Church Pastor in Trial for Stripping and Spanking Women to Exorcise their Demons

Posted by Lolade on Wed 21st Oct, 2015 - tori.ng

Church Reverend who became famous for spanking members of his congregation is on trial for abusing vulnerable women and children in his congregation.

Reverend Howard Curtis at Croydon Magistrates Court in Croydon

72-year old Reverend Howard Curtis, who was accused of stripping and spanking women in his congregation 'to exorcise their demons' in the office of Coulsdon Christian Fellowship, in Croydon, south London, has been arrested and now faces a trial.

Prosecutors claimed that Coulsdon Christian Fellowship in Surrey was ran like a cult while Curtis was a senior minister from the early 1980s until July 2013.

He is also accused of championing 'Christian domestic discipline', a practice that involves men asserting their authority over women through spanking to keep them "in line". It is claimed that followers of the church were "effectively brainwashed" into thinking the abuse brought them "closer to God".

Curtis is accused of abusing members of the Coulsdon Christian Fellowship in Surrey

Curtis is also alleged to have spanked three children so hard they suffered bruising, the court was told. A majority of the alleged offences took place in his office at the church which is described as an "independent" church that followed his teachings, alongside those in the Bible.

He has been banned from unsupervised contact with children and forbidden from attending his own church alone while the Metropolitan Police probes allegations about his conduct.

Three people have lodged assault allegations against Curtis, who is a senior minister,

Curtis, who lives in Wallington, Surrey, denies four charges of sexual assault, one of indecent assault, one of assault by penetration, and six charges of child cruelty.

The trial continues.