VERITY Carter’s story is one of childhood innocence stolen in the most horrific way by her own father and other members of the Children of God sect.
Over many years she was abused by the man she should have been able to trust more than any other man in the world.
This ordeal was compounded by yet more abuse, by those around her who followed the warped ideology of cult leader David Berg.
He was another of those self-styled gurus who appeared in the 1970s, offering “alternative” lifestyles which, in fact, were nothing more than a cover for criminality and exploitation.
Verity was one of those who was exploited in the worst possible way.
But like so many abuse survivors, she showed huge strength to not only to escape this sordid group of individuals but to then bring her own father to justice.
Now that courage continues in the form of her waiving her right to anonymity to reveal the extent of the cult’s depravity to help bring other members before the courts.
It is encouraging that Police Scotland has confirmed that a wider investigation has now been launched into the Children of God organisation.
We can only hope that anyone who suffered while in its “care” follows Verity’s actions by picking up the phone to alert the authorities.
The cult may well have been at its height in the 1980s and 1990s but that does not mean the ordeal of other victims should be forgotten.
Nor should it lessen the guilt of those who exploited children at that time.
It is only right that those individuals, wherever they may now be in the world, are tracked down and made to pay for their appalling crimes.
Enjoy the convenience of having The Sunday Post delivered as a digital ePaper straight to your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Subscribe for only £5.49 a month and enjoy all the benefits of the printed paper as a digital replica.
Subscribe