Sect leader labelled 'a pervert'

Yvette Olsen applied to have her name suppression lifted so she could speak about the case.

The woman who put Gloriavale sect leader Hopeful Christian in prison says he is no man of God and has labelled him a "pervert".

Yvette Olsen this month applied through the courts to have her name suppression lifted and last night spoke to TVNZ's Sunday programme about how Christian, previously known as Neville Cooper, sexually assaulted her on three occasions.

The assaults happened in 1984, when she was 19.

Nine years after Ms Olsen left the Springbank Christian Community - the predecessor to Gloriavale, which was based in Cust, North Canterbury, and led by Christian - she testified against him in court, which led to his being sentenced to five years in jail, of which he served 11 months.

Christian's son, Phil Cooper, also testified against the man, who moved to New Zealand from Australia with his wife and 11 siblings in 1967.

Last night, Ms Olsen called Christian a corrupt man of "unbridled lust", "lies" and "absolute power".

"My God, he was the leader of a cult, he was a dirty old man."

A year after the assaults, Ms Olsen left the community on foot with her husband and their baby daughter - walking almost 20km from Cust to Rangiora.

Ms Olsen said she was inspired to speak to media after her brother's 22-year-old daughter, known only as Julia, spoke to Campbell Live in April about being the victim of a "wrong relationship" with an adult married man when she was a child.

Julia, who left Gloriavale three years ago, said adults in the community had relationships with minors.

"They don't like it to be looked at as a sexual relationship, but no matter what relationship you have with someone younger than you, or anybody, it can turn wrong over time," she told Campbell Live.

Police said a "number of calls" have been received after a number - 0800 400 800 - was set up for former and current Gloriavale members.

Ms Olsen said Christian had tried to break her spirit, and had forced her to call herself a "harlot" after she became involved, aged 16, with a 14-year-old boy at Gloriavale.

"He didn't have the right to do what he did to me and he's no man of God," she said of Christian.

"Perverts don't stop being perverts overnight. Leopards don't change their spots," Ms Olsen said.

When the Herald contacted Gloriavale last night, community member Peter Righteous said he had not seen Sunday so couldn't comment on the television programme.

"We haven't seen it - nobody here has seen it. We've been in a meeting all night so we haven't seen the show.

"There'll probably be one or two who will watch it on demand tomorrow [today] but I don't know who that'll be."

He said no one in the community would speak to the media about Christian's conviction or Ms Olsen's comments: "We don't comment on issues of this kind of personal nature, where people make accusations against us."