this is "nightline." >> tonight, twin sisters survived growing up in what some critics call a hyper sexualized apocalyptic cult. inside a climate of terror, taught as young children of god to prepare for the end of the world. tonight, they are pulling back the curtain on a hidden world. looking back on their dark past in order to move forward. the verdict is in. "saved by the bell" actor dustin diamond accused of stabbing a man during a bar fight last christmas tells the version his side of the sorry story. the prosecution says diamond lied and carefully scripted his story. >> and ed sheeran keeping it

real with a guitar, mic and that amazing voice. ♪ kiss me under the light of a thousand stars ♪ >> reporter: how the boy next who once opened shows for his famous friends, blossomed in to a rock star himself. ♪ >> but first -- the "nightline" five. >> it's macy's super saturday sale. save 50 to 75% store wide. plus get an extra 20% off with your macy's card or wow savings pass. text tv 62297 to get the wow pass sent to your home. when salon pas began in 1934, a single patch created a category of pain relief. now 80 years later, salon pas has evolved in to a complete family of pain relievers. perfect for back, muscle or joint pain. salon pas. for targeted relief. >> number one in just 60

good evening. thank you for joining us. you are about to meet twin sisters, survivors of a radical religious sect known for allegations of sexual abuse, amidst hyper strict rules. they spent their childhood locked away inside of a world of paralyzing fear. tonight, they retrace their steps trying to make peace with a haunted past. here's abc's reena ninan. >> reporter: 34-year-old twins flor and tamar edwards are in downtown chicago. taking in the sights and sounds. >> hot dog. >> reporter: that are so familiar to most. >> i didn't know what a movie theater when i was 14. >> reporter: these twins spent the first 13 years of their lives in what ex members call an apocalyptic cult. in ways they see themselves as a

real life version of the subject of a popular netflix series who escaped the life of captivity. >> when she sees water for the first time. >> we had the same -- >> when we saw a drinking fountain for the first time. we saw it and huddled around it like it was -- >> melting. >> we were like oh, my god. we'd press the button and see the water come out. >> florence and lamar edwards were born in to the children of god. a controversial religious sect established during the hippy free era. >> we were supposed to be god's martyrs. i was supposed to die at 12 and i would spend a lot of my time as a child thinking of that. paralyzed by it. >> reporter: they lived all over the world, from chicago to bangkok but yet shut out from it all. >> we had walls eight feet high. gates boarded up. we weren't allowed to talk to anyone. >> i feel like it is over there. >> reporter: the twins have come back to chicago, hoping to make peace with the haunting past.

searching for the home where they say they lived confined with 12 brothers and sisters and dozens of families. >> i'm pretty sure this is it. i think i remember the windows. >> once you are inside the house it was like our own community. >> reporter: they say they were prevented from going to school and didn't learn to read until the age of 9. >> school, everything was evil. >> music, anything. anything outside of the group was evil. >> reporter: the rules set by their leader, a man named david berg seen in this hbo documentary called "children of god, lost and found." >> he was very familiar with the established church. he wanted to break away from that. >> reporter: in this video on a website dedicated to david berg he is heard professing some of his philosophy to his followers. >> love god with all of your heart and your neighbor as yourself. >> reporter: some call children of god a sex-charged cult. which at its peak claimed tens of thousands of members around the world.

13,000 children born this to the sect. among those children joaquin phoenix and rose mcgowan, both of whose families got out. >> sex was the thing that drove people. they didn't do drugs or alcohol. sex was kind of the way to freedom. they saw sex as, you know, god's creation of love and beauty, which is one of their beautiful teachings but also within that there was abuse that happened, children that were having experiences that i'm sure they didn't want to have. >> reporter: it was common for adults to have sex in front of children? >> it was. it was there. it was around. >> tight living quarters. >> reporter: there have been claims of sexual abuse and this disturbing video obtained by abc news, young girls are seen suggestively dancing for their leader. >> everything was in the name of god which justified everything. he thought it was god's will for them to send videotapes of themselves dancing.

>> reporter: florence and tamar edwards say they never had to dance because the sect stopped the practice in the '80s. >> i was never sexually abused because they had a very clear time when they stopped everything with children. >> reporter: but they say there was physical abuse. >> they would be getting spanked really young. my little sister was six months old. you don't get spanked at that age. >> reporter: that reportedly was the beginning. one young member, ricky rodriguez, seemingly so scarred by years of alleged sexual abuse. >> there's this need i have, it is not a want. it is a need. i wish it wasn't but it is. it is a need for revenge. >> he head headlines when he murdered his alleged abuser and committed suicide at the age of 29. over the past decade, 14 former members of the children of god have reportedly committed suicide. tamar tells us she too tried to take her own life at the age of 7. >> i wanted to take my life. i first of all wanted to escape what was going on. second of all a, i really didn't want to go through the apocalypse. it seemed really scary.

it was terrifying. >> their parents are touchy subjects. one they weren't comfortable discussing. do you harbor any anger with your parents for putting you in this situation? >> i definitely don't harbor any anger. i definitely -- sometimes don't understand it. >> reporter: the sect disbanded after david berg died in 1994. >> i remember looking outside and looking on the lawn and everyone was outside with their things packed up. >> reporter: suddenly the girls faced a new life. >> it wasn't one day we were in and one day we were out. it took some time for us to slowly break away and -- >> reporter: what was the hardest part? >> you got us from another country, from a cult entering high school and that part was really challenging. we didn't fit any of the norms. we were like aliens from another planet. >> reporter: the children of god has since reorganized and now known as the family international. they issued an apology letter to all members in 2009 and gave

this statement to abc news. "tfi has expressed its apologies on a number of occasions to any members who feel they were hurt in any way during their membership." for all intents and purposes tfi no longer exists as a structured entity or movement. today they seem to be coping surprisingly well. they live in california now. flor is a freelance writer and office coordinator. her sister tamar teaches yoga in san francisco, but the past is never far behind. >> it is hard to go out and have a drink at the bar, like normal social things that people do. the meeting someone at a party, when they ask where you are from. i almost want to run away and hide. >> reporter: but still, they feel lucky and credit a man they haven't seen in 20 years. reverend counselled them in the months after the cult disbanded. helping them with life outside. they want to thank him face to face. >> it will be a beautiful

reunion to meet with these people who helped us so much. >> hi. >> hello. >> reporter: meeting him brings them comfort. >> you look exactly the same 20 years. >> you too. >> these photos, remember? >> yeah, i remember that. there's you. >> uh-huh. >> reporter: the reverend said he didn't hesitate to help, even though they came from what some called a cult. >> inside of me told me that, you know, we are christian. we have to live a christian life. >> reporter: flor and tamar don't want to spend their future dwelling on what was. >> who are we supposed to be mad at. father david is dead, i already said i i'm not going to blame my parents. should i blame god, religion, i don't know who to direct my anger at. so i do with what i have. for "nightline," i'm reena ninan in chicago. up next, the verdict is in for "saved by the bell" actor dustin diamond.

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intentionally stabbed a man in a bar fight. abc's alex perez has been covering the trial and has the latest for us tonight. >> she was already partly becoming covered in blood. when i started to move toward them, my focus was on approaching her to get her out of harm's way and to stop her from being hit. >> reporter: hero or criminal? dustin diamond, known to millions as a screech he played on "saved by the bell." >> show me that killer look. >> reporter: the jury of 12 hearing testimony today from the former child actor facing charges for stabbing a man in a bar fight last christmas. >> i did not swing or motion the knife towards him at all. i think he injured himself when he -- when he grabbed me. >> reporter: diamond, who pleaded not guilty, maintains he was only trying to protect his

fiance amanda schutz. he argues she got punched in the face and was bleeding after being harassed and assaulted after she went to stop a group of people who recognized diamond and were trying to take pictures of him. >> i didn't want anyone to suffer an injury. i wanted injuries to amanda to stop. that was my only concern. i didn't want harm for anyone. >> with the knife did you try to use it? >> it was for displayed purposes only. which it worked. i said get away and they did immediately. >> he claimed diamond was the aggressor. >> i opened my coat and there was blood all over. >> the alleged victim, 25-year-old casey smet, whose blood stained clothing was presented to the court. clothing he said he was wearing the night diamond attacked him. >> a scuffle broke out and somehow me and mr. diamond became locked in to a fight. >> reporter: also shown in the courtroom. >> do you know how deep it is? >> reporter: this video shot by police who interviewed casey smet in his home and said he

didn't immediately realize he had been injured in the fight. >> he said [ bleep ] with the pictures. >> tmz released this video of the moment leading up to the altercation. it was then members of the victim's family who testified the brawl broke out after diamond's fiance reportedly got physical with them. >> i said let go a few times. >> then what happened? >> she didn't. i punched her in the face. >> reporter: that's when more fighting broke out, according to prosecutors. as seen in surveillance video played in court. >> dustin sees this happening and tries to get -- this is his fiance, a woman being beaten by these people. >> reporter: prosecutors say diamond initially claimed he was holding a pen and not a knife during the scuffle when questioned by police. >> the bartender comes over. he saw -- i'm holding the knife -- i mean pen in my hand. he goes put the knife down. i said it's a pen and he said

just put it away. >> and changes his story when police told him smet had been stabbed. >> mr. diamond seems alarmed. at that point did he change his story? >> he was now conceding he did have a knife. >> reporter: diamond admitting in testimony the pressure of his fame led him to lie. >> the officer asked if you had a knife. >> yes. >> what did you tell him? >> i lied. >> i wanted to minimize -- if i burp the wrong way, tmz gets it and i did not want -- in fact with her being hit in a bar and that being it and done to become dustin diamond pulled a knife at a bar on somebody. >> reporter: discrepancies that may hold a key to the verdict. >> this is -- we have had different witnesses giving different testimony them jurors are going to have to go back to the deliberation room and decide, who do we believe? who's telling the truth? who was the initial aggressor? >> reporter: diamond, part of the ever-growing list of child stars.

lindsay lohan made famous for her role in "the parent trap." >> we're like twins. >> reporter: now better known for her off-screen run-ins with alcohol and drugs and even sent to jail for violating terms of her probation. >> 90 days in jail. >> corey feldman doesn't any idea what it is like not to be famous. in the '80s he was on top of the world starring in classics like "the goonies." >> it was my dream and didn't come true. >> he later drowned in a sea of personal problems, arrested for heroin and cocaine possession to which he pleaded not guilty. struggled in and out of rehab. under the spotlight of hollywood, almost impossible. >> it is hard enough to realize you messed up but imagine every time you turn around someone is making fun of you or laughing at you or kicking dirt in your face. >> reporter: nor has diamond been immune to the spotlight, often finding himself in the center of controversy. in 2006, at age 29, he released

screech, a sex tape he directed and starred in. it is something he opened up to oprah about during an episode of "where are they now." >> the sex tape is the thing i'm most embarrassed about. the rumor was paris hilton made $14 million off of a sex tape and my buddies said 14 million, holy smokes, where's the screech sex tape? you have to be a worth a million and i thought, yeah. >> reporter: diamond is front and center in the courtroom where earlier tonight a jury found him guilty of two misdemeanor charges, carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct, but not guilty of the third and most serious felony charge of recklessly endangering safety. diamond's fiance amanda schutz found guilty of disorderly conduct also. >> we're happy with the results. we think justice has been done. jury did a good job. >> reporter: diamond will return next week for sentencing. for "nightline," i'm alex perez in chicago.

up next, he says he doesn't look like a sex symbol, but ed sheeran sure sounds like one. ♪ ed sheeran singing for us tonight about his newfound fame and keeping it real. ♪ >> announcer: abc news "nightline," brought to you by progressive. yeah, no talent for drawing, flo. house! car! oh, raise the roof! no one? remember when we used to raise the roof, diane? oh, quiet, richard i'm trying to make sense of flo's terrible drawing. i'll draw the pants off that thing. oh, oh, hats on hamburgers! dancing! drive-in movie theater! home and auto. lamp! squares. stupid, dumb. lines. [ alarm rings ] no! home and auto bundle from progressive. saves you money. yay, game night, so much fun.

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you know, it's hard to believe it wasn't that long ago ed sheeran was known as the behind the scenes nice guy who opened shows for his famous friends. tonight, the one man british invasion is riding high as the most streamed global artist on

spotify. we found love right where we are baby we found love ♪ >> with six gramny noms, a blockbuster tour and this morning kicking it up on "gma" with his mega-hit "thinking outloud" he is a bona fide rock star and sex symbol. even if he says he doesn't look like one. >> i have never seen myself as a sex symbol and i think if i didn't play music no one else would either. >> reporter: there is something about the artistic side that attracts people. >> maybe. i don't know. >> reporter: or your smokin' hot looks. never know. >> my mom thinks i'm handsome. so we'll think that. >> reporter: everything has changed since he became known for his collaborations with taylor swift and pharrell. the guy can certainly sing. ♪ before he became a household

name as a song writer, he wrote "this little thing" for one direction. ♪ all these little things ♪ >> reporter: sheeran has taken inspiration from his real life heart breaks. hit single "don't" is a raw break up song. ♪ ironically the story is it was one of his buddies from one direction who allegedly turned around and stole his girl. ed won't name names but howard stern once pressed him about his ex. >> did you confront the guy who did this to you? >> yeah. >> did you say you are breaking the bro code? >> yeah, it is a difficult conversation to have. he was my mate. so i was a bit like, not cool. >> reporter: do you ever regret writing about such personal things? >> i think it is nice to get something positive out of a bad situation. the song will live on forever and people will be able to find solace in it in some way, i guess. >> i understand that taylor has given you advice on how to have longevity in a career instead of a flash in the pan. >> she said the same thing as pharrell, constant humility and evolution.

>> reporter: wise counsel. thank you for watching abc news. tune in to "good morning america" tomorrow. and as always, we are on-line at abcnews.com. good night, america. have a great weekend.