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As night descended, 15-year-old Daniella Mestyanek Young quietly slipped out of her home. However, she wasn’t a rebellious teenager testing her strict parents' limits; she was escaping a notorious sex cult rife with paedophilia.
Now 38, she shares the terrifying experiences she endured while being raised in the infamous cult—one that several celebrities have also fled—and how it was marred by allegations of child sexual abuse and incest.
Daniella Mestyanek Young has recounted the years of abuse she endured in the Children of God cultCredit: Daniella Mestyanek Young
Daniella, center, was compelled to perform alongside other children in the cultCredit: Daniella Mestyanek Young
The cult trained children to be ‘God’s perfect soldiers’ using severe punishmentsCredit: Getty
By the age of five, Daniella had already endured sexual abuse, disguised by deranged leaders as Christian discipline and divine love.
She recounted to The Sun: “At six, I had a moment where I thought, I don’t care if this is love, I don’t care if this is God. I need to get out of here.”
At its peak, the cult boasted 15,000 members across approximately 130 “colonies,” including several in the UK.
Originally founded as Teens for Christ by priest Avid Berg in 1968, it attracted young runaways, hippies, and even some rebellious celebrities, such as Jeremy Spencer.
Hollywood stars were also born into this sinister organization—with McGowan recounting how the “completely unacceptable became normal.”
What evolved was the Children of God, where Berg was revered as Moses David or Grandpa by his followers.
Berg's twisted demands included urging followers to envision Jesus present during sexual activities, including masturbation, and instructing children to perform stripteases.
However, Daniella claimed that despite its façade of God and free love, the reality was far more disturbing.
The cult became engulfed in allegations of child abuse, incest, and religious prostitution, with numerous victims sharing their harrowing experiences within the sect.
One survivor, Verity Carter, described her childhood experience as “hell on earth,” stating she was abused from a young age by four members, including her father.
Daniella, who now lives in [location] and is the author of the chilling memoir Uncultured, explained how she became a third-generation member after her mother was coerced into pregnancy.
She shared: “My grandfather joined in the 1970s, and my mother was one of the first ten children born into the group.
“By the time she was 14, she was pregnant with me by an adult man from the group.”
Daniella realized from a very young age that something was amiss and faced “incredibly harsh” punishment for questioning the adults and leaders around her.
Barred from any education not focused on the Bible and subjected to physical, sexual, and psychological abuse disguised as love, Daniella endured a nightmarish childhood.
In one haunting episode, Daniella reported being taken away by a paedophile, with no one questioning her absence for ten hours.
Others as young as two or three years old were also reportedly victims of sexual abuse.
The feeling of not belonging never truly disappears
Daniella remarked: “We [the children] were treated as slave labor on a commune. At 11, I was the cook for 25 people.
“The Children of God was an entertainment cult, and we were essentially full-time dancers, singers, and performers for God.
“We were expected to be perfect little soldiers at all times as children. If we failed, we faced beatings, isolation, or had our mouths washed out with soap. Many of these experiences could be classified as torture.
“The specific issue within Children of God was that they did not label it as abuse; they referred to it as love.
“When you tell children that sexual activity is love and then direct sexual activity toward them… we sensed it was wrong, but we didn’t fully understand why, if that makes sense.”
‘Trafficked in Plain Sight’
As early as 1974, the Children of God had been labeled a cult by the attorney’s office.
Long-haired
