Ex-sect member sentenced in Zurich for sexual abuse

Zurich court sentences ex-sect member for abuse Keystone-SDA

Zurich District Court has sentenced a former member of the globally active sect "Children of God" to a partial prison sentence. The 51-year-old had manipulated and sexually abused several women.

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The court sentenced the New Zealander on Friday to a partial prison sentence of 36 months for multiple sexual assaults and taking advantage of an emergency situation, of which he must serve six months.

As he has already served four months of this sentence and the blocking of his passports will be taken into account, he will not have to return to prison. However, he will be banned from Switzerland for eight years.

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The “Children of God” sect, into which the accused was born, has existed since the 1960s and sees sex with changing partners as a “sign from God”. Adults also have sex with minors, including the accused, who suffered abuse from the age of four. Growing up in this segregated system was the reason for his offences, he said.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

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