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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forumschurch elder of secretive child abusing christian church sentenced to life in prison. women had ENOUGH!
https://chatelaine.com/longforms/2x2s-abuse/But now, a cohort of both current and ex-members have gathered online to demand change. A reckoning is underway: Survivors have come forward with their stories, speaking publicly about their abusers. Their testimonies have captured the attention of the FBI, which in February 2024 launched an investigation into the rampant abuse perpetrated by 2x2 leaders. Historically, women have largely been the victims of this patriarchal sect. But now, theyre standing up and saying enough is enough.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/member-secretive-christian-sect-sentenced-120-years-prison/story?id=116460154
Member of secretive Christian sect sentenced to 120 years in prison
An ABC News yearlong investigation into the 2x2 Church, a Christian sect so secretive most people have never heard of it, has uncovered allegations of widespread child sexual abuse and subsequent coverups.
During the investigation, ABC News spoke with dozens of alleged victims of child sexual abuse across more than 30 states.
Raymond Zwiefelhofer was convicted of 10 counts of possessing child sexual abuse material and was sentenced to 120 years in prison last month.
As part of the ongoing investigation by law enforcement, Raymond Zwiefelhofer was convicted of 10 counts of possessing child sexual abuse material and was sentenced to 120 years in prison last month.
In total, there were 87 files that were determined to be child sexual abuse material or sometimes known as child pornography, Catherine Fu, a Maricopa Deputy County Attorney, told ABC News. The 10 charged files were a combination of photos and videos, and they were all depicting children under the age of 15 engaged in either exploitive exhibition or sexual conduct.
Zwiefelhofer, 61, maintains his innocence.
How I Survived An Ultra-Secretive Christian Sect
For decades, members of the so-called 2x2s experienced abuse at the hands of those in power. Now, theyre telling their storiesand Im telling mine, too.
I HAD MY FIRST PANIC ATTACK inside a massive white tent while surrounded by hundreds of members of a church with no name. A bead of sweat dripped down my back. I was 17, and my red flip phone was hidden in the pocket of the shawl that covered my bare shoulders. The preacher droned on about salvation and deliverance from damnation. My father sat beside me in a full suit, seemingly unaffected by the summer humidity. On the other side of me, my grandmother nodded her head, meeting my eyes briefly and willing me to soak up the preachers words. I could feel my heartbeat in my throat, like a hummingbird fighting to get free. I am not good enough, I thought. If I didnt follow the churchs teachings, I was destined to spend eternity in hell.
A breeze rustled the tent slightly, and I noticed a gap in the fabricjust large enough for a small person to squeeze through. My chest felt tight and my vision blurred. I lunged toward the gap and quickly crawled through the hole, nudging my hips until I was freed from the stifling tent. I didnt look back, afraid Id catch a shadow of disappointment on my fathers or grandmothers face.
My family has been part of an ultra-secretive Christian sect for nearly a century. Every year, my grandmother would attend the sects annual community gathering, a four-day-long event in rural Ontario. The gathering, called convention, is a way for members to meet with each other and listen to speakers. Conventions across the globe are hosted by approved families who offer up their property for members to set up their sea of tents and trailers. Hundreds, sometimes thousands, of members of the insular group attend.
https://chatelaine.com/longforms/2x2s-abuse/
Submariner
(12,702 posts)Then tell Joaquín what his new cell mate is imprisoned for, and then let nature take its course.
Roy Rolling
(7,189 posts)I clicked on the ABC News link and the first paragraph read my mind: An ABC News yearlong investigation into the 2x2 Church, a Christian sect so secretive most people have never heard of it
.
Seriously. I grew up as an ordinary kid in the U.S. whose parents dragged us for our own good to an ordinary Christian church.
Who the fuck would attend a Christian church called 2x2? Seriously, is that a Musk x-branded company? A McJesus franchise?
Finally, giving tax-exempt status to clown 🤡 organizationsreligious and charitable(especially political 501(c) entities) is why people hate religions. Good people support charity, big money recipients of this tax charity are fronts for commercial businesses and/or frauds.
rampartd
(651 posts)and who knows how many others
i just don't get it.
rampartd
(651 posts)nominally christians, they find some bible verse that seems to support their perversion, but how do they spread this to 30 states?
malaise
(278,485 posts)Huge
rampartd
(651 posts)i'm just glad we had no children.
BeerBarrelPolka
(1,407 posts)was/is in an evangelical Assemblies of God offshoot cult.
japple
(10,369 posts)ex got caught up in this cult.
No offense taken.
Yes, they spoke in tongues and all that jazz.
MayReasonRule
(1,885 posts)It is impossible to reason with those that reject reason itself.
Mythology reveals and informs.
I adore it.
Religion obscures and deceives.
I abhor it.
This unfortunately is that.
Delusion sustains itself only through further delusion.
rampartd
(651 posts)and greetings from orleans parish
moniss
(6,074 posts)of the pardon list for the incoming circus.
johnnyfins
(1,448 posts)Why is it so secretive? Christians in the west are not being persecuted for their beliefs. Again, why so secretive? I guess we now know.