: By Joanne Naish | Stuff | The Gloriavale Christian Community has decided to represent itself in the ongoing Employment Court case it is defending against former members. The community said it could no longer sustain the cost of a legal team – believed to be in excess of $100,000 a…
: By Joanne Naish | Stuff Gloriavale has appointed a former bank executive and hospital boss as its new chief executive. Phil Jamieson will oversee the community’s business interests. Jamieson was previously SBS Bank general manager of development and then moved into the role of chief executive officer for Waitaki District Health…
: Gloriavale workers who recently received a share of the Christian Community’s profits, were immediately asked to pay it back to cover expenses, including more than $100,000 in legal fees. The $335,000 in expenses for October included administration costs, taxes, vehicle hire, capital spending, with close to 40% going on lawyers…
: By Catherine Hubbard | Stuff | GRAPHIC WARNING: Content in this story may upset some people. Journalist and author Anke Richter’s new book about Kiwi cults will certainly open eyes. But perhaps, it will open doors for those trapped behind closed doors. Richter’s Cult Trip is billed as “an investigative…
: Tova O’Brien | Today FM | A Gloriavale man charged with sexual offences against five children has had his jail sentence reduced. Timothy Disciple has lost his name suppression – but he’s also had eight months shaved off of his prison term under an appeal – with a judge citing…
: RN Drive By Nick Baker and Sky Kirkham for The Drawing Room Like many New Zealanders, Fergus Grady knew about the disturbing stories that were coming out of the Gloriavale Christian Community. This secretive group, located in one of the most isolated parts of the country, has long made headlines there, with numerous…
: By Jean Edwards | RNZ | Another Gloriavale man jailed for child sex offences can now be named, after losing a High Court fight to keep his identity a secret. Timothy Disciple, 41, was sentenced in the Greymouth District Court in June to two years and five months in prison,…
: By Joanne Naish | Stuff | A Gloriavale man convicted of sexual offending against children has had his sentence reduced under appeal but can now finally be named. Timothy Disciple, 40, was sentenced in June to two years and five months in jail for seven charges of indecent assault against…
: By Julie Fenwick | VICE | “You’re reared in those thoughts where it’s like ‘I owe the system something’… ‘Actually: I owe them my life’.” In Haupiri, on the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island, live close to 600 people, crammed in bunk beds and shared living quarters with little…
: By Naomi Arnold | Stuff | How do you write about people suffering from severe trauma without making it worse? What are the boundaries between journalist and subject? Naomi Arnold writes about five years of watching journalist, cult reporter and friend Anke Richter suffer the weight of those questions while…