Susan Tarantino, RJ Testerman, Rachel Slater, and Sheri Mueller-Testerman. Some of the members of the Welcomed Consensus.
Hello,
Today is the 2nd anniversary of the Truth About RJ blog. To commemorate the anniversary, I am posting a text exchange I received from a woman who was being groomed for recruitment by the Welcomed Consensus’s primary recruiter, William Berndt.
I continue to receive emails from people from my past, as well as from those who have had more recent contact with
William “Bill” Berndt
RJ, the Welcomed Consensus, or one of its recruiters.
The following is from Rachel Wilken, a woman Bill Berndt had befriended on Facebook and was trying to groom for the group.
Rachel told me she had an inkling something was not right when he declared his love so early on in their conversation.
We thought it would be useful for others who have or had, a run-in with Bill. Just to give you a little reality, as they say, about what happened.
Rachel, thank you!!!
Rachel’s text is highlighted blue.
Denise is the ex-wife Bill refers to in the section above, and the same Denise who posted her story on this blog.
Beyond how tickled I am that we are now “prominent,” it’s good to note the victim stance Bill takes in relation to this blog’s mission of raising awareness around the harm caused by this group. According to Bill, the Welcomed Consensus is being persecuted for its lifestyle and beliefs, which enforces their misguided conviction that they are doing good and necessary work. I used to believe in the same snake oil.
The article Bill sends to Rachel here is no longer available. After writing to Elephant Journal, they took down all of the Welcomed Consensus’s contributions. I believe in free speech, but like the platforms that shut them down, I also believe there must be accountability.
Had to add one more of this bad ass woman 😉
Thanks for hanging in there to the end! I think Rachel sums it up well enough. Your help in sharing this blog has made all the difference for those affected. I’ll be posting more soon, take care and as always, thanks for reading.
Christine
Great article to add to the resources: 20 Creepy Habits Untrustworthy People Have In Common
Thank you Rachel he did the same thing to me. I feel sick to my stomach. Thank you for your courage. He said he moved out of the house a couple of days ago, professed his love for me told me he confessed to the group that I was the one who changed his heart…sick, now. He mentioned that someone had written about him, Posted the exchanges on this site. I immediately Found this site and your post. I told him he should never contact me again.
Rachel, reading your conversation and the smack down at the end gave a delayed satisfaction that I didn’t know I needed. I am glad it was you for that conversation. He needed an ass-kicking. I have to say final sign off of Bottom Feeder couldn’t be more perfect.
Melissa, I am sorry that you have been a victim of Bill’s lies. He has been changed by women over and over. He can be slick. It is easy to believe his rhetoric but none of it is original and he wants than anything in the world to be RJ. That is his #1 goal. He cannot survive on his own and needs a host body to live in some form or another. I met Christine though him and it the greatest treasure I have from my time there. I was married to Bill for nine years and lived with the Welcomed Consensus too. Did he confess to the group? Did someone actually witness it? If you ever need to talk, I am willing and able to talk to whomever.
Sincerely,
Denise.
Thank you Denise. I am pleased that it gave you something positive. It is a very difficult thing to break away once we’ve been ensnared and I greatly appreciate what you have gone through, and still have to manage on a daily basis. Thank you for the validation. Sending my best to you. Rachel
I am sorry he did that to you. I really appreciate you letting me…well, us know that this helped you. I think that our best protection is knowing how these predators operate. So we can walk away (or run) before the violence and abuse becomes our new norm. It’s very confusing to see where we become somehow responsible and obligated to an abuser. So much that we don’t exit for our own good. There are some very damaged people in his wake and I am just glad to see you were able to move him along. Big strong fist bump to you. Xo! RW
I am so grateful for the gift of this website, I met Bill last week. Seemed a little too good to be true. I’ll never know what might have happened, thanks for sharing your experience.
Best, Jill
Thank you everyone who has contributed to this website.
I met Bill when I was 18, that was 6 years ago.
Reflecting back and realizing the ways he manipulated me is absolutely horrifying.
He last tried to contact me when he claimed to be moving out of the house.
I’m in a bit of shock but glad to know I’m not alone.
-B
I keep checking back here to see if more women have responded to this eye opening post. It seems Bill’s influence/harm has extended far and deep. You are doing important work here. Thank you for helping keep women safe and informed. I count myself as one of them.
Hello,
I met Bill very briefly a few years ago–a one-time date via a hookup app.
The encounter (not a hookup, just conversation) was heady and unconventionally candid-seeming. It left me feeling a little mentally overstimulated and somewhat disoriented.
After the initial rush, I started asking myself questions. Why would a conventionally attractive, intelligent, socially adept man with an abundance of connection in his life initiate an encounter with someone whose dating profile A) didn’t show their face, and B) listed very little information aside from location, sex, and age (D/mid 30s)?
Long story short, I did a little googling, and had no difficulty turning up a few items that cast Bill and his associates in a less than flattering light. That was enough to confirm my suspicions.
Upon reflection, there were several moments in the face to face conversation we had that were pretty transparent attempts to disorient, overwhelm, subtly “neg”, or manipulatively flatter me.
I concluded that I was dealing with a recruiter, someone who was passively trawling for vulnerable, dissatisfied young women to sucker in with promises of attention and sexual satisfaction.
Unfortunately for Bill, I’m a sexually fulfilled person who has had several good male partners. I think that if that weren’t the case, I would very likely have been drawn in to his BS.
I don’t think about Bill often at all, except to (very rarely) share the story about the time I had a close encounter with a recruiter from a sex cult. It’s been a few years, but I just looked his name up on a whim after relating that story to someone.
Reading this post is very validating. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for writing in! Hearing that the experience validated and-or helped someone makes the troublesome part SO WORTH THE TIME AND EFFORT! I hope that the lesson can extend to other boundary trespassers in our lives.