FBI investigates reports of historical child sexual abuse within sect also operating in New Zealand
By Amy Williams of RNZ
WARNING: Story contains distressing content about sexual abuse
A victim advocate says police are investigating multiple reports of historical child sexual abuse within a secretive house-church that has operated in New Zealand for over a century and is being investigated by the FBI.
The religious group meets in homes and has no official name but is commonly known as Two by Twos to those who have left, and The Truth to those who belong.
The FBI is investigating the sect in America, where more than 700 alleged offenders have been reported to a hotline. There have also been reports of abuse in the UK and Australia.
It has taken a high-profile FBI investigation overseas and multiple reports of child abuse in other countries for New Zealand victims to come forward.
Jillian Hishon grew up in the sect in Australia, but left the religious group when she married someone who was not part of it.
She now runs a hotline set up for Australasian victims of the sect known as The Truth, after evidence of child abuse emerged in America last year, and has been fielding calls from New Zealanders.
“To date, they are all historical child sexual abuse, so they’ve happened years ago. So these people who have abused, some are still in the church, so some of the abusers are still in the church, they’re still attending meetings, some of them, some have been removed, others have already passed away.”
Hishon said of the 140 perpetrators identified on the hotline, 20 per cent were from New Zealand.
She said people have kept a lid on their trauma for years.
“It’s been swept under the rug, you know, you think you’re the only person and next thing you find out, oh no, there’s actually probably someone in my meeting that was abused, they’ve just been told by the ministers to just put a lid on it and be quiet, and ‘oh we’ll deal with it’, and nothing ever gets done.”
A current member of the Christian sect who was born into it spoke to RNZ but did not wish to be identified.
They said there were between 50 and 60 leaders, known as Workers within the sect, who travel in pairs and stay in houses of sect members, known as Friends, where meetings were held.
“They still stay in homes because it’s an itinerant ministry. That is one thing I think needs to change, that they don’t stay in the homes of families with children,” they said.
“The culture of don’t talk about bad things, don’t make trouble … for the most part historically you didn’t go to police, you didn’t go to media. I think the culture is you don’t talk about it. It’s damaging.”
Hishon said the nature of the meetings in homes created an unfortunate environment for abuse.
“You could have two men come and stay in the home where there’s, you know, four young children and because we trust these people in the church, there could be plenty of time for misadventure.”
(WINGS believes that this photo was taken about 60 years ago)
The member who spoke to RNZ said they understand there were at least half a dozen historical child sexual abuse reports under investigation by police in New Zealand, of people linked to the sect – some of whom were still actively involved.
They said the sect’s lack of a name was going to make it hard for the police to find a pattern and link the reports of abuse.
RNZ understands police have received complaints relating to alleged child abuse by people within the sect but police have not confirmed this.
Religious expert, professor emeritus of history at Massey University Peter Lineham, said the secretive sect has been active in New Zealand for 120 years.
He has been researching the sect since the 1970s, and said the esteem awarded to the leaders who travelled house-to-house, called the Workers, created a power imbalance.
“Potentially, this is a very vulnerable group of people because in effect the very high respect held towards the Workers or the Two by Twos meant that the ordinary people really had no other point of reference that they could compare notes about what might be happening.”
Lineham said the sect appears to follow Christian beliefs but had a rigorous separation from society and refusal to identify as a group – which made it challenging for those wanting to report abuse.
“If there are issues within them, it’s very difficult to come to terms with those issues because this person may deny that they are a follower of anything when challenged.”
Around 20 people who had left the Two by Twos had spoken to him over the years and all carried shame and guilt and spoke about their dislike for certain leaders, he said.
“What I have seen is [an] extraordinary sort of shame about the group, the feeling that in some way or other this group was in their heads, they couldn’t get it out [of their head], they felt guilty for leaving, they found it very hard to make the break, and that’s the classic behaviour of people who have been in a very closed sectarian group.”
Hishon said she knew of three people linked to the sect who had been forced to leave after reports of child abuse.
But there were others accused who remained in the sect, she said.
“We’re talking about the safety of children, and the safety of victims already. Like you could be sitting in a meeting in somebody’s home and the person sitting across from you mightn’t be your perpetrator but you know that they’re an alleged perpetrator.”
She said it was hard for people to speak out.
“It’s almost a brainwashing of what they’re preaching to make you think like that’s the only place to be kind of thing until you actually get out of the church … for somebody like myself with a Christian faith to realise that God is so much bigger than just this little church, this little faith group, and that maybe what I’ve been taught for the first 39 years of my life, was not exactly how it is.”
Response from the church
New Zealand spokesperson Wayne Dean said he was aware that police were investigating at least one former minister for alleged historical sexual abuse.
The church encouraged any victims of historical sexual abuse to go to the police, he said.
Any alleged offender was stood down from attending church meetings pending investigation, he said.
“I am aware of 14 cases of members that have been asked not to attend meetings,” he said.
“We take every report seriously. Even when it is only considered as inappropriate behaviour. As are some of the cases being dealt with at present.”
Workers have a written Code of Conduct which they signed and were expected to adhere to in all situations, including when they were in members’ homes, he said.
Dean said all workers had to undertake formal and refresher training to keep children safe and perpetrators were banned from meetings arranged by the ministry.
The fellowship fully cooperates with police investigations and reporting of child abuse was encouraged, he said.
“We have done risk management plans and put procedures in place to mitigate the risk of further abuse happening,” he said.
“We acknowledge that these matters were not always appropriately addressed in the past, and we are truly sorry for any immeasurable long-term damage to victims. We have learnt from these experiences, and are constantly reviewing our current practices to keep children safe in our fellowship.”
The church intends to have an expert external organisation to review its policies and procedures and provide independent advice and recommendations, he said.
Currently the church would have an estimated 2500 members across New Zealand, he said.
In two letters posted on a website for the sect’s members last year, its Australian and New Zealand leaders, called Overseers, acknowledged cases of child sexual abuse within the group overseas and said anyone who had been affected by “sexual abuse in our fellowship including workers, reporting to appropriate authorities is required by law and we are available to speak to any people with concerns”.
They said they had a zero tolerance to harming children and set up an advisory group to develop a standard policy and approach for child abuse prevention and survivor support.
“We have communicated our zero tolerance with respect to the harming of children, young people, or anyone within our fellowship and have begun actions to support this stance. The impact of child sexual abuse is devastating and far reaching. Our thoughts are with each one of you who have been affected.”
The FBI declined to comment on whether it had alerted police in New Zealand to its investigation of the 2x2s sect.
Its Omaha Field Office said in February this year that it was seeking the public’s help in identifying victims or individuals with knowledge of abuse and/or criminal behaviour that has occurred within a religious group that traditionally has not had a name.
“The group has often been referred to by others outside of the group as “2×2,” “The Way,” “The Truth,” and “The Church With No Name,” among others,” the FBI said.
“While it is natural for parents to want to gain a better understanding of the potential exploitation of their child, further questioning of the child may lead to inaccurate statements and increased emotional trauma.”
The FBI asked people with information to fill out a short questionnaire.
Where to get help:
Sexual Violence
Victim Support 0800 842 846
Rape Crisis 0800 88 33 00
HELP Call 24/7 (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): 04 801 6655 – push 0 at the menu
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) 022 344 0496
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
Family Violence
Women’s Refuge:(0800 733 843
It’s Not OK 0800 456 450
Shine: 0508 744 633
Victim Support: 0800 842 846
HELP Call 24/7 (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): 04 801 6655 – push 0 at the menu
The National Network of Family Violence Services NZ has information on specialist family violence agencies.
Abuse survivors
For male survivors –
Road Forward Trust, Wellington, contact Richard 0211181043
Better Blokes Auckland, 099902553
The Canterbury Men’s Centre, 03 3776747
The Male Room, Nelson 035480403
Male Survivors, Waikato 07 8584112
Male Survivors, Otago 0211064598
For female survivors –
Help Wellington, 048016655
Help, Auckland 09 623 1296.
For urgent help: Safe To Talk 0800044334.
WINGS Note: Additional reports have now been published.
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WINGS for Truth 
This is all the result one crazy man named William Irvine and his crazy idea that caught on with disenfranchised religious people. A monster was created and it is still alive. Hopefully, the FBI can take it down to the dust.
Please do not read this if you do not like to read. And please do not read this if listening to stories is not your thing. This read is not for those, where going from one sound bite to the next is their entertainment.
We tend to like stories. Stories of daring and stories of success. Stories of courage and stories of love. I am reading an interesting book right now called the Black Swan. The author has spent his time thinking and meditating while wandering the world. In that book, he mentions another book. He says it is one of the best books he has ever read, but the sales were dismal. Hardly anyone bought it. The title of the book was the problem with people’s interest in it. It was called “What I learned, Losing a Million Dollars”. Ya. Some people just do not want to hear or read these people’s stories. But most of these stories teach us something.
Nevertheless, in the Black Swan, the author has spent much time in his life understanding the genesis of unexpected events, i.e black swans. They are rare and not often appear. But they can happen. From my sense of the creature, God created the black swan, though few in number, and God made it appear at a time appointed. When social black swans appear, society quickly goes sideways.
When a black swan event has passed, he points out without needing to, that society comes to an acute understanding of why the black swan appeared. Everyone sees the steps leading up to the black swan event, and everyone all of a sudden has perfect clarity to explain it. And many people will declare with 20/20 hindsight, “I could see it coming”.
But through much study, he has come to despise the scholars of forecasting that proclaim their professional and expert advice to the masses. The experts that say, “We have the vision. We can tell you the rise and fall…and rise again, of this or that, because we have the model. The model that lulls the masses, because it is smooth. The model of the Gaussian Bell Curve.
And I will tell a little story of my own, and it is just anecdotal. There is one man mentioned in this book, a friend of the author. A man I am confident that would have luncheoned with the author on Wall Street in NYC many times. I live not in the USA and I am not involved in big business. However, either late in 2007 or sometime early in 2008, this man sat at the luncheon table with myself and the president of our own little company in a little town in Ontario, and said to us in so many words, “This sub-prime mortgage thing is going to blow up, and the world is not prepared. America is about to have a bowel movement”. He further said to us, “Watch gold, it will go to $1500/oz.”
This man had an interest in what he could foresee was about to go down, and now I see he had a friend that could see it also. This man was the founder and CEO of Kirkland Lake Gold. Ya, he had an interest in the price of gold for a reason, but he also could see the effects to society when the bottom fell out of the market as a result of what some later referred to as the sub-prime mortgage fiasco. The fiasco caused by big business enterprise itself. And when it did happen, those that had an emotional connection to the marketplace of business enterprise, were caught flat footed, some loosing most of their life’s savings. A man I worked with in Alachua, Florida on a project there and spent half of my time for two years between 2009-2010, was sixty-five – he had lost most of his retirement and could not come to terms with his and his wife’s remaining stretch of road. The blinders of greed in business enterprise, had left him holding the bag – an empty one.
Moving on….
Jesus told us stories. We call them parables, because that is what they were called back in the day. These stories struck an earthy chord, because Jesus knew we could understand better that way; it was the limits of our present habitation. But the story was meant to strike a resounding chord from the spiritual and heavenly realm.
The story of the empty heads, sprouting along with the heads with grain, however full, that would grow together until the harvest.
He told us the story of many that would murmur at their wages at the end of the day. They thought they were worth more than the others.
He told of those stewards that would be found to be unworthy in the master’s house, but they would ‘wisely’ figure out quickly what to do. They would discount the debts their friends owed to the master, and ensure themselves a habitation. And the steward would assuredly find those that appreciated their debt being reduced.
He told us the story of the priest and the Levite, the pinnacle of religious authority passing on the other side, and not paying heed to the moan from the ditch.
He told us of six individuals where half of them covered up with a garment that looked good, but he was not familiar with, and did not know – the heart, mind, and soul wrapped in the garment.
He told us of men that would build their house on the sand. The fine pieces that were in a previous time part of a rock, and it seemed solid as it had all fit together.
He told of the beggar that would lay at the rich man’s gate, and beg for a morsel of bread. The rich man had enjoyed his dainties, but paid no heed to the beggar until it was too late.
He even told stories directly to the actors of the story; “You are but whited sepulchers, full of dead man’s bones”.
And here is my story.
A certain campaign bus of religious enterprise has come to an earth shuddering, bone jarring stop. The police along with the Ministry of Transportation saw the bus out of control and the driver had not heeded the sirens and lights; and the police and the MTO said, “Something must be done, the public is in danger”.
So up the road they put up concrete barriers. Lots of them. They had a sense of the inertial energy of the bus, and they knew the extent of the Jersey Wall they needed. Everyone on the bus takes stock after the impact. Their minds are still intact, albeit rattled. All seems good. Remember, this is a spiritual bus.
And the MTO, if people are not aware, carries a stick. And a big one at that. Big one! Truck drivers don’t generally fear the police like they fear the MTO (or whatever acronym they have in whatever state or province).
And the police and the MTO come over and open the door of the bus with a sledgehammer, because no one on the bus will (or can?) open the door. And the first question with force in their words is, “Who in hell is driving this bus!?” And one on the bus shrugs his shoulders and says “Dunno really! But we believe it was on autopilot.” And someone on the bus comes forward and says “Ya! Autopilot! That’s it! I believe in autopilot! I know a thing or two about autopilot! The big guy says we can stand behind the technology”. (big guy? Elon maybe?)
Things are off to a not a very good start with the MTO. All their senses are very keen now, and their adrenaline is increasing to pump. They are ready to draw if they need to.
“Well, what in hell” the officer hollers. Are there no brakes on this thing? The brake pedal is right there you bunch of nincompoops. Who said you could operate a bus like that? Did no one think to get in the seat and push the brakes? Did you idiots not realize you have been mowing down people for miles? Are there no frigging windows in this bus?”
And he says to his MTO partner and the troopers, “Well…what …… in…….hell….are we dealing with here! We better bring in some reinforcements.”
And another on the bus takes courage and pipes up! Big balls kind of guy, but his LED is not too bright. “Well, we were blowing the horn ocifer! Didn’t you hear it? Those people that might have been in the way should have heard it! Long way off! In fact, this puppy has two horns! Their fault for being in the way. Sucks to be them”. Buddy has the balls to think he can bait the MTO. He thinks – ‘I will be a big guy and show to my friends on the bus I can take care of this situation. I know a thing or two’.
And buddy is probably right. He likely knows a thing…or two.
But some on the bus aren’t buying it. They think to themselves ‘This is not going to end well. I heard one time…the MTO carries a big stick’.
So that is my story. I am sorry to leave everyone hanging. Stories can have a way of doing that sometimes.
But may I ask the leaders of the global fellowship that tens upon tens of thousands of very sincere, good people around the world had poured their life savings into so-to-speak. I ask you all: “If you don’t appear to be harkening to the stories of Jesus, how do you think those following you will have any ambition to harken to them either”.
With brotherly care to all ….to all those whom will listen to the stories.
Hope they check a dirty old man who lived in Nelson and hurt a lot of young girls
@Justice – please, let the FBI know about this name, in case no one else has, and they might need names of victims. They can’t force any of the victims to press charges, but it will allow them the chance to help one’s who might want to and are afraid to come forward. https://forms.fbi.gov/2×2
Hi Justise,
This is awful – Please consider reporting to The Brave Truth too – bravetruth@thebravetruthaunz.org if email is easier? or +61 489 994 566
So many hurt 😦
To make it worse his daughter was the worker who had to tell him not to take the bead and wine
Its a shame the dirty old man is dead, But what he did to grand daughters instead of being stood down in the Sunday meeting for a very short time he should have gone to jail.
this man imploded his own family. The coverup was also criminal. The damage incalculable. The cost still being paid by the women and children of this family.This whole thing has become a monstrous beast that eats its young and sacrifices its children to keep itself alive. and I never knew as my generation paid the price and our elders threw us under the bus. There is too many of us victims for the head in the sand brigade to survive this.
Very sorry to read this, I tried to make it a subject of discussion but there was a solid wall placed around him so that nobody would speak
👍