How I escaped a Christian sect and an abusive husband...
but the price was losing my six beloved children By Maria Compton Published: 01:56, 23 August 2024 | Updated: 02:00, 23 August 2024 e-mail View comments The day my only daughter, Juliet, got married was always going to be emotional. As a proud mother I'd imagined the months of excited preparations, the elation of seeing my little girl as a radiant bride, the happy tears I'd shed. And yes, I did weep, but they were not tears of joy but of horror and sadness.
It was February 2021 and I only discovered Juliet was getting married the morning of the ceremony. I didn't find out from her – or any member of my family. Instead, it was a friend who broke the news by phone.
By this point I'd been estranged from Juliet, 21, and my five sons for five years. However, my despair went beyond the inevitable sorrow that I was no longer in contact with my beautiful children. What I feared was that Juliet's marriage would see her further tied to a strict and secretive religious community – the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church – that had all but destroyed me.
For some women, marriage in this church could be like a living death. In my case, it meant 26 years of marital rape and coercive control, before I finally left, in my mid-40s, in 2013. For those who have never heard of it, the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC) is a Christian sect established in England in the early 19th century.
Sometimes known as the Exclusive Brethren.