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Cult leader faces court

AAP, via News.com.au, Australia
Dec. 20 2005
www.news.com.au

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Tuesday December 20, 2005

AN 83-year-old cult leader charged with 22 sex offences against two adolescent girls briefly faced a Sydney court today.

Kenneth Emmanuel Dyers, co-founder of the so-called spiritual healing group Kenja, was arrested in October at his home in Bundeena, in Sydney’s south, over the alleged aggravated sexual and indecent assault of two 12-year-old girls.

He faces 17 aggravated indecent assault charges and one count of aggravated sexual assault in relation to the first girl, and four aggravated indecent assault charges in relation to the other girl.

The offences are alleged to have happened at Kenja’s offices in Surry Hills, in inner-Sydney, between December 2001 and July 2002.

Dyers claims he has been set up by a group of disgruntled former Kenja members.

His lawyer Harland Koops today applied for an adjournment of the case until February to give Dyers time to examine the police brief of evidence and issue subpoenas.

But Deputy Chief Magistrate Graeme Henson only granted an adjournment until January 19, saying he did not want to see the matter “roll on like the Mississippi River”.

“Justice delayed is justice denied,” Mr Henson said.

Dyers’ conditional bail was continued.