Brethren: 5th woman complains

The Press
May 2 2007

Fifth woman in sex-abuse claim

Police investigating historical child sex-abuse allegations against a Nelson member of the Exclusive Brethren have received a complaint from a fifth woman.
Detective Inspector John Winter, of the Nelson police, said they received a call from a former member of the church late last week.
Detectives were speaking to the woman. Police hoped to speak to the elderly Nelson man at the centre of the allegations once all the complaints had been thoroughly investigated, Winter said.
Of the five women who had complained about the Nelson man, three currently lived in Nelson, one in Auckland and one in Christchurch, Winter said.
It is understood the alleged offending took place in Nelson from the 1950s to the 1980s.
The police investigation into the allegations began in mid-March.
Australian-based Exclusive Brethren spokesman Tony McCorkell said he was prepared to come to New Zealand and help police with their inquiries.
McCorkell, who spoke to the man at the centre of the allegations when he was in New Zealand briefly last month , said the church would not pay for or assist with the man's legal needs.
"I understand he is seeking his own legal advice," said McCorkell.




The Nelson Mail
May 2 2007

Police to talk to Brethren man on sex claims

Nelson police investigating historic sexual abuse complaints from five former Exclusive Brethren women say they hope to speak to the elderly Nelson man at the centre of the allegations within a couple of weeks.
Tasman police district commander Superintendent Grant O'Fee said police initially received three complaints from women allegedly abused by an Exclusive Brethren member in Nelson between the early 1950s and the early 1980s.
He said two more women came forward with complaints late last week, and that all five were now being investigated.
He said the fourth complaint had been laid in Auckland, and related to alleged offending when the woman was around 10 years old and living in the Nelson area.
He said there was no suggestion of further complaints being made by other women. Mr O'Fee said investigations into historic complaints often took a considerable amount of time, as it was harder to contact everyone involved.
But he said police hoped to speak to the man the complaints had been made against in the next two weeks.
Police were still in the early stages of investigating the most recent complaint.
Australian-based Exclusive Brethren spokesman Tony McCorkell said he was prepared to come to New Zealand and help police with their inquiries.
* Of the five women who have complained about the man, three currently lived in Nelson, one in Auckland and one in Christchurch, he said. When Mr McCorkell was in New Zealand last month, he spoke to the man at the centre of the allegations, and said the church would not pay for, or assist with, the man's legal needs.
"I understand he is seeking his own legal advice,'' Mr McCorkell said.