Peter Green of the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps in the remote community of Fence Lake, New Mexico was arrested Sunday and faces 100 counts of criminal sexual penetration of a child
A leader of a New Mexico military-style Christian sect is facing dozens of child sexual abuse charges in a case that authorities say is connected to widespread abuse by the religious commune.
Peter Green of the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps in the remote community of Fence Lake was charged with 100 counts of criminal sexual penetration of a child.
Sect members Deborah Green, Joshua Green and Stacey Miller also face various charges ranging from child abuse, bribery and not reporting a birth.
All four were arrested on Sunday.
A former member, Maura Alana Schmierer, said on Monday that she’s been trying to draw attention to the New Mexico group for years. Schmierer added that she had been interviewed by investigators recently about the group.
‘I’ve been trying to expose them for years,’ said Schmierer, who left the sect in the late 1980s.
Schmierer sued the sect for mistreatment and forcing her to give up legal custody of three of her children. A judge in 1989 awarded her $1.08 million.
The group fled California and later resurfaced near El Paso, Texas, and then in western New Mexico.
Sect members Deborah Green and Stacey Miller also face various charges ranging from child abuse, bribery and not reporting a birth
The Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps based in New Mexico (above) describes itself as a group that is ‘aggressive and revolutionary for Jesus’. Aerial views of the facility show a series of mobile trailers
Sheriff Tony Mace told KOAT-TV that his office began investigating the group last year after two members claimed they had escaped the commune in the sparsely populated area of mostly ranchland.
He said those who escaped told deputies that Deborah Green and Stacey Miller allowed Miller’s 12-year-old son to die of the flu in 2014.
Miller faces one count each of intentional abuse of a child age 12-18, bribery of a witness and not reporting a birth.
Joshua Green (above), whose relationship to the other Greens is unclear, is charged with not reporting the birth of his son to the state
In a statement published on their website, the group said the allegations ‘are totally false’ and similar to others the group has faced over the years.
‘We don’t know who all the accusers are, but the accusations are just re-runs of old lies that have been investigated and shown to be malicious attacks against a legitimate ministry, time and again,’ the statement said.
Deborah Green and her husband James are the ‘generals’ who command their army to spread Christian ideals throughout the world, according to the group’s website. Deborah, who also goes by the name Lila, faces one count of intentional child abuse resulting in death.
Joshua Green, whose relationship to the other Greens is unclear, is charged with not reporting the birth of his son to the state.
The Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps describes itself as a group that is ‘aggressive and revolutionary for Jesus’ and provides a free spiritual ‘ammo pack’ to anyone who writes.
Photos of members show them in military-style clothing and on missions in Africa.
A former member, Maura Alana Schmierer, said on Monday that she’s been trying to draw attention to the New Mexico group for years
Its website is laced with anti-Semitic language and anti-gay tirades about same-sex marriage.
The Southern Poverty Law Center lists the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps as a hate group.
The group has its origins in Sacramento, California, after Deborah and James Green founded ‘Free Love Ministries’ but garnered media attention for its unique beliefs and its communal houses.
In 1986, a sect member died of malaria while on a mission in Malawi, sparking criticism of the sect from his family.
New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department spokesman Henry Varela confirmed Monday that state officials are investigating a case involving the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps in Fence Lake.
Varela said he could not discuss the details.