Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Church founder pleads guilty to part in Northland child sex ring

NZ Herald
11 Aug, 2020 03:12 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Michael Cornelis Weitenberg. Photo / Supplied

Michael Cornelis Weitenberg. Photo / Supplied

The founder of an Auckland church has today admitted his part in a Northland under-age sex ring.

Michael Cornelis Weitenberg, 56, of Mairangi Bay, pleaded guilty via his lawyer in the Kaikohe District Court to a charge of receiving commercial sexual services from a 15-year-old.

Court records show the offence occurred at Paihia on February 9.

The website of the Futurecaster Church in Albany, which has since been taken down, described Weitenberg as a founder, senior elder and prophet.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The church was formerly called Gate Global Nexus and ran out of the Albany Community Hub.

Weitenberg's lawyer requested that the sentencing be held in Auckland because his client had sold his car to make a "significant" reparation payment to the victim.

However, Judge Keith de Ridder said it was a Northland crime, and there was a lot of interest in the case in Northland, so the sentencing should take place in Northland.

He would however wait to hear from the victim and her whanau. If they wanted to attend he would not allow the sentencing to take place outside Northland, though he would be willing to consider shifting it to Whangārei.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The date and location of the sentencing will be set on August 20.

A police media spokesperson said police were generally not able to make any comment until after sentencing had taken place, out of respect for the judicial process which is still ongoing until sentencing.

"We note that there are a number of people who have been arrested in connection to this case so it is unlikely that police would be in a position to comment on this case until all individuals have been through the courts."

The church did not respond to the Herald's requests for comment.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

'Wow, the bird song': Record year for pest control in Pukenui Forest

Northern Advocate

Volunteer firefighter's leukaemia battle sparks community support

Northern Advocate

Northland’s big battlegrounds: 17 fight for three council spots


Sponsored

Revealed: The night driving ‘red flag’

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

'Wow, the bird song': Record year for pest control in Pukenui Forest
Northern Advocate

'Wow, the bird song': Record year for pest control in Pukenui Forest

Rats have halved in 18 months, benefiting tūī and kākāriki populations.

09 Aug 05:36 AM
Volunteer firefighter's leukaemia battle sparks community support
Northern Advocate

Volunteer firefighter's leukaemia battle sparks community support

08 Aug 11:00 PM
Northland’s big battlegrounds: 17 fight for three council spots
Northern Advocate

Northland’s big battlegrounds: 17 fight for three council spots

08 Aug 06:07 PM


Revealed: The night driving ‘red flag’
Sponsored

Revealed: The night driving ‘red flag’

04 Aug 11:37 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP