By Jean Edwards of RNZ

A judge has told former Gloriavale dairy farm manager John Ready he has “spent enough of his life in chains” in sentencing him to community detention for beating two 11-year-old boys.

Ready, 45, hit the boys with a metal fence implement to discourage disobedience while he was supervising them working on one of the Christian community’s farms after school in 2015.

He had earlier pleaded guilty to two charges of assault with a weapon at Timaru District Court.

The court heard Ready was unhappy with the boys’ work, so made them face a wall and hit them with a fencing implement he was using to move the cows along.

In sentencing, Judge Campbell Savage said Ready’s blows caused significant bruising and discomfort which lasted several days and affected their walking.

“You told them that they had been struck to discourage disobedience,” he said.

Judge Savage said Ready was born into the community, so its rules and values were all that he knew at that time.

“I understand that physical discipline was commonplace in the community, so to a degree you were acting in a manner that was consistent with all that you had been taught and the culture of the community that you lived in,” he said.

“However, the victims were vulnerable and they were completely subservient to you and you abused the position of authority over them that you had.”

While Ready might have found himself in a similar position when he was a boy, Judge Savage said he should have used that knowledge to change his own behaviour.

The court heard John Ready was expelled from Gloriavale in 2017 after questioning the leadership, but it took two to three years for him to extricate his wife and children from the community.

Judge Savage said Ready had rejected the Gloriavale way of life at no small personal cost.

“You’re now living amongst people who have rejected the stark and harsh, disciplinarian way of living that was very much part of your early life,” he said.

“There is a temptation to elevate the punitive element of sentencing, but Mr Ready I believe you have spent enough of your life living in chains for me to be able to prioritise other purposes.”

Outside court, Ready - who is now a father-of-11 - said the sentence was very fair.

“I did try to own what I did from the very start, I didn’t try to run for it or make excuses,” he said.

“The way the community that I came from run for cover and deny everything, and in my opinion just flat-out lie when faced with what they’ve done, I certainly didn’t want to do that.”

Ready said although hitting children was normal when he was growing up, it was frowned upon at Gloriavale the time of his offending.

“I have my own demons to deal with as well. I don’t want to blame Gloriavale for my failings. I’m hoping to blame them for what I believe they’re guilty of and owning what I’m guilty of.”

The Gloriavale Christian Community on the West Coast. Photo / George Heard

‘It takes a bit of unpacking’

Ready said he was touched when the judge said he had spent enough of his life in chains.

“It’s quite deep, because you’re not in physical chains, you’ve got all these psychological barriers, theological barriers and it takes a bit of unpacking,” he said.

Virginia Courage, who was in court to support her brother, said she was grateful for the judge’s insight.

“John has never tried to hide that he’s a flawed human being. I really appreciate his honesty. It’s not easy when you’re trying to say things are unacceptable when you know you’ve participated,” she said.

Ready’s lawyer Kelly Beazley had sought a conviction and discharge, because a period of supervision would put a strain on his large family.

She said the punishment he meted out to the boys was normal in the community at that time.

“Mr Ready was still sheltered at that point, still controlled by the leaders and still had no knowledge of what the laws were for the outside world,” she said.

“He was so isolated with the beliefs and system he was brought up with that he knew no better. He had no clue, he was following what he knew, what he believed in and what was taught of him.”

Beazley said the “lies” Ready was told only properly came to light when he started questioning those beliefs and was eventually expelled from Gloriavale.

She said Ready had accepted responsibility for his behaviour at an early stage and was remorseful.

Police told the court the beating had long-lasting effects on the boys, one of whom still has scarring.

While violence was prevalent in the community, they said ignorance of the law was no excuse.

Ready will serve a three-month period of community detention.

In 2021, Ready launched a civil claim in the High Court, seeking legal intervention to remove the board of the Christian Church Community Trust.

The parties reached a settlement months later, with the Public Trust agreeing to a reviewing role for 18 months.

Ready’s story was documented in the 2022 film Gloriavale, which also featured his sister Virginia Courage and their mother Sharon Ready.

He gave evidence at the Employment Court case brought by six former Gloriavale women seeking a ruling they were employees, rather than volunteers, and a similar case last year in which three former Gloriavale men were found to have been employees from the age of just 6.

The chief judge has reserved her decision in the women’s case.