A disgraced church leader from the Chatsworth area has been sentenced after pleading guilty to nine counts of assault.
Fred King will spend 18 months in jail, but could be released after a year under mandatory supervision, a judge ruled on Wednesday in an Owen Sound court.
The 57-year-old was also ordered to have no contact with any of the victims and to provide a DNA sample.
The Crown said King, who was known as “The Prophet,” abused his position of power as the head of the Church of Jesus Christ Restored in Chatsworth.
King’s charges stem from his time as leader of the cult-like church between 1979 and 2008.
In an agreed statement of facts read in court in May, King admitted to kicking, punching, slapping and spitting on church members. He also admitted to making some people strip in front of the rest of the congregation.
In issuing the sentence, Justice Clayton Conlan said “few things are more revolting than being violent and denigrating with women and children."
No victim impact statements were read in court on Wednesday. King declined to comment on the sentence.
King was arrested after a woman shared her story with CTV’s W5 in 2012.
In addition to the assault charges, King faced sexual assault, sexual interference and utter death threat offences. Those charges were withdrawn by the Crown.
