A growing cross-jurisdictional tracker · 173 core map records · 201 case pages · 415 source records
37%
U.S. prevalence estimate
A 2023 survey of 1,581 U.S. adults estimated that religious trauma may affect as many as 37% when respondents reporting at least three of six major symptoms were included. Read the study
This tracker applies a narrower test: documented harm in which belief, ritual, an institution or spiritual authority materially enabled coercion.
Index 01
Select a tradition to narrow the case record and map.
Index 02
This index orders independently documented records by date. Adjacency here does not indicate a shared cause, lineage, organization or tradition.
1990Kirtland, OH, USA
Jeffrey Lundgren: five aggravated-murder and kidnapping convictions
1991Friedrichshof, Burgenland, Austria
Otto Muehl: seven-year sentence for sexual abuse and abuse of authority within Friedrichshof
1992Albany, Auckland, New Zealand
Bert Potter: 13 convictions for abuse framed as therapy and spiritual advancement at Centrepoint
1992Miami, FL, USA
Yahweh ben Yahweh: 18-year sentence for a RICO conspiracy involving murder and arson
1995London, UK
Ward judgment: High Court findings on Children of God child sexual abuse
1995Tokyo, Japan
Aum Shinrikyo: mass-murder convictions for sarin attacks directed by its guru
1996Moundsville, WV, USA
Kirtanananda (New Vrindaban): racketeering plea; Drescher convicted of murders of dissidents
1997Tiruchirappalli, India
Swami Premananda: convicted of 13 rapes + murder; double life; died in custody
1998Volta Region, Ghana
Trokosi ritual servitude of girls (~1,400)
1998San Mateo, CA, USA
Donald Walters / Swami Kriyananda and Ananda: civil verdict on abuse of spiritual authority
2000Kanungu District, Uganda
Kanungu: official state report attributes the sect's mass killing to its elders
2001London, UK
'Adam' — child ritual murder, torso in the Thames
2001London, UK
Victoria Climbié: murder convictions; possession belief; Laming Inquiry followed
2003London, UK
Hackney 'witch-child' torture case
2004Kenner, LA, USA
Louisiana curse-removal fraud convictions
2004Knutby, Uppsala, Sweden
Helge Fossmo: murder-incitement convictions after religious messages were used to compel violence
2004Eatonton, GA, USA
Dwight York: 135-year sentence after eleven federal convictions
2005Fresno, CA, USA
Marcus Wesson: nine murder and fourteen sexual-abuse convictions
2007Newark, NJ, USA
State v. Miraballes — Palo Mayombe grave-robbing
2008Moscow, Russia
Grigory Grabovoi: eleven fraud convictions for paid supernatural claims
2008Blida, Algeria
'Raqi Hamdan': three-year sentence after fatal violence during claimed ruqya
2009Paris, France
Church of Scientology convicted of organized fraud (upheld 2013)
2009Sedona, AZ, USA
James Arthur Ray: three negligent-homicide convictions after “Spiritual Warrior” sweat lodge
2009Victoria, Australia
Stawingua Dresen: eight convictions for assaults during claimed chakra healing
2009Texarkana and Fouke, AR, USA
Tony Alamo: 175-year sentence after ten convictions for transporting minors for sex
2010Grand'Anse, Haiti
2010 cholera lynchings: 45+ killed, mostly Vodou priests
2010Oregon City, OR, USA
Beagley faith-healing death: parents convicted (criminally negligent homicide)
2011Kidwelly, Wales
Colin Batley occult sex cult: indeterminate sentence, min 11 years
2011Driftwood, TX, USA
Prakashanand Saraswati: 20 counts child molestation; fled, fugitive
2011YFZ Ranch near Eldorado, TX, USA
Warren Jeffs: life and 20-year sentences for two child-sexual-assault convictions
2011Nassau, Bahamas
Earl Randolph Fraser: conviction for abuse of a child entrusted for counselling
2012Canterbury, UK
Osolase — juju sex-trafficking conviction (20 yrs)
2012Brooklyn, NY, USA
Nechemya Weberman: 103 years, 59 counts of sexual abuse (Satmar counselor)
2012Birmingham, UK
Naila Mumtaz: four family members convicted of murder in jinn-'exorcism' smothering
2012Kingston, ON, Canada
Shafia murders: three convicted of killing four family members ('twisted notion of honour' — the judge)
2012London, UK
Kristy Bamu: kindoki 'deliverance' murder convictions (30/25-yr minimums)
2012Colliguay, Quilpué, Chile
Antares de la Luz: convictions after an apocalyptic group’s ritual killing of an infant
2013New York, NY, USA
NYC psychic curse-removal fraud (5-15 yrs)
2013Novosibirsk, Russia
Konstantin Rudnev: 11-year sentence for crimes committed through the Ashram Shambala group
2013Sensembra, Morazán, El Salvador
Israel Antonio Alvarez Bonilla: twenty-seven-year sentence for rape and harassment through pastoral authority
2013Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Asadullo Ibrohimov: seven-year sentence for sexual misconduct during purported infertility treatment
2014Philadelphia, PA, USA
Schaible: 3rd-degree murder, second child dead of untreated pneumonia
2014Martinique
Emmanuel Gordon: eight-year sentence in absentia for abuse during spiritual education
2014Jadranska Lesnica, Serbia
Branislav Peranovic: twenty-year murder sentence at an Orthodox addiction center
2015Caguas, Puerto Rico
Israel Berríos-Berríos: eleven-year federal sentence after altar-service access
2016Benin
Benin 'voodoo convents' — child servitude for ritual debt
2016Sydney, Australia
Royal Commission Case Study 29: 1,006 alleged JW perpetrators, none reported to police
2016Los Angeles, CA, USA
Bikram Choudhury: civil jury — 'malice, oppression and fraud'; $7.3M; left US
2016São Paulo State, Brazil
São Paulo pastor: unanimous conviction for assault presented as purification
2016Franks Eddy, Cayo District, Belize
Julio Cesar Garcia: Belize Court of Appeal affirms church-member abuse conviction
2016Lagos, Nigeria
Chukwuemeka Ezeugo ('Rev. King'): murder and attempted-murder convictions affirmed
2017Bruges, Belgium
Bruges: Nigerian voodoo-trafficking ring convicted
2017Sirsa, India
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh: 20 years, rape of two followers (Dera Sacha Sauda)
2017Gualaceo, Azuay, Ecuador
Gualaceo curandero: twenty-nine-year sentence after a false healing claim and death threat
2018Benin City, Nigeria
Oba of Benin revokes juju trafficking oaths
2018Spain
Europol op: 89 arrests, Nigerian juju trafficking ring
2018Paris, France
Paris trial — voodoo-oath sex-trafficking network
2018Birmingham, UK
Iyamu — 1st Modern Slavery Act cross-border juju conviction
2018Brockton, MA, USA
MA child-torture cases charged as 'voodoo ritual'
2018Jodhpur, India
Asaram Bapu: life imprisonment, rape of a minor under exorcism pretext
2018Si Sa Ket, Thailand
Wirapol Sukphol (ex-monk): 16 years, rape of a 13-year-old
2018Harrisburg, PA, USA
PA grand jury: 301 priests, 1,000+ child victims documented ('weaponized' faith)
2018Ramanagara, India
Nithyananda: rape charges framed; non-bailable warrant; fled India 2019 (never tried)
2018Brasília, Federal District, Brazil
Brasília religious leader: conviction affirmed for sex obtained through a curse-and-anointing claim
2018Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Melvin David Quiroz and Ana Rosmery Brito: convictions for demon-deliverance abuse scheme
2018Moscow, Russia
Andrei Popov ('God Kuzya'): convictions for religious-group abuse and fraud
2019Marseille, France
Marseille: Supreme Vikings juju-oath trafficking convictions
2019Milan, Italy
Milan: voodoo 'mental dependency' slavery conviction
2019Vatican City
McCarrick: ex-cardinal found guilty by Vatican canonical process, laicized
2019Abadiânia, Brazil
João Teixeira de Faria ('John of God'): convicted of rapes of spiritual patients; ~600 accusers
2019Mar del Plata, Argentina
Monte Sión: affirmed convictions for trafficking, servitude and sexual abuse
2019Planalto Norte, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Planalto Norte spiritual leader: appellate court affirms a ten-year sexual-abuse sentence
2020Limpopo, South Africa
Hlungwani ritual murder: 4 relatives, life
2020Albany, NY, USA
NXIVM/Keith Raniere: 120 years — branding, collateral, sex trafficking
2020Glasgow, UK
Derek Lincoln (Children of God): guilty plea, 11.5 years, rape of two children
2020Knutby, Uppsala, Sweden
Knutby leadership: three former pastors convicted of assault, coercion and sexual exploitation
2020San Salvador, El Salvador
José Eligio Esquina Pérez: twenty-year sentence after a prophetic healing pretext
2020St. Catherine, Jamaica
Winston Campbell: charged over alleged sex-as-deliverance claims
2020Willemstad, Curaçao
Orlando B. (O.I.B.): fourteen-year sentence upheld for abuse of seven community members
2020Turkistan Region, Kazakhstan
Nurgazy Bukhbanbayev: eleven-year rape sentence after claimed healing and clairvoyance
2020Berkane and Oujda, Morocco
'Raqi of Berkane': ten-year sentence affirmed for trafficking and sexual violence
2020El Gedaref, Sudan
El Gedaref khalwa leader: conviction for abuse of Quranic-school pupils
2021Mount Dora, FL, USA
Grave desecration for a Palo Mayombe shrine
2021Valladolid, Spain
Spain Supreme Court upholds voodoo-oath trafficking (20 yrs)
2021Cullinan, South Africa
Gabisile Shabane: child killed for muti (life terms)
2021London, UK
Danyal Hussein: life, murders of Bibaa Henry & Nicole Smallman (blood-pact)
2021Paris, France
CIASE/Sauvé Report: est. 216,000 abused by French clergy since 1950
2021Quapaw, OK, USA
Carl Gene Ortner Jr.: conviction after posing as a Native spiritual counselor
2021El Terrón, Ngäbe-Buglé, Panama
El Terrón: nine convictions after seven people were killed during a sect’s religious rite
2021Zlín and Olomouc regions, Czech Republic
Jaroslav Dobeš and Barbora Plášková: seven rape convictions involving an ‘unhooking’ ritual
2021Yesera San Sebastián, Tarija, Bolivia
Yesera curandero: twelve-year sentence for assaults committed under cleansing-ritual claims
2021Soyapango, San Salvador, El Salvador
Manuel Quijano Vega: sixteen-year sentence in a child congregant case
2021Accra, Ghana
Daniel Akuffo: fifteen-year sentence for abuse under an exorcism pretext
2021Yaoundé, Cameroon
André Guy Atangana Mbida: life sentence for fatal violence during claimed exorcism
2022Malawi
Malawi albino ritual murder: 155-year sentences
2022Woodridge, NY, USA
Lev Tahor leaders convicted: kidnapping + child exploitation (forced child marriage)
2022Vicenza, Italy
Ethan Melzer (O9A): 45 years, plot to ambush his own Army unit
2022Bisbee, AZ, USA
LDS 'help line' case (AP/court records): abuse continued 7 yrs; wife convicted
2022Bandung, Indonesia
Herry Wirawan: life sentence for abuse of students under pesantren authority
2022Kayunga, Uganda
Uganda v. Sentongo: infant murder and aggravated trafficking for ritual exploitation
2022Rosignol, West Coast Berbice, Guyana
Andrew Hannibal: Guyana Court of Appeal affirms pastor's child-rape conviction
2022Atiquizaya, Ahuachapán, El Salvador
Francisco Abigail Zuniga Figueroa: twelve-year sentence for abuse of a child congregant
2022Kingston, Jamaica
Oraine Ellis: rape conviction upheld after church counselling pretext
2022Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands
Derrick Miller: eleven-year sentence after abuse of pastoral trust
2022Um Baru, North Darfur, Sudan
Um Baru khalwa leader: fifteen-year sentence for abuse of child pupils
2023Lausanne, Switzerland
Swiss court — juju sex-trafficking conviction
2023West Bountiful, UT, USA
Carl Matthew Johnson (LDS bishop, ex-mayor): 9-to-life, child sexual abuse
2023Toledo, OH, USA
Michael Zacharias: life sentence for trafficking victims groomed through priestly authority
2023Paris, France
Gregorian Bivolaru / MISA: French judicial investigation for aggravated rape and human trafficking
2023Salta, Argentina
Salta temple: affirmed trafficking convictions for two spiritual leaders
2023Tubarão, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Tubarão pastor: forty-year sentence for thirteen acts framed as prayer
2023Brasília, Federal District, Brazil
Brasília pastor: appellate court affirms conviction for abuse presented as curse removal
2023Nahuizalco, Sonsonate, El Salvador
Edwin Analberto Pérez González: twenty-year sentence after church-work grooming
2023Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria
Mazraoua raqi: five-year sentence after fatal beating framed as spirit removal
2023Tangier, Morocco
Tangier raqi: ten-year sentence for assaults committed through claimed ruqya
2024Vredenburg, South Africa
Joslin Smith — mother charged, muti trafficking of a child
2024Cité Soleil, Haiti
Massacre: 184 killed on a Vodou priest's witchcraft accusation
2024Jacmel, Haiti
Dana Jackson (US) dies at a manbo initiation retreat
2024Washington, DC, USA
DC 'psychic' $4M extortion scheme (10+ yrs)
2024Hertfordshire, UK
Makhan Singh Mauji (granthi): 24+ years, sexual assaults on three girls
2024Phoenix, AZ, USA
Samuel Bateman: 50-year sentence in child-marriage and sexual-abuse conspiracy
2024Philadelphia, PA, USA
Richard Densmore: 30-year sentence for 764-network exploitation and coercion
2024Longford, Ireland
David Reilly: conviction for assault during an energy-healing session
2024Gran Canaria, Spain
Gran Canaria court convicts a Santería practitioner who used rites to assault a child
2024Istanbul, Turkey
Adnan Oktar: final convictions for sexual abuse, confinement and coercion within his organization
2024Shakahola, Kilifi County, Kenya
Paul Mackenzie and 30 co-defendants: 191 murder charges in the Shakahola proceeding
2024La Matanza, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
Abba Krishna: four convictions for aggravated human trafficking
2024Cartagena and Turbaco, Bolívar, Colombia
Cartagena: man charged over assaults allegedly presented as spirit-cleansing sessions
2024Vázquez de Coronado, San José Province, Costa Rica
Manuel Antonio Guevara Fonseca: eighteen-year sentence for abuse of a child altar server
2024Camoapa, Boaco, Nicaragua
Mariano Ramón Sánchez Martínez: twenty-two-year sentence after pastoral guardianship
2024Drama, Greece
Unnamed priest: conviction upheld for sexual touching during confession
2024Kinshasa and Moanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Pierre Kasambakana: eleven-year sentence for forced marriage and sexual offenses
2024Port-Gentil, Gabon
Martial Mbele Obiang: fifteen-year sentence for abuse framed as divine revelation
2024Bulaq al-Dakrur, Giza, Egypt
Bulaq spiritual healer: ten-year sentence for coercive recording and extortion
2025Tucson, AZ, USA
Baron Martin (764 network): DOJ terrorism-support charges (indictment — charges only)
2025Towaoc, CO, USA
Lyndreth Hemp Wall: 15 federal convictions for assaults during purported spiritual treatment
2025Brooklyn, NY, USA
OneTaste leaders convicted of forced-labor conspiracy
2025Daejeon, South Korea
Jeong Myeong-seok / JMS: Supreme Court affirms 17-year sentence
2025Kansas City, KS, USA
United Nation of Islam leaders sentenced in child forced-labor conspiracy
2025Manila, Philippines
Apollo Quiboloy / KOJC: Philippine proceedings and separate U.S. trafficking indictment
2025Salt Lake County, UT, USA
Former LDS bishop Mark Lehnhof Stevens charged with assaulting a minor during religious counseling
2025Frutal, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Frutal Umbanda leader: nearly fifty years for sexual crimes presented as rituals
2025Criciúma, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Criciúma spiritual-healing leader: forty-year sentence for crimes against ten women
2025Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
Sergio Betancourt: sixteen-year sentence for assaults committed through exorcism claims
2025Paramaribo, Suriname
Cedric Landveld: conviction after sexual abuse during prayer and anointing
2025La Vega and Guaduas, Cundinamarca, Colombia
Édgar Orlando Gaitán Camacho: fourteen-year appellate sentence for assaults during yagé healing rituals
2025La Esperanza, Trujillo, Peru
Trujillo: purported shaman held pretrial over alleged assault during a cleansing ritual
2025Heredia and San José, Costa Rica
Carlos Chavarría Fonseca: affirmed thirty-six-year sentence and a later child-rape conviction
2025Oratorio, Santa Rosa, Guatemala
Lev Tahor in Guatemala: leader and marriage officiant charged in forced-pregnancy proceeding
2025San Pedro Sula, Cortés, Honduras
Erick Geovany Zambrano Estrada: three convictions tied to Sunday-school access
2025Los Alcarrizos, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Johan Manuel Castillo Ortega: ten-year sentence for abuse of six child congregants
2025Higüey, La Altagracia, Dominican Republic
Víctor Manuel Kery and Robinson Peguero: convictions after overnight church vigils
2025Novosibirsk, Russia
Vissarion community leaders: convictions for psychological violence and serious harm
2025Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Pastor Jonas: conviction for a public witchcraft accusation during prayer
2025Ouesso, Republic of the Congo
Lili Endakeki: five-year sentence for abusive claimed spiritual treatment
2026Miami, FL, USA
Little River: Haitian-Vodou threat to traffic a victim
2026London, UK
Imam Abdul Halim Khan: life, 21 sexual offences; victims' beliefs used to silence them (CPS)
2026Las Vegas, NV, USA
Nathan Chasing Horse: 13 felony convictions and 37-years-to-life sentence
2026Detroit, MI, USA
Kingdom of God Global Church leaders charged in multi-state forced-labor conspiracy
2026Orange, NJ, USA
Jesus Is Lord by the Holy Ghost pastors charged with forced labor; Treva Edwards also charged with sex trafficking
2026Baltimore, MD, USA
Erik Madison: 764 member pleads guilty to exploiting minors
2026The Hague, Netherlands
The Hague court convicts a spiritual healer of rape and sexual assault during healing sessions
2026Cuenca, Azuay, Ecuador
Cuenca curandero: appellate court imposes twenty-nine-year sentence after assault during medicine sessions
2026Regadillos, Lepaterique, Francisco Morazán, Honduras
Lepaterique pastor: charged after an alleged prayer-and-anointing pretext
2026El Progreso, Yoro, Honduras
Denis Javier Erazo Cruz: trial over alleged abuse and domestic servitude after pastoral placement
2026Guadeloupe
Jean-Luc Promeneur: seventeen-year sentence for abuse under mystical domination
2026Fort-de-France, Martinique
Patrick Phanor-Lange: twelve-year sentence for aggravated rape by spiritual authority
2026St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Lawrence Turnbull: federal and territorial charges involving a child congregant
2026Astana, Kazakhstan
Unnamed TikTok healer: final fraud conviction for paid magical-healing claims
2026Touba and Diourbel, Senegal
Serigne Khadim Mbacké: twenty-year sentence for abuse of Quranic-school pupils
2026Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Moumouni Ibrahima: prosecutor announces investigation of alleged coercion of congregants
2026Conakry, Guinea
Abdoulaye Bangoura: police investigation of alleged abuse during a healing ritual
2026El Omrane, Tunis, Tunisia
El Omrane ruqya killing: murder conviction after a fatal claimed healing session