Christian Assemblies International
A fundamentalist church that was caught running a secret homosexual sex ring
1970s - present
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Christian Assemblies International originally appeared to be a regular church. Scott Williams was a friendly, outgoing pastor that hosted cookouts and preached a Pentecostal message. However, he was soon able to manipulate his congregation into doing his bidding.
Proclaiming that he was the "anointed one" of God and that the end of the world was imminent, Williams secured the devotion of his followers. He demanded that members give him money, going as far as to fine people and launch investigations when he believed his followers were not paying him enough. Using this money, he built a multi-million dollar property portfolio and forced his followers to renovate his properties day and night, severely punishing them if they did not obey. His attitude towards women also became increasingly hateful, even demanding their husbands beat them with a rod.
Probably the most unique aspect of this fundamentalist church was its homosexual tendencies. Williams, who notably targeted young men to join his church, told the men that they must have deeper connections with other men than they do with their wives. He organized regular massage sessions, where up to 80 men would get naked and massage each other. Williams would close these sessions by telling a member that they needed to stay with him that night for private instruction, where he would force them to engage in non-consensual sex acts. Eventually, the men who suffered this sexual abuse stood up to him and took him to court. Soon after, a news station conducted a 4-year investigation into the cult, bringing William's abuses into the public eye in 2014.
Williams died the year after his abuses were publicized, and the church continues under new leadership.
Religion: Christianity
Denomination: Pentecostalism
Founder: Scott Williams
Founded: late 1970s in Feldafing, Germany
Location: Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia
Also called: Christian Assemblies Europe International; Christian Assemblies Europe
Members were forced into labor and would be "severely punished" if they refused or disobeyed rules, such as not having a clean enough house (source)
Members were investigated, punished, and threatened with eternal damnation if they did not donate enough money to the church (source)
Leader Scott Williams monitored and spied on members to maintain control over them (source)
Williams ordered members to beat women with a rod if they disobeyed his rules (source)
The cult believed the world was going to end very soon (source)
Pastor Scott Williams
Women were considered to be "Satanic beings not to be trusted" (source)
In 2010, Williams was charged with 24 counts of aggravated sexual assault, indecent assault, and sexual intercourse without consent (source)
Men would be coerced to massage and caress each other while naked, and one would be selected to spend the night with leader Scott Williams, where they engaged in further sex acts (source)
Members were "terrified" and believed that they would go to Hell if they left the cult (source)
Scott Williams taught men to perform homosexual acts for religious purposes. This relationship was called "bundschaft" (source)
Men had to participate in "bundschaft" to be trusted by the church, and it was mandatory for senior men in the organization (source)
Bundschaft was a bond stronger than marriage, and a lifetime commitment (source)
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