A pedophile cult leader who sexually abused two teenage followers has scored a victory in the state’s highest court after he was arrested last month.
Adelaide Lang
NCA NewsWire
June 22, 2023
A pedophile cult leader who sexually abused two teenage followers will be allowed to live in the community after he allegedly used the internet to communicate with his followers.
William Kamm, 73, has served two jail sentences totalling more than 10 years for the sexual assault of two 15-year-old girls between 1993 and 1995 at the cult property near Nowra.
The self-proclaimed leader of the “Order of St Charbel”, who calls himself “Little Pebble”, preyed on the two female cult followers.
He told the teens they would be among his 12 “queens” and 72 “princesses” who would help him repopulate a “royal dynasty” after the second coming of Jesus.
The convicted pedophile was released on parole in 2014, but his freedom came with strict conditions.
The NSW government argued he was at high risk of reoffending and his movements should be restricted under a three year monitoring order, which was granted by the Supreme Court.
The disgraced religious figure was taken back into custody last month after he allegedly breached the court orders for the second time.
Police arrested him on May 3 after he allegedly accessed a Wordpress blog and deleted his browser history.
He was charged with four counts of failing to comply with an extended supervision order and failed in his initial bid for bail.
On Thursday, he faced the Supreme Court via audiovisual link wearing a prison-issued green tracksuit and thick glasses to ask to be released after seven weeks behind bars.
His barrister Peter Lange argued there were “significant weaknesses” in the allegations laid against the cult leader.
The court was told Kamm was accused of employing incognito mode while using an internet browser, which allowed him to search the internet without leaving a trace of his identity.
Under his strict supervision order, he is prohibited from masking his identity or deleting any data that reveals his search history.
His lawyer claimed the charges were “ultimately doomed to fail” due to technical deficiencies and ambiguous wording.
Police allege the apocalyptic prophet also emailed the St Charbel bishop to direct him to publish a prayer on the cult website.
Posting on the Wordpress-hosted website through a third party would breach the court order not to access encrypted sites, the court was told.
However, Mr Lange said it would be difficult to show that was Kamm’s intention in sending the email.
He argued that his client should be released on bail because the supervision order mandated a higher level of monitoring than he was receiving while in jail.
“Paradoxically, the community would be put at greater risk if the applicant were remanded in custody,” the defence barrister said.
He maintained that any risk to the community could be mitigated by prohibiting Kamm from possessing a smartphone or any device that would access the internet.
“It’s really the desire of the applicant to access the internet which is at the root of the offences which are alleged against him,” he said.
“If that is reduced, that would eliminate the risk of him (breaching) his bail.”
The prosecution agreed the proposal would “adequately address” concerns about Kamm’s release.
Justice Peter Garling opined the case against Kamm was “not an overwhelmingly strong one”.
He said removing the cult leader’s access to the internet would alleviate the risk of him breaching his order or committing further crimes in the vein of his convictions.
Justice Garling granted bail and directed that Kamm obtain a mobile without internet capability.
The court was told the ageing doomsday prophet would be subject to the supervision order until April 2025.
He admitted to breaching the strict conditions of his supervision order for the first time in November 2022. He had spent more than a year behind bars as a result of the breach.
Kamm ran the Order of St Charbel cult on the NSW south coast until 2005 when he was jailed for sexually abusing an underage follower.
The fringe religious sect was founded in the 1990s and centred on his claims he could communicate directly with God and the Virgin Mary.
Under his recent bail conditions, Kamm will not be allowed to resume living at the cult commune in West Cambewarra.
He has been ordered to reside at an address in Sydney and return to court on July 11 over the alleged breaches of the supervision order.
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