RELIGIOUS CULT BEAST
Monster raped two little girls while doing ‘missionary work’ for vile Children of God
A PAEDOPHILE pensioner raped two little girls while on “missionary work” for a vile religious cult.
Derek Lincoln, right, was in the Children of God sect when he abused the children.
He was snared after a fiveyear investigation into the cult.
A VILE pensioner who was a member of a religious cult known as the Children of God has admitted raping two little girls almost 30 years ago. Warped Derek Lincoln sexually abused his victims, who were then aged nine and 10, at various locations across Scotland between 1989 and 1991 while he was carrying out “missionary work” in the country. The sect, which was also known as The Family, has faced allegations of widespread sexual and physical abuse of children – including sexual violence, incest and brainwashing. Leader David Berg, who founded the cult in California in the 60s, died in 1994, while on the run from the FBI.
Lincoln, who was extradited from France, committed the offences at addresses in Ayrshire, Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire.
Police Scotland launched an investigation in 2014 after they were contacted by Hertfordshire Police in relation to a separate child abuse inquiry involving the cult.
What followed was a complex, challenging five-year investigation which culminated in Lincoln’s arrest in October last year.
Officers travelled all over the UK and worked with international forces to track down witnesses of the secretive cult, who often had little or no contact with anyone on the outside world.
Detective Sergeant Neil Wilson, from Police Scotland’s specialist crime division National Rape Task Force, who led the inquiry, praised the victims for their bravery in coming forward to police and revealed the difficulties officers faced in their investigation.
He said: “Often we found there would be maybe 10 houses where up to 60 people were living who often didn’t use their real names but were known by first names or other pseudonyms.
“The victims were only children and they often moved from place to place under the cover of darkness to the middle of nowhere so they
could sometimes identify landmarks or buildings but not place names.
“It was challenging and complex but I commend the bravery in these women in coming forward and reporting to us.”
At the High Court in Glasgow, prosecutor Kath Harper said: “The accused was a member of a religious group sometimes known as the Children of God. Many members were known to one another only by names attributed to them by the group, making identification of witnesses difficult.”
The group, who lived communally, performed missionary work in the west of Scotland and had limited interaction with the outside world.
The first rape victim described Lincoln as “stern and controlling” and said he once put duct tape on her mouth and also put soap in her mouth and beat her with a switch and a belt.
Ms Harper said he began abusing the girl when she was 11 or 12.
The first time Lincoln raped her, he pinned her down on the bed and held his hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. She described this as a painful and traumatic experience and said “the light went out inside me”.
When the girl was 12, Lincoln apologised to her for his behaviour but despite this the abuse continued and became more frequent.
On one occasion, he took her out jogging with him and as they ran into a wood, he pulled her to the ground and raped her.
When she begged him to stop he put his hand over her mouth.
Ms Harper said: “The abuse continued daily and sometimes after raping her he would say, ‘Thank you’.”
Lincoln’s second victim was raped when she was nine or 10. After abusing her, he would tell her he was sorry and frequently bought her gifts.
The abuse came to light when his first victim made a complaint to police in England.
Lincoln, who is originally from Newcastle, has no previous convictions.
He was returned from France to Scotland in October 2019, on a European arrest warrant. Judge Lord Matthews deferred sentence on Lincoln, who is in custody at Barlinnie prison, until next month for background reports.
Wilson added: “My thoughts continue to remain with the victims and those impacted by Lincoln’s actions over many years. Thanks to the bravery of them coming forward and reporting to us, he will now face the consequences of his actions.
“We remain committed to bringing sexual offenders before the courts and treat all reports of sexual crime with the utmost seriousness.
“Anyone wishing to report such offences should do so to Police Scotland via 101.”