The extent of sexual abuse at Gloriavale has been laid bare at the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.
Gloriavale's leader Howard Temple spoke publicly for the first time on Thursday and was questioned under oath about life in the secretive Christian community.
Stepping into the frame and under the spotlight, Gloriavale leader Temple made a rare public appearance in front of the Royal Commission of Inquiry.
Temple answered questions from the commissioners and addressed the hurt of leavers.
"This is not about one perpetrator or one man, this is about a system that enables abuse," said Rosanna Overcomer in their witness statement.
On Thursday, lawyers argued the community's 1989 doctrine allowed abuse to occur.
Members were told not to report issues to the police, not to contact family members or friends on the outside, and not to travel out of the community without the leader's blessing.
"So it's not about communication is it, about where you are, it's about control isn't it?" asked one lawyer.
A 2020 Police investigation found 61 young people within Gloriavale were found to be either offenders or victims. In the most extreme case, one person had 27 victims.
"I don't deny it at all, I don't deny that at all," Temple told the Commission.
"We were more casual in our investigation but the police came in and they got right into it and dug right down to the roots of the thing and discovered things that we would never have imagined."
The police report went on to detail how a number of parents of the abused children are victims of sexual offending themselves, which is impacting their ability to support their children.
"Do you accept there has been intergenerational sexual abuse in your community?" asked one lawyer.
"Yes I do," Temple replied.
For leavers watching on, it has at times been a tough watch.
"The lack of accountability is disgusting. I thought by now he would actually acknowledge, but he was still blaming the children. Still victim blaming," said Gloriavale leaver Theo Pratt.
But they are allowing themselves a hint of hope.
"It's positive to finally see some accountability at Gloriavale and to see him challenged for the abuse," said Overcomer.
Gloriavale leaders have now listed a number of significant changes they're making to improve the culture.
Those include working to build tighter bonds within families; changing work hours and duties to allow more time for mothers and fathers to be with their children.
They have also implemented new policies around child protection, bullying and sexual harrassment, and there is now a Child Protection Group which includes a social worker from Oranga Tamariki visiting Gloriavale once a week.
The biggest single change is that Gloriavale says it is no longer dealing with complaints in house and has committed to involving the relevant authorities to investigate any wrongdoing.
But leaver Pratt says she is hearing otherwise.
"I still have people contacting me from inside asking 'when are these changes going to happen?' They can’t see anything changing".
