Matthew Fenner, a junior at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, was allegedly kidnapped and beaten by members of a local church he’d been attending. The fellow churchgoers were indicted Dec. 10.

Matthew Fenner’s Alleged Attackers Indicted

In Fenner’s affidavit, he claimed that members of the Word of Faith Fellowship church attacked him in January 2013 following a prayer service.  “I had at least 15-20 college age men around me, screaming, shaking me, punching me, hitting my chest, grabbing my head, telling me to repeat different phrases,” he said, adding that the group said they were going to rid him of his “homosexual ‘demons.'”

Fenner, 21,  in a recent interview, said that in the midst of the harrowing incident, he felt it was possible he was going to be killed. “My head was being flung back, my vision was going brown and black,” he told WSPA-TV. “I couldn’t breathe, and I’m sitting here thinking, ‘If I don’t get out of this, I’m probably going to die.’ ”

Josh Farmer, an attorney for the church, has not only denied the charges, but has accused Fenner of fabricating the story. “We are adamant that no one ever physically harmed Mr. Fenner,” he told WSPA-TV. “The church does not target members who are gay.”

Sarah Covington Anderson, Adam Christopher Bartley, Brooke McFadden Covington, Justin Brock Covington and Robert Louis Walker Jr. are the Word of Faith Fellowship church members that  have been indicted on simple assault and kidnapping charges.

“I just want to say that I am extremely thankful for all of the kind words and support that I have received thus far,” Fenner, who works at UNC’s LGBTQ center, wrote on Facebook last week. “I am so grateful for my family, my dearest friends, and those who I have just come into contact with for sticking with me through this and for being there in this battle. This is going to be a long road, but I feel that the truth will ultimately prevail, and regardless of the outcome, we will stand our ground and continue on!”