Christian sect ignored sexual abuse for decades, claim community members

A reckoning is underway in a secret Christian sect unknown to most Americans. Allegations of abuse that have long remained hidden are now coming to light.

Sheri Autrey was 14 when she says she was abused by a 28-year-old man, a pastor at her church. She says the abuse occurred every night for two months.

“He was touching me all over and kissing me,” Autrey, now 55, told ABC News. “And it was scary. It was scary because I knew if we got caught, I would be in trouble. I was the one doing something wrong.”

Autrey grew up in a secret Christian sect known to outsiders as the 2×2 Church. Inside the church, members refer to it as “The Truth” or “The Way” or even call it the Church That Has No Name. What makes this religion so unique is that the ministers, known as laborers, live with the congregation members, moving from one member’s home to another and sometimes living out of a single suitcase.

Autrey’s story is not unique within her former religion. ABC News has been investigating the organization for over a year and has spoken to dozens of alleged survivors from at least 34 states across the country. Alleged abuse within the church spans generations, with some victims accusing the same perpetrator decades apart. One alleged victim said she was abused by a worker in 1955 at the age of seven.

“The pastors stay in the homes and care for the family,” Mitchell Garabedian, an attorney who represents victims of child sexual abuse, including a former 2×2 member, told ABC News. “The parents seem to have a tremendous amount of trust in the religious person that is misplaced. And the parents are blind. Religion can be blind. Religion is great when it’s used properly. But when it’s not used properly, it’s a disaster, it’s evil.”

The allegations were so widespread that the FBI announced in February that it had launched an investigation into the church.

“The FBI generally focuses on moving cases from local to global,” Eugene Kowel, special agent in charge of the Omaha field office leading the investigation, told ABC News in a rare exclusive interview. “I try to build a comprehensive case. So generally, the FBI doesn’t stop at an initial arrest. We will follow the evidence wherever it leads to make sure that children are protected and that anyone who can be held accountable is held accountable by the criminal justice system.”

While the FBI would not share details of the ongoing investigation with ABC News, Cynthia Liles, a private investigator who investigates the church and also runs an advocacy group, said more than 900 suspected perpetrators have been named. She said she has provided that information to the FBI.

Even former pastors of the church told ABC News that the abuse was widespread.

When asked if she felt the church accepted abuse, former staff member Sara Knauss replied: “I wouldn’t say they accepted it, but they acted like it didn’t exist,” Knauss said.

Instead of contacting the authorities, the alleged perpetrators continued to work, albeit in other states, as former members testified.

“The typical response of preachers when they are notified is to move the perpetrator to another area,” Cherie Kropp-Ehrig, author of “Preserving the Truth,” told ABC News. “Not to warn people in the new area.”

The church has a global presence and while it operates differently in countries like Australia, the 2×2 Church in the U.S. has no official leader; it has a group of leaders known as overseers. ABC News contacted over 20 former and current overseers in the United States. All of them denied knowing about the widespread abuse. But one overseer acknowledged that in the past, staff members have been transferred rather than removed from service and reported to authorities.

“The ‘moving’ of abusers from state to state, from country to country is common,” Garabedian said.

People within the church knew about Autrey’s abuse. Her parents wrote to her overseer, Eldon Tenniswood, about her alleged abuser, Steve Rohs.

In 1986, Tenniswood wrote in a letter to Rohs obtained by ABC News: “Remember, Steven, you were 28 years old at the time and she was 14 years old, which would make your act a crime.”

Rohs admitted the abuse, writing in a May 11, 1986, response to Tenniswood’s letter: “We kissed and touched each other intimately. This never happened with anyone else… I had no intention of covering it up, but I didn’t know how to handle it other than leaving the area and asking God for forgiveness. I was old enough to know better, but still weak in the flesh.”

ABC News spoke to two other alleged victims of Rohs who say their abuse occurred decades after Autrey’s.

To see Kyra Phillips’ attempts to question Rohs and the full report on the church, stream the IMPACT x Nightline episode “Secrets of the 2×2 Church” on Hulu beginning June 13.

Autrey grew up in California but now lives in Texas with her husband Dean. With her dogs, cattle and cowboy boots, she enjoys living a little more independently.

“What would you say to your 14-year-old self right now?” ABC News asked Autrey.

“You are incredible,” Autrey said. “You are valuable. You didn’t deserve this. And you will have a good life. This will not define you. I will overcome it.”

ABC News’ Caroline Kucera and Tara Guaimano contributed to this report.