Dec 16, 2020

Paedophile cult leader Little Pebble 'hopeful' of 'Holy Land' return

Cult leader and paedophile predator William Costellia-Kamm could be given the green light to return to his holy land in NSW, with sources saying he is feeling optimistic

Perry Duffin
The Daily Telegraph
December 6, 2020

A paedophile cult leader known as Little Pebble is quietly hopeful a court will allow him to return to his “holy land” on the NSW South Coast in the coming weeks, sources say.

William Costellia-Kamm branched off from the Catholic church in the 1980s to start his own sect at a Nowra property where he claimed the Holy Virgin Mary appeared to him each and every day in the expanse of bush land.

The self-proclaimed leader of the Order of Saint Charbel called himself ‘Little Pebble’ and — at the cult’s zenith — claimed to have half a million followers across the globe.

But in the mid-1990s the shepherd began preying on his own sheep. A teenage acolyte would write letters to the Virgin Mary and Little Pebble would pretend to receive the responses, documents before the NSW Supreme Court say.

“(Kamm’s) responses were directed to persuading the victim to do things which would satisfy his sexual desire for her,” court documents say.

The girl’s devoted mother was supportive of Kamm’s abuse of the underage girl, the documents say.

The cult leader was sentenced in 2005 and again in 2007 for abusing the teenager and another girl who he claimed was a “princess” who would become a “queen” in the cult through his abuse.

He was released in 2014 on parole after serving nine years behind bars.

But Kamm’s offences weren’t behind him. He was placed on a special court order that included an ankle monitor and orders to leave his holy land at Cambewarra so authorities could keep a close eye on him.

He has been fighting to stop the order being extended past January next year, when it is due to expire.

His high profile defence lawyer Omar Juweinat has argued, in submissions to the courts this month, Little Pebble will return to a “very different” holy land than the one he was forced to abandon.

Mr Juweinat declined to comment.

But court documents filed for Kamm say the cult is on its last legs with just a few very elderly stalwarts keeping the flame alive.

Kamm, too, is fading as a power since a stroke last year. He was 44 when he abused the girls and is now 70, he has not offended since, his legal team argue.

The cult leader has also not breached his “onerous” release conditions.

Sources close to the case say Little Pebble is hopeful and optimistic he will be given the green light by the court to return to Cambewarra when the NSW Supreme Court hands down its decision potentially as early as this week.

But authorities, in court documents seen by The Daily Telegraph, say they are concerned Kamm is rebuilding his following and could groom children through social media to bring them into his orbit.

They argue his risk factors have not changed since the court order was first put over the man who still calls himself a seer and prophet.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/paedophile-cult-leader-little-pebble-hopeful-of-holy-land-return/news-story/f119dca12cc0e40031a9bc48819c2bdf

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