Abuse reported to cult leader before police: Inquiry hearing
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Reporting structures in cults can enable child abuse and undermine child safety systems, a Victorian parliamentary inquiry has heard.
Ex-members Ryan and Catherine Carey told the inquiry on July 24 that parents at Geelong Revival Centre reported abuse to cult leaders first, allowing a two-and-a-half-day delay before police were contacted.
The Inquiry into recruitment methods and impacts of cults and organised fringe groups is examining whether coercive control tactics should face criminal sanctions, with a final report due in September 2026.
Ryan Carey said the GRC operated like a state within a state where cult rules took precedence over the law.
Within GRC even criminal actions had to be reported to the leader rather than police, he said.
A convicted child sex offender had taught Sunday school for most of his life before being found guilty of molesting nine children, Mr Carey said.
He said the reporting delay allowed the offender to destroy 12 gigabytes of child exploitation material.
Mr Carey said he was contacted daily by people across Victoria and Australia in churches that operated in similar ways.
Catherine Carey said basic supervision policies like ensuring two adults were present with children were not followed at GRC.
She said the case highlighted how groups could control people under the guise of religion.
Mrs Carey said no group should be able to control people even though everyone should be free to practice whatever religion they wanted.
Content retrieved from: https://tma.melbourneanglican.org.au/2025/07/abuse-reported-to-cult-leader-before-police-inquiry-hearing/.
