A TEENAGER who was persuaded to leave home within hours of meeting members of a religious cult could be on his way to Germany, it emerged yesterday.
Bobby Kelly, 16, was yesterday made a ward of court at the High Court, after an application by his grandmother Ruth Kelly, his sole legal guardian and with whom he lived in Romford, Essex.
A spokesman at the Official Solicitor's office said the judgment meant any attempt to take him out of the country would be a criminal offence.
Mr David Whitehouse, who has known the teenager for four years through his youth work at St Peter's Church, Harold Wood, Essex, said he seemed scared when they met in the presence of cult members last Thursday.
He said the Jesus Christians group members told him the teenager would be going to Germany on a missionary trip within the next fortnight.
''Bobby seemed scared, as if he was very wary about what the group members would think about what he was saying. He left most of the talking to the others.
''I asked them where they lived and they said they moved around. They said they had slept in a forest the previous few nights.''
''I had been in contact with a group which helps those taken in by cults before the meeting and been advised to keep things as normal as possible.
''Until Bobby had been made a ward of court, it was important to keep in contact as this group has a record for just going underground.
''He's been with them for just over a fortnight. They've let him see me and his grandmother, but never unsupervised. They said that was out of the question.
''He's a young Christian man with a strong interest in the Bible, and that's what this group will have used to get close to him.
''They'll have asked him to come with them and live a radical Christian life.
''But anyone who does this to a 16-year-old, who takes him off to Germany, is not acting like a Christian. His grandmother is totally distraught.''
Mrs Kelly told the court her grandson had met members of the cult while they were shopping in the town.
When they returned home that afternoon, Bobby packed some belongings and told his grandmother he was joining the group and wanted to give away his possessions.
He said he had been told he had to give up everything, including his family.
Mr Whitehouse said the teenager, who was planning to take a business studies course after finishing his GCSEs, was accompanied by a married couple and another male member of the cult when they met at his home.
A statement issued by Mr Laurence Oates, the Official Solicitor, said: ''Bobby has telephoned his grandmother on several occasions and she describes him as sounding very strange and most unlike the Bobby she knows.
''At present, the whereabouts of Bobby are unknown. His grandmother is very worried about him and fears he may be taken abroad.''
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