Alleged abusers may get share of Jesus Army wealth

People accused of child abuse could receive significantly larger payments than their alleged victims under plans to share the fortune of a disgraced evangelical sect.

The organisation, known as the Jesus Army, has already paid out compensation to hundreds of people as part of a damages scheme.

Legal submissions, seen by the BBC, reveal it has £25m left which it intends to divide among loyal members. Survivors described the proposals as sickening.

A spokesperson for the Jesus Fellowship Community Trust (JFCT), which is winding up the affairs of the group, insisted the trustees had acted "in accordance with the trust deed".

One of the UK's largest and most abusive cults, the Jesus Army, or Jesus Fellowship Church, was founded by Noel Stanton, the late pastor of Bugbrooke Chapel, in Northamptonshire in 1969.

In 2017, three years prior to the group disbanding, documents seen by the BBC showed the estimated total value of its assets was £58.6m.

These included businesses and 55 large houses throughout England, which have since been sold.

Last year, under a redress scheme organised by the JFCT trustees, a compensation payment of £7.7m was shared among 601 individuals who said they suffered sexual, physical and emotional abuse in the fellowship's strict communal houses.

But claimants, most of whom were child victims, have criticised the scheme as ungenerous given it was almost entirely funded by insurers and is understood to have cost the trust about 5% of the total value of its assets.

"I don't think it followed any Christian code whatsoever," says Graham Lewis, 66, who worked as a nurse practitioner for the sect.

He left in 1996 because gay relationships were forbidden.

Mr Lewis says he believes those who remained members of the fellowship until the end have been "trying to protect themselves and feather their own nests".

As a victim of emotional and sexual abuse, he was paid £25,000 under the redress scheme.

"It doesn't compensate for the harm I suffered, and it also doesn't cover the financial losses I incurred; the 15 years I couldn't pay into a pension for example," he said.

Hardcore members of the Jesus Army gave all their wealth, income and possessions to a common purse, and unspent contributions went into the trust.

However, only 172 people who remained members until a decision to close in May 2020 are guaranteed to benefit from the assets.

As part of the winding up process, these so-called beneficiaries will vote on whether to expand the group of potential recipients.

The trustees said this created the possibility of other former members benefitting but added they had "no power to determine the vote".

Mr Lewis says he is concerned people accused of child abuse or covering-up offences could be among the listed beneficiaries.

"They're in line for huge payouts, perhaps ten times what survivors were awarded in damages. It's horrible and makes me sick to my stomach."

The BBC asked the JFCT how many alleged perpetrators of abuse or cover-up were among the listed beneficiaries.

A spokesperson said confidentiality considerations meant it was not appropriate to disclose their identities, adding many of the accusations during the redress scheme were made in strict confidence.

A review of compensation claims identified 539 alleged perpetrators of abuse in the Jesus Fellowship Church (about one sixth of the total membership), including 162 former leaders.

Given their loyalty to the movement, it is likely some former leaders are among the listed beneficiaries.

The BBC understands they have already received more than £20m in returns on capital investments, cash advances and other payments.

Northamptonshire Police said it was engaging with the allegations in the redress scheme but no new prosecutions had been started yet.

To date, at least 10 people have been convicted of indecent assaults or other offences committed while living in Jesus Army communities. Several others were acquitted.

Becky Ayres says she still remembers feeling trapped as a child who spent eight years in a community, before leaving to live with her grandmother in 1984 when she was 15.

"Part of the advice given to households was children should be beaten with a stick, and so anyone could decide when my baby sister or I was disciplined.

"The beatings were horrible and hurt and were always for the most trivial things like fidgeting during worship sessions."

Becky received £14,000 under the redress scheme.

"People didn't receive much for emotional abuse, but as many survivors have said, the worst of it was the control; it was not feeling safe as a child; not feeling important.

"I don't think the trust really considered that."

Becky said she urged the trustees to be generous when the redress scheme was being developed, and to consider the younger members who left with no support.

"To discover the trust has got £25m left over, it's massively insulting.

"We think the majority of the remaining funds should go to the survivors, rather than the people who were enjoying themselves and stuck around until the end."

Last month, the trustees asked a High Court judge to approve a procedure, which would prevent any further victims from making claims and so delaying the final distributions.

Acting for the trustees, Paul Adams read out a comment from an interested party: "Among the beneficiaries and claimants, are many people who paid their money in for years... They are now waiting for the payment to decide their future."

Chancery Master Karen Shuman ordered victims or others with unresolved claims to make themselves known by 16 October, after which time they would permanently lose the ability to claim.

Once the management of any remaining claims is concluded, the trust has been directed it can proceed to the final stages of winding up and dissolving the trust.

Since the broadcast of a new BBC documentary Inside the Cult of the Jesus Army, the Jesus Fellowship Survivors Association says dozens more potential victims have come forward.

A spokesperson for the JFCT said: "The Trustees have been acutely conscious of the traumatic, abusive and adverse experiences suffered in the church and community.

"They have also recognised the importance of engaging with not just the listed beneficiaries, but with others who have an interest in the winding up.

"They have sought to do so sensitively, meaningfully, and with a genuine willingness to listen and a desire to work collaboratively with interested parties."

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