Latest news with #TwobyTwos
Daily Maverick
07-07-2025
- Daily Maverick
Watch – In the name of God? The secretive Christian sect under FBI investigation
A shadowy Christian sect known as the Two by Twos (2x2s) — also called The Truth, The Way, or the No-Name Church — is at the center of a shocking global child sexual abuse scandal. A Daily Maverick investigation reveals that South African members have also come forward with disturbing allegations. The FBI and SAPS have confirmed an active investigation into historic sexual abuse within the church. Marianne Thamm explains. Marianne Thamm is a South African journalist, author and stand-up comedian. She is the assistant editor of the Daily Maverick and has written several books. In 2016, she released the memoir, Hitler, Verwoerd, Mandela and me. If you like this video, subscribe to our YouTube channel for more. Would you like to become a Maverick Insider and support our journalism? Click here for all the details. DM
Daily Maverick
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
In the name of God — time to act and protect followers from ‘holy men' who weaponise religion
Two things have become apparent while researching this depressing and sadly not-so-shocking Two by Twos church scandal. It is neither the scope nor how long it has been allowed to continue and been covered up, nor the lifelong scars this has left on thousands upon thousands of victims and survivors. These are a special class of survivors – those of religious predation and abuse; individuals whose very spiritual core has been shattered and wounded by the entitlements of male church hierarchies claiming a perverse power and hold over the souls of those they 'save' in the name of God. The words we use The first is that the word 'pornography' does not describe the scourge of child torture, sexual assault and rape that takes place. Most often this is filmed and photographed, and distributed among networks. Pornography is for adult consumption. This is something much darker and depraved. We should insist on calling it what it is. Second, surely it is time for the recommendations of the 2017 Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Rights Commission report into the Commercialisation of Religion and Abuse of People's Belief Systems to be acted upon. The commission's recommendations to amend existing legislation to protect congregants and believers, and for religious organisations to register with the government, was resisted by the religious establishment. Eight years later, in April this year, the commission announced that a Section 22 Committee led by Professor Musa Xulu will work towards the establishment of a peer review council to protect congregants from harm. There is enough evidence – and it mounts daily – that religion is being weaponised by self-appointed prophets and preachers in positions of 'leadership' to exploit 'followers'. This greed is performed for either financial gain or political power or perverse sexual enjoyment. Sometimes it's all three. The Two by Twos pustule that burst globally in 2022 is just one scandal among many. From deviants in the Catholic and Anglican churches, to the Pentecostal pastors who force congregations to eat grass or touch their genitals during a 'service', many have dark secrets to hide. The victims are, in every single instance, women and children, boys and girls, who are rendered powerless by religious dogma and scriptures set in stone. In the eyes of these 'holy men', those in the flock lower down in the hierarchy are biblically sanctioned possessions. Apart from registering as tax-free institutions, a matter of debate when it comes to mega-millions mega-churches selling tax-free holy water and underpants, what other controls exist? What prevents anyone from declaring they are their own Personal Jesus? As did the notorious South African paedophile Gert van Rooyen (alongside his partner Joey Haaroff), who is believed to have kidnapped and murdered six young girls in South Africa between 1988 and 1989, before shooting Joey and himself as the police closed in on him. Pieter van Zyl details in his book Gert and Joey, how Van Rooyen converted to Christianity while in jail for the rape of two 12-year-old girls and, upon his release, established a congregation that he led. Van Rooyen operated in the apartheid era, but people like him thrive under the cloak of religious protection today because we live in a secular society where freedom of religion is guaranteed and is a constitutional right. Surely then the Constitution should protect citizens from horrific and criminal exploitation when it occurs in this realm? 'Established' religious institutions in South Africa are allowed a high degree of autonomy and are not subject to government control. That is democracy. As Public Benefit Organisations, there is no need for religious organisations to pay tax, and that is it. What then to do with the criminals who hide behind the Bible and religious garb? What checks and balances exist to stop such horrific accounts of abuse, over years and generations, leaving broken lives? Leon van Niekerk, the Two by Twos member who reported abuse to the South African Police Service, shows us how we can use the Constitution to put the fear of the law into abusers of all shapes and sizes. He understood his constitutional duty to report abuse, and he did it. Whether the system works, we have yet to find out. DM
Daily Maverick
22-06-2025
- Daily Maverick
SAPS and FBI investigate child sexual abuse by secretive Two by Twos Christian cult
A secretive church known as the Two by Twos, also referred to as the 2x2s, has been rocked by widespread allegations of child sexual assault taking place globally over decades. A secretive fundamentalist Christian sect — widely known as the Two by Twos (2x2s), but also as the No-Name Church, The Truth, or The Way — has been rocked by an international child sexual abuse and rape scandal. A Daily Maverick investigation has found church members who reported cases of abuse in South Africa too. One of the alleged South African perpetrators in the abuse scandal, a 'worker' in the church, is still a free man — but the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and South African Police Service (SAPS) are closing in. SAPS spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Amanda van Wyk confirmed this week that a historic sexual abuse case was being investigated by the police's Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit in Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal. According to Van Wyk, it is alleged that 'the victim, now 51 years old, was sexually abused in 1983 around the age of nine by an alleged 'pastor' from the 2x2s church'. The victim told Daily Maverick that they were interviewed by the FBI, which is conducting a global investigation into abuses by the 2x2s church. The alleged perpetrator's identity is known to 'overseers' — a term used for the sect's leadership. The identity of the alleged perpetrator, Worker A, is also known to Daily Maverick. Men in the church are referred to as 'workers' or 'brothers', and there are also 'friends' of the fellowship. Because of the secretive nature of the sect, as well as its lack of infrastructure and leadership hierarchy, membership figures of the Two by Twos are difficult to come by. However, according to the BBC, which investigated sexual abuse into the church, the membership is estimated t0 be 100,000, mostly in North America, Australia and New Zealand. Numbers in South Africa are also difficult to confirm, but Leon Van Niekerk, a church member, estimated local membership to be between 20,000 and 50,000. The SA fallout and what preceded it The wide-ranging international investigation reached South African shores in 2023 when Van Niekerk, a member of the sect, reported the alleged child rape by the leading 'worker' in South Africa that had taken place at a church convention held in 1983. Forty years later, the survivor contacted Van Niekerk, who was offering support to other current and former members. With the consent of the survivor, Van Niekerk reported the matter to the SAPS. The statute of limitations on sexual offences in South Africa had been lifted by the Constitutional Court in 2017, and so Van Niekerk went to the Linden Police Station in Johannesburg and received a reference number for the case. It was later transferred to Pinetown and the FCS unit. The incident that prompted Van Niekerk to lodge the charge against Worker A, who has also done 'missionary' outreach work in other countries, was the Dean Bruer scandal in the US. Bruer, a veteran Two by Twos overseer and 'worker' who had served in several US states and other countries since 1976, was found dead in his Best Western Mt Hood Inn hotel room in Government Camp, Oregon, in June 2022. Detroit Legal reported that nine months after Bruer died, Doyle Smith, the overseer for Idaho and Oregon, wrote a letter to members stating that evidence left on Bruer's phone and laptop showed he had raped and abused multiple underage victims. 'That was a huge prick in the balloon. That brought down the curtain,' Van Niekerk told Daily Maverick. In his letter to the church community that was subsequently posted online, Doyle Smith, reportedly a US-based 'overseer', wrote that 'we have come to the tragic conclusion that Dean Bruer had another side to his life that none of us, except the victims, ever witnessed or suspected'. Bruer, he acknowledged, 'was a sexual predator'. 'There is a very united consensus among us that the only thing to do is to be transparent with all of you for obvious reasons, though this is very difficult. We are very sorry for the hurt this will bring to the hearts of many. Thankfully, he is no longer in a position to hurt anyone,' Smith added. More than 700 names were given by abuse survivors to a hotline set up by a group called Advocates for The Truth after the Bruer bombshell. The group was formed by Cynthia Liles, a former church member and now private investigator who is assisting with the probe alongside former members Lauren Robs and Sheri Autrey. Liles is collaborating with the FBI in its investigation. She told Daily Maverick that the abuse exposed globally and in South Africa was 'just the tip of the iceberg'. The Telling The Truth website is a portal into the history of the church, while Expressions by Ex 2x2s offers a community and network for survivors. A hotline for former members in Australia and New Zealand received allegations involving about 130 separate people. In March 2024, Vancouver Island resident Lyndell Montgomery, now 49, spoke out after a minister, Lee-Ann McChesney, had abused her when she was 14. Montgomery was a member of the Two by Twos at the time. McChesney was arrested in January and charged with one count of sexual abuse and one count of sexual exploitation. McChesney has pleaded not guilty and the trial is ongoing. In November 2024, Raymond Zwiefelhofer, 61, was convicted in the US on 10 counts of possessing child sexual abuse material and was sentenced to 120 years in prison. According to Maricopa Deputy County Attorney Catherine Fu, a total of 87 files contained child abuse material known as 'child pornography'. These were a combination of photographs and videos, and all depicted children under the age of 15. Zwiefelhofer maintained his innocence. The tech CEO had been a member of the 2x2s on and off for decades. A BBC investigation in February 2024 outed an ex-minister, Robert Corfield, who admitted when confronted that he had sexually abused a young boy while he lived in Canada in 1980. In August in New Zealand, a Northland man and member of the church was arrested as part of the global investigation. The man, whose identity was not disclosed, faces 17 charges of assault lodged by four victims who had been preyed on by the man between 1960 and 1980. In February this year, the FBI enlisted the New Zealand police to assist with the investigation in that country. This data have been collated by organisations such as Wings for Truth, which focuses on protecting children from Child Sexual Abuse (CSA), and Bridges & Balm, which supports survivors in the 'church'. A total of 107 people have been directly affected by the alleged abuse in the Two by Twos and are associated with 43 alleged perpetrators. A total of 94 victims are reported to be alive. Six have died since they suffered alleged abuse. Five of the victims were identified as having 'worker' status, while 102 had 'friend' or ordinary member status. Inside homes What has facilitated what appears to be widespread and continuing abuse is the church's insistence that members host 'missionaries' in their private homes. These 'workers' must be of the same sex, unmarried and sworn to an oath of celibacy. Jesus' prescription in the Bible that disciples go out 'two by two' to spread 'the truth' is the inspiration for this configuration. Evidence has emerged of the grooming methods perpetrators had deployed in the homes they were living in. Van Niekerk, who was raised in the sect, said that at least 10 other alleged survivors, men and women, had come forward in South Africa since the Bruer scandal broke. He said the evidence of abuse had troubled him deeply. 'My great-grandparents were the first in our families to join this fellowship. This fellowship is mostly scripture-based and that is why it appealed to so many people, because it is based on scripture, not on the dogma of man.' After spending 22 years in the Two by Twos, he could not remain silent about 'this scourge of child sexual abuse and also of adults, and the long-term suffering that these people have to endure'. Liles told Daily Maverick that she had connected with a lawyer who had been working with two survivors in 2022, after Bruer's death. Smith's letter to sect members, in which he acknowledged Bruer as a 'rapist and child abuser', led to a hotline being set up for survivors to come forward, she said. Now, as a private investigator, Liles feeds new information from across the globe to the FBI. She said the worldwide impact 'appeared to be the same all over where the church is'. 'There's just been a ton of abuse by the ministry,' she told Daily Maverick. That these sexual predators lived in people's homes, she added, placed potential young victims in their direct and intimate proximity. Children speaking out risked the wrath of family and church elders. Liles said because the abuse had occurred over such a long period, survivors in some countries had no recourse to the law, 'which makes it difficult in some parts of the world'. Some of the perpetrators identified had already died, as had some of their victims. South Africa, which has 'favourable statutes of limitations', could see the same kind of sensational arrests that had occurred in New Zealand and Canada, said Liles. South African survivor speaks out 'For me, it is about the accountability, which remains with the church. How these people [the perpetrators] are handled helps those of us who have survived to heal,' the abuse survivor in South Africa, whose case was reported to the SAPS, told Daily Maverick. 'Living with the shame and the double shame of the church, and it all being hidden is life-shattering. There have been so many victims and I feel their pain.' The survivor was sexually abused at the age of nine when Worker A was in his mid-twenties and a brother in the sect. The man had 'groomed me over time, calling me his little lamb, his helper, and twirling my hair'. At a church convention in Durban in 1983, Worker A lured the child to the edge of the grounds near a stream, where the alleged sexual assault took place. Afterwards, Worker A had threatened that 'God would punish me if I told anyone'. A day later, he offered the child 'pink musk sweets', which he described as their 'quiet sweets'. When the survivor was 16, they confided in a trusted fellow member of the Two by Twos. 'I fell gravely ill a few months later. To this day I live with multiple autoimmune diseases, which my specialists believe were triggered as the result of immense emotional trauma of the assault. 'On 20 September 2010, I found the courage to confront Worker A via an email,' the survivor said. In response, the survivor alleged Worker A admitted that he had sexually assaulted them as a child. A follow-up telephone conversation after the email prompted a similar admission. The survivor said that when they asked the man how many other children he had molested during his time in the fellowship, his chilling response was: 'What do you consider a child, as they differ so much in maturity?' The assault by Worker A had been reported to other members of the community, including overseers, said the survivor, and it had initially been agreed that he should be removed from 'the work'. 'At the time, I had trusted the workers to deal with this appropriately. However, I endured tremendous pressure from overseers in South America to allow Worker A to continue to work there and blaming me for any 'souls' that would not be saved should he not be allowed back.' The survivor had initially 'stood down' from laying criminal charges against Worker A and also agreed not to pursue any civil action against those overseers who had been tasked with leading the collective. 'I simply did not have the physical and emotional strength to go ahead with it, but it has since come to my attention that the perpetrator has been having meetings in his home. 'A self-acknowledged child predator is allowed to do this,' they explained. The concern is that more children are being placed at risk as long as Worker A continues to act with seeming impunity. 'This is so deep and wide, and there are so many children at risk that the church must take responsibility,' the survivor said. DM Who are the Two by Twos? The Two by Twos is a religious group originating in late 19th-century Ireland, known for its unique evangelistic approach where members, called workers, travel in pairs. The group rejects traditional church structures, the doctrine of the Trinity, and the ordination of ministers, believing themselves to be the sole true church. The sect has a specific structure and hierarchy, although the group itself denies having a central leadership or hierarchy. There are assigned head workers, or overseers, who are responsible for members and regular workers within a region. Breakdown of the structure and hierarchy The Friends: This term refers to all members of the group. It is used to identify fellow members and as a general way of referring to the group. Within the members, there are different levels of commitment marked by practices such as 'Professing' and 'Baptism'.'Professing' involves publicly declaring one's faith and commitment to the group, typically done when a meeting is 'tested'. Members usually 'profess' between the ages of 10 and 12, and must 'profess' to speak and pray during a meeting. 'Professing' members cannot participate in communion until 'baptised'. 'Baptism' is a rite of passage signifying commitment, typically occurring during the teenage years. Baptism is done by full immersion, rejecting sprinkling and infant baptism. Baptised members are considered fully committed and eligible for communion. A term used for former active members is 'Lost-out'. The Elders: These are members responsible for leading a specific church or meeting, typically held in their home on Sundays. Elders uphold the structure of in-home meetings, are responsible for starting and ending the service, are the last to speak and pray, and lead communion. They are expected to be respected and followed. If a worker is present at an in-home meeting, they usually take on most of the elder's responsibilities The Workers: These are members given the responsibility of spreading the group's beliefs through evangelism, travelling from home to home. They are considered equivalent to ministers in other religions. Workers almost always travel in pairs of the same gender… This practice is a core belief, based on Luke 10:1, and is seen as providing support and accountability. Workers are expected to dedicate themselves fully to spreading the message. Workers must adhere to all the rules for regular members but to an even higher extent, dressing more modestly, and prioritising their relationship with God even more. They spend long periods reading the Bible and praying. Workers are expected to have limited possessions, relying on the generosity of others. They typically travel with just one suitcase, although possessions like smartphones, tablets and laptops are now common. They usually do not own vehicles, but are often provided one within a field. Workers rarely have a designated home and are expected to constantly move from home to home, usually staying only a few days in one place. They are rarely given time to see their families. Workers are expected to be celibate and are not allowed to be married, a mandate established by 'overseers'. There is a hierarchy within the group of workers, with brother workers generally considered to be of higher esteem than sister workers. The Overseers: This refers to a leader responsible for all workers and members within a given region, which can be a state or multiple states, or even an entire country in smaller areas. Overseers are always male members and are typically senior workers who have been in the ministry for many years. They oversee the work of others and provide guidance and direction. The Head Overseer: This is a leader responsible for all overseers within a specific area. The only known examples are in the US (eastern US) and potentially Australia. A head overseer is in charge of the overseers in their designated area and also has their own region of responsibility. Structural units for the work also include: Fields: These are subregions within an overseer's larger region. Each field typically has a minimum of 100 members and is generally made up of a city or multiple towns. Two workers are usually assigned to a field to spread the message, organise meetings, provide spiritual guidance and arrange gospel meetings. In the name of God Two things have become apparent while researching this depressing and sadly not-so-shocking Two by Twos church scandal. It is neither the scope or how long it has been allowed to continue and been covered up, nor the lifelong scars this has left on thousands upon thousands of victims and survivors. These are a special class of survivor — those of religious predation and abuse; individuals whose very spiritual core has been shattered and wounded by the entitlements of male church hierarchies claiming a perverse power and hold over the souls of those they 'save' in the name of God. The words we use The first is that the word 'pornography' does not describe the scourge of child torture, sexual assault and rape that takes place. Most often this is filmed and photographed, and distributed among networks. Pornography is for adult consumption. This is something much darker and depraved. We should insist on calling it what it is. Secondly, surely it is time for the recommendations of the 2017 Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Rights Commission report into the Commercialisation of Religion and Abuse of People's Belief Systems to be acted upon. The commission's recommendations to amend existing legislation to protect congregants and believers, and for religious organisations to register with the government, was resisted by the religious establishment. Eight years later in April this year, the commission announced that a Section 22 Committee led by Prof Musa Xulu will work towards the establishment of a peer review council to protect congregants from harm. There is enough evidence — and it mounts daily — that religion is being weaponised by self-appointed prophets and preachers in positions of 'leadership' to exploit 'followers'. This greed is performed for either financial gain, or political power or perverse sexual enjoyment. Sometimes it's all three. The Two by Twos pustule that burst globally in 2022 is just one scandal among many. From deviants in the Catholic and Anglican Churches, to the Pentecostal pastors who force congregations to eat grass or touch their genitals during a 'service', many have dark secrets to hide. The victims are, in every single instance, women and children, boys and girls, who are rendered powerless by religious dogma and scriptures set in stone. In the eyes of these 'holy men', those in the flock lower down in the hierarchy are biblically sanctioned possessions. Apart from registering as tax-free institutions, a matter of debate when it comes to mega-millions mega-churches selling tax-free holy water and underpants, what other controls exist? What prevents anyone from declaring they are their own Personal Jesus? As did the notorious South African paedophile Gert van Rooyen (alongside his partner Joey Haaroff), who is believed to have kidnapped and murdered six young girls in South Africa between 1988 and 1989, before shooting Joey and himself as the police closed in on him. Pieter van Zyl details in his book Gert and Joey, how Van Rooyen converted to Christianity while in jail for the rape of two 12-year-old girls and, upon his release, established a congregation that he led. Van Rooyen operated in the apartheid era, but people like him thrive under the cloak of religious protection today because we live in a secular society where freedom of religion is guaranteed and a constitutional right. Surely then the Constitution should protect citizens from horrific and criminal exploitation when it occurs in this realm? 'Established' religious institutions in South Africa are allowed a high degree of autonomy and are not subject to government control. That is democracy. As Public Benefit Organisations, there is no need for religious organisations to pay tax, and that is it. What then to do with the criminals who hide behind the Bible and religious garb? What checks and balances exist to stop such horrific accounts of abuse, over years and generations, leaving broken lives? Leon van Niekerk, the Two by Twos member who reported abuse to the South African Police Service, shows us how we can use the Constitution to put the fear of the law into abusers of all shapes and sizes.
NZ Herald
25-04-2025
- NZ Herald
Two by Twos church leader Wayne Dean responds to sex abuse claims, FBI, NZ Police investigation
The Two by Twos are a controversial home-based fundamentalist Christian church. The movement was founded in 1887 by Scotsman William Irvine, but some profess its beginnings can be traced back to Galilee, where Jesus Christ is said to have been raised. Officially, the church has no name, there are no official buildings, and it is not registered as a charity. Its members meet at private homes for 'House Church' on Sundays and gather at community halls for gospel sessions led by 'workers' – pairs of preachers – several times a week. The church is thought to have several thousand members in New Zealand. Wayne Dean (second left) pictured in 2020 with other overseers of the Two by Twos church from NZ and Australia. Last year, the FBI launched a global investigation into the church, described by some as a cult, after several former members made allegations of sexual abuse. In February, the New Zealand Police became involved, and members here who had contacted the FBI received an email from the national adult sexual assault team. Dean told the Herald no authorities had been in contact with him or other church leaders. But if they did, the church would 'cooperate fully'. The FBI has been investigating the church and its members since at least 2014. Photo / FBI 'The FBI and the New Zealand Police have not contacted us regarding the investigation we hear of in media reports,' he said. 'Nor are we aware of our NZ Fellowship being under any investigation. 'We do understand that some individuals who are and have been members of our fellowship have or are being investigated for allegations of child sexual assault - and in some case charges have been laid. 'We will cooperate fully with any authorities should they request any information we may hold.' Dean said the church had 'put in place safeguards to protect children'. 'And we will not tolerate any forms of abuse.' He would not comment further. 'We do not see any benefit in responding to your reporting,' he said. 'Nor are we interested in an interview.' Dean later answered several further questions by email about what church members could do to report abuse - and what action church leaders took if it was raised with them. 'If we are made aware of any abuse where the victim is currently a child we will immediately contact both police and Oranga Tamariki,' he said. 'For other historical cases, only the victim can report this to the police - we do however encourage the victim to report it and we will support them to do so. 'When notified of abuse we take steps to mitigate any immediate risk to children - consulting with police when the abuse has been reported to them and following their advice. 'We encourage and support people to report to police. This is noted in various documents on the (church) website including in the guidelines published under the New Zealand section.' A number of people either in or connected to the Two by Twos church have been charged over the years with sexual offending. Photo / File Last week Detective Inspector Warwick McKee - the national manager of adult sexual assault and child protection - confirmed 27 New Zealand-based people had recently reported allegations of sexual abuse within the Two by Twos. As a result, police had launched 'several' new criminal investigations. He said there might be more to come. McKee said today there had been no further reports made at this stage. 'Any new or subsequent complaints should be made through normal police process of reporting,' he said. 'Each investigation/investigator determines whether any approach will be made to any individual or organisation.' Last week McKee confirmed police here had contacted a number of people in relation to 'alleged sexual offending connected to a sect'. 'The purpose of making contact was to ensure anyone who may want to make a complaint has an appropriate avenue through which to do so, or so that any required support can be provided,' he explained. McKee said of those 27 people, 10 had already made reports of possible offending. In two of those cases, the offenders have already been convicted. 'Investigations also remain ongoing in relation to some of these reports,' he said. 'The remaining people were contacted by [police] to see if they wished to make a report to police and/or to be put in touch with an appropriate support agency. 'Police have commenced several investigations as a result.' The Herald reported on National MP Hamish Campbell's link to the group last week. Photo / NZH National MP Hamish Campbell confirmed he was a member of the church after refusing to specify his role for more than a year. He previously said he had an 'association' or 'connection' to the church through family. But after repeated requests from the Herald for clarification, he admitted he was a member and had held religious meetings in his home. A number of former members have referred to Campbell as an 'elder' within the sect - and said his father was an even higher-ranking elder. Two by Twos before the courts Northland man and church member William Easton's sexual offending against children dating back 60 years finally caught up with him after the FBI's investigation began. In September, the 79-year-old pleaded guilty to sexually abusing four boys between 1964 and 1986. William Stephen Easton during an earlier court appearance. Photo / Peter de Graaf, RNZ His victims were aged between 7 and 16 at the time and the offending occurred in multiple locations, including Dannevirke, Whanganui, Timaru and around the mid-North. The Herald revealed last week that a former assistant principal convicted of filming up girls' skirts was an elder in the church. Douglas Haora Martin filmed up the skirts of 17 unsuspecting girls and women with a secret pen camera for his own 'sexual pleasure and gratification' during a six-month period in 2012. Martin pleaded guilty a year later to 20 charges relating to seven victims - the only ones who could be identified. The then-57-year-old filmed them at his school and at a shopping mall, as well as other locations that have been suppressed. Douglas Martin refused to comment abou his connection to the church when visited by the Herald this month. Photo / George Heard Analysis of his computer showed he had accessed the videos he had made more than 400 times. At his sentencing in the Christchurch District Court, Judge Emma Smith sentenced Martin to 10 months of home detention, ordered him to undergo rehabilitation for his sexual deviancy and banned him from having contact with any girls under the age of 16. The judge at the time said Martin was a church elder. Last week, multiple sources confirmed to the Herald this week that the 'church' was the Two by Twos. And a man in his 80s is currently before the courts facing a raft of charges, including sodomy and bestiality, spanning almost two decades. RNZ reported he was a member of the Two by Twos. A number of sources have confirmed this to the Herald this week. The man has denied the offending and currently has name suppression. He is accused of 12 counts of indecent assault on a boy aged between 12 and 16, two indecent acts on a boy aged between 12 and 16, one charge of sodomy on a person under 16 and one charge of bestiality. The four complainants were aged between 12 and 15 at the time of the alleged offending, in the 1970s and 1980s. Anna Leask is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for 18 years with a particular focus on family and gender-based violence, child abuse, sexual violence, homicides, mental health and youth crime. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on
