South African Christian Preacher Living in Australia Faces Deportation after Being One of Eight Men Charged with Abuse of a 13-year-old Girl

By Leesa Smith
Daily Mail
July 31, 2015

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3180014/South-African-Christian-preacher-living-Australia-faces-deportation-one-eight-men-charged-abuse-13-year-old-girl-father-advertised-sex-Craigslist.html

The South African Christian minister allegedly embroiled in a paedophile ring could be sent back to his homeland under new Australian immigration laws.

Pastor David Volmer, a father-of-two from Banksia Grove in Perth, Western Australia, pleaded guilty to 12 child sex abuse charges. A 13-year-old girl was allegedly sexually exploited by a total of eight men over two years.

Now the 41-year-old South African, who moved to Perth's northern suburbs to set up an Acts Christian Church parish in 2013, faces being turfed out of the country after the law changed in December last year allowing Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to cancel a non-citizen’s visa if they are found guilty of a child sex crime within Australia,The Australian reported.

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Pastor David Volmer, a father-of-two from Perth, pleaded guilty to 12 child sex abuse charges

This comes as the South African-based church's only Australian parish will close its doors after the shocking revelation that Volmer is allegedly one of the eight men facing a total of 503 charges for offences that allegedly happened when the girl was aged between 11 and 13, the ABC reported.

Reverend Peter de Fin, whose grandfather founded the church, flew to Perth to speak to the 50-odd members of the parish.

He said he had not been able to meet with the young victim but did want to apologise on behalf of the church and offer her counselling.

'We don't make any excuses for a minister of the church behaving in this way,' he told the ABC.

'The church upholds moral standards and in this way the church has failed.'

Volmer could face being deported back to South Africa under new Australian immigration laws

Western Australia police have arrested eight men who will face more than 500 charges for offences against a 13-year-old girl

Volmer was the executive director of the WA Prison Fellowship that religious program for inmates, runs camps for children and supports victims of crime.

Prison Fellowship Australia chair Michael Wood said Volmer was asked to immediately resign following the charges and was not involved in running the children camps.

Volmer has previously lived in the US and Singapore.

Det Supt Feeney of the West Australian police said the investigation, dubbed Operation Ripstop, was ongoing and the material seized would be used to target other predators.

'It's disgusting material - there are no words to describe it,' he said. 'Any sex offence against a child is just beyond words.'

The father, who cannot be identified because it could identify his daughter, has been charged with 228 offences including sexual servitude of a child and stupefying with intent to commit an indictable offence.