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.
+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox
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.
+ New rape definition comes into force in Switzerland
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
How we work
We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate them into English. A journalist then briefly reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team from news agencies such as Bloomberg or Keystone.
Did you find this explanation helpful? Please fill out the short survey below to help us understand your needs.
External Content
Don’t miss your chance to make a difference! Take our survey and share your thoughts.
