I was born into sick cult & forced to marry leader David Berg aged 3 – I only escaped horror abuse videos by crying
A WOMAN who was born into the notorious Children of God cult was forced to marry the paedophile leader aged three – and only escaped sick abuse videos by crying.
Serena Kelley was born into the twisted cult in the Philippines, and was a child bride when she was just a toddler.
The Children of God cult was founded in 1968 by David Berg, who created it as a Christian group with a message of peace and love.
But he eventually spun the group to cater for his own sick and perverse sexual fantasies.
As the cult’s numbers grew, Berg became fanatical, claiming the world would end soon and only his followers would be saved.
He also declared sex – including with children – was to be celebrated.
Serena has described horrific early memories of orgies, child sex films, incest, physical abuse and sex work.
But now she is working with victims of trauma and child abuse and revealed to the Shaun Attwood podcast the grisly truths behind the apocalyptic sex cult.
She told Attwood the horrifying story of how she became a child bride to the leader when she was just three – Berg was 67 at the time.
In 1986, Serena’s mum led her to Berg’s home where they were “married”.
An adult-sized heart-shaped ring – with tape inside to make it smaller – was put on her tiny finger and her parents were thrilled.
Serena then went on to explain how she had been “cursed” with a “crystal-clear memory” as she remembers the gory details of the atrocities she witnessed growing up.
She recalls being groped by Berg, who she was encouraged to call “Grandpa” when she was two, and learning to swim in his pool while an orgy took place.
When Serena was just three-years-old, the cult leader began getting into making pornographic videos with children and having children do stripteases.
“I ended up crying because I was so petrified and I was taken out of the video and punished and beaten and put in a dark room – ‘you’re not going to eat you ruined the video’,” she said.
“In my mind, I actually figured out that if I cried, that if I looked ugly I wouldn’t have to be in the videos.
“So there were ways where, as a child, I had to figure out survival of the fittest.”
Berg’s followers eventually devoted themselves to his ideologies of “sexual sharing” and “free expression” as the cult grew.
He once ordered female members to seduce and bed strangers – in a bid to attract more recruits.
His followers – including those that are married – were also often called upon to sacrifice their bodies in the name of God.
Serena also explained how most cult members lived in “extreme poverty” – while her and her family lived in “top leadership” households which was the highest tier.
But this didn’t mean her situation was any better.
“If anything it was even more abuse, more evil and a lot of testing on children going on in his household to see what works to see what he could do,” Serena said.
Before his death in Portugal in 1994, Berg’s granddaughter Merry claimed he’d molested her when she was a teen.
And by 1977, the cult had established more than 130 communities around the world.
In 1983, the group reported more than 10,000 full-time members living in more than 1,600 communities.
The Children of God was then officially renamed “The Family”, and Berg’s wife Karen Zerby took over.
At age 18, in 2002, the Serena managed to escape when she moved back to America with her mum.
She recalls living with her initially, but breaking away to live with an ex-cult member to avoid her mums control.
In 2013 the cult survivor enrolled at university in Austin, Texas, to study corporate communications, and completed her degree in 2015.
This was all while facing a long battle with anxiety, depression and an eating disorder.
“I’ve had therapy to help with my eating disorder and depression – it’s an ongoing process, but today I feel whole, happy and unafraid,” she said.
Serena has since taken a course in trauma recovery coaching and is now certified to help others who may have faced similar situations.
Serena said she still has the ring Berg placed on her finger 36 years ago – while once it was his way of controlling her, now she keeps it as proof of what happened to her.