By Shannon Pitman, Open Justice reporter of 
The Northland man linked to the Two by Twos continues to have name suppression. Photo: NZME / Shannon Pitman
A Northland man linked to the religious sect known as the Two by Twos has appealed his case to the High Court in a fight to continue name suppression.
The man first appeared in November 2024 in the Whangārei District Court facing a range of charges related to the sexual abuse of boys dating back to the 1980s.
His name has been suppressed for the past year and after recently being refused further name suppression in the district court, he appealed to the High Court.
The district court also refused an application by the man to have his charges severed, which would have meant he would have two separate trials.
That application is currently before the Court of Appeal for a decision that is impacting requests by the Crown and media to have his name suppression lifted.
On Friday, his name suppression application was called in the High Court at Whangārei, where his lawyer Wayne McKean indicated the man intends to assign new counsel.
McKean told the court his office will continue to assist the man, however, timing of the assignment of new counsel will complicate future proceedings.
McKean said a final name suppression hearing should not be heard until the Court of Appeal has made a decision on severance, which is unlikely to be until April 2026.
Justice David Gary Johnstone said the allegations relate to "widespread child abuse" but agreed with McKean and said the man's right to a fair trial was absolute.
"On that basis, I direct [his] name suppression appeal in this court be called again in the call over to be conducted December 5, 2025, at which point it is likely the Court of Appeal decision on leave will be available and further directions can be made," Justice Johnstone said.
"Should the Court of Appeal decline leave considerably sooner than December, I grant to bring it back to call over at any point."
The man is currently scheduled to go to trial in November 2026.
Sexual Violence
- NZ Police.
- Victim Support 0800 842 846.
- Rape Crisis: 0800 88 33 00.
- Rape Prevention Education.
- Empowerment Trust.
- HELP (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): 04 801 6655.
- Safe to talk: 0800 044 334.
- Tautoko Tāne Male Survivors Aotearoa.
- Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) 022 344 0496.
* This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.
