The man, who has interim name suppression, had been due in the Kaikohe District Court on Tuesday but his lawyer said his client had just got out of hospital and was unwell.
The man was excused from appearing and remanded without plea. He is due back in court on September 24.
Lawyer Doug Blaikie said he expected the case would be resolved on that date because his client wanted it dealt with as quickly as possible.
Blaikie sought continued name suppression until the next court appearance, saying naming his client now could be “very detrimental”.
“He has cancer, he has had a number of strokes. Generally he is in pretty poor shape. There is a real risk to him.”
Judge John McDonald rejected Blaikie’s argument that naming the man could identify his alleged victims.
He said the media was well aware of restrictions which prohibited the publication of information that could identify the victims of sex offences.
On the other grounds advanced by Blaikie – that publishing the man’s name could “cause his health to deteriorate to the point he would not survive” – Judge McDonald said the arguments for and against were finely balanced.
However, he was prepared to allow name suppression to continue until the next court date.
Any request for suppression beyond that date would need a strong argument, including affidavits, Judge McDonald said.
The religious group known as the Two by Twos, or The Truth, is under investigation by the FBI for historical child sexual abuse.
