Sister of rapist on run with mum makes plea amid cult ‘brainwashing’ claims
The half-sister of a rapist, who is on the run with his partner and their newborn baby, claims he was ‘wrongly convicted’.
At age 14, Mark Gordon was convicted on four counts of sexual offences in the United States after holding his neighbour hostage at knifepoint for several hours.
The now 49-year-old served 20 years behind bars – but says he was wrongly convicted.
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Now, Gordon’s half-sister Karen Satchell claims he is being ‘publicly persecuted’ and is asking him to get in touch.
The declaration follows claims from friends that the young mum, Constance Marten, had been ‘brainwashed’ by a Nigerian cult leader, T B Joshua.
According to the Daily Mail, Ms Satchell said: “He has done 20 years of persecution in a jail and now he is being persecuted publicly when he is just trying to start his life all over again.
“If I could say one thing to him it would be, ‘Mark, reach out to one of us, reach out to me and let me know what is going on, I will do whatever I can to help’,” Ms Satchell added.
It’s understood that Ms Marten spent around six months living in Nigeria, working as a ‘disciple’ of the charismatic cult leader – and returned to the UK 'traumatised'.
A family friend, who asked to remain anonymous, said she believed that Ms Marten, aka Toots, had now fallen under the influence of her partner Mark Gordon.
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The woman said: “She ended up becoming one of his disciples in Nigeria. I believe she got brainwashed while she was over there. The experience traumatised her.
“She was not the same person when she came back. She always used to be wild, but also happy, kind and buoyant. She was darker when she came back and she found things more difficult.
“She never told us what really happened. T B Joshua was a God-like figure. It was scary, and I believe it changed her. It was a huge part of her life.
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“Toots used to travel a lot from a young age but when she returned from Nigeria, there were strained relations with her family.
“She was still exuberant in everything, but she found relationships very hard. It was like she came back totally f***ed. She was more rebellious. She thought she had recovered, but it was difficult for her.”
The Metropolitan Police appealed to anyone who has information about the couple's whereabouts to call 020 7175 0785. Information can also be reported anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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