Members of military-style cult jailed for 'horrific crimes' against children

Members of a military-style cult in New Mexico have been arrested for what has been described by the authorities as "horrific crimes" against children, including sexual abuse against minors and the death of a child.

On Sunday, authorities arrested Peter Green of the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps in Fence Lake, and charged him with 100 counts of criminal sexual penetration of a child.

Deborah Green, one of the sect's "Generals," was also arrested along with members Stacey Miller and Joshua Green, the New York Post reported. They are facing multiple charges, including child abuse, bribery of a witness and failing to report a birth.

The sect, founded in Sacramento in the early 1980s, has been the subject of an investigation launched by the sheriff's office last year when two members who claimed to have escaped said that Deborah and Miller had let the latter's 12-year-old son die of the flu in 2014. The sect reportedly buried the child on its property without anyone reporting his death. When asked why she did not get help for her son, Miller said that she "wanted to trust God."

According to investigators, Deborah had sexually assaulted a young girl whom they believe was smuggled in from Uganda with forged documents as a baby. The girl said that she was whipped regularly and that Peter, who was Deborah's son-in-law, had repeatedly raped her until she was 9.

The religious sect describes itself as a group that is "revolutionary for Jesus" and provides a free spiritual "ammo pack" to anyone who submits a written request.

Fox 8 reported that the sect had left California after losing a lawsuit to a former member who accused the group of forcing her to give up three of her children.

Maura Schmierer, the former member, explained that she did not believe that the religious sect was a cult when she joined. She said that she and her husband were the third and fourth members of the cult, but it eventually grew to about 30, living in an isolated compound.

"They would want us to beat the children," she said. "They wanted me to whip my young child, who was under 2 years old with a belt, because he didn't use the toilet," she continued.

She explained that the sect had changed her name to "Forsaken" and put her out in a shed in the backyard when she defied the orders of the cult leaders.

Deborah was held on a $500,000 secured bond, while Peter was held on a $5 million bond. James Green, the husband of Deborah, defended his wife against the accusations and denied that abuse had taken place at the compound.

In a prepared statement, the religious sect described the criminal allegations as "totally false."

"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," the statement said, according to The Associated Press.