OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 2 (UPI) -- An Oakland Calif., woman, a survivor of violence and abuse by a Muslim leader and businessman, says she has come forward to help others in similar situations.
In her first public interview, Kowana Banks, known as Jane Doe 1 when she reported years of sexual abuse, welfare fraud and violence at the hands of Yusuf Bey Sr., said her perspective on the history of violence at Bey's bakery could "make a difference."
Bey, who espoused black self-reliance when he started "Your Black Muslim Bakery" in the 1970s, created an atmosphere of fear with beatings and threats, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday. He impregnated her three times, the first time when she was 12, she said.
Bey also stole welfare payments, kept her out of school to work in the bakery and repeatedly raped her, she told the Center for Investigative Reporting. His death from cancer in 2003, while awaiting trial on sexual assault and other charges, led to a power struggle within the group he had formed within the business and the 2003 murder of Oakland Post editor Chauncey Bailey, who was investigating the bakery's finances.
After learning in 2002 Bey attempted to abuse her then-18-year-old daughter, Banks came forward with DNA test results and pressed criminal charges of rape and assault, as well as a since-settled civil suit alleging Alameda County, Calif., authorities did nothing to protect her.
Now a devout Christian with an 18-year marriage to a man she met after leaving the bakery, Banks told a reporter, "Abused people go one of two ways. Either they are going to self-destruct or they're going to make a difference."
