ETERNAL DAMNATION
Inside the sinister Gloriavale ‘slavery and abuse’ cult as its convicted sex offender leader ‘Hopeful Christian’ dies
Ex-members accused the group of forced marriage, sexual and physical abuse and forced family separations
THE leader of a secretive cult which has been accused of forcing women into slavery has reportedly died.
Hopeful Christian, who was in his 90s, is said to have passed away yesterday after a battle with prostate cancer.
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The evangelical preacher was the founder of Gloriavale Christian Community, a reclusive cult based on New Zealand’s South Island.
Christian changed his name from Neville Cooper after setting up the fundamentalist community in the late 1960s.
He was known as the “overseeing shepherd” of the group, which former members have claimed pressured women into servitude using the threat of hell, the reports.
The isolated community has faced several police probes over the years, and Charities Services also began investigating the group in 2015 amid allegations of forced marriage, sexual and physical abuse and forced family separations.
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Ex-Gloriavale cult member describes life inside the secretive sect
Christian himself was jailed for 11 months in 1995 after being found guilty of three charges of indecent assault in the 1980s.
But an ex-member reportedly said most of the families living there were unaware of their leader's sex abuse conviction and believe he was jailed for preaching the gospel.
Former member Yvette Olsen broke her silence in 2015 to say Christian sexually assaulted her three times when she was 19.
She called him a man of "unbridled lust", "lies", "absolute power" and a "dirty old man".
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Another former member Lilia Tarawa, 26 – who is the granddaughter of the leader – claimed Christian "would have happily married off children of 10 or 12 years".
She said kids were married to older men and everyone was made to share everything – from meals to prayers and even breastfeeding, the reports.
And she claimed she witnessed brutal corporal punishment being meted out to people who broke rules.
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The community, near Greymouth, has more than 500 members, including 55 families.
The old-fashioned clothes worn by its members echo those of the Amish in the US, who shun all things modern.
And the cult was even cited as an inspiration for the costumes in a TV adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale by designer Ane Crabtree.
Spokespeople for the community have previously denied the accusations of abuse.
Sun Online has contacted Gloriavale Christian Community for comment.
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