By RNZ
A Gloriavale man who admitted sexual offending against eight girls in the Christian community has been jailed for four years and two months.
Fervent Ben-Canaan last year pleaded guilty to eight charges of indecent assault and indecent acts – some of which were representative – against girls aged 11 and over.
The offending occurred between 2004 and 2018.
The 45-year-old preyed upon some girls as they slept and touched them while they were caring for children or working in Gloriavale.
Ben-Canaan was sentenced in the Christchurch District Court today.
Judge Raoul Neave says he has caused long-standing psychological damage to his victims.
He pleaded guilty to eight charges part-way through a jury trial at the Greymouth District Court last September.
A former Gloriavale member who was sexually abused in the Christian community when she was 13 years old told her abuser in court on Wednesday that he stole her childhood and her innocence.
The survivor broke down in tears in court reading her victim impact statement.
She says during the period she was abused she felt like she was living in a never-ending nightmare.
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The incident happened on a private road off State Highway 3.