FBI Investigates Religious Group Known as ‘Two by Twos’
Survivors say they were abused by traveling ministers who often stayed in their homes.
A religious group commonly referred to as the “2×2” or the “The Church With No Name” is under investigation by the FBI. The bureau is seeking to identify victims or individuals “with knowledge of abuse and/or criminal behavior that has occurred within [the] religious group.
ABC reporter Kyra Phillips tracks down Steve Rohs to ask about allegations that he sexually molested an underage girl repeatedly while he was a “worker” with 2×2 / Video screenshot
According to a website by Cherie Kropp-Ehrig, the group was started in the 1800s by a Scotsman named William Irvine, who was later excommunicated from the group. Kropp-Ehrig claims she was born and raised as part of the third generation of her family to be involved in the nameless church.
In the early 1900s, the church set its roots in the San Francisco Bay Area of California.
Former members told ABC7 News in San Francisco the group used fear and manipulation and convinced its members it was the only way to salvation.
“If they didn’t talk to God’s true people, his chosen people, they’re going to hell,” former member Sheri Autrey said she was told. “It was brainwashing from such an early age.”
Some of these members, including Autrey, also said they and their family members were victims of sexual abuse.
Autrey said she was abused when she was 13 by a 28-year-old “worker” named Steve Rohs while he stayed at her family’s home.
“It happened on a nightly basis,” Autrey told ABC7. “It was regular.”
In a high school research paper Autrey wrote in 1986, she said that Rohs repeatedly told her not to tell her parents about the abuse.
Rohs wrote an apology letter to church leadership, in which he admitted to kissing and touching Autrey intimately, but claimed they didn’t have sex.
When Rohs was confronted by ABC News reporter Kyra Phillips in April 2023 about the allegations and the letter, he declined to comment.
According to the Tulare County District Attorney’s office and criminal defense attorney Seth Chazin, the California statute of limitations would prevent charges from being filed against Rohs.
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Another alleged victim, LaNette Burrage Flannigan, told ABC7 she and her cousin Lauralee Brown were also sexually abused by members of the sect.
Flannigan said she remembers traveling preachers, called workers, who would stay in her home from time to time. “I actually do remember workers if they stayed with us, they would stay in our room,” Flanigan said.
Brown said she was molested regularly for three years between the ages of 9 and 13 by a man who was a member of the group.
“It would happen about two times a week, or more,” Brown told ABC7. “All around the truth meetings.”
Brown said she told her parents about the abuse when she was 13 after realizing what was happening to her because of her school’s sexual education class. She said they did not believe her then nor four years later when she again told them at age 17.
Gary Paul, who is a minister in the religious group, responded to ABC7’s question about the FBI investigation by saying, “I don’t think that there’s a cult of people trying to hide things… the leadership is not super secret in trying to hide things. I don’t know what they’re after.”
Paul, who has been in the ministry for 57 years, says he never dealt with a child sexual assault case nor did he receive formal training on how to respond to such allegations until after the federal investigation began.
An abuse hotline was created in March 2023 by Advocates for the Truth (AFTT) “to be a central reporting site for victim-survivors of child sexual assault and sexual assault within the secretive church community known as ‘The Truth,’ 2×2 or ‘The Way.’”
To date, AFTT says it has received reports from more than 2,000 unique victims, and over 900 perpetrators have been named. “Victims are overwhelmingly women and children of all genders,” the website states.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Why does MinistryWatch report on sex crimes? These stories are tough to read and sometimes even tougher to report, but we think they are vital to our mission to bring transparency, accountability, and credibility to the evangelical church. To read more about why and how we report these stories, read “Why MinistryWatch Reports On Sex Crimes.” You can find that story here.
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