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NC church members facing charges in beating of gay man

SPINDALE, N.C. A North Carolina student says he feared for his life when he was beaten by church members in an attempt to cure him of being gay.

Five members of the Word of Faith Fellowship church in Spindale have been indicted for kidnapping and assault in connection with Matthew Fenner’s beating.

Fenner told The Associated Press that they surrounded him in the church’s sanctuary after a service two years ago and began shouting, choking and beating him.

The University of North Carolina student says they believed they could beat the demons out of him and stop him from being gay.

The church’s attorney says the church members are innocent.

This is the latest controversy to surround the church, which has been accused for years of enforcing extensive control over its congregation.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/12/14/5383874/nc-church-members-facing-charges.html#storylink=cpy