Child sex trafficking by a church pastor and his wife in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, in 2020.

 In this case, a pastor who ran a cult church in Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, imprisoned and sexually assaulted dozens of children for nearly 20 years. The pastor, who was known for running a notorious cult in Ansan, ran a study hall with his family and drugged his victims. 

Although the pastor, who went by the name Pastor Oh, was disfellowshipped from the local religious community for spreading his cult beliefs, his church continued to operate until 2020.Oh displayed bizarre behavior, decorating his room with military-themed items, including fake insignia, and buying luxury watches, limousines, and exotic cars with the money he extorted from his victims. 

Despite his bizarre behavior, he was the mastermind of the crime, and his wife and brother were his accomplices.The pastor convinced parents that he could exorcise evil spirits from their children and promised to take care of them, but instead imprisoned and sexually abused them. To prevent the victims from escaping, they made them spy on each other and physically abused those who tried to escape. They videotaped the abuse, forcing the victims to strip naked and engage in sexual acts with their family members, including incestuous acts.

In the case of labor exploitation, youths who appeared to be of legal age were forced to work nonstop at menial jobs such as housekeeping and kimchi preparation, in addition to part-time jobs such as distributing flyers for a study hall affiliated with the church. 

These were children who were supposed to be attending school, but were prevented from doing so. The church did not pay the youths for their part-time or extracurricular work, nor did they share in the profits. The pastor's family embezzled virtually everything. The youth were forced to borrow money and take out loans from various sources to give the pastor money as "offerings," resulting in bad credit at a young age. 

Furthermore, if the laborers failed to meet the quota, the pastor's wife would use the excuse of a "golden meeting" to humiliate and torture them by punishing them by beating them, making them endure beatings, or making them apply ointment to their wounds. The pastor's wife would even tell them to apply the ointment and then say, "Next time, I will make you clean my feces."3 .1. 

"Human Farms" Children and young people were drugged, kept in debt, and forced to marry and have children as soon as they reached the age of majority. When victims thought they were of legal age, the pastor's wife would suddenly point at them and say, "You two get married," and then force them to have sex without any prior commitment in an impromptu wedding ceremony with a partner arbitrarily chosen by the pastor. Afterwards, they were ordered to have sex remotely so they could continue to bear children. They were even instructed to send post-relationship messages.

Even more brutal, they forced pregnant women who had just given birth to work without exception until they gave birth. Even after giving birth, they prevented mothers from feeding their babies, forcibly took them away, and subjected them to abuse and violence. 

Pastors even stole government grants for childbirth and COVID-19 disaster relief funds. Children held by pastors were also abused. If the children's parents could not earn the money allocated to them, pastors would beat or starve them. Abused children even sent videos to their parents complaining that they could not eat properly because their parents could not earn money. 

The pastors held the children hostage and even told parents to beat their own children in order to get paid by the "golden circle." This cruelty is on par with another Christian cult, the Grace Road Church, but it doesn't stop there. Pastors urged victims to "come to me for sexual offense counseling when your children are older." This was a warning that the pastors would sexually abuse the children they forced their victims to bear. 

If they found useful women, they would have them have children with male victims. Victim Oh, who was used as a "mother dog" in Pastor Oh's human farm, was brainwashed by the pastors and suddenly disappeared to make money. She then married one of the male victims held by the pastors and had a child with him. 

The first male victim married to Oh narrowly escaped due to military service issues and Oh's refusal to leave, but was unable to bring the child and Oh back. As a result, he divorced Ms. O◇◇ and gave up custody of their child. After that, Ms. O◇◇ stayed in the church and became a breeding ground for other male victims. She looked much older than her age because she had given birth so many times. She even went to her family to ask for money. Once her family saw her on the bus, they only talked about money.

Victims:Most of the victims came to the church-affiliated study hall through local tutoring brochures or through acquaintances who recommended good tutors. Church officials actively targeted people who appeared to be struggling financially and promised to help them succeed. They threw parties and even offered luxury cars to lure them in. Some victims tried to harm themselves to escape the pastor's abuse, but failed. The study rooms where the victims were recruited and lured did not pay building taxes when they moved in, and the church withheld all the money. Multiple reports were made to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

On December 17, 2020, three women in their 20s and 30s sued Pastor A at a church in Sangrok District, Ansan City, accusing him of sexually assaulting and imprisoning them for more than 10 years since 2002. The women, who are children of church members, alleged that the pastor had been sexually assaulting them, making videos of the incidents, and even forcing their female relatives to perform sexual acts for more than a decade.

 Prosecutors charged the pastor with violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth Victims of Sexual Assault (forced molestation) and raided the church and residence. In the process, police rescued children who were being held captive. Despite the allegations, the pastor denied all charges, saying he had only cared for the children and had never sexually assaulted them.

Trial:In the first trial, the pastor was sentenced to 25 years in prison, his wife to eight years in prison, and his brother to four years in prison. In the second trial, appeals were denied, and the pastor's sentence was upheld at 25 years, his wife's sentence at eight years, and his brother's sentence at four years.