Latest news with #Gloriavale
1News
6 hours ago
- 1News
Five Big Things That Happened Today: Wednesday, July 31
FBI opens Wellington office; Major warrant of fitness change soon; What's going on with the mobile emergency alerts. 1 FBI opens standalone office in Wellington The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has set up a base in New Zealand to "strengthen and enhance" its cooperation with a "key Five Eyes partner in the southwestern Pacific region". The director of the US domestic intelligence and security service, Kash Patel, travelled to Wellington yesterday. He met with key officials — including Defence Minister Judith Collins, Police Minster Mark Mitchell and Foreign Minister Winston Peters — this morning. Read More ADVERTISEMENT 2 What's going on with the emergency mobile phone alerts? Many New Zealanders were woken up by an emergency mobile alert sent out today at 6.30am but, for some, the alerts have either come repeatedly or not at all. Officials say the risk of strong currents and unpredictable surges is still very high following Wednesday's big earthquake in Russia. Read More 3 Major warrant of fitness, CoF change for some vehicles from September From the start of September, vintage light vehicles and private heavy motorhomes will only need to get a new Warrant of Fitness (WoF) or Certificate of Fitness (CoF) once a year, instead of every six months. The updated rules were proposed by the Government in February. ADVERTISEMENT Read More 4 Young person assaulted and robbed in Christchurch The owner of a vehicle is being sought by police after a young person was assaulted and robbed in Christchurch earlier this month. The incident took place near the corner of Kendal Ave and Whitby St around 3pm on Friday, July 18. Read More 5 Concern Howard Temple will remain Gloriavale leader, despite guilty pleas There's concern that Howard Temple will stay on as Gloriavale's leader, despite admitting to abuse against girls and young women. ADVERTISEMENT On Wednesday, the 85-year-old grandfather pleaded guilty to five counts of indecent assault, five of doing an indecent act, and two of common assault. Read More Watch: Alleged drunk driver swerves across Waikato road, narrowly avoids head-on smashes Police were alerted to the driver by a member of the public and swooped in to pull them over. Watch Here ONE FIBRE WARNING Upping your daily fibre intake can boost your health, but the online push to consume eye-watering amounts in the name of "wellness" is misguided and could lead to bloating, cramping, constipation and gas. UK lecturer Lewis Mattin explores the topic. Read More
RNZ News
17 hours ago
- RNZ News
Ex-Gloriavale member believes guilty plea to indecency charges by leader Howard Temple, won't change community
Gloriavale's overseeing shepherd Howard Temple pleaded guilty to 12 charges on Wednesday. Photo: The Press/Kai Schwoerer The late guilty plea of Gloriavale's overseeing shepherd to indecent assault charges shows the strength of the testimony of witnesses, a former member says. Howard Temple admitted 12 charges in court, including five of indecent assault , three days into his trial in Greymouth on Wednesday, having earlier denied 24 counts of sexual offending against girls and women. Charges the 85-year-old pleaded guilty to also included five of doing an indecent act and two of common assault. The other charges were dismissed. Temple was remanded on bail until August 11 when a date would be set for sentencing. Former Gloriavale member John Ready told Morning Report he was surprised by the verdict change. "I thought [Temple] would just fight it till the wheels fell off, I just thought wow he changed, pleaded guilty, the strength of the testimony would've been strong," he said. Ready did not believe the outcome of the trial would change much in Gloriavale. "I think the community will just carry on, they already have a leadership replacement in place," he said. "Their world view its just not in line with reality and that's why we have to go to court to do any sort of negotiation with them because a sit down face to face talk is just impossible with speaking different languages it seems like." Outside court on Wednesday the mother of one of the complainants, who cannot be named, said she cried in the public gallery when Temple initially denied the charges . "I was thinking you are the shepherd, you are responsible for these people. You didn't show the care of a shepherd," she said. The Gloriavale compound on the West Coast. Photo: RNZ / Jean Edwards "It's a milestone that our voice has been heard. A leader of Gloriavale has acknowledged that he has done wrong to our children. We do not want future generations of children suffering this and going through the same scenario." The original offending dated from 1998 to 2022, involving nine complainants ranging in age from nine to 20-years-old. Five of the nine complainants gave evidence over the first two days of the trial, describing a culture of fierce patriarchy, where women and girls were at risk of being deemed rebellious or worldly for anything from tying the belt on their uniform incorrectly, to allowing too much hair to be visible under their headscarves. The women described Temple taking advantage of the domestic duties they performed to touch, caress and grope them, such as during meal times, when they would be serving large, heavy jugs of non-alcoholic cider or hot drinks to tables of 50 or more. One woman said she was left without "any hands free to protect myself". Temple was also alleged to have frequented the kitchen to "hug" the young women from behind while they were cooking or washing dishes, kissing them on their necks, touching their breasts or making lewd remarks. The women said there was no way to refuse Temple, nor to report his actions to anyone, in the context of the complete control Gloriavale's leaders wielded over members. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Associated Press
a day ago
- Associated Press
The leader of a secretive New Zealand commune admits abusing young church members
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The leader of an isolated and conservative Christian commune in New Zealand pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a dozen indecency and assault charges against women and girls who were members of the religious group. The admission of guilt from Howard Temple came three days into a trial at which he was accused of abusing members of the Gloriavale commune aged between 9 and 20 over a period of two decades. Complainants who appeared in the opening days of Temple's trial at the Greymouth District Court said he had touched or groped them while they were performing domestic duties, including in front of other Gloriavale members during mealtimes, Radio New Zealand reported. They told the court they were too scared to challenge the leader and feared being told the abuse was their fault. Temple, who is 85 and known as the Overseeing Shepherd of Gloriavale, earlier denied the two dozen charges, and was scheduled to face a three-week trial. But on Wednesday, his lawyer said the leader would admit to an amended list of 12 crimes. They included five counts of indecent assault, five of committing an indecent act and two of common assault, Radio New Zealand reported. Some were representative, which means the charges reflect multiple similar acts. Temple's lawyer didn't respond to a request for comment Wednesday. Howard Temple was charged with decades of abuse as leader of a remote, conservative sect The charges against the leader spanned 1998 to 2022 and involved nine complainants. Gloriavale, a community of about 600 people who live at a settlement on the South Island's remote West Coast, was founded in the 1970s and is mostly estranged from the outside world. Members share all property and money, don't speak to relatives who leave the group, and work and study within the commune. The sect is known in New Zealand for its conservative beliefs and doctrines. Women and girls wear navy-colored ankle-length dresses with white headdresses, adherents are required to have large families and only men can serve in leadership roles while their wives and children are subservient. Temple, who was born in the United States and served in the U.S. Navy before migrating to New Zealand, has been the leader at Gloriavale since his predecessor, Hopeful Christian, died in 2018. Christian was sentenced to four years in prison in 1995 on charges of indecent assault against a 19-year-old woman and successfully appealed against convictions on other sexual offending. Members said the group's rules enabled abuse The sect attracted attention during a broader official inquiry into decades of abuse at New Zealand's state and religious institutions. Its final report, published in 2024, found that Gloriavale had for decades prohibited members from reporting crimes to outside authorities. Several former members of the commune described in evidence how the rules gave rise to what they said was a culture of sexual and physical abuse. Less than a year before he first appeared in court, Temple gave evidence to the inquiry. In his testimony, he said his leadership and a 2020 police investigation into abuse at the commune had prompted 'a totally different attitude and way of thinking' in how leaders responded to sexual abuse complaints. Reporting processes had been inadequate before, he told the inquiry. But now all complainants were believed, Temple said, adding that he had reported alleged abusers to law enforcement himself. 'I will push and I will teach and I will expect it of these people in Gloriavale,' he said during the 2022 hearing. 'There will be no more abuse in Gloriavale.' He made a public apology in January for abuse by others in the commune, which was rejected by former members of the faith as insincere. Sentencing likely to come later this year Temple will next appear in court in August, when a sentencing date for his crimes will be set. Indecent assault carries a penalty of up to seven years in prison in New Zealand. The country's police welcomed his guilty pleas Wednesday. 'While it would not be appropriate for me to comment further ahead of sentencing, I'd like to acknowledge the victims,' Inspector Jaqueline Corner told the AP. 'This is a direct result of their willingness and courage to speak up.'
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Gloriavale leader Howard Temple pleads guilty to indecent assault charges
Gloriavale leader Howard Temple has pleaded guilty to a dozen charges including five of indecent assault on day three of his trial in Greymouth. The West Coast Christian community's Overseeing Shepherd had earlier denied 24 charges of sexual offending against girls and women over a period of more than 20 years. On Wednesday Temple pleaded guilty to an amended set of charges, some of which were representative, including five of indecent assault, five of doing an indecent act and two of common assault, bringing the three-week trial before judge Raoul Neave to an end. The original offending dated from 1998 to 2022, involving nine complainants ranging in age from nine to 20 years old. The 85-year-old was remanded on bail until 11 August when a date will be set for sentencing. Judge Neave urged participation in a restorative justice process. Outside court the mother of one of the complainants, who cannot be named, said she cried in the public gallery when Temple initially denied the charges. "I was thinking you are the shepherd, you are responsible for these people. You didn't show the care of a shepherd," she said. "It's a milestone that our voice has been heard. A leader of Gloriavale has acknowledged that he has done wrong to our children. We do not want future generations of children suffering this and going through the same scenario." Five of the nine complainants gave evidence over the first two days of the trial, describing a culture of fierce patriarchy, where women and girls were at risk of being deemed rebellious or worldly for anything from tying the belt on their uniform incorrectly, to allowing too much hair to be visible under their headscarves. The women said there was no way to refuse Temple, nor to report his actions to anyone, in the context of the complete control Gloriavale's leaders wielded over members. The women told the court they were too scared to say anything because they knew women were always blamed in similar circumstances, and risked being branded as flirts or whores, being hauled into a "servants and shepherds" meeting and berated for not following the bible, ostracised by the community, or prevented from marrying. "He had the power to change the trajectory of your life," one woman said. The women described Temple taking advantage of the domestic duties they performed to touch, caress and grope them, such as during meal times, when they would be serving large, heavy jugs of non-alcoholic cider or hot drinks to tables of 50 or more. One woman said she was left without "any hands free to protect myself". The women said it was common practice to attempt to arrive early so they could be allocated to any table except Temple's. The only space to pour would be at his side at the head of the table, which allowed him to grab the young women around the waist, caressing them from their calves to their lower backs or grabbing them around their waists. "He would run his hand up and down my legs, and touch my bum, or put his arm around me. He would ask me if anyone had told me they loved me today," one woman told the court. She would usually "just shrug" because she was scared, "but if he persisted, I would often lie and said yes, someone has told me they loved me, because I didn't want him to say he loved me". Another woman said this would happen while Temple was flanked by his wife and daughter and in front of the entire community of more than 500 people, "but no one ever spoke up or said anything, so I didn't know that I would be allowed to. I didn't know it was wrong, I just know it didn't feel right to me". Temple was also alleged to have frequented the kitchen to "hug" the young women from behind while they were cooking or washing dishes, kissing them on their necks, touching their breasts or making lewd remarks. Asked why she feared Temple, one woman said it was because the leaders hold all the authority in Gloriavale and "had the power to ruin your life". "Right from a baby you're taught not to speak against the leaders. As a woman you're supposed to be meek and quiet with downcast eyes," she said. "When you do speak up about abuse that has happened, it was inevitably your fault because you seduced them somehow. "I knew nothing good would come of saying anything. I didn't have anyone to protect me because my parents hold the leaders in ultimate authority and they would listen to the leaders over their own daughter." In January, Howard Temple made a public apology to victims of historic sexual abuse at the community, at the request of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into historic Abuse in Care, however former members rejected it as insincere. About 600 people are believed to live at Gloriavale's compound at Lake Haupuri, about 60 kilometres from Greymouth. The group, which began in 1969 as the Springbank Christian Community near Rangiora, was founded by Australian evangelist Neville Cooper, who would later be known as Hopeful Christian. Christian was sentenced to five years in prison in December 1995 on three charges of indecent assault for inserting a wooden dildo inside a 19-year-old woman over three successive days. He was initially sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted of 10 counts of indecent assault against five young complainants in the 1980s but won an appeal against his conviction and sentence. The Crown proceeded with three indecent assault charges, on which Christian was convicted in a second jury trial. He lost another appeal against his five-year sentence in 1996. Christian spent 11 months in jail before being released on parole. SEXUAL HARM Where to get help:If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7:• Call 0800 044 334• Text 4334 • Email support@ • For more info or to web chat visit Alternatively contact your local police station - click here for a list. If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it's not your fault.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Gloriavale leader pleads guilty to indecent assault
The 85-year-old leader of the remote West Coast Christian sect Gloriavale has pleaded guilty to a dozen charges of sexual assault, indecent acts and common assault. Reporter Keiller MacDuff spoke to Charlotte Cook.
