Trial for 'the Prophet' Begins

By Kevin Bernard
Bayshore Broadcasting
May 09, 2016

http://www.bayshorebroadcasting.ca/news_item.php?NewsID=84396

Fred King will stand trial for charges related to sexual and physical assault at church.

The trial of a man known as "the Prophet" at the Church of Jesus Christ Restored in Chatsworth gets underway today.

57 year old Fred King is facing 24 charges related to the time he was leader of the Church.

Three weeks have been set aside for the case to be heard in Owen Sound Superior Court.

It is not a jury trial -- as King elected to be tried by Judge alone.

The charges date from 1978 to 2008 and include sexual exploitation, sexual interference, three counts of sexual assault, and three counts of assault causing bodily harm.

He is also charged with four counts of uttering death threats, two counts of assault with a weapon and 10 counts of assault.

King's brother Judson will be in the June 6th assignment court in Owen Sound. He has been committed to stand trial on charges of assault with a weapon, sexual assault and three counts of assault between 1981 and 2007.

The 61 year old has elected to have a trial by judge and jury.

Because of a publication ban, no information can be released about the allegations.

Fred King was referred to as the "The Prophet" by worshippers in the church.

He disappeared after former members of the Church of Jesus Christ Restored went to police in 2012 with allegations of physical and sexual abuse.
    
But King was arrested in Hamilton on April 11th.

The book "Property: The True Story of a Polygamous Church Wife" was released in 2013, and an Owen Sound woman described several acts of assault she suffered before escaping.

Her name can not be released due to a publication ban in the case.

She was a church member for several decades, and was one of several wives of the "Prophet" before finally breaking free a few years ago.

As a result of the allegations, the OPP launched a 16 month probe into the church.