little too much.

I'm guessing that you two guys have a history?

23nlpeople wrote:

I can't help but think that Tom is rather enjoying the Carmine Baffa story a little too much.

I'm guessing that you two guys have a history?

I saw him hurt a lot of people. 10 years ago I tried to warn people. Now a 13 year old girl is raped because no one believed me at the time.

I am not enjoying it. I am sick over it. Maybe I should have tried harder. Maybe I should not have given up. Maybe I should have done something differently. If I had maybe a 13 year old child would not have been raped.

I knew this guy on a personal level. I saw what he was like and what he did to people.

Yeah I have a history... and it disgusts me.

Feel free to delete this comment moderator - I have no further desire to interact with the original person it was directed at (and as their profile is set to private I am unable to discuss things with them in an appropriate context...)

Um, Joey was the singer. Carslime has the same hair as Johnny, the guitar player. And Dee Dee. You are a moron.

That was mean. Sorry.

Deleted my comments because
one of us needs to be sensible...

The Carslime statement was rude. I still think you're a moron.

Tom,

You have got to quit beating yourself up over this. If Carmine is convicted people will know he is a bad guy. He may not be convicted, though, and the law being waht it is you have to be careful about what you say about people. It would benefit no one if you were to be sued for defamation of character. So just let the news folks and the courts and the cops do their jobs, OK?

As for child rapists out there what they do is NO ONE"S RESPONSIBILITY BUT THEIR OWN. That's it. They are the ones who are responsible.

That's why it's important for honest people to cooperate with police investigations. If someone knows something for a fact about someone else who would do this kind of harm to a child, that person should either go forward and tell law enforcement. Or, if for some reason they are afraid to do so publicly, they should report their information anonymously through a tip line. I imagine most agencies have them.

Heck, I couldn't view the FBI's job website the other day because of some random certificate that interrupted and wouldn't let me in. (You see how much I understand how these things work!!) So I reported the information electronically on their tip page. Of course, it's probably nothing, but it is up to them to decide, really. They are the professionals, after all.

For any of you out there who might be reading this and are thinking I'm making too big a deal out of something minor, I'd just like to mention what I read in Dear Abby a year or so ago. (Yes, boys and girls, we *can* learn something from just about anyone!!)

Some random person had written in because they thought someone had tampered with their car (if memory serves me -- the exact situation might have been something else), but nothing had been damaged or stolen. The person was wondering if they should report it to the police given the fact that the police weren't going to be able to do anything about it anyway.

So Abby talked with some police chief or captain or someone like that that she knew and he said the person should report it anyway.

That's because the cops might be getting other reports of other similar activity in the area and it could provide the information they need to solve a case.

Good citizens do things like this, folks.

It is not like school-yard "tattling." When a law has been broken -- especially one that could cause significant or irreparable harm to another human being -- the right thing to do is to report it to the authorities.

Then stand back and let them do their jobs.

That is one of the beautiful things about the rule of law.

But it only works if we take personal responsibility and do the right thing and make it work.

...sigh...I see I've gotten up on soapbox again, and I apologize for that. So I'll stop talking now.

However, I do not recant anything I've said here. I really mean it.

Take care all,

Venus

P.S. Tom, again, you did the right thing. Now quit beating yourself up over might-have-beens and let the professionals do their jobs.

Take care,

Venus

venus_brown wrote:

...sigh...I see I've gotten up on soapbox again...

As far as I am concerned you don't do this nearly enough.

John

tomvizzini wrote:

I am not enjoying it. I am sick over it. Maybe I should have tried harder. Maybe I should not have given up. Maybe I should have done something differently. If I had maybe a 13 year old child would not have been raped.

You have obviously found nothing so far that has helped you to move on with this.

There are many good NLP tools and techniques and NLP therapists who might be able to help. Many seem to hang out here.

Don't worry if you have tried it before and it never worked, it is constantly improving.

John

The ability to make a perfect Vodka-Martina is the primary thing that sets us apart from the animal kingdom

A quick note from the moderator:

Please refrain from name calling. One of the fundamental principals here is that all members treat one another with respect. So feel free to disagree all you like, just focus your disagreements on what's being said rather than the person doing the saying.

It's the difference between 'That's daft!', which is fine, and 'You're daft!', which is less so...

Be Well,

Michael Perez

From court yesterday April 18-

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/met...4/18/baffa_041
9.html

By ANDRIA SIMMONS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/18/08

A police detective testified Friday that two young patients of Carmine
Baffa - a life coach who has hosted seminars across the nation - claim he
had sex with them as part of their treatment.

Diane King, a detective from the Gwinnett County Police Department, was the
sole witness in a probable cause hearing for Baffa in Gwinnett magistrate
court.

Baffa is being held without bond at the Gwinnett jail on multiple charges
involving child molestation and rape. A magistrate judge found probable
cause to bind the charges over to Gwinnett County Superior Court.

King said the former patients, now 13 and 19, participated in separate
"cuddling sessions" with Baffa on an air mattress on his office floor during
private counseling sessions in 2006 and 2007.

Baffa somehow convinced the 19-year-old that she had been molested at a
younger age, King said.

Police said he posed as a hypnotist and psychotherapist. Many of his
patients were referred to him by licensed psychotherapists, but Baffa is not
a licensed therapist, according to police.

In a private session on New Years Day 2007, Baffa is accused of raping the
19-year-old.
"She said she didn't want it to happen, but she felt she could not say no
and was afraid of him," King said.

Afterward, Baffa allegedly called the 13-year-old girl into his office.
"He began cuddling with [the 13-year-old] and ignoring the 19-year-old,"
King said.
The 13-year-old girl reportedly was living with Baffa at the time.

King said the girl met Baffa after her parents began seeing him for marriage
counseling. The parents eventually split up, but Baffa urged them to bring
their daughter for treatment when she started acting out, King said.

"He convinced the father that his daughter was suicidal and the only way he
could save her life is if he would sign over legal guardianship," King said.
The girl's parents agreed to sign a notarized letter giving him temporary
custody, King said.

The 13-year-old then moved in with Baffa and his live-in business partner,
Pamela Harris, at their Lawrenceville home in November 2006. Police said she
continued to stay with them until March 2008, even after they moved to
another house in Gainesville.

While the 13-year-old was living with Baffa, police said the two often had
sex.
When the detective interviewed her in April, the girl reportedly told them
she was in love with Baffa.

"She wanted to be with him and wanted to be his girlfriend," King said.

Police said the catalyst for their investigation was Harris, who approached
authorities in Forsyth County about possible sexual misconduct between Baffa
and the 13-year-old.

Harris allegedly told investigators she had witnessed one tryst between
Baffa and the 13-year-old, and that afterward she had sex with Baffa in the
girl's presence.

When Harris confronted Baffa about the incident later, "she said he had an
answer for everything," King said. "He told her it was part of [the
13-year-old's] therapy because she was sexually repressed."

Defense attorney Drew Findling said during his cross-examination Harris may
have trumped up the allegations as part of a vendetta against his client. He
questioned why Harris was not charged as a conspirator if she knew what was
going on.

King replied that Harris might be another victim.

Whatever gets proven in the court case, the media scare is going to feed right into the fears a lot of folks have about hypnosis being manipulative.