A teenager who grew up in a religious community on Cape Cod is now suing the community, claiming he and other children were forced to work long hours in brutal conditions to construct a performing arts center.

Lawyers for 18-year-old Oliver Ortolani, a former member of the Community of Jesus, filed the lawsuit in federal court in Boston in July. The suit names the community, Arts Empowering Life, a non-profit group, and the Performing Arts Building Foundation as defendants. It claims the entities trafficked him and other boys into forced labor and engaged in racketeering and unjust enrichment.

Arts Empowering Life was created by the community in the 1980s to promote its artistic endeavors. It formed the foundation in 2020 with the express purpose of constructing a new performing arts cen

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