What the jury heard during two trials against Gloriavale leader Salem Temple

By Joanne Naish | The Press |

After two jury trials, Salem Temple – the son of Gloriavale’s overseeing shepherd – had his charges of sexual offending against a young girl dropped. Eight years after that girl, now a woman, went to police, the story of what she claims Temple did to her can finally be told. JOANNE NAISH reports.

When Julia Benjamin said in court that being brought up in Gloriavale meant she was conditioned from birth to submit to men, she was asked the following questions by the lawyer for the man she accused of abusing her: Why she didn’t call out for help? Did she enjoy what happened to her? If she was resisting like she claimed, wouldn’t it be difficult for someone to remove the full-length blue dress synonymous with Gloriavale women and which she was wearing at the time?

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