Gloriavale leader Howard Temple goes on trial accused of sexual offending
The leader of Gloriavale will spend three weeks in the Greymouth District Court defending allegations of sexual offending.
Overseeing Shepherd, Howard Temple, was facing 24 charges, including committing an indecent act on a young person and indecent assault.
There are 10 female complainants, who were aged between nine and 20 years-old at the time of the alleged offending, between 1998 and 2022.
Temple has pleaded not guilty and had been remanded on bail after first appearing in court in 2023. Temple has elected a judge-alone trial, rather than appear before a jury.
1News understands that members of the West Coast commune will give evidence in Temple’s defence, as the alleged victims detail their claims.