The director of gay Christian organisation RefoAnders has been jailed for two years for sexually abusing his sons, Trouw reports on Tuesday.

Johan Q, 52, was found guilty of abusing the boys from about the age of 10 between 1998 and 2003 by a court in Middelburg last week. He was also ordered to pay the boys €8,500 in compensation.

RefoAnders was set up several years go as a meeting place for gay men from orthodox Christian families and organises weekly meetings in several Bible Belt towns.

The group believes God can help people with homosexual feelings by steering those feelings but is sceptical about therapies to cure homosexuality, Trouw says.

Q said in a 2010 interview he had wrestled with his feelings for years but had nevertheless married. He since found a ‘mate’ via RefoAnders who shared his situation.