Letter from Taryn Teutsch, daughter of Mike Rinder, to ABC Mike’s hypocrisy is laughable because he claims to care so much about education, children and welfare and he couldn't have been a worse father. He never cared. Never.

October 25, 2015

John W. Bentley
ABC News 20/20

Dear Mr. Bentley,

I understand you are doing a show with Mike Rinder and Leah Remini. I have also been apprised of the alleged claims being made. I am very aware of the continual vicious lies from Mike Rinder, as many of these concern me, his daughter, and my family.

For an opener, I am a Scientologist and a Sea Org member. I was born into Scientology and have remained a dedicated Scientologist. My family is now a 4th generation family of Scientologists (bar Mike of course). Mike has no respect for his family, no consideration for our welfare or our requests for him to get on with his life and leave us and our religion alone.

Mike’s hypocrisy is laughable because he claims to care so much about education, children and welfare and he couldn’t have been a worse father. He never cared. Never. My brother and I suffered much distress because of his uncaring attitude toward us. We both just thought he hated us. But the truth is, he did nothing to actually help us personally. It was always our mother who was there for us. He didn’t even pay enough attention to know about my education, which happened to be fantastic.

He would never have remembered this but when I was just starting school at Carpenter Avenue in L.A. when I was about 4 or 5, they told me: “You know so much for someone so young and are ahead of the other students. You are so advanced already.” I had been home-schooled by a dear friend of mine—and as a result excelled in school (which I attended both in Clearwater, FL, and in L.A.). I then flourished throughout my years and always had a high IQ. I am offended by this and insulted by the outright lie that I and many of my friends who grew up with Scientology are anything but intelligent, productive members of society. After all, that is the product of a good education, isn’t it?

And education is one of the most important aspects of our religion!

Regarding the claim about disconnection, Mike Rinder is the one who wrecked his own family. He deserted my brother, mother and me on June 10, 2007. He walked out on us and never came back. He knew he was deserting us when he did it, and he did it anyway. He deserted everyone in his own family, including his mother. My mom, who had been married to him for 35 years, repeatedly tried to get him to communicate and he refused. Then, when we went to see him a few years ago in Florida to speak to him about the situation he created, he viciously attacked my Mom and caused her permanent physical damage to her shoulder requiring surgery. You can be sure, at that point, I disowned him forever.

But after he disconnected from us, he is the only one estranged from our family. He is the ONLY family member missing from the last 6 family vacations we have taken from Australia to New York and this last Christmas at Disneyworld.

We have a very, very close knit family. My father is the outsider. He left all of us. We have a wonderful and ever-growing family and every one of us is doing great. Mike is bitter because he is missing out on this. He left behind every true friend he ever had.

About the lie forwarded regarding Scientology taking precedence over anything else in your life: Well this is a manifestation of the blatant refusal by him and any others who listen to him to actually look at Scientology and what we believe in. I live life to the fullest and that depends on family. A strong family is part of living—so Mike Rinder is just contradicting himself. He lies about his lies, and then lies about those lies.

He is just bitter because he deserted us and never cared about his family or made the time for any of us. So he has to place the blame elsewhere. You realize he let his own mother pass away with a broken heart after he broke into her home, rummaged through her stuff and upset her horribly. She was ashamed over how her son turned out—an incessant liar who deserted his own children and family and continues to try to harm people of good will.

I was laughing at the claim about Sea Org members not being allowed this or that, TV, Internet, news etc. This could not be further from the truth. I can access them anytime I want.

Don’t let him pull the wool over your eyes. I go on the Internet at least once a day, I am up to date on the news—so are my friends and co-workers. To suggest we can’t use the Internet is ludicrous. Do you want to see my iTunes account? My latest download is the new Adele song and before that it was the Aloha movie. I read The Week, fashion mags and anything else I have an interest in or want to find out about. In other words, the daughter of your source claiming we have no access on the Internet, can’t watch TV or see the news is on the Internet, watches TV programs and is up to date on the news. In fact, I make it my business to know about the world as we aim to help people worldwide every day.

Mike Rinder has been lying his whole life and I will continue to speak the truth about him until he stops attacking his own family, our religion and our lives.

Justice, compassion, benevolence, kindness, tolerance, belief, respect, friendliness, self-control, honesty, loyalty, love and integrity—these are the words that describe any Scientologist and our actions.

Take the opposite of each of these characteristics and you will have Mike Rinder.

Here he is, standing behind Leah Remini—as if she or he knows anything … What does she know? Leah Remini?? She doesn’t even know us and certainly has no data about me, my brother, my mother and my family. Find out the truth. Get the facts about those you are forwarding lies about instead of closing your eyes to the discrimination towards me and many other Scientologists.

Regards,

Taryn Teutsch (Rinder)