PRESCOTT, ARIZ. – Light peeks through leaves as Deborah Daulton-Thibodeau wanders the streets and sidewalks of her childhood. She’s flanked by trailer homes and trees that cast long, harsh shadows.

Deborah Daulton-Thibodeau walks underneath a tree that used to be a refuge for her from the brutal beatings she was subjected to as a child in "The Park," a little-known cult that was active in the ...