The very popular healer and medium Joao de Deus was sentenced Friday to more than 118 years in prison for the rape of four women, according to a document from the court of justice in the state of Goias, in central Brazil.
Joao Teixeira de Faria, alias “Joao de Deus” or “John of God”, was “sentenced in three trials to deprivation of liberty of 118 years, 6 months and 15 days of imprisonment” in a closed institution for rape, the court wrote in a press note.
The judge who authored the decision, Marcos Boechat, thus concluded the first instance examination of a total of 17 cases opened against the medium. The healer was convicted on Friday for acts that occurred between 2010 and 2017, involving 18 people.
Arrested in December 2018, he committed his crimes during spiritual consultations at the “Casa Dom Inacio de Loyola”, his temple located in Abadiania, about a hundred kilometers from the capital Brasilia.
The 81-year-old, who says he is innocent, is currently under house arrest.
Mr. Boechat also ordered him to pay compensation to the victims of up to 100,000 reais (19,250 euros) for moral damages.
Joao de Deus became famous in 2012 when he hosted American television presenter Oprah Winfrey in his temple.
However, he fell into infamy when more than 300 women accused him at the end of 2018 of forcing them to perform oral sex on him or masturbate him during “spiritual cure” sessions at Casa Dom Inacio de Loyola.
The sexual assaults committed between 1973 and 2018 were first revealed by the television testimonies of 12 victims, on the Brazilian channel TV Globo.
Joao de Deus received around 10,000 visitors per month, which made the town of Abadiania a place of interest for spiritual tourism.
16/09/2023 10:25:20 – Brasilia (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
