William ‘Little Pebble’ Kamm and Sandra Mathison remain behind bars ahead of a bail application in Sydney
The Guardian
Australian Associated Press
March 12, 2024
A cult leader and self-professed prophet will seek release after being charged with grooming a girl from the age of six.
William Kamm, 73, also known as “Little Pebble”, was arrested on Monday alongside his 58-year-old partner, Sandra Mathison.
It followed a six-month police investigation into reports a woman had been groomed as a child by the duo.
The pair did not appear when the matter was briefly mentioned in Sydney’s Downing Centre local court on Tuesday.
Lawyer Daniel Kradolfer told the court they will apply for bail on Thursday.
Kamm was charged with grooming a child under 14 years for unlawful sexual activity, grooming a child for unlawful sexual activity and an aggravated offence of inciting a person to do a sexual act.
Mathison, who also goes by the name Sandra Costellia, was also charged with grooming a child under 14 years for unlawful sexual activity and grooming a child for unlawful sexual activity.
Police raided the religious group’s headquarters at Bangalee on the NSW south coast on Thursday, along with a property in Sydney’s city-centre, seizing a number of items for investigation.
The pair allegedly groomed a child for several years and she contacted police after becoming an adult, Det Supt Jayne Doherty said on Monday.
“She was advised by the religious leader and his partner that she had been selected to procreate with that religious leader and to build a new sect,” the detective said of the police allegations.
Kamm, who founded breakaway Catholic doomsday cult the Order of Saint Charbel, calls himself “Little Pebble” and claims to communicate with Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary through visions.
In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/12/nsw-cult-leader-william-kamm-seek-release-allegations-partner-sandra-mathison-child-grooming-girl
Showing posts with label Little Pebble. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Little Pebble. Show all posts
Mar 12, 2024
Mar 11, 2024
Convicted pedophile cult leader William Kamm rearrested after raid on compound
Nathan Schmidt
News.com.au
March 11, 2024
An infamous cult leader and convicted pedophile has been arrested alongside his wife in Sydney’s CBD over allegations the pair groomed a woman from the age of six.
William Kamm, also known as Little Pebble, and a 58-year-old woman were taken into custody shortly after midday on Monday following a months-long investigation.
The pair are expected to be charged with child grooming offences, with Kamm, 73, also expected to be charged with failing to comply with an extended supervision order.
It comes days after specialist police swooped on the group’s headquarters in Bangalee on the NSW south coast on Thursday as well as a unit in Sydney’s CBD.
Police searched a home and two sheds at the remote property, where they located and seized a number of items.
In a statement, police said they established a strike force in September 2023 to investigate reports a woman had been allegedly groomed as a child,
Officers said they would allege in court the religious leader and his wife groomed the woman from the age of six.
Kamm was granted bail by the NSW Supreme Court in June after breaching his supervision orders for a second time.
The 73-year-old is the founder of the notorious religious doomsday cult Order of Saint Charbel, which is based out of a compound near Nowra on the NSW south coast.
Kamm spent almost a decade behind bars after sexually assaulting two teenage girls between 1993-95.
His extended supervision order is due to expire in April 2025.
https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/crime/convicted-pedophile-cult-leader-william-kamm-rearrested-after-raid-on-compound/news-story/8278c49a29bd7c48129cb2f12c1254cb
Mar 7, 2023
CultNEWS101 Articles: 3/7/2023 (Book, Cult Recovery, China, Religious Freedom, Larry Ray, Little Pebble, Obituary, Happy Science, Japan)
Book, Cult Recovery, China, Religious Freedom, Larry Ray, Little Pebble, Obituary, Happy Science, Japan
Esther Friedman: The Gentle Souls Revolution: A Secret Cult, an Open Rebellion, and Lessons in Protecting and Honoring Your Gentle Soul
"Have you been told, "you're too sensitive" or "you think too much"? Do you wonder what is wrong with me? Nothing, according to The Gentle Souls Revolution.
After a five-year cultic misadventure in a secret "school," author Esther Friedman wrote her cautionary tale. Memoir led to research on narcissistic abuse and a recovery template for empaths. With humor and compassion, Friedman describes how the cult exploited her empathy. She interviews former members from other cults and includes research from leading experts. We learn that all cults and cons market false hope by leveraging human nature to profit from the vulnerable.
This revolution teaches Gentle Souls to self-protect by accepting the existence of—and learning to identify pathological selfishness. Recovery requires valuing your proclivities and protecting them like priceless gems. When you do that, those vulnerabilities can become your greatest strengths. That is The Gentle Souls Revolution."
South China Morning Post: How powerful ancient Chinese cults threatened the regimes of the day, and even hastened the end of dynasties
" ... Today, the definition of cults has broadened to include groups that are non-religious in nature, such as the one depicted in Stolen Youth, but in the past they typically referred to groups that professed some kind of non-mainstream religious beliefs.
There must have been countless religious cults in China given its long history and its territorial and population size, but almost the only ones that got any mention in historical records were those that became sufficiently powerful to threaten the regime of the day.
One of the earliest religious cults to grow into a political and military force was the Taiping Dao, or Way of the Great Peace.
Its leaders were Zhang Jue and his two brothers, who were venerated as sorcerers and healers by their followers, which numbered in the hundreds of thousands all over China.
Zhang Jue launched his armed rebellion against the Eastern Han dynasty in AD184. Known in history as the Yellow Turban Rebellion after the headgear of the rebel troops, the revolt was eventually put down after a few years, but the Eastern Han was so severely weakened that warlords tore it apart and the dynasty fell in 220.
In the Tang dynasty, a woman named Chen Shuozhen, who claimed to be immortal, led an armed rebellion against the local government in 653.
She even proclaimed herself the Wenjia Emperor, making her the first woman in Chinese history to bear the title huangdi, a full 37 years before Wu Zetian, the only officially recognised "female emperor" in China, took on the title in 690.
Chen's rebellion lasted only a month before her troops were routed by government forces. She was most likely killed in battle but many of her followers believed that she escaped death and ascended to heaven like an immortal, or survived and lived incognito among them.
The most recent cult that shook the nation before the 20th century was the Bai Shangdi Hui, or God Worshipping Society, a syncretic form of Christianity founded by Hong Xiuquan, who claimed to be Jesus Christ's younger brother.
In 1850, Hong led around 10,000 followers in an armed rebellion against the Qing dynasty and founded the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, a theocracy with him as the supreme ruler.
The Taiping Rebellion grew to such an extent that the Heavenly Kingdom occupied almost all the territories south of the Yangtze River at various stages of the rebellion."
"His devotees call him Little Pebble; his victims know him as a paedophile.
William Costellia Kamm is the self-appointed leader of a notorious doomsday cult that formed its headquarters in 1987, based in a secure compound in Cambewarra, just outside Nowra on the NSW South Coast.
At its height, thousands of pilgrims from around the world travelled to the bush setting for a spiritual experience like no other.
On the 13th day of each month, the Virgin Mary would appear to William - her apparition only visible to him - and he would pass on her messages and warnings to the gathered and devout crowd.
Watch full interview here on 9Now
He declared his compound the Holy Ground, a new promised land for his followers for when the apocalyptic second coming of Christ would wipe out most of mankind.
At the time, Kamm was married and had four children but unknown to his wife, this self-proclaimed Messiah was planning on creating a royal harem, filled with 12 queens and 72 princesses - 84 mystical spouses to bear his children to repopulate the earth.
Little Pebble claimed God chose who his brides would be but as Detective Chief Inspector Peter Yeomans from the State Crime Command puts it, it was Kamm who did all the grooming, and his preference was under-age girls.
"He was using religion in such a way that just split families. So, it was just awful and it continued for many many years. I see it as grooming with the families to get to these children and it's just terrible," he says.
In the Hinrichs family, Kamm found the perfect target. He discovered them on one of his many pilgrimages to Europe where he would drum up business by preaching his particularly conservative and fringe brand of Catholicism, for which he would ultimately be excommunicated by the Church.
Amongst the faithful in Munich, disaffected by the so-called modernisation of the Catholic Church, Kamm found Ingrid Hinrichs and her family of pretty blonde daughters.
This struggling family had already suffered unspeakable abuse. In the attentive Kamm, they believed they had found a benevolent saviour."
"A Japanese cult leader who famously claimed he could channel the spirit of any living or dead person has passed away at the age of 66.
Ryuho Okawa, leader and CEO of the "Happy Science" cult, was rushed to hospital after collapsing in his home on Monday from an apparent "state of cardiac arrest." He finally passed on Thursday night, and his cause of death remains unconfirmed, according to Fuji TV.
Okawa had remained a controversial figure for most of his life, claiming to have received "Messages of God" and to have the ability to channel the spirits of the rich and famous. Okawa would publish books based on what he said the spirits told him.
His publications included addresses from the "guardian spirits" of Jesus Christ, former President Trump, Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury and Russian President Vladimir Putin. He described his books as a form of "religious journalism."
Okawa was born in 1956 in a rural area and graduated from the University of Tokyo. He founded the "Happy Science" cult in 1986 after he had an "epiphany" that he could speak with spirits, which told him that his mission was to "lead humanity to happiness."
The group believed in Okawa's ability to channel spirits, as well as spiritual reincarnation and the construction of a global utopia.
The cult claimed to have grown the group to include members in more than 110 countries and 700 related facilities both inside and outside the country. A New York Times report in 2020 cast doubt on the group's claims, including its boast of 11 million members, instead citing Okawa's first wife who said the group had roughly 30,000 members in 2011."
News, Education, Intervention, Recovery
Intervention101.com to help families and friends understand and effectively respond to the complexity of a loved one's cult involvement.
CultRecovery101.com assists group members and their families make the sometimes difficult transition from coercion to renewed individual choice.
CultNEWS101.com news, links, resources.
Cults101.org resources about cults, cultic groups, abusive relationships, movements, religions, political organizations and related topics.
Selection of articles for CultNEWS101 does not mean that Patrick Ryan or Joseph Kelly agree with the content. We provide information from many points of view in order to promote dialogue.
Please forward articles that you think we should add to cultintervention@gmail.com.
Feb 27, 2023
What life was really like inside the doomsday cult run by the paedophile known as 'Little Pebble'
9Now - Nine
February 27, 2023
His devotees call him Little Pebble; his victims know him as a paedophile.
William Costellia Kamm is the self-appointed leader of a notorious doomsday cult that formed its headquarters in 1987, based in a secure compound in Cambewarra, just outside Nowra on the NSW South Coast.
At its height, thousands of pilgrims from around the world travelled to the bush setting for a spiritual experience like no other.
On the 13th day of each month, the Virgin Mary would appear to William - her apparition only visible to him - and he would pass on her messages and warnings to the gathered and devout crowd.
Watch full interview here on 9Now
He declared his compound the Holy Ground, a new promised land for his followers for when the apocalyptic second coming of Christ would wipe out most of mankind.
At the time, Kamm was married and had four children but unknown to his wife, this self-proclaimed Messiah was planning on creating a royal harem, filled with 12 queens and 72 princesses - 84 mystical spouses to bear his children to repopulate the earth.
Little Pebble claimed God chose who his brides would be but as Detective Chief Inspector Peter Yeomans from the State Crime Command puts it, it was Kamm who did all the grooming, and his preference was under-age girls.
"He was using religion in such a way that just split families. So, it was just awful and it continued for many many years. I see it as grooming with the families to get to these children and it's just terrible," he says.
In the Hinrichs family, Kamm found the perfect target. He discovered them on one of his many pilgrimages to Europe where he would drum up business by preaching his particularly conservative and fringe brand of Catholicism, for which he would ultimately be excommunicated by the Church.
Amongst the faithful in Munich, disaffected by the so-called modernisation of the Catholic Church, Kamm found Ingrid Hinrichs and her family of pretty blonde daughters.
This struggling family had already suffered unspeakable abuse. In the attentive Kamm, they believed they had found a benevolent saviour.
For the next few years, flying between Australia and Germany, Kamm was devoted to infiltrating the family, as daughter Stefanie Hinrichs remembers.
"We weren't a wealthy family. So he took us places and it was like, 'Goodness this man is spoiling us'," she says.
Stefanie was just eight or nine at the time. Her older sister, Bettina, was 15 or 16. Kamm was then 41.
"Eventually, when he came back to Germany, he would stay in our little apartment and sleep with my older sister, because at that point it was, 'she's going to be my wife' ... and in the mornings, William would tell (me) to get under the blankets with them both, and at the time I didn't think anything of it," Stefanie recalls.
"It was playful but now when I think about it, it just kind of makes me sick."
When Bettina was 17, Kamm and she celebrated a "mystical" marriage ceremony in Germany before moving to Australia to live in the cult compound in Nowra. Bettina was already pregnant with the first of their six children.
For a supposed holy man, Kamm was surprisingly handy with a ready-made lie or two.
He had told Bettina God had chosen her to be his new wife and mother to his existing four children because his current wife, Ann, would die in the next month or so. Until then he wanted Bettina to pretend she was the Kamm family's new nanny.
That was 1991. Ann saw through the nanny ruse, left Kamm and moved out of the cult with the couple's four children. Happily, she is still alive today.
The rest of the Hinrichs family moved to the cult headquarters the following year, believing they were relocating to heaven on earth.
As Stefanie revealed to 60 Minutes, the move marked the end of her childhood in the most disturbing way.
When she was just 13, Kamm claimed the Virgin Mary had selected her to be one of his new queens.
At first he promised their children would be conceived through immaculate conception - a heaven-sent gift in more ways than one for the young teenager. But very soon after, the Virgin Mary changed her mind and wanted Stefanie to conceive in the "natural" way.
Stefanie was horrified God wanted her to have sex with her sister's husband.
As she was urged to do by Kamm, Stefanie wrote all her fears and secret pleadings to the Virgin Mary in her diary.
It was a master stroke in manipulation. Kamm, pretending to be the Virgin Mary, wrote back, effectively telling the desperate girl there was no way out.
The diaries are filled with anguish and confusion.
A young girl, threatened with damnation, wanting to please God and the Virgin Mary but desperately trying to escape the clutches of her lecherous brother-in-law.
It was a battle Stefanie ultimately won when, some years later as an adult, she finally reported Kamm to police, leading to his conviction and jailing.
Perhaps it was divine intervention but it was her writings as a child, made at the urging of Kamm, that gave police the evidence they needed to nab him.
https://9now.nine.com.au/60-minutes/what-life-was-really-like-inside-the-doomsday-cult-run-by-the-paedophile-known-as-little-pebble/54ff2eee-c0b3-4ca1-8c70-6fcc04ff0a2c
Apr 11, 2021
CultNEWS101 Articles: 4/10-11/2021
Little Pebble, Australia, Legal, Religious Freedom, Sai Baba, Disorganized Attachment
"Hundreds of residents on the New South Wales South Coast are calling for a convicted paedophile and cult leader to be prevented from returning to live in the region. William Costellia-Kamm – also known as "Little Pebble" – is the founder of a sect he calls the Order of Saint Charbel and claims to be a prophet who speaks directly to Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary.The 70-year-old was convicted of sexually assaulting two teenagers he referred to as his "spiritual wives" in the 1990s and had been living in Sydney since he was paroled in 2014 having served more than nine years of his 10-year prison sentence.Late last week he was granted permission by the NSW Supreme Court to return to his commune at Cambewarra, in the Shoalhaven region."The risk which the conditions need to manage is the risk of further serious sex offending," Justice Stephen Campbell said."
"He is no god, he died in 1918," the middle-aged man declares, looking into the camera. "He was Muslim."Attacking members of religious minorities and taking a hammer to an idol in a Hindu temple are acts inspired by the same ideology that promotes a pure, militant version of Hinduism, say sociologists.The demolition "seeks to produce the 'others' of Hindus that may not actually exist in real life," said Sanjay Srivastava, a professor of sociology at Delhi University. "Those who say that such and such person should not be worshipped within the premises of a temple because he was Muslim (which may or not be true, but that is not important) want a version of Hinduism which has a single origin and a clear history."
Matthew Remski: Reggie Ray Spiritualizes The Terror of Disorganized Attachment in Relation to Trungpa
A textbook example of how the terror of disorganized attachment – as analyzed by cult survivor and researcher Alexandra Stein – can be framed as a spiritual necessity.
" ... Ray succinctly provides a perfect vignette of the terror-euphoria cycle that characterizes the trauma bonding that Stein argues is central to cultic coherence. Of course this is not his framework. He's telling the story as a kind of hero's journey that has the secondary advantage of justifying a continuation of these dynamics within his own circle."
News, Education, Intervention, Recovery
Intervention101.com to help families and friends understand and effectively respond to the complexity of a loved one's cult involvement.
CultRecovery101.com assists group members and their families make the sometimes difficult transition from coercion to renewed individual choice.
CultNEWS101.com news, links, resources.
Cults101.org resources about cults, cultic groups, abusive relationships, movements, religions, political organizations and related topics.
Selection of articles for CultNEWS101 does not mean that Patrick Ryan or Joseph Kelly agree with the content. We provide information from many points of view in order to promote dialogue.
Please forward articles that you think we should add to CultNEWS101.com.
Apr 6, 2021
Hundreds petition to stop cult leader and paedophile 'Little Pebble' from returning to live on NSW South Coast
Ainslie Drewitt-Smith
ABC Illawarra
April 6, 2021
Hundreds of residents on the New South Wales South Coast are calling for a convicted paedophile and cult leader to be prevented from returning to live in the region.
Key points:
- NSW Cabinet Minister Shelley Hancock says she is "outraged" by a decision to allow William Costellia-Kamm to return to the South Coast
- Federal MP Fiona Phillips says Kamm's crimes have had a "horrific" impact on the Shoalhaven community "for decades"
- Signatories to a petition pushing to prevent Kamm's return say his victims "deserve better" and that the community must be kept safe
William Costellia-Kamm – also known as "Little Pebble" – is the founder of a sect he calls the Order of Saint Charbel and claims to be a prophet who speaks directly to Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary.
The 70-year-old was convicted of sexually assaulting two teenagers he referred to as his "spiritual wives" in the 1990s and had been living in Sydney since he was paroled in 2014 having served more than nine years of his 10-year prison sentence.
Late last week he was granted permission by the NSW Supreme Court to return to his commune at Cambewarra, in the Shoalhaven region.
"The risk which the conditions need to manage is the risk of further serious sex offending," Justice Stephen Campbell said.
"It is not appropriate that the state monitor the defendant's religious observance, per se.
"It seems to me, given the stringency of the conditions which are proposed, including electronic monitoring — the risk I have found the defendant poses can be adequately managed, even if he is at Cambewarra."
Justice Campbell ordered Kamm to provide the necessary keys and access codes to the commune to allow for ongoing monitoring and said he would not be permitted "to sign any lease of any of the residences at Cambewarra".
Kamm continues to deny his crimes and claims he was falsely accused.
'Puts children at risk'
An online petition signed by hundreds of residents cited concerns Kamm could reoffend and requested political intervention to have his access to the region denied.
"I live in the town that this man is from," signatory Cathy Corkett commented on the petition.
"Our community does not welcome him coming back here and potentially reoffending again.
"Surely his victims deserve better than this."
Another signatory, Tameka Giddings, said the community needed to protect its children.
"All children have a right to feel safe in their community and allowing this man into our community puts our children at risk," she said.
'Beyond belief'
The community's pleas have been backed by NSW Cabinet Minister and South Coast MP Shelley Hancock, who said convicted child sex offenders like Kamm should not be allowed to return to live in the communities where their crimes were committed.
"In my view there has to be some reform to the law whereby an offender such as this can never come anywhere near this community again," Ms Hancock said.
"For him to live amongst us is simply appalling.
"To return this person to Cambewarra is just beyond belief — I'm outraged.
"We cannot abide people like this coming back to live amongst us.
"They shouldn't even be free, quite frankly — they should still be behind bars."
Ms Hancock encouraged her constituents to continue signing the petition.
Her stance was supported by the federal Member for Gilmore, Fiona Phillips.
"This has been horrific for decades for people in this area and I can understand the absolute worry about William Kamm returning to the Shoalhaven," Ms Phillips said.
"There's been so many members of the community impacted and I think his return will raise a whole lot of issues for people."
Both local representatives said they would write to NSW Attorney General Mark Speakman and Premier Gladys Berejiklian to seek assistance on appealing the decision.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-06/push-to-stop-paedophile-little-pebble-returning-to-south-coast/100050576
The community's pleas have been backed by NSW Cabinet Minister and South Coast MP Shelley Hancock, who said convicted child sex offenders like Kamm should not be allowed to return to live in the communities where their crimes were committed.
"In my view there has to be some reform to the law whereby an offender such as this can never come anywhere near this community again," Ms Hancock said.
"For him to live amongst us is simply appalling.
"To return this person to Cambewarra is just beyond belief — I'm outraged.
"We cannot abide people like this coming back to live amongst us.
"They shouldn't even be free, quite frankly — they should still be behind bars."
Ms Hancock encouraged her constituents to continue signing the petition.
Her stance was supported by the federal Member for Gilmore, Fiona Phillips.
"This has been horrific for decades for people in this area and I can understand the absolute worry about William Kamm returning to the Shoalhaven," Ms Phillips said.
"There's been so many members of the community impacted and I think his return will raise a whole lot of issues for people."
Both local representatives said they would write to NSW Attorney General Mark Speakman and Premier Gladys Berejiklian to seek assistance on appealing the decision.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-06/push-to-stop-paedophile-little-pebble-returning-to-south-coast/100050576
Dec 18, 2020
CultNEWS101 Articles: 12/18/2020 (Jehovah's Witnesses, Eritrea, Religious Freedom, Homeschooling, France, Islamist Extremism, Cult Recovery, Order of Saint Charbel, Little Pebble, Australia, Legal )
Jehovah's Witnesses, Eritrea, Religious Freedom, Homeschooling, France, Islamist Extremism, Cult Recovery, Order of Saint Charbel, Little Pebble, Australia, Legal
"Eritrea has released 28 members of the Jehovah's Witnesses group after they served prison terms of up to 26 years, the Christian denomination said in a statement seen by Reuters on Monday.In 1994 Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki signed a decree revoking citizenship for members of the group for reasons including their conscientious objection to military service. Eritrea has maintained conscription for more than 20 years.Since that decree, Jehovah's Witnesses members have been subjected to detentions, torture and harassment in Eritrea, in part to compel them to renounce their faith, according to the group and international human rights organisations.In its statement, the Jehovah's Witnesses said 28 of its members incarcerated in Eritrea were freed on Dec. 4 after serving sentences of ranging from five to 26 years. Another 24 remain in prison, it said."
The Australian: French Ban On Homeschooling Targets Islamist Extremism
"Homeschooling will be banned for all children in France from the age of three as President Emmanuel Macron presses ahead with plans to clamp down on radical Islam. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, a hardline conservative who Mr Macron appointed in July to head his security push, said the aim was to save "these children who are outside the scope of the republic". He was referring to the several thousand children, and especially girls, who are educated at home by fundamentalist families and disappear off the radar of the education system. About 50,000 children receive home education in France out of 12 million pupils. A draft law to curb the spread of a radical "separatist" culture in France's big Muslim population will receive cabinet endorsement this week. However, the homeschooling ban may be struck out of the law as unconstitutional when it is examined by the state Constitutional Council, the government has been warned. All children in France will have to attend recognised schools once they turn three and will be recorded with individual identification numbers in the education system."
"We meet in a group for a presentation and group discussion.
A one-to-one introductory meeting is required for anyone who would like to attend the group sessions.Support Group booking/donations via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/the-family-survival-trust-18774911807
"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."
News, Education, Intervention, Recovery
Intervention101.com to help families and friends understand and effectively respond to the complexity of a loved one's cult involvement.
CultRecovery101.com assists group members and their families make the sometimes difficult transition from coercion to renewed individual choice.
CultNEWS101.com news, links, resources.
Cults101.org resources about cults, cultic groups, abusive relationships, movements, religions, political organizations and related topics.
Selection of articles for CultNEWS101 does not mean that Patrick Ryan or Joseph Kelly agree with the content. We provide information from many points of view in order to promote dialogue.
Please forward articles that you think we should add to CultNEWS101.com.
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
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
Mar 1, 2019
Cult leader Little Pebble wants to return to Nowra holy land
Illawarra Mercury
FEBRUARY 28 2019
Cult leader William "Little Pebble" Kamm wants a court to consider letting him return to his Nowra "holy" land or remove his ankle monitor after having a stroke.
The convicted child sex offender, who now calls himself William Costellia, founded the Order of Saint Charbel near Nowra in the 1980s and preached a doomsday Christian message.
His followers handed over wives and daughters to help him rebuild humanity after the apocalypse and he has reportedly fathered more than 20 children.
He spent nine years in jail for having sex with two teenage girls before being paroled in November 2014.
In 2016 he submitted to release conditions that include wearing electronic monitoring equipment, telling authorities his schedule in advance, living with his wife at a unit in Sydney, abiding by a 10pm curfew, remaining in NSW and staying away from teenage girls.
The release orders were expected to last until 2021 but, on Wednesday, Kamm appeared in the NSW Supreme Court alongside his legal team to resume his bid to have them varied.
His lawyers submitted an affidavit that describes the impact of the stroke he suffered in August 2018.
"I was personally, by my observation of the plaintiff, satisfied that he did not quite understand the effect of the evidence and general material filed in these proceedings," the statement penned by lawyer Omar Juweinat reads.
"Nor was I comfortably satisfied that he was in a position to give oral evidence himself or follow the course of proceedings."
Kamm sat calmly in the courtroom, holding his wife's hand in silence.
"He isn't the man I met a year ago or even six months ago," Kamm's barrister Mark Robinson SC told the court on Wednesday.
It's understood Kamm wants to be able to return to the Nowra property or, depending on the finding of doctors, may ask for the electronic monitoring bracelet to be taken off.
"The effect of proposed medical assessments may have an overall impact on the risk factors which the court must take into account in determining what ought to occur, if anything, to the Extended Supervision Order," Mr Juweinat said in a statement.
Kamm's legal team had the matter adjourned until May 6.
In that time he will be assessed by a neurologist then a psychiatrist, the court was told.
AAP
https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/5929441/cult-leader-little-pebble-wants-to-return-to-nowra-holy-land/
FEBRUARY 28 2019
Cult leader William "Little Pebble" Kamm wants a court to consider letting him return to his Nowra "holy" land or remove his ankle monitor after having a stroke.
The convicted child sex offender, who now calls himself William Costellia, founded the Order of Saint Charbel near Nowra in the 1980s and preached a doomsday Christian message.
His followers handed over wives and daughters to help him rebuild humanity after the apocalypse and he has reportedly fathered more than 20 children.
He spent nine years in jail for having sex with two teenage girls before being paroled in November 2014.
In 2016 he submitted to release conditions that include wearing electronic monitoring equipment, telling authorities his schedule in advance, living with his wife at a unit in Sydney, abiding by a 10pm curfew, remaining in NSW and staying away from teenage girls.
The release orders were expected to last until 2021 but, on Wednesday, Kamm appeared in the NSW Supreme Court alongside his legal team to resume his bid to have them varied.
His lawyers submitted an affidavit that describes the impact of the stroke he suffered in August 2018.
"I was personally, by my observation of the plaintiff, satisfied that he did not quite understand the effect of the evidence and general material filed in these proceedings," the statement penned by lawyer Omar Juweinat reads.
"Nor was I comfortably satisfied that he was in a position to give oral evidence himself or follow the course of proceedings."
Kamm sat calmly in the courtroom, holding his wife's hand in silence.
"He isn't the man I met a year ago or even six months ago," Kamm's barrister Mark Robinson SC told the court on Wednesday.
It's understood Kamm wants to be able to return to the Nowra property or, depending on the finding of doctors, may ask for the electronic monitoring bracelet to be taken off.
"The effect of proposed medical assessments may have an overall impact on the risk factors which the court must take into account in determining what ought to occur, if anything, to the Extended Supervision Order," Mr Juweinat said in a statement.
Kamm's legal team had the matter adjourned until May 6.
In that time he will be assessed by a neurologist then a psychiatrist, the court was told.
AAP
https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/5929441/cult-leader-little-pebble-wants-to-return-to-nowra-holy-land/
Feb 24, 2017
Woman opens up about abuse she endured at hands of paedophile leader 'Little Pebble' after being trapped in a religious doomsday cult for a decade
 |
| Claire Ashman pictured with her ex-husband and children around a table at William Kamm's religious doomsday cult before she escaped |
Daily Mail Australia
February 24, 2017
A woman who became stuck in an extremely religious doomsday cult run by a notorious paedophile has revealed how she and her eight children escaped and how she struggled with normality.
Claire Ashman became a member of William 'Little Pebble' Kamm's cult based in Nowra on the New South Wales south coast in 1997 after her then husband became obsessed with the cult leader's way of life.
'My ex-husband wanted to move to the country and to become self-sufficient, I did not want this but came from a very religious family where I learnt the husband was the head of the house,' she told Daily Mail Australia.
'He went to meet Kamm and came back insisting we move from Melbourne to Nowra to join his organisation.'
Kamm told his followers he spoke with the Virgin Mary and she had chosen him to repopulate the earth after the apocalypse.
This message appealed to Ms Ashman's now ex-husband so he sold the family home and forced his wife and children to move to the leader's property.
'Ultimately my ex-husband wanted to be living in a where everybody held the same beliefs and we all did the same thing every day.'
The forced move into the hands of the paedophile preacher was not Ms Ashman's first dealing with religious cults – her parents brought her up in a very strict religious sect known as The Society of St Pius X.
'The sect started with good intentions but ended up as an open cult,' she said.
Her upbringing was very sheltered. From the age of seven she was home schooled on her parent's property 20kms from Ballarat in Victoria.
'We had very little interaction with the outside world.
'The only people who came to the house were members of the church – and we left the house once a week to go to mass in Melbourne.'
Ms Ashman met her first husband at home – he had come to stay with the family to help with home schooling Ms Ashman and her children.
When Ms Ashman was 18 she married the then 31 year old and moved to Melbourne.
'I married because I was lost, insecure and directionless. When he talked about it I thought it would be a good idea because he would look after me.'
For eight years the couple lived out of reach of the religious sect which had dictated Ms Ashman's childhood. But then they moved to Kamm's cult.
'As soon as I saw that place I hated it – I knew something wasn't right,' she said.
'He had set up his cult on a 40 acre caravan park – he kept the licence so he was allowed to have so many people living there at once.
'It was surrounded by barbed wire – my husband and I lived in a house next door with our children. It was surrounded by barbed wire fences as well. We were told it was to protect us from the outside world.'
Ms Ashman had to wear religious garb during her time at the notorious cult – which reminded her of the strict dress-code she had been forced to follow for the first 18 years of her life.
'I had to be covered from my neck to below my knees and have sleeves to my elbows,' she said.
Kamm disguised himself as a religious man put on god's earth to do work for the Virgin Mary.
But Ms Ashman who was brought up under the religious law noticed Kamm didn't have to abide by the same strict rules as everyone else in the cult.
'There was no sex before marriage, no dancing or drinking to entice men,' she said.
'Yet Kamm was having sex with up to 10 women at any time that I know of – including his wife and girls as young as 16.
'I think some of the parents were proud to offer their daughters as princesses for Kamm. I think they were looking for the glory for themselves.'
Ms Ashman couldn't think of anything worse than Kamm's eyes being set upon one of her eight children.
She argued discrepancies in the rules to Kamm in a series of letters and was seen as a 'trouble maker' by many in the cult.
'From that time on I was ostracised.
'My husband didn't want to leave – and while I was told by Kamm that I could leave whenever I wanted he also said if I was hit by a bus or struck down with cancer that it would be god's punishment.'
So the mother of eight kept her children close and continued to live under the paedophile's rule.
'We were made to go to mass three times a day and it went for an hour each time – the women were on rosters and had to prepare everything,' she said.
'When we weren't doing that we were expected to do things like the gardening.
'Kamm didn't like it when we spent too much time at home. If we were at home we had to be stockpiling clothes or learning skills which could help us in the apocalypse.'
The apocalypse was first supposed to occur with Halley's comet in 1986, another big event was the turn of the century – every time the world failed to end Kamm had an excuse.
'He would tell his followers that we had been spared by the mercy of god and that enough people had prayed at the right time to stop the apocalypse from happening.
'We were told each time that god was testing our faith,' she said.
Ms Ashman left the cult before her eldest daughter turned 16. But she didn't realise Kamm had been grooming girls before they turned 16 until he was charged with having sex with someone underage.
'I wasn't in the cult when police charged him. But he told members that it was god testing his faith and he wouldn't go to jail.'
This denial echoed her ex-husband's views on the paedophile leader years before when Ms Ashman had brought up her issues with Kamm's sexual behaviours.
'My husband told me Kamm had permission from the Virgin Mary, that what he was doing was okay.'
In 2006 Ms Ashman escaped from the cult. She admitted she had 'no experience in the outside world and had to play catch up alongside her children'.
The family who now live in Brisbane have thrived since leaving both religious organisations behind. Ms Ashman remarried after discovering 'real love' and is working hard to tell her story – so other vulnerable people don't get trapped like she did.
'Cults prey on people's vulnerabilities. You don't just join a cult – you join a group of people with the same ideas, or the same hobbies.
'If someone in your life is at a vulnerable point you should ask them if you can help – or wrap them in a warm hug so they don't look to these places for comfort.'
Ms Ashman believes there to be about 3000 cults currently operating in Australia. Some from isolated properties where people all live together and others in situations where the families live alone and only communicate with other group members, like in her childhood.
'If I had grown up in a normal childhood and if I was allowed to go to school and watch television or read the paper – if I was taught about the world I wouldn't have become trapped by Kamm.
'But I wasn't, I was socially naïve and I didn't have the skills I needed to survive in the world.'
Kamm was jailed for nine years in 2005 – and continues to run a website devoted to his ideas and teachings.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4256748/Mum-escapes-religious-doomsday-cult-paedophile-leader.html
Feb 23, 2017
Aussie survivor tells: 4 warning signs of being in a cult
Yahoo
“My parents brought me up in The Society of St Pius X, an ultra religious Catholic sect that had started off with good intentions but has become an open cult,” Claire explains to Be.
“I left home when I was 18 and got married to a much older man – he was 31. I was feeling lost, insecure and directionless. I was very socially naïve.”
Eight years into her marriage and five children later, Claire was horrified to learn her husband Tony wanted to move to the NSW suburb of Nowra to live in a community run by the infamous William “Little Pebble” Kamm.
Claiming he was able to communicate with God and the Virgin Mary, Little Pebble believed it was his purpose to take 12 queens and 72 princesses to repopulate the Earth with his "holy seed".
Little Pebble would also later go on to be convicted of having sex with two 15-year-old girls, and jailed for nine years.
"I didn’t know it was a cult because I’d never heard that word [but] I didn’t have a good feeling about it, and I didn’t want to go. It was an absolute dump and I hated it on sight,” says Claire, who would go on to live in the community, known as The Order of Saint Charbel, for nearly 10 years.
“Kamm had his favourites, he’d have his arms around certain girls. One of the young girls was only 17 and had a baby. I noticed how he worded it in the community notice board, and thought ‘Holy s**t, that’s his baby’. I didn’t realise at the time he was grooming them when they were much younger."
“I wanted to move, but others in the cult said ‘No, he’s got special permission from the Virgin Mary to keep doing this.’”
Disgusted, horrified and terrified for the safety of her children, Claire – whose children now range in age from 26 to 12 - knew she had no choice but to leave when her husband became even more firmly entrenched in the order and decided to become a priest.
“That’s when I knew that the marriage was over,” says Claire. “I spent the next two and a bit years playing along, it was really hard.”
When Tony began to work away from home in 2004, Claire seized her chance. She began purging the family of possessions Tony had collected for the “apocalypse” Little Pebble had told his followers was coming.
“We’d been told that when the apocalypse came, the Earth was going to be burnt and there would be survivors from communities who had obeyed William Kamm, so we had to store food, clothes and farm implements,” she explains.
February 23, 2017
After escaping one of Australia's most infamous cults with her eight children, Claire Ashman doesn't want others to make the same mistake.
For most of us, the idea of being trapped in a controlling, manipulative cult seems so outrageous it doesn't even cross your mind. It happens in books, or in movies, or in articles like this that you read on the train while thinking ‘That’s never ever going to happen to me’.”
But according to ex-cult member Claire Ashman, these organisations are much more widespread than we think, with estimates there are over 3000 active cults in Australia.
Claire should know. Having spent decades of her life in not one, but two separate ultra religious and suppressive cults, the Brisbane mum-of-eight was forced to plot her escape when she realised she was putting her young family in danger of a paedophile.
After escaping one of Australia's most infamous cults with her eight children, Claire Ashman doesn't want others to make the same mistake.
For most of us, the idea of being trapped in a controlling, manipulative cult seems so outrageous it doesn't even cross your mind. It happens in books, or in movies, or in articles like this that you read on the train while thinking ‘That’s never ever going to happen to me’.”
But according to ex-cult member Claire Ashman, these organisations are much more widespread than we think, with estimates there are over 3000 active cults in Australia.
Claire should know. Having spent decades of her life in not one, but two separate ultra religious and suppressive cults, the Brisbane mum-of-eight was forced to plot her escape when she realised she was putting her young family in danger of a paedophile.
 |
| Brisbane mum Claire is passionate about increasing awareness about cults after her own years of personal experience. Photo: Facebook/mark.ashman.739 |
“My parents brought me up in The Society of St Pius X, an ultra religious Catholic sect that had started off with good intentions but has become an open cult,” Claire explains to Be.
“I left home when I was 18 and got married to a much older man – he was 31. I was feeling lost, insecure and directionless. I was very socially naïve.”
Eight years into her marriage and five children later, Claire was horrified to learn her husband Tony wanted to move to the NSW suburb of Nowra to live in a community run by the infamous William “Little Pebble” Kamm.
 |
| Claire, pictured here in religious garb, hated her time in Little Pebble's cult and became increasingly outspoken against it. |
Claiming he was able to communicate with God and the Virgin Mary, Little Pebble believed it was his purpose to take 12 queens and 72 princesses to repopulate the Earth with his "holy seed".
Little Pebble would also later go on to be convicted of having sex with two 15-year-old girls, and jailed for nine years.
"I didn’t know it was a cult because I’d never heard that word [but] I didn’t have a good feeling about it, and I didn’t want to go. It was an absolute dump and I hated it on sight,” says Claire, who would go on to live in the community, known as The Order of Saint Charbel, for nearly 10 years.
“Kamm had his favourites, he’d have his arms around certain girls. One of the young girls was only 17 and had a baby. I noticed how he worded it in the community notice board, and thought ‘Holy s**t, that’s his baby’. I didn’t realise at the time he was grooming them when they were much younger."
“I wanted to move, but others in the cult said ‘No, he’s got special permission from the Virgin Mary to keep doing this.’”
Disgusted, horrified and terrified for the safety of her children, Claire – whose children now range in age from 26 to 12 - knew she had no choice but to leave when her husband became even more firmly entrenched in the order and decided to become a priest.
 |
| William Kamm was convicted of paedophilia in 2005 and served nine years in jail. |
“That’s when I knew that the marriage was over,” says Claire. “I spent the next two and a bit years playing along, it was really hard.”
When Tony began to work away from home in 2004, Claire seized her chance. She began purging the family of possessions Tony had collected for the “apocalypse” Little Pebble had told his followers was coming.
“We’d been told that when the apocalypse came, the Earth was going to be burnt and there would be survivors from communities who had obeyed William Kamm, so we had to store food, clothes and farm implements,” she explains.
 |
Claire, pictured here with her new husband Mark, had nine
kids with her ex Tony, however one child passed away before
she entered Little Pebble's community.
Source: Facebook/claire.mcauliffe.37
|
In 2006, despite having very little experience in the outside world, Claire took the plunge and opened a bank account and changed Centrelink payments so the money went into her account.
She began to scour the rental columns in the local newspaper, and when a Nowra sheriff knocked on her door in August to evict the family from their home, Claire knew this was her chance.
“My kids come first, their stability, their security comes before anything or anyone else,” says Claire. “It didn’t matter about me being on my own, I thought come hell or high water, I’ll make it somehow.”
Now remarried to her British husband Mark and working as a cleaner while pursuing her passion to raise awareness on the issue, Claire has dedicated her life to telling her story and warning others about how easy it is to become influenced and manipulated into joining a cult.
Here are Claire’s tell-tale signs to look out for:
If your loved one has becoming increasingly withdrawn or cagey about who they’re seeing and what they are doing, it could be a warning sign. “If the group is very secretive and tells you that other people won’t understand and you have to keep it a secret, you’ll notice they will be secretive,” says Claire.
“People can get drawn in through a personal development group, a yoga group, or it can be religious. People are curious and everybody has certain beliefs or likes and dislikes, and you hear about a group and you just go and join it,” says Claire. “Sometimes [your loved one] will talk a lot about them. It depends. They will also be excited about meeting other like-minded people.”
If you’ve noticed some suspicious payments your friend or family member is making, it could be sign they are being manipulated by someone else.
“A lot of people think that when William Kamm went to jail for paedophilia, the cult closed down, it didn’t,” explains Claire. “There’s other cults connected to him, and he is getting money from all of that. There is money coming from somewhere and that is how they flourish.”
“People need to understand that you don’t willingly join a cult,” says Claire. For some people, feeling lost or searching for some sort of meaning can lead them to meet someone who can see and exploit that.
“The thing is, it’s easy to join but you’ve got to remember cult leaders are the masters of manipulation, and you’re manipulated against your will but without knowing it,” says Claire.
Claire and her kids no longer has contact with her ex, and remarried her current husband Mark (pictured) in 2015. Photo: Facebook/claire.mcauliffe.37
For anyone who worries someone they love might be involved in a cult, Claire’s advice is simple.
“The biggest thing is don’t judge. Don’t tell them ‘You’re in a cult, you need to get out of it’ because that’s the worst thing you can say,” says Claire.
“It’s very important you still need to be in contact and let them trust you. They may not tell you very much, but at least you’re there because that’s very important.
“Often times people get drawn into these cults and they don’t realise and sometimes a light bulb can go on one day and they think, ‘Holy shit, I don’t have any contact with any family members or friends, who can I call on?’ and they feel so alone and afraid they can’t take that step out.”
If you are concerned about the mental health of yourself or a loved one, seek support and information by calling Lifeline 13 11 14, or Kids Helpline 1800 551 800
https://au.be.yahoo.com/lifestyle/real-life/a/34477940/aussie-survivor-tells-4-warning-signs-of-being-in-a-cult/#page1
She began to scour the rental columns in the local newspaper, and when a Nowra sheriff knocked on her door in August to evict the family from their home, Claire knew this was her chance.
“My kids come first, their stability, their security comes before anything or anyone else,” says Claire. “It didn’t matter about me being on my own, I thought come hell or high water, I’ll make it somehow.”
Now remarried to her British husband Mark and working as a cleaner while pursuing her passion to raise awareness on the issue, Claire has dedicated her life to telling her story and warning others about how easy it is to become influenced and manipulated into joining a cult.
Here are Claire’s tell-tale signs to look out for:
Secrecy
If your loved one has becoming increasingly withdrawn or cagey about who they’re seeing and what they are doing, it could be a warning sign. “If the group is very secretive and tells you that other people won’t understand and you have to keep it a secret, you’ll notice they will be secretive,” says Claire.
Excitement
“People can get drawn in through a personal development group, a yoga group, or it can be religious. People are curious and everybody has certain beliefs or likes and dislikes, and you hear about a group and you just go and join it,” says Claire. “Sometimes [your loved one] will talk a lot about them. It depends. They will also be excited about meeting other like-minded people.”
Financial involvement
If you’ve noticed some suspicious payments your friend or family member is making, it could be sign they are being manipulated by someone else.
“A lot of people think that when William Kamm went to jail for paedophilia, the cult closed down, it didn’t,” explains Claire. “There’s other cults connected to him, and he is getting money from all of that. There is money coming from somewhere and that is how they flourish.”
Vulnerability
“People need to understand that you don’t willingly join a cult,” says Claire. For some people, feeling lost or searching for some sort of meaning can lead them to meet someone who can see and exploit that.
“The thing is, it’s easy to join but you’ve got to remember cult leaders are the masters of manipulation, and you’re manipulated against your will but without knowing it,” says Claire.
Claire and her kids no longer has contact with her ex, and remarried her current husband Mark (pictured) in 2015. Photo: Facebook/claire.mcauliffe.37
For anyone who worries someone they love might be involved in a cult, Claire’s advice is simple.
“The biggest thing is don’t judge. Don’t tell them ‘You’re in a cult, you need to get out of it’ because that’s the worst thing you can say,” says Claire.
“It’s very important you still need to be in contact and let them trust you. They may not tell you very much, but at least you’re there because that’s very important.
“Often times people get drawn into these cults and they don’t realise and sometimes a light bulb can go on one day and they think, ‘Holy shit, I don’t have any contact with any family members or friends, who can I call on?’ and they feel so alone and afraid they can’t take that step out.”
If you are concerned about the mental health of yourself or a loved one, seek support and information by calling Lifeline 13 11 14, or Kids Helpline 1800 551 800
https://au.be.yahoo.com/lifestyle/real-life/a/34477940/aussie-survivor-tells-4-warning-signs-of-being-in-a-cult/#page1
Feb 12, 2017
Paedophile William 'Little Pebble' Kamm given reprieve by court over tardy paperwork
SHANNON TONKIN
February 12, 2017
William “Little Pebble” Kamm’s bid to appeal against a five-year extension of his sex offender supervision order came within a whisker of being thrown out of court earlier this month after orders to serve paperwork were ignored by his legal team, the Mercury can reveal.
The NSW Court of Appeal said Kamm and his lawyers, which includes flamboyant Sydney silk Charles Waterstreet, had repeatedly failed to set out in writing their legal grounds for the appeal in the seven months the matter had been before the court.
Kamm blamed money troubles for the delay.
Despite labeling the behaviour “serious and sustained non-compliance” with court orders, Justice Anthony Payne agreed to give the 66-year-old one last chance to lodge the required documents.
It is the latest development in a decade-long legal saga involving the South Coast cult leader.
Kamm was jailed for a maximum of nine years in 2007 for having sex with two 15-year-old girls, claiming God and the Virgin Mary told him to use them to repopulate the earth.
Both victims had lived in Kamm’s religious community ‘‘The Order of Saint Charbel’’ at Cambewarra, near Nowra.
In his current legal fight, Kamm’s is seeking to appeal a NSW Supreme Court decision to extend his supervision by NSW Corrections for a further five years, after psychiatrists deemed him at high risk of reoffending.
Presiding judge Justice Ian Harrison deemed the order necessary to prevent Kamm from luring under-age followers to rural areas after his parole expired and supervision ended.
‘‘There are also real concerns Mr Kamm will further re-integrate with members of his order and position himself in a rural area, away from scrutiny and in a manner that will provide ready access to under-age followers,’’ Justice Harrison wrote in his judgment at the time.
‘‘Mr Kamm’s particular sexual predispositions appear to be almost intractable.’’
Kamm has always maintained he is innocent of the allegations against him and in August last year starred in a 37-minute video produced by Justice Action in which he blamed the media for his conviction and incarceration.
A hearing into the supervision order extension has been set down in the Court of Appeal for May 8.
http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/4462383/cult-leader-little-pebble-avoids-having-appeal-thrown-out-of-court-over-tardy-paperwork/
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