The retrial of Brooke Covington, a leader of the Word of Faith Fellowship church, begins Monday in Buncombe County, North Carolina, according to court records cited by AP reporter Jeffrey Collins. Covington faces second-degree kidnapping and simple assault charges tied to a 2013 incident.

Prosecutors allege that Covington held down and beat former member Matthew Fenner during a church session known as 'blasting.' Fenner, who joined the church as a teenager in 2010, says members choked and beat him for two hours while praying to expel 'homosexual demons.' Covington maintains her innocence.

Covington was first tried in 2017, but that case ended in a mistrial after the jury foreman brought outside research into deliberations. The retrial was delayed for years by the COVID-19 outbreak, the departure or death of lawyers on both sides, and a move to a new prosecutor in a new jurisdiction.

Word of Faith Fellowship is a nondenominational church founded in 1979 by Sam and Jane Whaley in the Blue Ridge foothills. Members consider Jane Whaley a prophet.

The retrial marks a long-delayed second attempt to resolve a case that has drawn national attention to the secretive church.