‘Generationally entrenched’: Ex-Gloriavale leader Howard Temple sentenced for indecent assaults over decades
Gloriavale’s former leader Howard Wendell Temple has been sentenced to two years and two months’ imprisonment for indecency offending against six girls and young women inside the secretive Christian community over two decades.
Temple, 85, is the second “Overseeing Shepherd” at Gloriavale, which some consider to be a cult, to face a jail term for sexual offending.
Hopeful Christian, who founded the community in 1969, was found guilty of three charges of indecently assault – the grim details of which were only made public a couple of years ago – and spent just under two years behind bars. Christian chose Temple as his successor before his death in 2018.
Temple initially pleaded not guilty at trial earlier this year to 24 charges of indecent assault against nine women spanning more than 20 years, but then pleaded guilty to 12 amended charges.
The victims were aged between nine and 21 and the offending spanned 2002 to 2022. Temple pleaded guilty to five charges of indecent assault, five charges of doing an indecent act and two charges of assault.
After his sentencing hearing on Friday afternoon, Temple was granted bail pending an appeal of his sentence.
A former Gloriavale member who was in court to support the victims, said the victims would be relieved with the sentence of imprisonment. “What has happened today is a milestone.”
Another said justice had had been served and commended the victims courage in talking about their pain.
“It definitely brought me to tears a number of times listening.”
Three victims were in the Greymouth District Court for Temple’s sentencing, which was before Judge Raoul Neave.
One was 9 years old when Temple indecently assaulted her while she served him drinks. She had no freedom to challenge what was happening when he came up behind her and kissed her neck, she said.
She said she was taught to submit, work long structured days and accept leaders’ decisions.
“Growing up in this environment I learned to silence my instinct, which made it harder to recognise harmful behaviour and made it difficult to speak up.”
She said the abusive behaviour had a debilitating effect on her daily life even after 10 years of living outside Gloriavale.
Another, a mother of six, said Howard took advantage of his position in Gloriavale society.
“You were supposed to be a man of God, but you used your power to assert your wants and needs. “I needed to trust you, to get to heaven. You abused that trust.
“The way I felt when I felt your hands on my body was anything but safe. I wanted to scream, but I would be in trouble if I did.”
She said she was now hyper vigilant, tense and constantly on the verge of panic.
“You stole my innocence. I lost my childhood.”
She described reliving the abuse during the trial when she was questioned by Temple’s defence lawyers, including being grilled on how she tied her belt and “being told I liked it, that I had giggled when he touched me”.
She was slowly rebuilding her life and was determined to heal and create a life where her well-being came first.
A fourth said every time Temple hugged or hit her backside she would “shudder and feel sick”.
She said Temple and other leaders’ constant judgement made her doubt herself and she tried to hide from his advances.
Crown prosecutor Kerry White said while on bail, Temple had been living at a property off the main Gloriavale site, but had been allowed back on the community grounds to work at commercial business and attend worship meetings.
Judge Neave said Temple had displayed a total lack of concern and utter lack of awareness of the girls’ autonomy.
“There was a severe power imbalance,” he said. “If he wanted to regard himself as a shepherd this is not how you look after your flock.”
Temple’s lawyer Michael Vesty said Temple accepted the victims were unable to speak out and acknowledged the impact of his offending on them.
He asked for home detention so Temple could continue to work and worship at Gloriavale where he had lived most of his adult life.
“He’s 85 years old he’s in declining physical health and he has a declining memory. He has impaired hearing and … declining cognitive function.
“He is at very low risk of offending and negligible risk to those inside or outside the community.”
Temple resigned as Overseeing Shepherd in August about a fortnight after pleading guilty to the offending. The new leader is Stephen Standfast.
Another victim said in a statement for sentencing her body shut down after leaving Gloriavale and recovery had been long.
She struggled to work with men, became depressed and quit her job because she felt unsafe in public. Fear was a constant obstacle in her life and she was unable to have any contact with family members still in the community.
Temple, an American mechanical engineer formerly called Howard Smitherman, joined the community in the 1970s and he was principal of one of three early childhood centres within the community.
Most of the charges Temple faced were representative, meaning he admitted indecently touching young girls and women’s bottoms and legs on multiple occasions while they worked in the dining hall and kitchen. He told them he loved them and called one of them his “favourite girlfriend”.
He admitted touching a young woman’s breast while she was cleaning the men’s bathroom and kissing another’s neck while she was by herself making iceblocks in the community kitchen.
The assault charges related to touching a young girl’s waist and rubbing another girl’s body.
Temple was warned by police when he became leader in 2018 they were investigating complaints from former members of unwanted touching by men in the community – including him.
Lawyer Dennis Gates, who has represented former members in court, said police, Oranga Tamariki, Worksafe, the Labour Inspectorate, senior bureaucrats and MPs have been well aware of significant concerns about Gloriavale.
“Despite this, this cult continues to operate and the risks remain. It’s quite extraordinary,” Gates said. “The failure of Gloriavale to properly provide for and care for its children, to properly educate them, prevent sexual abuse occurring and a failure to adequately supervise the children, is all well documented,” he said.
“This has been going on for so long now that the behaviour is generationally entrenched. It’s tragic. How many more children and women need to be abused and left unprotected before the Government and authorities shut it for good?”