Leader of secretive commune admits abusing young church members

Gloriavale’s overseeing shepherd Howard Temple

The leader of an isolated and conservative Christian commune in New Zealand pleaded guilty yesterday to a dozen indecency and assault charges against women and girls who were members of the religious group.

The admission of guilt from Howard Temple came three days into a trial at which he was accused of abusing members of the Gloriavale commune aged between 9 and 20 over a period of two decades.

Complainants who appeared in the opening days of Temple’s trial at the Greymouth District Court said he had touched or groped them while they were performing domestic duties, including in front of other Gloriavale members during mealtimes, Radio New Zealand reported.

They told the court they were too scared to challenge the leader and feared being told the abuse was their fault.

Temple, who is 85 and known as the Overseeing Shepherd of Gloriavale, earlier denied the two dozen charges, and was scheduled to face a three-week trial. But yesterday, his lawyer said the leader would admit to an amended list of 12 crimes.

They included five counts of indecent assault, five of committing an indecent act and two of common assault, Radio New Zealand reported. Some were representative, which means the charges reflect multiple similar acts.

Temple’s lawyer didn’t respond to a request for comment yesterday.

Temple charged with decades of abuse

The charges against the leader spanned 1998 to 2022 and involved nine complainants.

Gloriavale, a community of about 600 people who live at a settlement on the South Island’s remote West Coast, was founded in the 1970s and is mostly estranged from the outside world. Members share all property and money, don’t speak to relatives who leave the group, and work and study within the commune.

The sect is known in New Zealand for its conservative beliefs and doctrines. Women and girls wear navy-colored ankle-length dresses with white headdresses, adherents are required to have large families and only men can serve in leadership roles while their wives and children are subservient.

Temple, who was born in the United States and served in the U.S. Navy before migrating to New Zealand, has been the leader at Gloriavale since his predecessor, Hopeful Christian, died in 2018. Christian was sentenced to four years in prison in 1995 on charges of indecent assault against a 19-year-old woman and successfully appealed against convictions on other sexual offending.

Members said groupís rules enabled abuse

The sect attracted attention during a broader official inquiry into decades of abuse at New Zealand’s state and religious institutions.

Its final report, published in 2024, found that Gloriavale had for decades prohibited members from reporting crimes to outside authorities. Several former members of the commune described in evidence how the rules gave rise to what they said was a culture of sexual and physical abuse.

Less than a year before he first appeared in court, Temple gave evidence to the inquiry. In his testimony, he said his leadership and a 2020 police investigation into abuse at the commune had prompted “a totally different attitude and way of thinking” in how leaders responded to sexual abuse complaints.

Reporting processes had been inadequate before, he told the inquiry. But now all complainants were believed, Temple said. CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-McLAY, WELLINGTON, MDT/AP