Warning: This story discusses issues of sexual abuse and may be distressing A Destiny Church youth leader has been stood down and a police investigation launched into allegations the man sexually abused youths in his care. The Herald understands there are multiple alleged victims , with the alleged abuse spanning several years. The man was a longstanding Destiny disciple.
His Facebook page is littered with photos of church events , many involving teenagers from the Boys2Men youth group. There are also several images of the man with Destiny leader Brian Tamaki , including of him being anointed by the self-proclaimed apostle. A mother whose son attended the youth group claims the youth was abused by the accused man, who often had teens staying at his house.
She alerted police in November last year after her son revealed he had been sexually abused. It’s understood police then contacted Destiny Church, which immediately stood the man down from his volunteer leadership role and banned him from the church. The Herald also understands church leadership went to the man’s house to remove any teenagers who were staying there.
Police interviewed the mother’s son late last year and told her they were gathering evidence for a potential prosecution, she said. But more than six months on, the mother said she has not had any updates on the investigation. The solo mum said apart from an initial meeting with church leadership, she had received no communications from Destiny and no suppo.