Longtime Gloriavale member Clem Ready turns against the leaders claiming that sexual abuse, bullying and forced labour are prevalent within the sect. Video / NZ Herald
A Gloriavale father of 13 once convicted of beating two of his young daughters with shoes, carpentry tools, coat hangers and belts has turned on the community's leaders, telling the court that sexual abuse, bullying and forced labour are prevalent within the sect.
And he says he was "impotent" to do anything about it - even though he raised issues and concerns repeatedly with Gloriavale leaders.
Clem Ready is giving evidence in the Employment Court in a case taken against Gloriavale by a number of leavers including his daughter and granddaughter.
His wife Sharon, a Gloriavale member since its inception, also spoke in court today.
Virginia Courage, Anna Courage and fellow leavers Pearl Valour, Serenity Pilgrim, Rose Standtrue and Crystal Loyal are fighting for a legal ruling that they were employees and not volunteers during their time at Gloriavale.
They allege women at the West Coast sect are treated as "modern-day slaves" and are forced to work from a young age.
The women say they were effectively born into and kept in "servitude" - which is illegal in New Zealand - and expected to work long days in physically demanding jobs often with no breaks and very little food or water.
Their case follows a similar action in the Employment Court by a group of former Gloriavale men whom the court ruled were employees from when they were just 6 years old.
Today he told Chief Employment Court Judge Christina Inglis that his conviction was a "turning point" in his life.
Clem Ready admits he believed in corporal punishment but since leaving Gloriavale has faced an "avalanche" of fact about wrongdoing in the community. Photo / NZH
It made him deeply reassess himself and in doing so he realised the wrongs being done to women - and others - within Gloriavale.
"I have come to understand in retrospect that my behaviours harmed and hurt my family and I am not proud of my actions."
Ready joined the community when it was based in North Canterbury when he was 19.
When he was 21 he married 19-year-old Sharon who had joined four years earlier.
"Watching her die being helpless as I did not have the skills to save her.
"On the day of the funeral Hopeful came up and said to me - in a serious comment that she now would not be sexually molested by anyone in the community.
"His attitude shook me."
David Ready, Constance Ready, Clem Ready, Sharon Ready, Prayer Ready and Joyful Ready at Gloriavale. Photo / Supplied
Ready gave evidence that sexual abuse was "prevalent" within Gloriavale and took it upon himself to "dig up" information.
"One servant (a member of leadership) had mistreated a young woman terribly … as consequence she left the community in tatters and she was described publicly as a harlot," Ready said.
"I lost respect for leaders … I felt so angry I wanted to expose them.
Ready said his wife was "scared" of him pursuing the matter in case he was "removed from the community".
"They hold all the power in just about every area in your life,' he said.
"Worker bees … we're treated like cheap labour, expected to submit to their will and that is what most of the community do," he said.
"I became very depressed at my impotence to do anything … so I left the community for 18 months."
Chief Employment Court Judge Christina Inglis. Photo / George Heard
Ready eventually went back to Gloriavale because he wanted to be with his "lovely" wife.
He had to front the leaders to get permission to return and said he had "every intention of making everything right" so he could be with his family again.
He said he was "bullied" and "intimidated" but eventually told he could come back but "just as one of the brethren".
That meant he had "no opinion, no voice, no conscience".
"All that was required of me was complete submission … and not to have any opinion," he told the court.
Ready was still deeply upset and concerned about how women were being treated at Gloriavale.
"I had concerns over the sexual behaviour of some males in the community," he said.
"I was unaware just how prevalent sexual offending was by males in the community - when I was left I was hit by an avalanche of facts exposing this offending and realised that those who held all the power had used their position to cover up their own and their children's offending."
He said women were simply used at Gloriavale to "work hard, get married and have children".
"They are groomed from birth," he said.
"They are to submit … to provide unlimited sex to their husbands, to become pregnant, to become mothers of many children.
"They are indoctrinated to be cheap sweatshop labour - underpinning the whole financial structure of the community.
"They have very limited options … the teaching of the girls is to not be worldly, to be submissive and not to complain."
Gloriavale is an isolated Christian community located at Haupiri on the West Coast of the South Island in New Zealand, and it has an estimated population of over 600. Photo / George Heard
He said it was accepted that women would tolerate "anything from physical to emotional pain to abuse" to conform to Gloriavale's rules and regulations.
"They have no option but to work on the teams," Ready said.
"They are taught from birth that women are subservient, if [a] girl complains about a male she quickly learns that she as the victim is punished.
"The girl is totally to blame, she must be a harlot, a whore - these are the words they use to describe the girl who complains.
"They do not receive relief from inappropriate sexual conduct … the leaders believe it is the girl to blame."
Ready said any changes announced by Gloriavale leaders in the wake of various safety concerns, abuse convictions and investigations were "no more than superficial change to appease outside scrutiny".
He still feared - deeply - for his children and others still living in the community.
"Particularly family member who had once been part of the community but had left.
"We moved to Gloriavale and the community became very isolated - we no longer had members living outside so did not receive news or external input.
"The children all attended the community school which was under the control of the overseeing shepherd.
"No one had their own money, telephone, newspapers, radio, no television.
"However the overseeing shepherds and the shepherds had access to and control over all these things."
Ready also spoke of signing various documents over the years - without any independent legal advice - relating to the operation of the community and relinquishing control of her bank accounts.
"I never felt I ever had a choice when documents were put in front of me," she said.
"I had no control over the money at all … I did not understand the structure at all but I was required to sign the documents, so I did.
"When we are expected to sign documents it is not a matter of free choice. There is only one expectation - that we sign without complaint.
"We live in a very isolated community, to me the reality is whatever advice we get is to sign or to put at risk our ability to live at and quality of life at Gloriavale."
Sharon Ready with two of her 13 children. Photo / Supplied
Ready said she had "no idea" what the leaders had been doing with the community's assets, money and land.
"They were supposed to belong to the people - that is all of us living in the community," she said.
"That is what I always understood was the purpose of the community - to build communal assets, to care for the people in a Christian environment. There should have been no other purpose."
She said Gloriavale was not about "total control" of the community but the leaders.
"This is right across the board by the overseeing shepherd and those he has appointed," she said.
As a result she joined her son John Ready in a civil court case seeking intervention and the removal of Gloriavale's board of trustees.
The wanted the board members replaced with a public trust "until a fit board can be found".
"I have been in this community as a wife and mother from the inception and (in) September 2020 I filed proceedings in the High Court to remove the shepherds as trustees from the community because that is what my responsibilities as a Christian required me to do," she said, becoming visibly emotional.
"I did this after a lot of thought and prayer - I did not do this lightly, as I do not give evidence here lightly."
The case is expected to run for at least seven weeks and a Givealittle page has been set up to help support the women and their families during the lengthy proceeding.
Gloriavale rejects all claims by the leavers and say the case is an attempt by "embittered" people to "blacken" the community's reputation.
Current members will give evidence of their life and treatment later in proceedings.
