Warning: The following article contains discussion of child sex abuse that some readers may find disturbing
A woman who 'had to watch her mum and dad have sex' when she was eight years old has spoken on the horrors of being abused in a sick cult.
The cult community, known as Gloriavale, is a small Christian group in New Zealand which was founded in 1969 by Australian evangelist Neville Cooper. He died in 2018.
Throughout the years, there have been multiple reports of sexual, physical, and psychological abuse within the community, which still exists today in a smaller capacity.
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It's since been compared to The Handmaid's Tale, a dystopian book and TV series about women being subjected to child-bearing slavery.
Journalist Melanie Reid infiltrated the group in the 1990s and her findings have been included in new BBC three-part documentary Escaping Utopia.
A witness who was eight years old at the time recalled: "We had to watch my mum and dad have sex.
"I just tried not to think about what was happening. I thought that every father was doing this to their children because in the community they were told to invite their children into their room and show them what sex was like between a husband and wife. It became normal to us."
Neville’s son, Christian, experienced what went on behind closed doors, and he's now working with an underground network to help people flee various cults.
"My dad started the community and, like a king would, wanted a kingdom," the father-of-11 said.
"When I told my wife I wanted to leave, she replied, 'I'm not going to lose my soul.' I knew exactly what she meant. She meant, 'I'm not leaving.'
"In a society where women are taught from a very young age that they have no voice and have got to submit, she was like a puppet.
"The leaders there have painted me as a very evil, wicked person who follows the devil. But doing nothing is not the answer. That would just mean these people are never going to get free."
On how his father got involved with the twisted cult, Christian explained: "My dad was born in 1926 in Queensland. He came to a sort of mental crisis when he was 22 and had an experience where he believed he had met God who called to him to be a minister.
“He had an attempt at setting up a commune in Australia, which failed, then he moved to New Zealand in 1967 to try to get this weird idea he had off the ground.
“He believed that he was God’s advocate on earth and as he got more power he became more corrupt and he ended up with a God-like status and he took to converting people in sexual ways."
Cooper's successor Howard Temple is awaiting trial after being charged with indecent sexual assault, with 138 potential victims awaiting the verdict.
Escaping Utopia is available to watch on BBC iPlayer now.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivors Trust for free on 08088 010 818, available 10am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-3pm and 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-3pm on Fridays, 10am-12.30pm on Saturdays and 6pm-8pm on Sundays.
Topics: BBC, Crime, Documentaries, Film, TV and Film
Anish Vij