Women accuse another spiritual leader of sexual abuse

In the month in which the investigations against the medium John of God go at full steam, yet another religious leader is accused of sexual abuse🇧🇷 The Public Prosecutor’s Office asked for the opening of an investigation initiated in the 14th DP of São Paulo in 2017, which is under secrecy.

In it, testimonials from three women (recorded in 2016), point out Antonio Alves Marques Junior62 years old, as an alleged criminal. Ge Marques, as he is also known, is the leader of the Reino do Sol church, based in Greater São Paulo. The group follows the religion umbandaimewhich mixes the Santo Daime doctrine with Umbanda.

In addition to the three testimonies made to justice, another fifteen victims reported new cases of abuse to the BBC News Brasil portal.

The crimes would have happened between 2005 and 2015 within religious contexts, in places such as the church headquarters, in the accused’s house and in motels. The testimonies accuse episodes of sexual harassment and rape under the influence of ayahuasca (a hallucinogenic drink) or drugs.

In one of the reports, the victim accuses Gê Marques of forcibly placing his hand on her genital organ during a ritual to release energy. Another woman reports abuse during a massage session. “While he was massaging me all the way from the front, with no bra on, I was still wondering, ‘What the heck is going on here? Is it normal?’ I was young, I was 20 years old. I had that doubt of being immature, of not wanting to appear inexperienced, uninformed. And I had a lot of confidence in him.” the victim told BBC News Brasil. She says she interrupted the session after Marques took off his pants and lay down on top of her.

The religious leader’s defense denies all accusations.