Special prosecutor to get cases of man who says North Carolina religious group beat him in 2013

A district attorney has turned over to a special prosecutor the criminal cases accusing members of a secretive North Carolina religious group of holding down and beating a one-time member 13 years ago. The victim asked a judge to kick District Attorney Ted Bell off the case just days before a retrial — that had been delayed for more than eight years — was about to start in December. Matthew Fenner said Bell sided with the Word of Faith Fellowship.