The scale of a sexual abuse scandal involving a former Destiny Church disciple continues to grow, with police laying new charges after two additional complainants came forward with allegations.
The 29-year-old man is now facing 18 charges in connection with five alleged victims.
If convicted he faces up to 20 years in prison.
Police say the alleged offending is linked to a Destiny Church youth group in South Auckland.
The offending is alleged to have spanned several years, dating back to 2019.
It’s understood the complainants were all teenagers at the time of the alleged offending.
A police spokesman said the defendant now faces 17 charges of indecent assault and one of unlawful sexual connection.
“Three additional charges of indecent assault have been laid in connection with this matter and these were filed on 30 July.
“These new charges relate to two additional victims. The matter now involves allegations from five victims in total.”
The defendant has interim name suppression and is on bail. He is due to reappear in court next month.
The Herald revealed in May that a Destiny Church disciple had been stood down and a police investigation launched into allegations the man sexually abused youths in his care.
The man was a longstanding Destiny member. His Facebook page features numerous photos of church events, many involving teenagers.
The Herald understands he was suspended from his volunteer role and banned from the church after his alleged offending was reported to police in November last year.
In a statement following the man’s arrest in June, Detective Inspector Natalie Nelson, Counties Manukau CIB, said charges had been laid “as part of an ongoing investigation into historical sexual assault allegations”.
They dated back to at least 2020 and involved “an individual connected to a youth group”.
“We continue to encourage anyone who has matters they need to raise with police to come forward. Any complaints will be treated in confidence and police will ensure support services are made available.”
In a statement last month, Destiny Church said: “This is now a matter for the courts and the police, therefore all queries need to be directed to them.
“We have no further comment to make, and will not be making any future comments on this case.”
Destiny leader Brian Tamaki has criticised police on social media, questioning how long it took to make an arrest.
“I am glad the police have finally arrested this [alleged] offender,” Tamaki posted on Facebook in June.
“It’s only taken them eight months since we notified them in November 2023 of this [alleged] offender and encouraged the victims to talk to the police. Why did the police not act immediately?”
He claimed the accused abuser had attended other churches during the months-long police investigation.
“We hold the police responsible.
“This [alleged] offender should not have been in circulation in our communities all this time,” Tamaki wrote.
In response, a police spokeswoman said: “Police have put someone before the court and as the matter is now before the court, we have nothing further to add.”
Lane Nichols is Deputy Head of News and a senior journalist for the New Zealand Herald with more than 20 years’ experience in the industry.
The Royal Society Publishing Photographic Awards celebrates the beauty of science