Church of Scientology Accused of 'Targeting Children as Young as 13 to Become Poorly Paid Workers,' Investigation Claims

A bombshell new investigation claims the ever-controversial Church of Scientology has been putting children as young as 13 to work inside one of its U.K. offices, including in recruitment roles alongside adults, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

The Times alleged the Church has employed teens for the past two years at its Hubbard Academy of Personal Independence, or HAPI, in Edinburgh, where one teenage girl reportedly had the job of massaging male staffers as well as members of the public.

Church Allegedly Recruited Children of Members

An undercover reporter went inside the center under the ruse of taking a "life improvement course," after being tipped off about the teen workers by a former senior staff member who worked at HAPI from 2024 through early 2026.

Amir Essalhi claimed that in 2024, three high-ups returned to Edinburgh after spending three years studying at Scientology's main campus in Clearwater, Florida. They arrived armed with orders to dramatically boost the church's staffing levels as part of an aggressive worldwide expansion push.

Within a few months, Essalhi claimed he was given a 100-hour-a-week workload that caused the then-18-year-old to drop out of school.

"About the same time the church began recruiting minors from among the children of members of the community," the article claimed, with Essalhi alleging that "several of the children were reluctant to join but were persuaded to do so over the course of several meetings with senior executives who flew in from the U.S."

'Scientology Can't Recruit People'

"Scientology can’t recruit people. The buildings are empty, and they can’t get enough staff members," Essalhi told the outlet about the Church's plunge in membership.

"So the strategy goes into internal recruitment. (They think) ‘Well, what if I can get my mum involved? What if I can get my cousin involved? What if I can get my nephew, my daughter, my whatever?'"

In an “Application for Active Participation and Religious Pledge,” recruits commit to either two-and-a-half or five years of “actively forwarding the work of the church.”

A separate document spelling out the demands placed on “staff members” details their working hours and pay — while also containing the unusual requirement that employees have no ties to "intelligence agencies either by past history or immediate familiar connections."