LONDON (ENGLAND)
BBC News
July 19, 2019
By Jon Ironmonger
Hundreds of former members of the Jesus Army are seeking damages for alleged abuse inside the religious sect.
Ex-members have told the BBC how children suffered sexual, physical and emotional abuse on a “prolific scale”, with most claims relating to incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.
The Baptist sect is to close but is the subject of a renewed police inquiry.
The Jesus Army has apologised to anyone “who experienced harm in the past” and urged victims to contact police.
Ten people from the Jesus Fellowship Church – later known as the Jesus Army – have been convicted for various sex offences.
‘Beaten with rods’
Launched in the manse of a small chapel in Northamptonshire in 1969, the Jesus Army grew quickly in wealth and number.
At its peak the JFC had more than 2,000 members, hundreds of whom lived together in close-knit communal houses throughout central England.
It offered homeless or vulnerable people and god-fearing families the promise of “new creation” through a devout, all-encompassing way of life.
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