‘Incredibly dangerous’: New Gloriavale investigation uncovers concerns – The Front Page

New details have emerged about a “mass allegation investigation” behind the scenes at Gloriavale.

Authorities have been quietly involved in another months-long investigation there, with the Children’s Minister and Oranga Tamariki involved.

This time, it relates to concerns that parents were taught to cover the mouths of children and babies to stop them from crying.

NZ Herald senior investigative reporter Michael Morrah has detailed the new investigation, which involved more than 100 interviews.

He told The Front Page it started in November last year.

“I’ve learned from the documents that this investigation was carried out as a result of concerns that came out in the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.

“That inquiry heard from lawyers and former residents of Gloriavale about the abuse and harm they say occurred during their time within this community.

“It was that information which prompted this mass allegation investigation... The commission heard that there was a practice at Gloriavale that founder Hopeful Christian essentially taught and encouraged, and that was that if a child is crying or upset or making noise, there is a method to stop that.

“That method to quieten children was to put your hand over the baby or child’s mouth... Now, obviously, that’s incredibly dangerous,” he said.

Morrah has spoken to Children’s Minister Karen Chhour, police and former Gloriavale residents about this practice, which the sect ensures does not happen any more.

“They’ve come back to me in an email attributed to a community spokesperson. They tell me that the members of Gloriavale uphold the national expectations of safety for children in New Zealand.

“They also point out that since 2016, there have been education programmes within Gloriavale on safe parenting and child safety awareness, and that since 2016 these education processes have ‘progressively been embedded’,” he said.

Listen to the full episode to hear more about:

• More details on the “mass allegation investigation”
• Gloriavale’s response
• Criticism from leavers.

The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.

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