Skip to main content.
Related sites:
Religion News Blog is a non-profit service providing academics, religion professionals and other researchers with religion & cult news
ReligionNewsBlog

Religion news articles about religious cults, sects, world religions, and related issues

Navigation:
Web religionnewsblog.com
Home | Site Menu | About RNB | RNB Store | Cult FAQ | Cult Experts | Apologetics Index | Cult Information Search Engine
Order of Saint Charbel:

Cult leader loses child sex conviction appeal

AAP, via News.com.au, Australia
July 9, 2007
Danny Rose
www.news.com.au
  • Article Tools  • Share This Story

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 18668 • Posted: Monday July 9, 2007  

Click here... More articles on this topic: Order of Saint Charbel

A self-proclaimed prophet known as Little Pebble has lost an appeal against his conviction for sex crimes involving a 15-year-old girl he courted as one of his “12 queens and 72 princesses”.

William Kamm, 56, was sentenced to five years’ jail in 2005 for kissing, fondling and having sex with the teenager who had been living as part of a religious community he established at Cambewarra, near Nowra, on the New South Wales south coast.

The crimes occurred in the early 1990s and the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal today dismissed Kamm’s appeal against his conviction and his sentence, which he sought to argue was excessive.

Justice David Hodgson said Kamm told his followers of a “prophecy that there would be a new holy era when he would have 12 queens and 72 princesses who would assist in bringing forth his children, who would be called an immaculate race”.

The religious leader also wrote a letter to the girl to say she was to be one of his wives, said Justice Hodgson, sitting with justices Michael Grove and Carolyn Simpson.

Kamm’s grounds for appeal included the jury should have been dismissed because of a note it had sent to the judge during the trial.


The jury had notified the judge Kamm’s sister-in-law was seen “mouthing” words from the public gallery, which were then repeated by a defence witness.

Justice Hodgson today ruled the judge had acted properly by asking the jury to draw no inference from what they suspected was the coaching of a witness.

Justice Hodgson also said part of the case against Kamm had centred on whether the kissing was indecent.

“In my opinion the sexual connotation of the act was indicated by … using the appellant’s tongue,” the justice said.

“It was also relevant to the question of indecency that the appellant was a religious leader … he was 43-years-old and married, whereas the complainant was a 15-year-old schoolgirl.”

Kamm is also awaiting sentencing following a separate guilty verdict on sex charges related to a different underage girl.

Judge Peter Berman will hear sentencing submissions on August 3.



Religion News Blog RSS feed Subscribe: Religion News Blog RSS feed  |  Religion News Blog RSS feed Subscribe by topic: Order of Saint Charbel
more cult news articlemore religion news More articles about Order of Saint Charbel

Like this story?

Today's Most Popular Articles

Doctor Says...

Share this

To share this page simply copy and paste one of these URL's:




Article and Site Tools

» PermaLink to: Cult leader loses child sex conviction appeal
   Need a shorter link? You can remove everything after the final /
» More news articles + news archive on Order of Saint Charbel
» More religion and cult news

Subscribe (RSS / Email) [What is RSS?]
» RSS News Feed - All Topics: Religion News Blog RSS Feed
» RSS News Feed - Single Topic: Order of Saint Charbel
» Headlines by Email: Daily Religion News Blog Headlines

More Article Tools
• Bookmark / Tag: Del.icio.us
• Bookmark / Tag: Furl
Save this article
Email this article
Print this article [Temporarily out of order]

More Information
Books about Order of Saint Charbel
Relevant books (and other goodies)

more religion news aboutmore Religion News Blog articles about

About Religion News Blog
Religion News Blog (RNB), published by Apologetics Index, highlights news items and other resources on world religions, cults, religious sects, alternative religions and related issues. RNB's non-profit news clipping service is used by - among others - Christian apologists, countercult professionals, anticult organizations, cult experts, teachers, religion professionals, reporters and other researchers.