Operation Moonshine: Police probed Gloriavale force-feeding of children

| NZ Herald | Michael Morrah |

Police intervened and educated a family at Gloriavale about the dangers of force-feeding their children after serious concerns were raised about the practice, the Herald can reveal.

The allegations formed part of a mass allegation investigation into harmful parenting practices at the West Coast commune in late 2024 which was codenamed Operation Moonshine.

Moonshine’s central focus was claims parents thought it was acceptable to block the airways of crying infants and children to silence them during important community meetings.

However, police say force-feeding allegations in relation to one family were serious enough to warrant intervention.

In that case, officers decided educating the parents was a better option than laying charges or issuing formal warnings.

“Police became aware of the potential force-feeding of children during Operation Moonshine; however, no warnings were issued around this particular issue,”Tasman District Field Crime Manager Detective Inspector Geoff Baber told the Herald.

“As with other matters covered by Operation Moonshine, an educational approach was taken, and general advice provided to the community.”

Documents obtained by the Herald under the Official Information Act (OIA) show police had concerns that force-feeding could have been a widespread, accepted parenting practice at the commune.

As such, a “resolution pathways” document was prepared to guide police staff on the process of establishing criminality.

The advice said a formal warning would be appropriate if force-feeding by parents was “regular and harsh in nature”, while prosecution could be justified if there was repeated “force-feeding then feeding vomit … with signs of significant impact on child”.

“The allegations were of concern, and needed to be looked at,” Baber told the Herald.

The Herald asked Gloriavale if its leaders ever encouraged force-feeding of infants, and if so, why.

A spokesman for the community responded saying, “The community takes the welfare of the children very seriously and is working with police and agencies to address allegations”.

‘Teaching them to be frightened’

Key to Operation Moonshine, which involved police and Oranga Tamariki (OT) investigators, were allegations that Gloriavale parents thought it was acceptable to block the airways of crying infants and children.

Such disciplinary measures were used to stop them interrupting community meetings, according to police documents.

As revealed by the Herald last year, inquiries into such parenting practices did result in police issuing two formal warnings.

The Herald has now obtained detailed information about a meeting the police held with parents about the practice at Gloriavale on September 17, 2024.

Meeting notes, obtained under the OIA, show West Coast Area Commander Inspector Jacqui Corner and Detective Sergeant Jono Leach spoke to parents.

They delivered several key messages on the dangers of blocking a child’s airways, some of which were highlighted in bold.

One of the bolded bullet points read: “By subduing your child in this way, you not only risk cutting off their air supply, which can have a harmful effect, it is also teaching them to be frightened of you,” they said.

The officers said that while parents may feel judged by others if their child is noisy during meetings, “it is normal” for infants or young children to get upset.

Police then advised parents that when a child’s airway is blocked, their physical reactionis a sign of distress, not good behaviour.

“What might look like compliance and obedience is actually the nervous system being overwhelmed and ultimately shutting down at the hands of your actions – a person who is supposed to be keeping them safe,” the notes said.

‘This is against NZ law’

Police told parents they knew the hand-over-mouth tactic was “widely used” and occurred during Gloriavale’s four-hour “first day” church services – the community’s main religious gathering which is held every Sunday.

“To expect small children to sit through a very long meeting without causing disruption is NOT actually developmentally possible,” parents were told.

Police said blocking a child’s airways also makes them more vulnerable to other abuse because they learn to back down when threatened.

“It is actually teaching them to feel frightened, stressed and ultimately dissociate and zone out as that is the only way to manage themselves – so they don’t get themselves or you as parents in trouble,” the notes continued.

Police then gave parents a blunt message about the repercussions if such behaviour continued.

“If you continue to use practices that physically and psychologically subdue your children by cutting off their air supply – this is against NZ law and more importantly is causing harm to your children…”.

“You are ultimately responsible for your children’s care and accountable for your actions.”

A Gloriavale spokesman has previously told the Herald its members “uphold national expectations” for child safety, and education programmes have been “progressively embedded” into community life since 2016.

Gloriavale founder and convicted sex offender Neville Cooper instructed parents to break the self-will of babies “long before they are 2 years old”, in a letter he wrote to the community while in jail.

The Gloriavale spokesman said the principles outlined by Cooper, who died in 2018, are no longer practised and current leaders don’t support what he said.

The formal interviews

After the public meeting between police and parents, OT staff interviewed parents about the child disciplinary measures – although emails obtained by the Herald under the OIA show Gloriavale’s leaders had concerns about the approach by investigators.

One Gloriavale representative, whose name is redacted in emails, contacted police and OT a month after detectives held the meeting with parents.

The representative said people in the community were worried they were being forced to agree to formal interviews.

“If they are not happy and enthusiastic about the interview but go ahead with it because they should, that by definition is not consent,” the Gloriavale representative told police.

“If they decline the interview, what will be the repercussions? Is that freedom of choice or coercion?”, they said.

An OT worker wrote back saying no one was being forced to agree to be interviewed.

“In respect of the concerns around consent, there is not, nor do I believe there has been, any form of coercion to obtain consent, either in this mass allegation investigation or previous ones undertaken,” they said.

They said during previous investigations, some parents had refused to take part.

The Gloriavale representative also questioned why police were involving those who had left Gloriavale in the investigation.

“This is signalling a perceived lack of integrity in the assurances being offered around potential disclosures,” they said.

The OT staff member responded and said not contacting leavers would be “extremely remiss, bordering negligent”, given that leavers may have been subjected to dangerous child discipline tactics while growing up there.

The Gloriavale representative was also worried that if members admitted behaviour which contravened the law, they would be charged.

West Coast Detective Senior Sergeant Kirsten Norton emailed to say police would be focused on educating parents, like they had during other investigations.

“History of how police have approached the physical inquiries show to date we have been as pragmatic and education-focused as possible. Again, this is our intention, however, there may be some matters which require further consult with Oranga Tamariki and investigation,” she said.

Minister visits Gloriavale

Police issued two formal warnings to parents after their interviews, and staff from various government agencies have ramped up oversight, visiting “multiple times a week”, according to Social Development Minister Louise Upston.

Upston is leading the Government response to the Royal Commission’s Abuse in Care recommendation on Gloriavale, which said the Government should do all it can to ensure the safety of adults and children living there.

She visited Gloriavale in January and spoke to the new overseeing shepherd, Stephen Standfast.

During a tour of the commune, she said she didn’t witness anything that caused her concerns in relation to child safety, and welcomed the chance to hear about changes leaders were implementing.

However, lawyer Dennis Gates, who’s helped take court action against Gloriavale, questioned whether Upston witnessed the full reality of life in the commune.

He pointed out that the Education Ministry cancelled Gloriavale Christian School’s registration in December because of safety concerns – a move Gloriavale’s leaders are challenging.

“It seems she’s okay with children wearing the equivalent of a school uniform 24/7. That alone is indicative of abuse in that the kids can’t even express individuality via their dress.”

It is mandatory for children and adults at Gloriavale to wear the same distinctive blue clothing which is made at the compound.

Gloriavale’s website says clothing was standardised in 1988 to “prevent the expression of vanity as much as possible” and save money.