Rise in "Bad Girl" Behavior Linked to Valley Clinic

A consortium of L.A. County high school teachers, in conjunction with PTA leaders, have released data today suggesting the rise in bad behavior among teenagers this fall can be traced to a single health clinic.

The Den Himmel Clinic, on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, has been a hotbed of controversy since its founding in 1998. Just after it opened its doors, demonstrators crowded Ventura Boulevard to protest the clinic's abortion policy. In 2004, Christian activists burned it to the ground.

As the clinic underwent a shaky reconstruction process that lasted nearly three years, televangelist Hank Wooster continued to drag the clinic and its proprietors through the mud, alleging the clinic sponsored, condoned, and housed crimes ranging from drug trafficking to a kidnapping/sex-slave ring.

Everything changed in September. Notorious Abysmal Crucifix frontman Girth McDürchstein created a children's charity. Calling it Girth McDürchstein's Sweet Treasures, the charity focused on helping wayward girls by offering them "practical advice and [the] formal education society has otherwise denied them."

McDürchstein made a deal to co-fund the clinic if they allowed him to hold a cross between therapy sessions and the syndicated radio hit Loveline in the back storeroom.

Initially, the Sweet Treasures program had little impact, but all that would change after Homecoming. The rapid influx of regretful, impregnated teenagers turned out to be a boon for Sweet Treasures, but nobody could have seen the vast and far-reaching consequences.

Second District Councilwoman Wendy Greuel says, "Some of the more popular girls visited the clinic and, upon receiving advice that was inherently bad but which matched these teen girls' worldview, decided to promote this service from the top down. Its popularity spread quickly."

The sudden behavioral change in formerly sweet girls led parents to question first themselves, then the school board. The Parent-Teacher Association, with help from the Los Angeles Unified School District, investigated these girls' outbursts, erraticism, and Class C felonies. Every inquiry ended with the grinning maw of Girth McDürchstein.

McDürchstein takes little blame. "I don't run the charity's day-to-day operations," he said in a written statement provided by his publicist. "My wife, Margo Atwater, and daughter, Renal Rojas, trade off. I only sat in for the first few days to get things off the ground."

Initially founded to soften McDürchstein's aggressive, sexually frustrated image, Sweet Treasures has provided him more controversy and negative attention in the Los Angeles area than even he could have anticipated.

"I'm always preaching positive morals," his statement reads, "and I will rape and murder anybody who says otherwise."

LAUSD Superintendent David L. Brewer III suggests McDürchstein's membership in the controversial Church of Rafelman has led to the problems with Sweet Treasures. McDürchstein denies the allegation, saying, "The only role the Church of Rafelman has on my life is as a moral compass guiding me through a sea of iniquities to brighter shores on the other side. Besides that, it plays no role in my life."

Founded in 1971 by iconic yippie and occasional live-in therapist Jonas Rafelman, the Church of Rafelman not only preaches the idea that modern pop and rock stars are reincarnated mythological creatures, but argues in favor of indiscretions forbidden in traditional sects. Rafelman used this tactic to lure high-profile music icons and their fans to the Church.

Addressing the recent criticisms, Church of Rafelman spokesperson Gambol Gutenberg denied McDürchstein had ever participated in Church services and stated emphatically that the Church of Rafelman "will not condone any naughty behavior in children under 14." When the Los Angeles Times explained many of the affected girls fall between the ages of 15 and 17, he muttered "No comment" and returned to the restroom stall where he takes confession.

On Tuesday, Brewer stated that he has begun working with City Council to shut down Girth McDürchstein's Sweet Treasures as soon as possible.

With so much damage already done, will it be soon enough?

regina.watkins@latimes.com

cheryl.jeffries@latimes.com