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.
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.
And she claimed she witnessed brutal corporal punishment being meted out to people who broke rules.
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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