cult

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&#39;Jesus of Siberia&#39; Arrested
'Jesus of Siberia' Arrested
Sep 23, 2020 1:58 PM CDT

'Jesus of Siberia' Arrested

Self-proclaimed Messiah accused of extortion

(Newser) - Sergei Torop isn't the Messiah but rather a very naughty man, according to authorities in Siberia. The traffic cop-turned-cult leader , also known as "Vissarion the Teacher" and "Jesus of Siberia," was arrested Tuesday in a special operation involving the military and several Russian law enforcement agencies,...

7 Killed in Panama Exorcism Ritual
7 Killed in Panama
Exorcism Ritual
Jan 17, 2020 3:08 AM CST

7 Killed in Panama Exorcism Ritual

Police say residents were rounded up by preachers

(Newser) - Seven people—including a pregnant woman and five of her children—were murdered by preachers in a remote area of Panama holding a bizarre ritual to make them "repent their sins," authorities say. Ten people, including the children's grandfather, were arrested in an area controlled by the...

Cult Leader Pushed Followers to 'Paradise.' Only It Wasn't

Shin Ok-ju jailed 6 years for assault, child abuse

(Newser) - A doomsday cult leader who told followers they could avoid impending war with an escape to Fiji has been jailed for six years. In 2014, some 400 people followed South Korea's Shin Ok-ju to what she claimed was "the only paradise land written in the Bible" and a...

Sex-Cult Founder Is Told His Fate
Sex-Cult Founder
Is Told His Fate
Jun 19, 2019 4:15 PM CDT

Sex-Cult Founder Is Told His Fate

Keith Raniere doesn't have the best day

(Newser) - Keith Raniere, the head of a New York state sex cult, was found guilty Wednesday on all counts, including racketeering—a charge that could send him to prison for life, New York Post reports. The 58-year-old co-founder of Nxivm spoke under his breath as the guilty verdicts were read, revealed...

Crossbow Deaths May Be &#39;Requested Killing and Suicide&#39;
Crossbow Killings
Case Gets Weirder
May 16, 2019 7:07 AM CDT

Crossbow Killings Case Gets Weirder

Police suspect medieval sex cult murder-suicide

(Newser) - A weird twist in an already strange case: Police in Germany believe that three people killed with crossbows in a hotel were members of "a kind of sex circle with a focus on the Middle Ages," the AFP reports by way of RTL. A man identified as Torsten...

FDA: Church 'Miracle Cure' Is Highly Dangerous

Yet the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing marches on

(Newser) - Bleach drinkers, unite: Your savior is here. The Genesis II Church of Health and Healing plans to meet Saturday at a Washington state hotel to promote its "miracle" health cure—otherwise known as industrial bleach, the Guardian reports. The group's Facebook invitation seeks $450 per attendee or $800...

'Sex Cult' Co-Founder Pleads Guilty on Racketeering Charge

Feds unveil new NXIVM charges

(Newser) - Nancy Salzman, co-founder of an alleged sex cult that branded female followers with the initials of its leader, has pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge in federal court in New York. The 64-year-old told the court Wednesday that she had hacked the email accounts of NXIVM's critics and...

Father of Victim in Grisly Mass Killing Speaks Out

Damon Decree Sr speaks up about the loss of his son

(Newser) - The father of a boy allegedly killed by his own mother and sister in a horrific mass murder is speaking out, ABC News reports. Damon Decree Sr's estranged wife Shana Decree, 45, and their daughter Dominique Decree, 19, are accused of killing Damon and Shana's 13-year-old boy Damon...

Japan Carries Out 2nd Mass Execution This Month

Final 6 Aum Shinrikyo members hanged

(Newser) - Thursday was the final day of reckoning for members of a doomsday cult that killed dozens of people in Japan in the 1990s. Six members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult were hanged, weeks after the mass execution of cult leader Shoko Asahara and another six of his followers , the BBC...

Liquor Heiress Charged in Sex Cult Case

Prosecutors say Bronfman used fortune to protect leader

(Newser) - Liquor heiress Clare Bronfman was among four people arrested Tuesday as part of an investigation into what prosecutors say was a sex trafficking organization masquerading as a self-help group. Bronfman, the 39-year-old daughter of late billionaire philanthropist and former Seagram chairman Edgar Bronfman Sr., pleaded not guilty to racketeering charges...

In Japan, Mass Hanging of Cult Leader, 6 Followers

They were members of Aum Shinrikyo, responsible for Japan's worst terrorist attack

(Newser) - Japan on Friday executed the leader of a doomsday cult and six of his followers, public broadcaster NHK reports, a mass hanging that had been rumored for months . Chizuo Matsumoto, also known as Shoko Asahara, was the head of Aum Shinrikyo, the group responsible for the 1995 sarin nerve gas...

Judge Makes Historic Ruling on Woman Held by 'Cult'

Kendra Ross is 'thrilled' by the judgment, lawyer says

(Newser) - Kendra Ross mustered the courage to run for her life six years ago, and now could be a multi-millionaire. A judge awarded Ross $8 million in damages Wednesday for 10 years she was forced to clean, cook, and care for children in a Kansas group that court documents are calling...

Tweets Suggest Allison Mack Had Her Eye on Emma Watson

The 'Smallville' actress is accused of recruiting women into sex cult

(Newser) - "I'm a fellow actress like yourself & involved in an amazing women's movement I think you'd dig. I'd love to chat if you're open." What may have sounded like a friendly invitation when it was tweeted in January 2016 has turned nefarious, at...

In Japan, Signs Suggest Mass Execution Might Occur
In Japan, Signs Suggest
Mass Execution Might Occur
the rundown
Mar 20, 2018 8:44 AM CDT

In Japan, Signs Suggest Mass Execution Might Occur

Japan sentenced 13 Aum Shinrikyo members to die for sarin, other attacks

(Newser) - Japan may be readying itself for a mass hanging. The Guardian reports that signs suggest the long-awaited executions of the doomsday cult members behind the infamous 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway may soon come to pass. The two big indications: It reports the country typically holds...

Cops Bust 'Psycho Sect' That Pushed Strict Macrobiotic Diet

Italian police say one follower of Mario Pianesi dropped to just 77 pounds

(Newser) - He called doctors "assassins" and convinced sick followers to adhere to a strict macrobiotic diet, police in Italy say. But in reality, police say those who followed the teachings of 73-year-old Mario Pianesi and his 51-year-old wife were fleeced for money, manipulated into working for next to nothing for...

Missing Girls Found in Raid on Cult Compound

Police say they were kidnapped by their father

(Newser) - Two Utah girls have been found safe nearly three months after they were allegedly kidnapped by their father, who family members feared had betrothed them to a polygamist sect leader. John Coltharp, said to be 33 or 34, was arrested in Sanpete County Friday on suspicion of kidnapping and obstruction...

She's Charged in Child's Death. Officials Think It Goes Deeper

'Cult leader' Anna Young arrested over 1980s death of toddler

(Newser) - An indictment related to the death of a child is always a grim happening, but in the case of Anna Elizabeth Young, it might be the start of something much more awful. The Gainesville Sun reports the 75-year-old was arrested Friday near Atlanta in connection with the late 1980s death...

She Thought It Would Be a Tattoo. It Was a Branding

Women recount bizarre initiation of secret group within Nxivm self-help organization

(Newser) - It's called Nxivm, pronounced Nex-e-um, and thousands have gone through its various self-help and executive training seminars since the 1990s. As the New York Times explains in a lengthy story about the group, most people take a few classes and leave after that. But others become devoted adherents to...

R. Kelly's Alleged Victim Speaks Out

Jocelyn Savage says she's 'never been held hostage'

(Newser) - R. Kelly and one of his alleged victims are hitting back following a BuzzFeed report alleging the singer holds women captive in a cult. In a statement released through his lawyer, Kelly says he is "alarmed and disturbed" and "unequivocally denies such allegations," adding he "will...

BuzzFeed Out With Damning Report on R. Kelly

Parents accuse him of keeping their daughters in a 'cult'

(Newser) - Singer R. Kelly is no stranger to controversy, and a lengthy new report at BuzzFeed has just served up a huge new portion. The bombshell allegation: Parents say the 50-year-old singer is keeping young women in an abusive "cult" at his various properties and controlling their every move. The...

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