: | Lad Bible | Michael Slavin | The community has been exposed in a new documentary called Escaping Utopia Warning: The following article contains discussion of child sex abuse that some readers may find disturbing A cult community which horrifically forced young girls to watch their parents having sex has…
: | The Irish Sun | Jim Mahoney | We were made to watch our parents have sex & abused from 7 in cult run by ‘shepherds’ who performed sick marriage ‘prep’ Far from being a promised Utopia, Gloriavale was set up by a sex offender who systematically abused the children.…
: | The Telegraph | Anita Singh | Netflix transformed the documentary genre so profoundly that it feels unusual to come across something made in the old style. Escaping Utopia (BBC Two) doesn’t have glossy cinematography or a dramatic soundtrack or people talking directly into the camera. It is not edited in the…
: | The Guardian | Lucy Mangan | Escapers from the Gloriavale sect open up about living in constant fear of damnation, its abuse of women – and a landmark court case brought by female ex-members Hello and welcome to another entrant in the popular television genre Do Try to Be…
: | MinterEllisonRuddWatts | Constraints on contractual powers have long been a topic of debate that has received surprisingly little academic attention in New Zealand. However, this area has recently garnered increased attention due to several recent cases in New Zealand’s courts. We discuss the current state of constraints on the…
: | TVNZ | “At about 10 years old, I imagined life outside Gloriavale would look sad and I wouldn’t have any friends … but that’s not true at all.” Angel Pilgrim was 13 years old when she left Gloriavale with her 12 siblings and parents. Now she’s 17, living in…
: | Hesketh Henry | Stephanie Corban | Background BNZ made the decision to close the accounts of 16 entities associated with the Gloriavale Christian Community following a decision by senior management that this action was appropriate given the BNZ’s internal human rights policy. BNZ gave notice to Gloriavale. The various…
: | RNZ | Anna Sargent | A former Gloriavale member who was sexually abused in the Christian community when she was 13 years old has told her abuser he stole her childhood and her innocence. Gloriavale man Fervent Ben-Canaan was jailed for four years and two months in the Christchurch…
: | Greymouth Star | Subscriber Only | A Gloriavale leader and a contractor who falsified documents to export honey to Vietnam damaged New Zealand’s excellent international trading reputation, a Greymouth District Court judge said yesterday. Gloriavale-owned Forest Gold Honey, its director, two employees and an external agent were accused of…
: | The Press | Joanne Naish | As a teenager in Gloriavale, Levi Courage worked up to 70 hours a week filling jars of honey until his hands bled so they could be illegally exported to Vietnam. The honey, from Gloriavale company Forest Gold Honey, was exported using forged government…