AUSTRALIA
The West Australian
SEAN COWAN, The West Australian
Updated January 19, 2012
The leader of a Perth Christian group with strong links to the Catholic Church has been charged with molesting several female members of his flock.
After a four-year campaign by the alleged victims, police from the sex assault squad issued a summons to Kevin Gerard Byrne Horgan yesterday and he is expected to appear in Perth Magistrate’s Court next month.
It will be alleged the offences occurred when Mr Horgan, 68, was the leader of the Bethel Covenant Community, which closed in 2008 after several women started an internal revolt against him.
At the time, _The West Australian’s _ exclusive reports revealed the complaints about Mr Horgan dated back to the 1990s and were detailed in reports prepared by senior Bethel members.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.