Church Accused of Beating Gay Man During 'Deliverance' to Remove Homosexual 'Demons' Posts Public Response Defending Its Members

An embattled North Carolina church is defending itself after five of its members were indicted earlier this month following allegations that they beat a young man in an attempt to rid him of demons they purportedly believed were making him gay.

Word of Faith Fellowship in Spindale, North Carolina, recently released a statement on its website claiming that Matthew Fenner, the now 21-year-old student who claims he was hit, strangled and held against his will during an alleged incident in 2013, isn't telling the truth about what happened to him.

The church asked for prayer as the five church members — Brooke McFadden Covington, Sarah Covington Anderson, Justin Brock Covington, Adam Christopher Bartley and Robert Louis Walker Jr. — "fight to prove their innocence," according to a statement published on the church's website.

"What Matthew claims was done to him is absolutely not true and we would never allow something like that to happen," the statement read. "The outlandishness of Matthew's story continues to grow."

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Word of Faith Fellowship believes that Fenner, now a pre-med student at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been influenced by people looking to destroy the house of worship, though these individuals' identities were not made clear in the statement.

Joshua Farmer, the lawyer representing the church members, also told the Associated Press earlier this month that Fenner's story isn't true, calling it "an absolute, complete fabrication."

"They are innocent of the charges," he said of his clients.

In an email to WSPA-TV, Farmer added, "The church does NOT target members who are gay."

Despite these claims of innocence, Fenner is waging some shocking allegations of what he claims unfolded inside the house of worship.

"I honestly thought I was going to die," Fenner told WSPA-TV earlier this month, claiming that he had been surrounded by about 20 people during a "deliverance" effort to rid him of the demon. "My head was like being flung back, my vision was going brown and black. I couldn't breathe and I'm sitting here thinking if I don't get out of this, I'm probably going to die."

The five individuals accused of beating him have been charged with second degree kidnapping and simple assault, with Sarah Covington Anderson facing an additional charge for purported strangulation.

This is not the first time the church has been at the center of controversy, though it claims to have been victorious in past cases waged against it.

Some outlets have included an embed or link to a 1995 "Inside Edition" episode that detailed alleged abuse within the church.

The New York Daily News also cited reports from the same year that the outlet claims were published by Star-News — reports that noted that Word of Faith was investigated in the past for child abuse after allegations of screaming prayer and child restraining emerged.

But no charges were filed, as the allegations couldn't be "proved nor disproved," according to the Daily News, which cited the aforementioned Star-News reports.

On a webpage titled "From Persecution to Vindication" on Word of Faith's official site, the church acknowledges past investigations and issues, citing them as evidence of persecution.

"Over the last twenty-five years, our church has had an incredible story. We were a subject of major persecution, national and international media, Inside Edition tabloid television, and several lawsuits," the statement reads. "We were investigated by the State Bureau of Investigation and by local authorities. We were cleared in every investigation."

The statement concludes, "God has vindicated us at every point."

An ABC News report published in 2012 read, in part: "Word of Faith Church was investigated for child abuse and founder Jane Whaley was convicted of abusing a congregant. The conviction was later overturned. The church also sued North Carolina's Department of Social Services in the 1990s over the child abuse charges, obtaining a $300,000 award and having the child abuse charges expunged, according to court records."

As for the more recent allegations, according to a police affidavit, Fenner said that he was surrounded by a group of church members on Jan. 27, 2013, who allegedly abused him for two hours, screamed at him and pushed him around in an effort to free him "of the homosexual 'demons,'" the AP reported.

Fenner's mother and brother — who are both members at the church still — testified against him, according to WSPA-TV.

Michael Lowry, another former member, made similar claims against church officials in the past before retreating from his initial statements. Read about his former allegations here.

The first hearing in the Fenner case will come on February 11, 2015, according to the Daily Beast.

Read more about the controversy and the claims waged against the church here.

This story has been updated.

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