Revealed: The evangelical North Carolina church that 'kidnapped children with the help of a social worker insider and brainwashed them through years of abuse'

  • Word of Faith Fellowship in North Carolina used its influence to rip more than a dozen children from their families to bring them to the church, it is claimed
  • Children were allegedly physically and verbally abused by church congregation
  • Ex-members of the church have told stories of how it destroyed families for years
  • An investigation found that some young congregants have been separated from their parents for up to a decade

A secretive church congregation in North Carolina has used money, influence and lies to rip more than two dozen children from their parents and take them in as their own, an investigation has revealed.

Once the children were inside the Word of Faith Fellowship in Spindale, North Carolina, the evangelical church physically and verbally abused them for years, former congregation members claim.

Word of Faith Fellowship regularly used its muscle to turn children against their parents in custody, foster care and other cases involving kids who were then taken in or adopted by other families, according to police reports and social services documents.

Former members told the AP of at least two dozen such cases, which they attributed to the church trying to keep minors from leaving the congregation.

Word of Faith Fellowship in Spindale, North Carolina, has regularly used its muscle to turn children against their parents in custody cases before abusing them for years, an investigation has revealed. Pictured above, its leader Jane Whaley (right) and her husband, Sam

Word of Faith Fellowship in Spindale, North Carolina, has regularly used its muscle to turn children against their parents in custody cases before abusing them for years, an investigation has revealed. Pictured above, its leader Jane Whaley (right) and her husband, Sam

Dozens of interviews and hundreds of pages of court records, police reports and social services documents show that Word of Faith Fellowship's leaders and members used positions of authority, intimidation or deception to bring children into the church's folds or keep them from leaving

Dozens of interviews and hundreds of pages of court records, police reports and social services documents show that Word of Faith Fellowship's leaders and members used positions of authority, intimidation or deception to bring children into the church's folds or keep them from leaving

An ongoing investigation by AP has cited dozens of former members as saying congregants were regularly punched and choked in an effort to 'purify' sinners.

Victims of the violence included pre-teens and toddlers - even crying babies, they said.

Now dozens of interviews and hundreds of pages of court records, police reports and social services documents show that Word of Faith Fellowship's leaders and members used positions of authority, intimidation or deception to bring children into the church's folds or keep them from leaving.

North Carolina's social services laws promote 'family preservation,' designed to prevent the 'unnecessary placement of children away from their families'.

But the AP found that some young congregants have been separated from their parents for up to a decade - bounced from family to family - as leaders strive to keep them in the church.

In addition, three single mothers told the AP that a longtime Word of Faith Fellowship member who was a county court clerk, bypassed the foster system and eventually won permanent custody of their children, even though a judge called the clerk's conduct inappropriate.

Two of the mothers said the clerk approached them and offered to temporarily keep the children while they served their jail time.

The AP interviewed a dozen former congregants who said they had personally witnessed the three children living with the clerk being subjected to intense screaming sessions called 'blasting' aimed at casting out demons, or being held down, shaken or beaten.

Even as she battled desperately for her young son, one of the three women had told a judge that, if she could not have him, the boy would be better off in foster care due to the church's abusive nature.

In every case, children's lives were under the total control of founder Jane Whaley and the leaders enforcing her rules.

They were educated in the church school and largely isolated from the outside world, and prohibited from watching television or celebrating their birthdays or Christmas. Any violations could be met with physical or verbal punishment.

Keela Blanton (pictured) granted temporary custody of her newborn to a family in the church when she was starting a jail sentence in 2008

Keela Blanton (pictured) granted temporary custody of her newborn to a family in the church when she was starting a jail sentence in 2008

When Blanton was released, she saw her son had been 'brainwashed' and could not regain full custody of the boy

When Blanton was released, she saw her son had been 'brainwashed' and could not regain full custody of the boy

'One thing that is confusing for people in the community is how these children can be so well-behaved and so well-dressed if things are so bad,' said John Huddle, whose relationship with his kids was severed when he broke with the church. 'But the clothing can cover the bruises and the smiles can hide the hurt.'

A lawyer for Whaley, Noell Tin, disputed the AP's conclusions.

'The notion that church members separate children from their parents at Ms. Whaley's urging is preposterous,' he said. 'The idea that a thriving and diverse church like the Word of Faith Fellowship functions in this manner is an insult to its members.'

Under Whaley's leadership, Word of Faith Fellowship has grown to about 750 congregants in North Carolina and a total of nearly 2,000 members in its churches in Brazil and Ghana and through affiliations in Sweden, Scotland and other countries.

In one case from 2008 reviewed by AP, Keela Blanton, who was pregnant and facing a jail sentence, agreed to let Word of Faith and Rutherford County clerk Laura Bridges take her child while she was incarcerated.

Afraid her son would end up in permanent state care, she agreed, to sign over temporary guardianship until her release from jail, when she would resume 'full responsibility for my child,' according to a document obtained by the AP.

When she got out two months later, Blanton said Bridges and her husband told her that they now loved the boy and wanted to help care for him.

Blanton filed child abuse reports in 2012 when she noticed her son, then four, seeming anxious and coming home with bruises on his face.

A clinical assessment conducted by a counselor Blanton hired said the boy showed 'signs of being coerced and brainwashed.'

In another case, Cleveland County court advocate Nancy Burnette attended a service at Word of Faith after a family in the congregation, Werner and Hetty Trachsel, applied to adopt two young foster boys

In another case, Cleveland County court advocate Nancy Burnette attended a service at Word of Faith after a family in the congregation, Werner and Hetty Trachsel, applied to adopt two young foster boys

He 'became hysterical' about missing church services and seemed afraid of being 'dealt with' if he broke church rules, the report said.

The counselor noted that the boy wet his pants twice during the interview, and said Laura Bridges had instructed him to soil himself during visits with Blanton.

A social worker testified that Blanton was a fit mother with a tidy, 'safe' home and noted that she had custody of her other children — two older boys and a younger daughter.

But the Bridges described Blanton as a criminal who lived with a drug dealer in a filthy house and rarely asked to see the boy.

The judge awarded the Bridges primary custody, saying Blanton had allowed her son to largely live with the couple for four years and that it would be traumatic to remove him.

In the middle of the service, the chanting and singing suddenly stopped, Burnette said, and the fiery pastor pointed at Burnette, accusing her of being 'wicked'

In the middle of the service, the chanting and singing suddenly stopped, Burnette said, and the fiery pastor pointed at Burnette, accusing her of being 'wicked'

It wasn't the first time Bridges used her position to procure a child from a troubled woman, another young mother told the AP.

The woman said she was facing drug charges in 2005 when Bridges approached her and offered to care for her daughter, who was not yet a year old. When the woman's three children were taken away after what she blamed on a failed drug test, the Bridges kept the youngest.

The woman - who asked that her name not be used because she feared losing access to her daughter for speaking out - even was ordered to pay child support to the couple, court records show.

And a third young woman with a drug problem and a warrant for her arrest said Bridges called her 'out of nowhere' in 2008, identified herself as court employee and offered to take her child when he was born.

Denikka Simpson said in written messages to the AP that she was then in no position to care for the child, but felt manipulated into signing adoption paperwork.

'I was told I could get him back,' said Simpson, who has a history of drug-related charges and other offenses. But when she asked for the boy, she said the Bridges refused, telling her that he would get in touch with her someday if he chose to do so. She has not seen him since he was 6 weeks old, she said.

Bridges also denied approaching the other two women and said they, too, came to her seeking help caring for their children.

'We only became parents to these children after a number of independent persons charged with safeguarding child welfare determined that they should be with us,' she wrote.

She also insisted the children had never been mistreated, writing, 'Anyone who says otherwise is not being truthful.'

In another case, Cleveland County court advocate Nancy Burnette attended a service at Word of Faith after a family in the congregation, Werner and Hetty Trachsel, applied to adopt two young foster boys.

What happened next haunts her: In the middle of the service, the chanting and singing suddenly stopped, Burnette said, and the fiery pastor pointed at Burnette, accusing her of being 'wicked'. 

'You are here to cause strife!' she recalled church founder Jane Whaley shouting, as she sensed congregants begin to converge upon her.

Shana Muse also learned the price of trying to extract children from the church. She became mired in a nasty custody battle with sect leaders when she tried to exit in 2002 with her four children, ranging in age from 8 to 15

Shana Muse also learned the price of trying to extract children from the church. She became mired in a nasty custody battle with sect leaders when she tried to exit in 2002 with her four children, ranging in age from 8 to 15

Shana Muse, left, hugs her sister, Suzanne Cooper, as they pose for a photo outside Muse's home in Charlotte, North Carolina.  ooper acknowledges that she lied about Muse in order to help fellow members of the Word of Faith Fellowship in a custody battle for Muse's four children

Shana Muse, left, hugs her sister, Suzanne Cooper, as they pose for a photo outside Muse's home in Charlotte, North Carolina.  ooper acknowledges that she lied about Muse in order to help fellow members of the Word of Faith Fellowship in a custody battle for Muse's four children

'You don't think these kids are supposed to be here!' she recalled the pastor saying.

Terrified, Burnette left, but not before promising the boys, ages 4 and almost 2, that she would return - a promise she ultimately could not keep.

'What I didn't know was how hard Word of Faith would fight — and the tactics they would use — to keep the kids,' Burnette told The Associated Press.

The Trachsels had been in the process of becoming foster parents but, instead of applying locally, they went to the neighboring county where church member Lori Cornelius was a social worker, according to documents obtained by AP.

Under North Carolina law, social workers must give foster parents adequate notice before removing a child from a foster home 'to prepare the child and to prepare themselves for a significant event in their lives'.

But despite a few overnight visits with the Trachsels, social worker Donna Whitworth said everything seemed rushed.

She got a call one day from social services telling her to meet the couple in a grocery store parking lot to hand over the kids, Whitworth said. No social worker was present, she said, and the Trachsels left little time for goodbyes.

'I sat in that parking lot for over an hour and cried. I knew in my gut something wasn't right,' Whitworth said.

Burnette recalled many red flags: She said the Trachsels were not yet officially certified as foster parents when the boys were allowed to move in. The kids were not receiving the proper therapy and regressed emotionally. And the couple gave conflicting accounts of how they would raise the boys.

After her intimidating experience at the church service, Burnette said she and her supervisor decided to remove the boys from the Trachsel home. Instead, Burnette said, she was taken off their case.

Shana Muse, left, walks with her daughter, Rachael Bryant, right, and granddaughter, Tiffany Bryant, in Charlotte. Muse was persuaded to join Word of Faith by her two sisters, who said their church could help her: She had a drug problem and was facing legal problems in Florida for writing bad checks

Shana Muse, left, walks with her daughter, Rachael Bryant, right, and granddaughter, Tiffany Bryant, in Charlotte. Muse was persuaded to join Word of Faith by her two sisters, who said their church could help her: She had a drug problem and was facing legal problems in Florida for writing bad checks

Three of Muse's four children have since left the church, and they told the AP that they were physically and verbally abused by Word of Faith leaders

Three of Muse's four children have since left the church, and they told the AP that they were physically and verbally abused by Word of Faith leaders

When former church member Tim Cornelius wanted to obtain a foster child, he also turned to Lori Cornelius, his sister-in-law, who gave him advice on how to 'game the system'.

Cornelius and his wife became foster parents to a 6-month-old boy. 

Under North Carolina regulations, foster parents are mandated to provide a child with safe home, but Cornelius said he saw his son abused by others - blasted, and violently shaken - and knew it would only get worse.

'I knew he was going to get older and they were going to beat him up. So I started trying to step up,' Cornelius said.

For pushing back, he said, he was berated and beaten himself. Fed up, he left both his wife and Word of Faith in 2013 after 20 years in the church.

After guilt set in, Cornelius said he told a social worker that he was scared for the boy's safety due to the church's violent practices.

A week later, he said, he was contacted by a social services attorney who thanked him for being candid. But he said he never heard from the attorney again, and the boy remained with his ex-wife.

'In retrospect, I regret I didn't do more to protect him. But at the time, I was afraid. I believed that if you defied Jane, you would become a target and you would go to hell,' Cornelius said. 'It still haunts me.'

Lori Cornelius left her social services position earlier this year after the AP quoted former church members who said she participated in coaching sessions designed to circumvent investigators looking into abuse allegations.

She denied that she helped her brother-in-law obtain a foster child and told the AP that she had never witnessed any abuse at Word of Faith. 'Never would allow a child to be abused or be anywhere where a child was being abused,' she said.

Ex-follower Natasha Cherubino witnessed firsthand the power of Word of Faith when her family was involved in a bitter custody fight in 2000.

hana Muse, left, kisses her daughter, Rachael Bryant. Muse's children said they were coerced by Word of Faith Fellowship leader Jane Whaley into lying about their mother

hana Muse, left, kisses her daughter, Rachael Bryant. Muse's children said they were coerced by Word of Faith Fellowship leader Jane Whaley into lying about their mother

A judge awarded joint custody of Cherubino's three young step-siblings to their divorcing parents, Ben and Pamela McGee, despite noting in his ruling that Word of Faith had tried to exercise 'complete control' over the children and that he believed the church's practices hurt kids.

The judge said the children could not be paddled or blasted — restrictions that Cherubino and other former followers said church leaders flouted.

Cherubino said the leaders coerced the children into throwing fits before weekend visits with their father, who had broken with the church. 'And when the children returned, they were 'interrogated about what they did at their father's house,' she said.

Finally, worried about the stress the situation was exerting on his kids after nearly six years of battling for custody, Ben McGee gave up, Cherubino said.

Shana Muse also learned the price of trying to extract children from the church. She became mired in a nasty custody battle with sect leaders when she tried to exit in 2002 with her four children, ranging in age from 8 to 15.

'If you're thinking about leaving, be prepared,' she said. 'They will do everything to personally discredit you and show judges and the public the kids are better off with a church family.'

Muse was persuaded to join Word of Faith by her two sisters, who said their church could help her: She had a drug problem and was facing legal problems in Florida for writing bad checks.

After moving to Spindale, Muse worked for a business owned by Kent Covington, an influential church minister. But she said she reached a breaking point when she saw her children and others being screamed at and beaten in the name of God.

After telling Covington she planned to return to Florida with the children, she arrived home from work that September 2002 night to find her house empty, Muse said. She promptly called the Rutherford County sheriff's office to report that the kids had been kidnapped.

Kent Covington, his wife, Brooke, left, and a fellow member of the Word of Faith Fellowship church, Jayne Caulder, walk from the Rutherford County Courthouse after a pretrial hearing for Brooke. In December 2002 Muse said she returned to Spindale after a stint at a clinic, but that the Covingtons refused to hand over her children who were staying with the couple

Kent Covington, his wife, Brooke, left, and a fellow member of the Word of Faith Fellowship church, Jayne Caulder, walk from the Rutherford County Courthouse after a pretrial hearing for Brooke. In December 2002 Muse said she returned to Spindale after a stint at a clinic, but that the Covingtons refused to hand over her children who were staying with the couple

When deputies arrived, they spoke to church leaders. And much to Muse's shock, she said, her sister Suzanne Cooper lied to deputies.

'She said I had been abusing my children and that they actually had custody of my children,' Muse said.

Suzanne Cooper, who left the church in 2014, told the AP that she was pressured by Whaley and other ministers to lie, adding tearfully, 'I live with that guilt every day.'

Through her attorney, Whaley denied ever pressing anyone to lie.

Instead of allowing Muse to take her kids, the sheriff's office alerted the social services department.

Muse said Covington and his wife, Brooke, agreed to her request that the children stay with them until the situation could be resolved.

Because she felt she had no other option, she asked the Covingtons if her children could remain with them for a month or two while she straightened out her life.

The couple agreed, but had Muse sign what she said she thought was a temporary custody agreement.

A lawyer for Whaley (pictured), Noell Tin, disputed the AP's conclusions over the foster care investigations

A lawyer for Whaley (pictured), Noell Tin, disputed the AP's conclusions over the foster care investigations

'I did not read the document closely. I trusted them,' she said, adding that she also was intimidated in a room filled with Word of Faith leaders. The document said Muse 'gives and conveys all my rights and custody and control' to the Covingtons.

Muse said she returned to Spindale in December 2002 after a stint at a clinic specializing in 'cult-deprogramming,' but that the Covingtons refused to hand over her children.

So she called social services and said the children — and others inside Word of Faith — were being abused, triggering both an investigation into the church and a legal battle for her kids.

During custody hearings in 2003, church members — including Suzanne Cooper and another sister — painted Muse as an abusive mother. Muse, in turn, detailed how children were mistreated inside the church.

After the testimony concluded, Judge Randy Pool said he found 'clear and convincing evidence the children were abused and neglected by isolation, excessive corporal punishment and blasting while at WOFF church' and they were placed in foster care. But the case was not over.

The Covingtons and the church spent thousands of dollars helping Muse's two teenage girls successfully file for emancipation, which enabled them to quickly move back into the couple's house.

And the boys also left a foster home and moved back after Pool's ruling was overturned by an appeals court over a jurisdictional issue.

The Covingtons did not respond to a request for comment left at Kent Covington's business.

Three of Muse's four children have since left the church, and they told the AP that they were physically and verbally abused by the Covingtons and other ministers.

'I can't tell you how many times I was beaten, how many times I had black eyes or was so physically hurt I couldn't move,' Patrick Covington said.

They also said they were coerced by Whaley into lying about their mother. 'We were told to tell social workers that she beat us,' daughter Rachael Bryant said.

Sitting in the living room of her Charlotte home, Bryant held her mother's hand as she apologized. 'What we did was wrong,' she said.

Muse clutched her daughter's fingers as she spoke words of forgiveness. And she fought tears as she expressed her fears for the son remaining in the church.

'I'm speaking out for him and all the others,' she said. 'Something has to be done.'

 

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.