The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church publicly presents itself as a law-abiding, tax-paying, deeply Christian community. This investigation examines the gap between that presentation and the documented criminal record of its members — across multiple countries and a wide range of offences.

What follows is a selection of cases identified during this investigation. We are confident there are many more which go unreported, particularly in a secretive and insular community. We also note a clear and recurring pattern: the use of Brethren membership as a mitigating factor in court proceedings — the claim, in effect, of being a good Christian as a reason for a reduced sentence.

Cases & Convictions

September 2025 — Staines Magistrates Court, UK
A Brethren member pleaded guilty to impersonating a police officer. The sentence included a curfew with electronic monitoring, rehabilitation activity, unpaid work and an order to deprive the defendant of the right to blue lights seized from a vehicle. The member is believed to have been excommunicated. Prior to the offence, the individual worked for a Hales-owned company and has since gained employment at a non-Brethren competitor. Full details in Part Two.
June 2017 — Mt Barker Magistrates Court, Australia
A Brethren member was fined $600 and ordered to pay costs of at least $260 following the shooting of a neighbour's cat with a crossbow — an act the RSPCA described as sickening. The member was also found to be concealing three illegal crossbows and 20 bolts in their bedroom. The maximum penalty was a $20,000 fine or two years' imprisonment. In mitigation, the defence described the defendant as a loyal, hard-working, trustworthy client who volunteers for charity and handles security clearances for federal government clients. The neighbours said the law had let them down.
October 2009 — Nelson District Court, New Zealand
A Brethren member was found guilty of nine charges of indecently assaulting girls under the age of 12 and one charge of inducing a girl under 12 to perform an indecent act. The four victims had been aged five to nine at the time of the offending. The member was jailed for two and a half years and ordered to pay $20,000 in reparations.
March 2018 — New Zealand
A Brethren member received a four-month sentence of community detention after pleading guilty to careless driving causing death — the deaths of two family members and a family friend. More serious charges were dropped. Reports at the time described a "clean-up crew" of more than 20 Brethren members who arrived at the accident scene. A witness stated in police documents that they appeared to be attempting to keep events secret. The defendant was found to be over the legal alcohol limit nearly two hours after the crash.
August 2024 — Victoria County Court, Australia
A Brethren member was sentenced to eight years and nine months, with a minimum of five years and four months, for killing his younger brother and cousin in a high-speed crash. He was driving at nearly 250 kilometres per hour when the vehicle struck trees on Easter Sunday 2023. Though he was above the legal alcohol limit, prosecutors did not allege alcohol was a factor. Following the crash, it was reported that the member was excluded from the wider Brethren community and banned from eating meals with his own family. The judge acknowledged deep remorse and a subsequent diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, and praised the families for the care they had shown one another.
August 2021 — Gloucester Crown Court, UK
A Brethren member was jailed for two and a half years after pleading guilty to two charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving (reduced from three years and nine months on account of the guilty plea). The incident left a pedestrian with life-changing injuries after the car pinned her against a bridge. A passenger in another vehicle also suffered life-changing injuries. The member walked away from the scene, leaving the pedestrian trapped. When officers attended, his whereabouts were unknown. He was subsequently found nearby and was almost four times over the legal alcohol limit. The dashcam footage has since been used by Gloucester Constabulary in drink-driving awareness campaigns.
August 2025 — Dayton, Ohio, USA
A Brethren member was indicted on eight counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, one count of aggravated vehicular assault, one count of vehicular assault, one count of failure to stop after an accident and one count of operating a vehicle while impaired. The member was booked into Montgomery County Jail on 6th August. Separately, it was reported that in April 2025 a $16 million civil settlement had been reached with the estates of four individuals killed in the crash, plus one injured survivor, who alleged that Benchmark Industrial Inc. — a company owned by a Brethren member and relative of the defendant — had been negligent in employing the defendant and entrusting the vehicle to him.
November 2024 — Raymond Terrace Local Court, Australia
A Brethren member avoided custody and was given a nine-month community sentence after pleading guilty to aggravated animal cruelty. The member removed a chicken from its enclosure at a wildlife park and threw it to alligators, where it was killed. The incident was captured on CCTV and witnessed by multiple people. The member was also ordered to complete 100 hours of community service. In mitigation, the defence described the defendant as a "country person" who viewed the chicken as food — though the member was originally from New Zealand and had grown up in a city.
February 2025 — Nelson District Court, New Zealand
A Brethren member was sentenced for unlawful hunting and reckless ill-treatment of a wild animal — the second member to be convicted for the same incident. The incident involved chasing a deer with a vehicle, striking it so hard it was thrown into the air and broke its bones on landing, then slitting its throat while another member restrained it. The incident was posted to a Snapchat group named "NZ Poaches". The member received four months of community detention with a daily curfew and 100 hours of community work. Their lawyer cited therapy and counselling to address volatility and depression.
May 2023 — Hastings District Court, New Zealand
A Brethren member pleaded guilty to careless driving causing injury. The crash left the other driver with a broken back, broken neck, a broken femur, 14 broken ribs and further injuries, requiring three months in hospital. Police records stated the defendant had been aware their vehicle demisters were not working, causing condensation on the windows that limited visibility, but continued to drive regardless. In mitigation, the defence noted the member's farm had suffered damage in Cyclone Gabrielle and requested any driving disqualification be delayed 12 days to allow farm work to continue. The victim said they felt let down by the restorative justice process. The member was ordered to pay $10,000 in emotional harm reparations and disqualified from driving for six months.

We are also aware of a case in which a Brethren member was jailed for ten years after pleading guilty to attempting to rape a girl under the age of 12 while she slept, along with other sexual assaults on the same child and the taking and distributing of indecent images.

Drink Driving, Speeding and Animal Cruelty

The above are a small selection of the cases identified during this investigation. We have found many further criminal cases involving driving under the influence of alcohol, speeding and animal cruelty. There are also a significant number of non-criminal cases involving Brethren member companies where employees have suffered workplace injuries and, in some cases, death — alongside regulatory fines issued to Brethren-owned businesses.

We have established a pattern of using Brethren membership as part of a legal defence. The use of Christianity as mitigation — to reduce sentences, fines and orders — is a recurring feature across these cases.

Open & Candid

We have also found at least one civil case involving river pollution, in which the defendant claimed their standard working practices had been disrupted due to attending a church-related meeting. The use of faith as mitigation in even the most serious offences would appear, at minimum, to be ironic.

On Conviction Numbers

We were surprised by the volume of cases uncovered, and we are confident that many more go unreported. We are aware of ongoing cases, including one involving a member of a senior Brethren family in the UK. It is difficult to assess the ratio of Brethren criminal convictions against total membership, and therefore impossible to compare meaningfully against non-Brethren conviction rates.

What we can say is this: when the Hales family states that the Brethren are a law-abiding, tax-paying community, that claim is no more accurate than asserting that non-Brethren society commits no offences. In a secretive and insular community, it is plausible — and concerning — that many criminal activities have never been discovered or reported. At the same time, we believe the majority of Brethren members are decent, law-abiding people.

Finally, throughout this investigation we encountered a tragic and considerable number of accidental deaths and serious injuries within the Brethren community worldwide. We are unable to compare this figure against non-community accident rates, but it is a stark reminder of the human cost behind these cases.