I was forced to get married at three, that was just the start, I witnessed drunken orgies & was terrified for my life

BEING lifted onto her "grandpa’s" lap Serena Kelley wrinkled her nose at the unpleasant smell of the grey-haired man.

He handed her a ring to symbolise their ‘marriage’ telling Serena they were having a ‘union’ and that she would be ‘his forever.’

It was 1986, and Serena was just three years old, so young in fact that her ring had to be taped onto her finger.

Serena had been born into the infamous Children of God cult run by David Berg, know to her as Grandpa. 

Founded in 1968, the cult had 13,000 members in 130 communities across the world. 

Chosen one

“My mother was an important member,” Serena recalls in this exclusive interview.

“I was told I was one of the ‘chosen ones’ by a cult leader, along with an older boy called Ricky. 

“As members of the cult’s inner circles, we lived in the lap of luxury.

“Berg had moved the Children of God out to the Philippines and we lived in mansions with pools and tennis courts and koi ponds.

“But behind all the luxury I lived a very dark and traumatic life.”

Serena described how she would be awoken in the night by loud music.

Drunken orgies

“I’d toddle downstairs into the communal rooms where I’d stumble on drunken orgies,” she says. 

“I was too young to understand, but I saw things that deeply disturbed me. 

“On other occasions, I’d be made to dance and undress in front of the camera. 

“I learnt quickly that if I cried, I’d be taken off camera. I was then punished, but it was worth it to avoid being filmed.

“Gradually, I became more withdrawn, desperate not to be noticed.”

When Serena was five years old, she was awoken by her mum in the middle of the night, who told her they were leaving.

She says: “Under cover of darkness, we took a car to the airport, followed by a flight to Japan. 

“The cult was frequently under investigation for child abuse, so secrecy for top members became essential. 

“In Japan, I was handed over to the care of Dora and musician Jeremy Spencer. From this moment onwards, I rarely saw my mother.”

Life in hiding

Just a year later Dora and Jeremy moved the family to the Brazil compound.

“Dora told me that no one could know I was there,” Serena says.

“My birth name was Mary-Dear, but I was renamed Serena. 

“Life was tough and often we’d be set gruelling manual tasks, such as cleaning the bathroom with toothbrushes. 

“At other times, we’d be sent out to beg, or sing Christmas songs for money from the locals. 

“If any of the children misbehaved, they’d be sent to receive a beating from a group of members referred to as ‘the uncles.’”

In 1994, when Serena was 12, David Berg died and his widow Karen took over the Children of God and relaxed the rules about interacting with outsiders.

Serena recalls: "Our neighbour’s children used to watch us over the compound wall and one day they invited us to join them for a game of football. 

“Growing up, I’d been told that outsiders were all devil worshippers but as I spent more time with the neighbours, I realised that wasn’t true.”

Serena had been living in Brazil for six years where her mum was the head of the South American division of the cult. 

Terrifying truth

“One day I asked her if she would kill me if God told her to,” Serena recalls.

“When she told me she would, I realised I wasn’t safe with my own mother and vowed to leave as soon as I turned 18.

“My childhood friend Ricky had already fled and leaders told us he had fallen prey to the demon and that we should pray for bad things to happen to him.

“I only pretended to.”

During Serena’s final years in the cult she was sent to Mexico to live with her mum.

She recalls: “I’d got a reputation as a troublemaker and the stricter rules in Mexico were designed to keep me in line. 

“But, just as I promised myself, I packed a bag the moment I turned 18 in 2002. 

“My mum told me that if I left I could never come back, but that was fine with me.

I realised I wasn’t safe with my own mother and vowed to leave as soon as I turned 18

Serena Kelley

“With only £120 to my name, I headed to the USA. A former cult member offered me their sofa and another ex-member gave me a job. 

“She’d started a massage parlour, and I worked there illegally while I tried to find my feet.”

Life outside the cult

Serena admits that life outside the cult was a massive culture shock but one she was glad of.

She says: “I didn’t have a bank account, a driving licence, or any form of ID but my new independence felt like an incredible luxury. 

“For the first time, I had my own clothes and most importantly, my own space.

“Despite everything, in 2013 I went to university and studied corporate communications. 

“And after that I landed several high-paying jobs in the corporate world. But no matter how successful I became, I couldn’t ignore my need to heal. 

“In 2019, I began trauma-counselling specifically for ex-cult members. 

“And the more work I did on my own healing, the more passionate I became about helping other people. 

“I wanted to be the person I had needed when I left the cult.

“I started work as a trauma-recovery specialist, and for the first time in my life I publicly opened up about my own story.”

The Children of God changed their name to The Family International, before disbanding in 2010. 

It now operates as an online network with 1,500 members. 

Moving on

Despite her traumatic childhood, Serena says she has some sympathy for her mum.

“My mother is no longer a member, and she lives in hiding,” she says. 

“She was only 19 when she joined the cult, and I know that in some ways she was a victim herself. 

“But I don’t have much interest in building a relationship with her. 

“Whether you are a victim or not, you have to take responsibility for your actions, and my mother has not.

“David Berg was a victim of childhood sexual abuse himself. 

“He argued that since he’d enjoyed it, other children would do too. 

“He managed to brainwash his thousands of followers that the end of the world was approaching and the only way they could be spared was through sex.

“I still have the ring David Berg placed on my finger when I was just three years old – while once it was his way of controlling me, now I keep it as proof that this happened to me. 

“I share my story not just to help me accept my past, but to give me back my power. 

“I no longer feel ashamed.”