Two defendants, including a religious leader, plead not guilty to grooming a girl for over a decade.

William Kamm, 74, and Sandra Susan Mathison, 58, have pleaded not guilty to charges of grooming a girl from age six for over a decade in the Order of Saint Charbel, a group Kamm leads under the name "Little Pebble." Prosecutors allege Kamm, who claims to receive visions from Jesus and Mary, sent the girl letters and gifts, referred to her as a "queen," and encouraged her to procreate with him, despite being in jail or on parole and violating a supervision order. Both appeared in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court—Kamm via video from prison, Mathison in a white dress—with an interim apprehended violence order issued for the complainant. A trial date will be set at the NSW District Court in November. Support services are available for survivors of sexual abuse.