c. 1997 Religion News Service

UNDATED _ Whoever coined the phrase”God works in mysterious ways”must have seen Tonya Flynt-Vega’s story on the horizon.

Flynt-Vega _ the Flynt comes from her father, controversial porn publisher Larry Flynt _ keeps busy these days denouncing the very industry that made her father a fortune and the subject of a newly released major motion picture.

Propelled by her deep religious faith, Flynt-Vega has addressed gatherings of influential evangelical leaders, has appeared on Christian radio and TV talk shows, and has teamed up with feminist groups to decry pornography.”I don’t have the words to tell you how much damage is being done to our society because of pornography,”Flynt-Vega said in a recent telephone interview.”I believe God has called me and prepared me to do something about this.” In addition to her campaign against smut, Flynt-Vega said she hopes to establish a”victims advocacy program that protects and helps people suffering because of pornography _ from the men who use it to the women and children who are abused as a result of it.” Flynt-Vega claims to have had first-hand experience with the pain pornography can cause: As a child she was emotionally, physically and sexually abused by her infamous father, she said.”My father began sexually abusing me before I was 10 years old,”said Flynt-Vega, now 31.”He told me he was doing it because he was sorry for beating me the same day.” Larry Flynt showed young Tonya his Hustler magazine to”break down my inhibitions,”she said. He told her”he wasn’t allowed to publish lies in his magazine so whatever was in there was o.k.” Flynt has denied the allegations of sex abuse.

Despite years of alleged mistreatment and her current crusade to unmask the industry she blames for destroying her relationship with her father, Tonya says she still cares deeply for Larry Flynt.”I love him. It hurts to have to do this,”she said.”But I’m not speaking out against my father, I’m speaking out against pornography.” After years of silence, speaking out has become Tonya’s prime mission, which began last year after she read the screenplay for”The People vs. Larry Flynt”_ the Hollywood depiction of Flynt’s free-speech battle that he took all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Tonya said the film’s”inconsistencies and lies”have motivated her to work relentlessly to show America the real Larry Flynt.”I read that screenplay and I got really upset,”she said.”I cannot believe that we are coming to this as a country,”she said referring to what she calls the film’s”hero-izing”of her father.

In addition to her appearances in the evangelical media, Flynt-Vega has made unlikely alliances with prominent feminists such as Gloria Steinem to decry both the film and pornography.

She’s also nearing completion of her first book deal and several TV networks have expressed interest in producing a made-for-TV movie telling her side of the Flynt saga, she said.

It’s her faith that’s brought her this far.”If I let this go by without doing anything about it or saying anything about it then I’m not in God’s will,”said Flynt-Vega, who is married, has one daughter and attends a nondenominational charismatic church in Jacksonville, Fla.

When Tonya was still a baby, Larry Flynt divorced her mother, his second wife. Penniless, Tonya’s family moved into subsidized housing in Jacksonville.”He was a multimillionaire but never sent more than $500 a month,”she said.”My mother had to work two jobs to support us.” Tonya said the abuse occurred during childhood visits to Flynt’s mansion.”I really worshiped my father, he was my knight in shining armor who was going to save me from my poverty,”she said.”I so desperately needed his love, but all I got was rejection.” In a statement, Larry Flynt denied he has ever abused his daughter, saying Tonya’s claims are”absolutely not true.”But he does acknowledge that in her 31 years he has”spent about 30 days with her.” Spurned by her father, Tonya found faith through a local Baptist church’s outreach to the poor.”When I was very young, in elementary school, the church buses came and picked up the kids in the projects … to take them to Sunday School,”Flynt-Vega said.

At about the same time, a Baptist couple began sharing their faith with Tonya’s mother. Mother and daughter began attending church together and Tonya became a Christian at age 11.

At first, her new-found faith did little to relieve her private pain.”I spent most of my youth crying,”Tonya said.”I was really sad, I had no self-esteem.” But one night, at the age of 15, Tonya said God spoke to her in a dream, a revelation that brought healing to her emotions and a purpose to her shattered life.”God said there was work for me to do,”she said.”And he gave me a vision about speaking to multitudes … about the harmful effects of pornography and God’s healing intervention.” But it wasn’t until the making of”The People vs. Larry Flynt”that Tonya put her vision into action and began her campaign against pornography and the abuse that can result from it.”I want people to know that they have a voice and they need to speak out if they are being abused,”she said.”If I can do it with all the wealth and power my father has, they can do it, too.”

KAL END PAQUETTE