Facing jail after 30 years, cult member who raped girls aged 9 and 11
Pensioner was part of Scots branch of ‘Children of God’
A CULT member has admitted raping two schoolgirls almost three decades ago.
Derek Lincoln, 74, who belonged to the religious group Children of God, even thanked one of his young victims as he attacked her.
The girls were aged nine and 11 when Lincoln, also known as Derek Birks or John Green, began abusing them.
Lincoln, who was extradited from France to face justice, committed the offences between 1989 and 1996.
At the High Court in Glasgow on Monday, 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, carried out mission activities 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. Miss Harper said Lincoln began abusing the girl when she was 11 or 12.
The first time he 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 she was aged 12, she said 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 wooded area he pulled her to the ground and raped her. When she begged him to stop he put his hand over her mouth.
Miss 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 ten. 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 was retired and living in France, has no previous convictions. He was returned from France to Scotland on October 9, 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.
Police Scotland said Lincoln was extradited from France in 2019 for ‘his involvement in the “Children of God” religious cult, where it was alleged he was responsible for the rape and sexual assaults on a number of female children’.
Detective Sergeant Neil Wilson, from Police Scotland’s Specialist Crime Division National Rape Task Force, said: ‘The arrest of Derek Lincoln followed a five-year complex investigation, involving partnership working both nationally and internationally.
‘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.’
Speaking after Lincoln admitted his guilt, a spokesman for children’s charity NSPCC Scotland said: ‘Cases such as this show that, however much time has passed, victims of child sexual abuse will be listened to when they speak out, crimes will be investigated and justice can be achieved.
‘The impact of such abuse can be profound and long-lasting and it is crucial that victims receive all the support they need to help them recover.’
The Children of God sect was established by American-born minister David Brandt Berg in the late 1960s.
The cult eventually came to the attention of the FBI and Berg, who was under investigation for incest and child abuse, went on the run.
Berg, whose teachings were often issued in the form of comic-style books, was still a fugitive from the FBI when he died in 1994 in Portugal.
‘He would say thank you’