Brethren Church Allegations

Stuff
April 20 2007

Brethren member investigated over abuse claims
NZPA

A senior member of the Exclusive Brethren Church in New Zealand is under police investigation for allegedly molesting children over four decades, TV One News reported last night.
The network said that after a six-month investigation it could reveal four women had laid complaints, claiming they were abused by the man when they were aged between five and 10.
The report said the church's Australia-based spokesman, Tony McCorkell, was in New Zealand to investigate the claims himself – although he was not willing to admit that.
Mr McCorkell arrived on Tuesday, announcing his presence and answering media questions about the latest row over political involvement by Brethren members.
Asked by reporter Ben Tornquist what the church was doing about the sexual abuse allegations, he replied: "I'm not aware of that. If you have evidence of that I'd be glad to see it."
Mr McCorkell said the church would never try to cover up such allegations.
But TV One News said two of the women, former members of the sect, had told church leaders about the abuse at the time it happened and were ignored.
One woman, who was not identified, said in an interview with Tornquist she believed there had been "multiple offenders".
"If I went and asked them now they would try and deny it because in there it's a huge guilt and fear thing," she said.
"A lot of people who perhaps have been involved in that sort of thing would not go outside the church for help."
Tornquist reported that the complainants believed children could have been molested as recently as last year.
He said the women had not known of each other's cases until recently, and came forward following previous TV One reports of sexual abuse

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Three News
April 20 2007; 06:20

Exclusive Brethren deny child abuse claims

The Exclusive Brethren says New Zealand police have been unable to confirm allegations of child abuse made by One News last night.
The news report says four women had laid complaints, claiming they were abused by the man when they were aged between five and 10.
It also alleges the current world leader of the sect Bruce Hales knows of the abuse and has failed to act.
Exclusive Brethren spokesman Tony McCorkell says he has been unable to find any evidence to back up the allegations.


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One News
April 19 2007

Brethren molestation claims

A senior member of the Exclusive Brethren church is under police investigation after allegedly molesting children over four decades.
After a six-month ONE News investigation, it has been revealed that four women, all former members of the church, laid complaints against the man, claiming they were abused when they were aged between five and 10.
The alleged abuse stretches back decades. The eldest complainant is now 61 years old, and the youngest in her mid 20s.
The church's Australia-based spokesman Tony McCorkell has been in New Zealand this week, reportedly investigating the claims himself, although he has not admitted that this is the purpose of his visit.
"If there is a claim then the church has a moral and a legal, maybe,...obligation to look at it depending on the circumstances, but certainly the church wouldn't seek to cover that situation up," says McCorkell
McCorkell says the Exclusive Brethren takes sexual abuse claims seriously. However, it is understood that two of the women who spoke-out when they were abused were ignored by New Zealand church leaders.
ONE News has been told the current world leader of the sect Bruce Hales also knows, but has failed to act - although McCorkell does not believe Hales is, in fact, aware.
"I think that Exclusive Brethren would deal with it like any other responsible citizen would. I mean the church would abhor any situation where child abuse was covered up," says McCorkell.
McCorkell also says he is not aware that the claims were covered up by leaders in the church.
"I don't have any information to that effect. But if that information comes to light then the church would obviously deal with that," he says.
The four women now live in different parts of the country and were unaware of each other's cases until recently. They came forward following previous revelations on ONE News that the church covered-up sexual abuse over several decades.
"I would say there's multiple offenders. If I went and asked them now they would try and deny it because in there it's a huge fear and guilt thing," says former Exclusive Brethren member known as Philippa.
"Perhaps a lot of people in there who have got this problem and been involved in this sort of thing would not go outside of the church for help".
The Exclusive Brethren says it will not act on rumours and says it wants names so it can deal with the matter.
Police are yet to speak with the accused but suspect many more victims may come forward.




One News
October 10 2006

Brethren victims urged to complain

Prime Minister Helen Clark says she is concerned about claims of sexual abuse within the Exclusive Brethren Church and is urging victims to go to the police.
A former church member has revealed to One News how the abuse was covered up for several decades.
The Exclusive Brethren Church sets its own rules and deals with those who break them in its own way.
But claims some teenagers and children were sexually abused by other church members has caused alarm at the highest levels .
"It's important that sexual predators are brought to justice," Clark says. "I'm always concerned by claims of sexual abuse and cover-ups of it."
Philippa, a former member of the church, says that abuse was occurring up until nine years ago.
And she is not the only one.
One News has spoken to a former member who says he was abused as a child. He doesn't want to dredge up his past, but does want to confirm that what Philippa told One News, about abuse within the Exclusive Brethren, is true.
Police say they will only investigate claims if a complaint is laid.
Police Minister Annette King says she understands there could be some sensitivities, but nobody in any organisation is above the law.
"And if people have issues they ought to go to the police, I'm urging them to go to the police."
It is not just abuse they may be interested in.
Like the former head of the church in Australia, Philippa says she once carried large sums of money overseas.
"I was handed five or six envelopes just a couple of nights before I left and told these were gifts for various men. I do recall feeling slightly uncomfortable. I didn't carry them in my handbag, I stuffed them in between my clothes," she says.
She doesn't deny what she did was illegal.
Right now though, it is sexual abuse allegations police want to know about





One News
October 9 2006

Brethren accused of child sex abuse

A woman who fled the Exclusive Brethren church says she is aware of multiple cases of child sex abuse, which were covered up by the religious sect.
Phillipa, who prefers not to give her family name, says the acts took place over several decades and the victims were mainly teenage boys.
She is now prepared to co-operate with any police investigation.
Philippa was encouraged to live her life by The Bible for 40 years, but the former Exclusive Brethren member says when it came to morality, the sect was anything but an open book.
She says sexual abuse by teenagers with other teenage males and children was dealt with by the church underground.
"If it was covered up back then, it's probably still covered up today," she says.
"In the particular place where I lived there was a huge amount of sodomy amongst the teenage boys etcetera. And that's one of the reasons why I've shifted my family away from that area where we used to live."
Philippa left the Exclusive Brethren with her seven children six years ago. She says the abuse was occurring up until nine years ago.
She wants to speak out, because it is something the victims of abuse struggle to do.
"You definitely wouldn't want to tell anybody, 'cause then everybody would know about you and you would be looked upon as the bad person because you spoke out."
She says she is not talking about isolated incidents.
"I would say there's multiple offenders. If I asked them now they would try and deny it because in there is a huge fear and guilt thing and perhaps a lot of people in there who have got this problem and involved in this sort of thing, would not go outside of the church for help. A lot of these people need help."
She says she knows names of offenders but hadn't really thought about going to the police.
"It's hard for me to. I know this doesn't sound good but those things, they were just sort of part of life and things that happened."
Philippa says the victims would now be in their twenties, thirties and forties and all remain in the church.
Her claims have an echo across the Tasman.
Joy Nason a former Exclusive Brethren member told the ABC she has heard people confess to molesting children.
She said those acts were "definitely not" reported to the police.
"No they were forgiven. If the person was sorry, if the person showed enough contrition, the Brethren forgave them."
No New Zealand Exclusive Brethren members contacted by One News were prepared to comment on Philippa's claims.
But she has given One News the names of seven men she says were involved in acts of sexual abuse and is now prepared to co-operate with any police investigation.