Camilla Wageman (pictured) was a confident young law student when she was lured into a sinister cult accused of brainwashing members into having sex with its serial rapist leader
Camilla Wageman was a confident young law student when she was lured into a cult accused of brainwashing members into having sex with its serial rapist leader.
The South Korean-based Christian sect, known as Providence, began establishing Australian branches in the 1990s on the orders of Jeong Myeong-seok, who is serving a 10-year jail term in Seoul for raping and molesting his followers.
Recruiters in Australia’s major cities roam shopping malls and university campuses looking for tall, attractive women who are encouraged to become ‘spiritual brides’ of the leader, according to former members.
Ms Wageman is one of many Australians who have been convinced to abandoned their friends and family to live a life of secrecy under the strict teachings of the self-proclaimed Messiah.
‘Right from the start of learning Bible studies, I heard where Pastor Jeong was,’ the young Canberra woman is heard saying in a promotional video for the cult.
The South Korean-based Christian sect known as Providence began establishing Australian branches in the 1990s at the orders of Jeong Myeong-seok (pictured)
‘Right from the start of learning Bible studies, I heard where Pastor Jeong was,’ Ms Wageman is heard saying in a promotional video for the cult
‘I heard about what he’d been accused of… [but] as I saw the way that he lived, I came to really admire the things that he’d achieved.
‘I read what had been written about him on the internet, so I was fully aware about all of the rumours about him from the start. And of course I was quite sceptical about him myself to start off with.
‘But after listening to him preach about love, forgiveness, compassion and self-improvement on such a consistent basis, I realised no one could preach like that unless they were living like that too.’
Ms Wageman’s father Gerry spoke on Monday of his ‘great mourning’ that he had ‘really lost his daughter’ to the cult.
Recruiters in Australia’s major cities roam shopping malls and university campuses looking for tall, attractive women who are encouraged to become ‘spiritual brides’ of the leader
Jeong Myeong-seok, who is serving a 10-year jail term in Seoul for raping and molesting his followers
He said his only contact with the former Australian National University student is through an occasional email or a rare phone call.
‘You can’t mention anything about Providence… if you touch on that subject no questions are ever answered,’ he told the ABC’s 7.30.
‘The only way to make contact with her is through her pre-cult persona and remember the things we did before she joined and the fun we had.
‘That is still more or less what is happening currently… I’m told that she will come out eventually. I hope that will be in my life time.’
Ms Wageman (pictured) is one of many Australians who have been convinced to abandoned their friends and family to live a life of secrecy under the strict teachings of the self-proclaimed Messiah
Ms Wageman’s father Gerry spoke on Monday of his ‘great mourning’ that he had ‘really lost his daughter’ to the secretive cult
Former followers previously told Daily Mail Australia of the shocking psychological and emotional damage they were left with after breaking from the sect.
Elizabeth, who chose not to give her full name for fear of reprisals, was a member of Providence’s Canberra faction for 18 months.
‘I was shopping inside the Canberra Centre in April 2011. A Korean woman came over and said she was holding a Christian art show. It looked good so I thought I would check it out,’ she said last year.
After meeting the group’s local leader she moved in with them later that year and was subjected to the indoctrination process.
Ms Wageman’s father said his only contact with the former Australian National University student is through an occasional email or a rare phone call
Elizabeth (pictured) said she was a member of Providence’s Canberra fraction for 18 months
‘We had to wake up at 3am every day to pray because they said this brought us closer to god. It’s a mind control technique: when you’re deprived of sleep you can’t critically think,’ she said.
Teachings were centred on the ‘Messianic’ leader Jeong, who was depicted as a living Deity who had been falsely accused and persecuted like Jesus Christ.
‘They encouraged us to write letters to him like he was our lover. He wrote sexually explicit replies saying things like ”your white skin arouses me,” or ”your vagina would look pretty”.’
The religious group’s spokesman at the time refuted Elizabeth’s claims and said there was no record of such letters.
‘They encouraged us to write letters to him like he was our lover,’ said Elizabeth, pictured with members of the organisation’s Canberra faction
Former cult members have told police they were ordered to have sex with Jeong to remove their sins, according to previous media reports
Both Providence and Camilla Wageman rejected all allegations made against them when contacted by the ABC
Other former cult members have told police they were ordered to have sex with Jeong to remove their sins, according to previous media reports.
He was accused of rape and fled South Korea in 1999 before he was extradited from China and charged.
He was sentenced to 10 years’ jail, though his supporters maintain his innocence.
Jeong is due to walk free from his South Korean jail cell early next year.
Both Providence and Camilla Wageman rejected all allegations made against them when contacted by the ABC.