Case archive

Bound by Fear

Belief, used as the instrument of coercion — where refusal was made impossible.

A court-record database of cases where spiritual authority was the instrument of harm: 1020 core records across roughly 120 countries, spanning 1819–2026, drawn from criminal convictions that stood on appeal and official commission findings — not allegations presented as fact. Read the thesis

1158 of 1158 records
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Index 01

The record by tradition

Broad families provide a survey-level comparison. The specific traditions beneath them retain the source record's narrower classification; no family total assigns collective culpability.

Index 02

The case index

1158 of 1158 records

Every record matching the current filters, newest case first. This index reflects the filters and search above — adjacency here does not indicate a shared cause, lineage, organization or tradition.

2026 Huntsville, AL, USA

Adrian Derrell Davis: five-year sentence for embezzling funds entrusted to him as pastor

2026 Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

Archdiocese of Quebec: $31.5M class-action settlement for clergy abuse dating to 1940

2026 Andalgalá, Catamarca Province, Argentina

Argentina: priest convicted of sexually abusing a boy over a decade earlier, sentenced after a trial delayed ten years

2026 Athens, Greece

Ark of the World: appellate convictions for physical abuse and punitive treatment

2026 Sutherland Shire, New South Wales, Australia

Australia: 88-year-old church volunteer jailed decades later for abusing a girl at a Sydney congregation his own pastor covered up

2026 Faridpur, Bangladesh

Bangladesh: madrasa director sentenced to ten years for attempted rape of a 15-year-old hifz student

2026 Charghat, Rajshahi, Bangladesh

Bangladesh: mosque imam sentenced to life imprisonment for raping a twelve-year-old child from the community he taught

2026 Berlin, Germany

Berlin: rabbi convicted of assaulting a woman he offered to counsel using claimed spiritual powers

2026 Altamira, Pará, Brazil

Brazil: ex-pastor sentenced to over 26 years for raping children of church members during congregation activities

2026 Guaíba, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Brazil: ex-priest convicted of raping a nine-year-old he approached under cover of 2024 flood relief at his parish

2026 Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Brazil: former Catholic priest convicted of raping more than sixty children over decades in the Archdiocese of Belo Horizonte

2026 Parnaíba, Piauí, Brazil

Brazil: futsal coach and pastor sentenced to over 103 years for grooming eleven adolescents with distorted scripture

2026 São Cristóvão, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

Brazil: pai de santo sentenced for raping a ten-year-old who attended his terreiro

2026 Macapá, Amapá, Brazil

Brazil: pastor convicted of raping a ten-year-old congregant, arrested as a fugitive after four years

2026 Serra Negra, São Paulo, Brazil

Brazil: priest convicted of grooming and sexually abusing an altar server through the Diocese of Amparo

2026 Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil

Brazil: Umbanda leader convicted for using 'orixás' doctrine to coerce two teenage devotees into sex

2026 Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Canada: retired Catholic priest sentenced for sexually abusing an altar boy in 1980s Prince Edward Island

2026 Putaendo, Santiago, Talca, Concepción, Valdivia and Punta Arenas, Chile

Chile: civil court finds the Salesian order followed a 'systematic and institutional pattern' enabling sexual abuse of students across six cities, orders damages to nine survivors

2026 Shangdu County, Inner Mongolia, China

China: itinerant 'master' convicted after telling a mother and daughter a curse required a virgin's blood

2026 Cuenca, Azuay, Ecuador

Cuenca curandero: appellate court imposes twenty-nine-year sentence after assault during medicine sessions

2026 El Omrane, Tunis, Tunisia

El Omrane ruqya killing: murder conviction after a fatal claimed healing session

2026 Baltimore, MD, USA

Erik Madison: 764 member pleads guilty to exploiting minors

2026 Satakunta region, Finland

Finland: parish pastor convicted of sexually messaging three children in his youth ministry

2026 Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Germany: five-year Paderborn archdiocese study finds 210 accused and 489 victims, nearly double prior counts

2026 Giengen an der Brenz, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Germany: Islamic religious teacher convicted on 18 counts for abusing boys in the dormitory he ran

2026 Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Germany: Pauline-order priest convicted of abusing two intoxicated boys of his parish

2026 Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain

Gran Canaria: Yoruba/Santería 'padrino' convicted of fraud for a coerced 'coronación' initiation payment

2026 Haupiri, West Coast, New Zealand

Howard Temple / Gloriavale: 12 guilty pleas; High Court substitutes home detention on sentence appeal

2026 Kiskunfélegyháza, Hungary

Hungary: priest sentenced to nine years, court finding he exploited the trust placed in a clergyman

2026 London, UK

Imam Abdul Halim Khan: life, 21 sexual offences; victims' beliefs used to silence them (CPS)

2026 Kurara, Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

India: cleric sentenced to life for raping his Urdu-Arabic student inside a mosque

2026 Khurai, Sagar District, Madhya Pradesh, India

India: itinerant religious preacher (kathavachak) sentenced to life for kidnapping and repeatedly raping a girl he met while conducting a temple storytelling event

2026 Mullassery, Thrissur, Kerala, India

India: madrasa teacher's 20-year POCSO sentence upheld by the Kerala High Court

2026 Robertsganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh, India

India: self-styled 'ojha' faith healer and an accomplice sentenced to life for assaulting a woman under an exorcism pretext

2026 Nalagarh, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India

India: self-styled healer sentenced to life for raping a woman who sought treatment, then threatening her family with tantric curses

2026 Vadakkankulam, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India

India: Tamil Nadu church priest sentenced under POCSO for assaulting a seven-year-old visitor

2026 Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India

India: temple priest convicted of abusing a girl after claiming she was possessed

2026 Kalarahanga, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

India: temple priest given life for murdering a woman he held at his temple on a promise of curing infertility

2026 Sozhapuram, Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu, India

India: temple priest sentenced to 178 years for sexually assaulting three children

2026 Sumenep, East Java, Indonesia

Indonesia: pesantren head sentenced to 20 years for abusing eight boarding students

2026 Lombok Barat, Indonesia

Indonesia: pesantren leader convicted over abuse of at least 22 santriwati across seven years

2026 Soreang, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia

Indonesia: pesantren ustaz's 17-year sentence for assaulting eight santriwati affirmed on appeal

2026 Trenggalek, East Java, Indonesia

Indonesia: two pesantren leaders convicted of abusing four minor santriwati

2026 Ireland (location withheld to protect victim identity; tried at the Central Criminal Court)

Ireland: church pastor, 83, jailed 12.5 years for abusing a child in his congregation in the church bathroom

2026 Meridian, ID, USA

Isaiah Teague: life sentence after abuse of a child he met as a youth pastor

2026 St Catherine, Jamaica

Jamaica: Catholic priest sentenced to 12 years for abusing a twelve-year-old on the church compound

2026 Guadeloupe

Jean-Luc Promeneur: seventeen-year sentence for abuse under mystical domination

2026 Orange, NJ, USA

Jesus Is Lord by the Holy Ghost pastors charged with forced labor; Treva Edwards also charged with sex trafficking

2026 Stathern, Leicestershire, England, United Kingdom

Jon Ruben: 23-year sentence for drugging and abusing boys at his own Christian summer camp

2026 Kitui, Kenya

Kenya: pastor convicted of raping a woman who had sought sanctuary at his church

2026 Shakahola, Kilifi County, Kenya

Kenya: Shakahola preacher pleads guilty to 191 murders of cult members

2026 Detroit, MI, USA

Kingdom of God Global Church leaders charged in multi-state forced-labor conspiracy

2026 Jerusalem, Israel

Knesset panel hears former Bratslav-community members on child marriage and abuse

2026 Miami, FL, USA

Little River: Haitian-Vodou threat to traffic a victim

2026 Manazary, Miarinarivo, Madagascar

Madagascar: prayer-house pastor convicted of raping a blind girl sent to him for healing

2026 Tanah Merah, Kelantan, Malaysia

Malaysia: Quran teacher jailed nine years for assaulting three boy students at mosques

2026 Centro, Tabasco, Mexico

Mexico: Concilio Nacional de las Asambleas de Dios state leader convicted of raping an 11-year-old girl, thirty-two years

2026 Michigan, USA

Michigan attorney general's diocese-by-diocese clergy investigation: 1,276 tips, 11 criminal cases, 9 convictions

2026 Lincoln County, Mississippi, USA

Mississippi: minister convicted on twelve counts of sexual battery of a girl he took in as a family's pastor, using threats of eternal damnation to control her

2026 Moldova

Moldova: self-proclaimed 'messiah' given life imprisonment for enslaving a family and raping their daughters

2026 Las Vegas, NV, USA

Nathan Chasing Horse: 13 felony convictions and 37-years-to-life sentence

2026 Auckland, New Zealand

New Zealand: church pastor sentenced for assaulting girls from his congregation over two decades

2026 Dunedin and Canterbury, New Zealand

New Zealand: former Dunedin Anglican Dean Jonathan Kirkpatrick convicted of sexually violating a teenager decades earlier

2026 Christchurch, New Zealand

New Zealand: former priest jailed for abusing boarding students at a Catholic college

2026 Ganmo, Ifelodun, Kwara State, Nigeria

Nigeria: general overseer sentenced to life for raping three minor congregants

2026 Umuehieta Avu, Owerri West, Imo State, Nigeria

Nigeria: pastor convicted of raping a church member's wife under a 'holy semen' deliverance pretext

2026 Lagos, Nigeria

Nigeria: sixty-three-year-old pastor sentenced to life imprisonment for drugging and raping a church member's daughter

2026 Euless, Texas, USA

Online Quran instructor 'Imam' Wisam Sharieff: 80-year federal sentence for child sexual exploitation framed as religious practice

2026 Landhi, Karachi, Pakistan

Pakistan: madressah teacher given two 15-year sentences for abusing his students

2026 Sindh, Pakistan

Pakistan: UN experts find systemic forced conversion and marriage of minority women and girls

2026 Fort-de-France, Martinique

Patrick Phanor-Lange: twelve-year sentence for aggravated rape by spiritual authority

2026 Philippines

Philippines: Supreme Court affirms healer's conviction, ruling his authority voided consent

2026 Święcany and Boguchwała, Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Poland

Poland: Catholic vicar convicted of sexually abusing five teenage boys, including altar servers, across two parishes

2026 Diocese of Sosnowiec, Poland

Poland: diocesan commission finds at least 50 minor victims and 25 clergy perpetrators over decades in the Diocese of Sosnowiec

2026 Bydgoszcz, Diocese of Bydgoszcz, Poland

Poland: former priest Rafał K. finally convicted for posing as a sexologist to abuse minors and adults under cover of 'therapy'

2026 Elbląg, Poland

Poland: Franciscan friar 'Brother Polikarp' convicted of molesting girls during confession and family retreats

2026 Faial Island, Azores, Portugal

Portugal: Azores priest convicted of attempted sexual abuse of a 15-year-old girl in his care

2026 Rhode Island, USA

Rhode Island attorney general report: 75 credibly accused clergy and over 300 reported victims

2026 Krasnodar, Russia

Russia: 'School of Life' founder sentenced to 20 years for exploiting followers under exorcism and divinity claims

2026 Lasswade and Kilmarnock, Scotland, UK (tried at Edinburgh Sheriff Court)

Scotland: three former Sisters of Nazareth nuns convicted of cruel and unnatural treatment of children in their care

2026 Cardonald, Glasgow, Scotland, UK (tried at Glasgow Sheriff Court)

Scotland: two former Sisters of Nazareth nuns plead guilty to abusing eight children at Nazareth House, Glasgow

2026 Touba and Diourbel, Senegal

Serigne Khadim Mbacké: twenty-year sentence for abuse of Quranic-school pupils

2026 Ang Mo Kio, Singapore

Singapore: home-temple founder jailed for assaulting a girl during lessons at his temple residence

2026 Virginia, Free State, South Africa

South Africa: self-proclaimed pastor sentenced to 55 years for raping members of his own 'Team of Prophecy'

2026 Mamelodi, Gauteng, South Africa

South Africa: traditional healer sentenced to life for raping a 15-year-old

2026 Málaga, Spain

Spain: priest sentenced to 52 years for drugging and assaulting four women he guided spiritually

2026 Thambuttegama, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: chief monk sentenced to 30 years for abusing a boy who came to be ordained

2026 Galenbindunuwewa, North Central Province, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: temple chief incumbent sentenced to 24 years for abusing a boy in his care

2026 Rorschach, St. Gallen, Switzerland

Switzerland: self-styled hypnosis coach convicted of sexually abusing two women he put in trance

2026 Xindian, New Taipei, Taiwan

Taiwan: shrine master convicted of indecent assault committed under the guise of an exorcism

2026 Taitung, Taiwan

Taiwan: spirit medium convicted for telling a client that talismans inside her body would kill her

2026 Tarnów, Poland

Tarnów bishop on trial over alleged delay in reporting child-abuse allegations against priests

2026 Sathon district, Bangkok, Thailand

Thailand: two Bangkok monks charged with raping and filming at least seven novices after luring them with phones, cash and alcohol

2026 Yan Nawa, Sathorn, Bangkok, Thailand

Thailand: two monks arrested for raping novices lured with mobile-game access at Wat Charoen Krung

2026 The Hague, Netherlands

The Hague court convicts a spiritual healer of rape and sexual assault during healing sessions

2026 Uduwila, Elpitiya, Sri Lanka

Uduwila Sujatha: Court of Appeal affirms ten-year sentence for abuse of a child preparing for ordination

2026 Tokyo, Japan

Unification Church in Japan: final dissolution order over organized unlawful donation solicitation

2026 Birmingham, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: agency worker jailed 16 years for raping and abusing boys he groomed at a Birmingham mosque

2026 North London, England, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: church deacon convicted of sexually abusing four young men over four decades

2026 Chatham, Kent, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: former mosque leader convicted of abusing a girl from his Quran lessons

2026 Liverpool, Merseyside, England, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: pastor who founded his own church convicted of sexual offences against children and young women met through his ministry

2026 Bradford, Huddersfield and Settle, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: priest already serving 18 years jailed a further 8.5 years for more parish sex offences against boys

2026 Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom (tried at Gloucester Crown Court)

United Kingdom: volunteer imam jailed 6 years for sexually assaulting two young girls during Quran lessons

2026 Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: ZAOGA church elder convicted of rape sentenced in absentia, fled before sentencing

2026 Muscle Shoals, Alabama, USA

United States: Alabama children's pastor sentenced for sodomizing boys in his ministry

2026 Cobb County, Georgia, USA

United States: Cobb County church leader sentenced to 25 years for grooming a teen through a new youth group

2026 Thornton, Colorado, USA

United States: Colorado youth pastor convicted of assaulting a teen he oversaw in his church's youth ministry

2026 Nampa, Idaho, USA

United States: Costa Rican priest sentenced to 15 years for abusing a teenager in his parish

2026 Adrian, Michigan, USA

United States: former Adrian, Michigan pastor sentenced for sex crimes against boys at his church and its juvenile campus

2026 Williamsville, New York, USA

United States: former executive pastor pleads guilty to raping two children he met through his church

2026 Livermore, California, USA

United States: former LDS bishop and boys' youth-group leader charged with abusing four boys over a decade

2026 Lubbock, Texas, USA

United States: former Lubbock student pastor sentenced to 40 years for assaulting a child at his church

2026 Manatee County, Florida, USA

United States: former Manatee County senior pastor gets triple life sentence for child rape and abuse material

2026 Town of Summit, Douglas County, Wisconsin, USA

United States: former Minnesota pastor sentenced to life for repeated sexual assault of a child at his Wisconsin cabin

2026 Livingston, Park County, Montana, USA

United States: former Montana pastor sentenced to 30 years for raping two sisters from his congregation

2026 San Antonio, Texas, USA

United States: forty years for the leader of a 764 splinter that coerced children on camera

2026 Jackson, Tennessee, USA

United States: Jackson, Tennessee youth pastor sentenced for sexual relationship with a 17-year-old congregant

2026 Hilo, Hawaii, USA

United States: leader of a 764 splinter network sentenced to the statutory maximum

2026 Blanchester, Clinton County, Ohio, USA

United States: Ohio pastor sentenced after 'trust becomes access' abuse of a teenager he knew through his church

2026 Osceola County, Florida, USA

United States: Osceola County pastor found guilty of raping a church member who sought spiritual guidance

2026 Luling and Waco, Texas, USA

United States: priest Anthony Odiong given life for sexually assaulting women under his spiritual direction

2026 Ruckersville, Greene County, Virginia, USA

United States: Virginia pastor sentenced for sexually abusing a minor and embezzling church funds

2026 Flatwoods, Braxton County, West Virginia, USA

United States: West Virginia pastor found guilty of sexually-motivated battery against a congregant during spiritual counseling

2026 Astana, Kazakhstan

Unnamed TikTok healer: final fraud conviction for paid magical-healing claims

2026 Efate, Shefa Province, Vanuatu

Vanuatu: pastor convicted by the Supreme Court of repeated indecency against two girls in his congregation

2026 Yilan County, Taiwan

Yilan Taoist temple shaman Huang Kuo-ching: 25 years for 39 counts of sexual assault framed as ritual 'sexual treatment'

2026 Lexington, Kentucky, USA

Zachary King: former LexCity executive pastor sentenced after admitting sexual offenses against a minor congregant

2026 Gweru, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: self-styled prophet convicted of raping a client during a ritual 'cleansing'

2026 Gweru, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: self-styled prophet jailed for raping a congregant lured to a 'spiritual cleansing'

2026 Bikita, Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: traditional healer jailed 20 years for raping a client during an overnight 'cleansing'

2025 San Martín, Mendoza, Argentina

Argentina: evangelical pastor convicted of statutory rape aggravated by his position as minister of a congregation, against a 15-year-old member

2025 San Martín, Mendoza, Argentina

Argentina: pastor convicted of statutory rape aggravated by his status as 'minister of a cult'

2025 Santa Fe, Argentina

Argentina: pastor sentenced to ten years for repeatedly abusing an adult congregant who feared disbelief

2025 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Australia: Chabad figure Velvel Serebryanski convicted of raping and molesting a child at Melbourne's Yeshivah Centre

2025 Panchlaish, Chattogram, Bangladesh

Bangladesh: madrasa director jailed until death for raping six child students

2025 Lohagara, Chattogram, Bangladesh

Bangladesh: madrasa hifz-section teacher sentenced to life imprisonment for raping his nine-year-old residential student

2025 Lohagara, Chattogram, Bangladesh

Bangladesh: madrasa Huffaz-department teacher sentenced to death for raping a twelve-year-old student

2025 Tucson, AZ, USA

Baron Martin (764 network): DOJ terrorism-support charges (indictment — charges only)

2025 Limelette, Walloon Brabant, Belgium

Belgium: seminary vice-rector convicted of repeatedly raping a seminarian under his formation

2025 Beitbridge, Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe

Bishop Chrispen Gomore: culpable-homicide conviction after fatal 'exorcism' flogging

2025 Cochabamba, Bolivia

Bolivia: two former Jesuit provincial superiors convicted of covering up Alfonso Pedrajas's abuse of boarding-school children, sentence affirmed on appeal

2025 Mochudi, Botswana

Botswana: pastor sentenced to twenty years for raping a woman who confided her trauma to him

2025 Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil

Brazil: Foursquare Church pastor convicted of sexually harassing minors in his youth counselling group

2025 Paranaguá, Paraná, Brazil

Brazil: Indian-born parish priest convicted of sexually abusing a parishioner during a spiritual counseling session

2025 Três de Maio, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Brazil: pai de santo sentenced to 259 years for rapes framed as a 'purification process'

2025 Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Brazil: pastor convicted of using overnight 'spiritual healing' prayer sessions to sexually violate four congregants by fraud

2025 Samambaia, Federal District, Brazil

Brazil: self-declared prophet convicted of coercing followers into sex through fraudulent 'curse-breaking' rituals

2025 Fada N'Gourma, Est Region, Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso: self-styled pastor convicted of raping a 10-year-old brought to him for deliverance prayer to treat epilepsy

2025 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Canada: Saskatoon Ukrainian Catholic priest convicted of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old parishioner

2025 Heredia and San José, Costa Rica

Carlos Chavarría Fonseca: affirmed thirty-six-year sentence and a later child-rape conviction

2025 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Cecil Wolfe: eight years after a self-styled Cree 'medicine man' used healer status to sexually assault twelve women

2025 Paramaribo, Suriname

Cedric Landveld: conviction after sexual abuse during prayer and anointing

2025 Criciúma, Santa Catarina, Brazil

Criciúma spiritual-healing leader: forty-year sentence for crimes against ten women

2025 Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador

Ecuador: evangelical pastor sentenced to 29 years after claiming a child was under demonic influence

2025 La Vega and Guaduas, Cundinamarca, Colombia

Édgar Orlando Gaitán Camacho: fourteen-year appellate sentence for assaults during yagé healing rituals

2025 Talkha, Dakahlia, Egypt

Egypt: mosque imam's life sentence for assaulting a Quran student upheld on cassation

2025 Sonsonate, El Salvador

El Salvador: priest convicted of raping a parishioner over three years in the parish house — first Central American conviction from an adult clergy-abuse survivor

2025 Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia

Elizabeth Struhs: 'The Saints' leader convicted of manslaughter for directing an 8-year-old's parents to stop her insulin

2025 San Pedro Sula, Cortés, Honduras

Erick Geovany Zambrano Estrada: three convictions tied to Sunday-school access

2025 Zadar, Croatia

Fr Darko Marušić (Zadar): criminal conviction for child exploitation and attempted sexual abuse

2025 Frutal, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Frutal Umbanda leader: nearly fifty years for sexual crimes presented as rituals

2025 Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Germany: former Bielefeld deacon convicted of abusing persons in his church care, confession entered

2025 Hamburg, Germany

Germany: Hamburg sect leader's conviction for sexually coercing young female members affirmed on appeal

2025 Würzburg, Bavaria, Germany

Germany: independent Würzburg diocese report finds 226 victims, most abuse unpunished before 2000

2025 Dieburg, Hesse, Germany

Germany: octogenarian Mainz diocese priest fined for a 1997 child sexual abuse offence

2025 Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Germany: Trier diocese's own review finds 711 victims and 234 accused, far above the national MHG study

2025 Speyer, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Germany: University of Mannheim study finds 150 suspected Speyer diocese perpetrators, children's homes as 'hotspots'

2025 Weija, Accra, Ghana

Ghana: evangelist sentenced for defrauding congregants with a claimed spiritual money-doubling ritual

2025 Osuwem, Shai-Osudoku District, Greater Accra Region, Ghana

Ghana: fetish priest sentenced to fifteen years for defiling and impregnating a fifteen-year-old girl entrusted to him

2025 Arta, Greece

Greece: village priest convicted of raping a child from age seven over seven years

2025 Hämeenlinna region, Finland

Hämeenlinna faith-movement 'prophet': first-instance convictions for sexual abuse, violence and extortion

2025 Gaya, Bihar, India

India: 'Baba' convicted under POCSO for raping a girl he had drawn into temple worship visits

2025 Mohali, Punjab, India

India: celebrity healing pastor Bajinder Singh sentenced to life for rape

2025 Surat, Gujarat, India

India: Digambar Jain muni sentenced to 10 years for raping a woman who sought him as her guru

2025 Anadara, Sirohi, Rajasthan, India

India: history-sheeter tantrik sentenced to life for luring a minor under a superstition pretext and forcing a fraudulent marriage

2025 Shaheen Nagar, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

India: Hyderabad madrasa teacher sentenced to 20 years under POCSO

2025 Vengara, Malappuram, Kerala, India

India: madrasa teacher sentenced to 86 years for raping a 12-year-old student inside the institution

2025 Taliparamba, Kannur, Kerala, India

India: repeat-offender madrasa teacher sentenced to 187 years for assaulting a student

2025 Kayu Agung, South Sumatra, Indonesia

Indonesia: dukun convicted of raping a client's daughter under a 'spirit marriage' ritual

2025 Pasean, Pamekasan, East Java, Indonesia

Indonesia: dukun convicted of raping a patient during a healing session

2025 Tasikmalaya, West Java, Indonesia

Indonesia: head of a Quran-memorization house sentenced to 15 years for molesting his pupils

2025 Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia

Indonesia: pastor convicted of abusing children lured into private 'prayer sessions'

2025 Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia

Indonesia: pesantren head's 15-year sentence for abusing four santriwati affirmed on appeal

2025 Martapura, Banjar, South Kalimantan, Indonesia

Indonesia: pesantren leader's 12-year sentence for abusing santri under a bad-luck-removal ritual pretext

2025 Pringgarata, Lombok Tengah, Indonesia

Indonesia: pesantren leader's 15-year sentence for raping a santriwati — final at the Supreme Court

2025 Ciputat, Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia

Indonesia: Quran teacher sentenced to 20 years for raping pupils under an 'aura-opening' ritual

2025 Belcastro, Catanzaro, Calabria, Italy

Italy: Calabria parish priest's conviction for sexually abusing seventeen parish children becomes final

2025 Aci Bonaccorsi, Catania, Italy

Italy: Lavina community leader convicted after court finds 'purification acts' were sexual violence

2025 Genoa, tried in Savona, Italy

Italy: priest sentenced to 10 years for repeated sexual violence against a 12-year-old altar boy

2025 Aversa, Caserta, Italy

Italy: priest's conviction for maltreatment during unauthorized exorcisms confirmed by Cassation

2025 Enna, Piazza Armerina, Sicilia, Italy

Italy: priest's conviction for sexual violence against minors made final by Cassazione

2025 Daejeon, South Korea

Jeong Myeong-seok / JMS: Supreme Court affirms 17-year sentence

2025 Los Alcarrizos, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Johan Manuel Castillo Ortega: ten-year sentence for abuse of six child congregants

2025 Aktobe, Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan: folk healer convicted of defrauding 136 clients of some 580 million tenge

2025 Jerusalem, Israel

Knesset hearings and active police review of organized ritual sexual-abuse allegations

2025 Ouesso, Republic of the Congo

Lili Endakeki: five-year sentence for abusive claimed spiritual treatment

2025 Towaoc, CO, USA

Lyndreth Hemp Wall: 15 federal convictions for assaults during purported spiritual treatment

2025 Air Papan, Mersing, Johor, Malaysia

Malaysia: tahfiz school teacher convicted on 15 charges of abusing a resident student

2025 Guadalupe, Chihuahua, Mexico

Mexico: priest sentenced for sexually abusing a girl during confession before her First Communion at a Ciudad Juárez-area parish

2025 Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Michael Geilenfeld: 210-year federal sentence for abuse of boys at the Haitian orphanage he founded

2025 Leelanau County, MI, USA

Michigan attorney general opens criminal investigation into Twin Flames Universe

2025 Macomb County, Michigan, USA

Michigan: priest Neil Kalina's second-degree criminal sexual conduct conviction affirmed on appeal

2025 Zaouiat Sidi Bilal, Ouarzazate Province, Morocco

Morocco: Ouarzazate-area mosque imam convicted after confessing to abusing girls in Quran lessons

2025 El Maachate, Safi Province, Morocco

Morocco: Safi mosque imam's 20-year sentence for abusing Quran-memorization students

2025 New Jersey, USA

New Jersey Supreme Court clears state grand jury to investigate Catholic clergy abuse, ending a seven-year legal block

2025 Whanganui, New Zealand

New Zealand: Society of Saint Pius X religious brother convicted of sexually abusing an altar boy he supervised at a parish school

2025 Abuja, FCT, Nigeria

Nigeria: bishop sentenced to 20 years for raping a congregant's child entrusted to his care

2025 Calabar, Cross River, Nigeria

Nigeria: general overseer given life for raping his sixteen-year-old 'spiritual daughter'

2025 Marysville, Ohio, USA

Ohio: accredited minister and pastoral trainer convicted of abusing a Bible Baptist Church congregant's daughter

2025 Brooklyn, NY, USA

OneTaste leaders convicted of forced-labor conspiracy

2025 Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Pastor Jonas: conviction for a public witchcraft accusation during prayer

2025 Baguio City, Benguet, Philippines

Philippines: priest convicted of raping a scholar housed in the Bishop's residence

2025 Rzeszów, Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Poland

Poland: former priest Dominik R. sentenced to five years for molesting five boys in catechism classroom

2025 Braga, Portugal

Portugal: priest convicted on 18 counts of child sexual abuse from parish activities

2025 Quebec, Canada

Quebec: Court of Appeal authorizes class action against the Order of Dominicans naming nine friars including Benoît Lacroix

2025 Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada

Quebec: Diocese of Saint-Hyacinthe settlement of $8.94 million approved by Superior Court

2025 Longueuil, Quebec, Canada

Quebec: Diocese of Saint-Jean-Longueuil settlement of $6.48 million approved by Superior Court

2025 Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

Quebec: pastor jailed four years for assaulting a congregant who called him her spiritual father

2025 Huși, Vaslui, Romania

Romania: bishop and archimandrite convicted of raping theological seminary students

2025 Frăsinei Monastery, Vâlcea County, Romania

Romania: monk at Frăsinei Monastery finally convicted of raping two boys, nine-year sentence

2025 Bucharest, Romania

Romania: priest convicted of sexually assaulting a woman who came to him for confession

2025 Militari, Bucharest, Romania

Romania: priest finally convicted of sexually assaulting a woman during confession

2025 Omsk, Russia

Russia: priest convicted over a boy sent to stay overnight so he could serve the liturgy

2025 Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia

Russia: two convicted over an unregistered religious boarding school where children were beaten and confined

2025 Orava region, Slovakia

Slovakia: former priest convicted in landmark ruling of sexually abusing a 12-year-old pupil at his church school

2025 Burco, Togdheer, Somaliland

Somaliland: Quranic school teacher convicted on appeal of abusing two of his students

2025 Mamelodi East, Pretoria, South Africa

South Africa: life sentence for a pastor who raped a twelve-year-old of his congregation

2025 Nquthu, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

South Africa: pastor given ten life terms for serially raping and assaulting twelve children lured with spiritual-guidance pretexts

2025 Edenburg, Free State, South Africa

South Africa: pastor's husband sentenced to life for raping an orphaned child taken into the pastor's household

2025 Letsitele, Limpopo, South Africa

South Africa: prophet given two life terms for raping teenage ushers he told sex 'transferred the Holy Spirit'

2025 Mokgaladi, Nebo, Limpopo, South Africa

South Africa: traditional healer given life for raping minors during a cleansing ritual

2025 Molopo, North West, South Africa

South Africa: traditional healer sentenced to fifteen years for raping and attempting to rape two clients seeking treatment

2025 Sixhotyeni village, Gqogqorha, Tsomo, Eastern Cape, South Africa

South Africa: ulwaluko initiation caregiver convicted of assaulting an initiate

2025 Seoul, South Korea

South Korea: Jin-Gak Order and official convicted after retaliation against a monk's accuser

2025 Busan, South Korea

South Korea: senior pastor's conviction for molesting five congregants affirmed by the Supreme Court

2025 Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

South Korea: unlicensed 'pastor' and academy director convicted of confining and isolating congregants' children

2025 Ascona, Ticino, Switzerland

Switzerland: school chaplain and cantonal religious-education head convicted over abuse on prayer trips

2025 Lugano, Ticino, Switzerland

Switzerland: Ticino priest convicted of sexually coercing nine parishioners, four of them minors

2025 Taipei, Taiwan

Taiwan: temple master convicted under the statute for abusing a relationship of authority

2025 Taichung, Taiwan

Taiwan: temple master's sentence increased to 16 years for rapes framed as a fate-changing ritual

2025 Bradford, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Bradford imam jailed 13 years for repeatedly raping a boy at his mosque

2025 Chatham, Kent, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Chatham imam convicted on sixteen counts against four children

2025 West Cross, Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom (tried at Swansea Crown Court)

United Kingdom: former Bishop of Swansea and Brecon jailed for indecently assaulting a boy while a parish priest

2025 Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom (tried at Inner London Crown Court)

United Kingdom: leader of the Church of England's 'Nine O'Clock Service' convicted of indecent assaults on nine women

2025 Criccieth, Gwynedd, North Wales, United Kingdom (tried at Mold Crown Court)

United Kingdom: North Wales pastor and former BBC presenter jailed over 10 years for abusing more than 30 boys and men at Christian camps

2025 Rochdale, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: private Quran tutor jailed 14 years for a decade of assaults on five young Muslim girls

2025 Horsham, West Sussex, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: sentencing remarks tie 764 to the Order of Nine Angles in the court record itself

2025 Kansas City, KS, USA

United Nation of Islam leaders sentenced in child forced-labor conspiracy

2025 Pawhuska, Osage County, Oklahoma, USA

United States: Gateway Church founder Robert Morris pleads guilty to child sexual abuse of a girl in his ministerial care

2025 Sacramento County, California, USA

United States: hospice chaplain sentenced for sexually assaulting an unconscious dying patient during a pastoral visit

2025 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

United States: Jehovah's Witness congregant convicted of using his standing in the church to assault a four-year-old he lived among

2025 Hernando, Mississippi, USA

United States: Mississippi youth pastor pleads guilty to sexual battery of a teenager she was mentoring

2025 Mobile, Alabama, USA

United States: Mobile, Alabama pastor sentenced for sexual misconduct with two former church members

2025 Terrytown, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, USA

United States: Terrytown, Louisiana pastor sentenced to 80 years for raping teenage boys he groomed through his ministry

2025 Longview, Gregg County, Texas, USA

United States: Texas church deacon convicted of indecency with a child left in his care during Bible study, affirmed

2025 Tupelo, Mississippi, USA

United States: Tupelo youth minister convicted of sexual battery of a 16-year-old church member

2025 Catonsville and Reisterstown, Baltimore County, Maryland, USA

United States: Youth for Christ leader Kevin Guy pleads guilty to sexually abusing teens in his youth group

2025 Lima, Peru

Vatican suppresses Sodalitium Christianae Vitae after official investigation

2025 Higüey, La Altagracia, Dominican Republic

Víctor Manuel Kery and Robinson Peguero: convictions after overnight church vigils

2025 Chợ Mới, An Giang, Vietnam

Vietnam: former deputy abbot convicted of abusing four child temple volunteers

2025 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Vietnam: self-styled 'living Buddha' convicted of raping women he treated as disciples

2025 District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Vietnam: self-styled energy healer's eight-year sentence for raping seven women during treatment

2025 Novosibirsk, Russia

Vissarion community leaders: convictions for psychological violence and serious harm

2025 Nyabira, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: apostolic sect leader convicted of raping a minor congregant — conviction under appeal

2024 La Matanza, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina

Abba Krishna: four convictions for aggravated human trafficking

2024 Istanbul, Turkey

Adnan Oktar: final convictions for sexual abuse, confinement and coercion within his organization

2024 Antwerp, Belgium

Belgium: imam sentenced to six years for abusing two boys in the mosque context

2024 Brussels, Belgium

Belgium: parliamentary commission issues 137 recommendations on abuse in the Church, following 'Godvergeten'

2024 Hortolândia, São Paulo, Brazil

Brazil: pai de santo convicted over thirteen victims — court finds systematic use of his religious influence

2024 Braço do Norte, Santa Catarina, Brazil

Brazil: pastor jailed for over thirty-seven years for abusing two boys from his church

2024 Barcarena, Pará, Brazil

Brazil: pastor sentenced to ninety-one years for abusing five boys of his congregation

2024 Criciúma region, Santa Catarina, Brazil

Brazil: religious leader sentenced to 45 years for sexual crimes against four women seeking spiritual help

2024 São Paulo, Brazil

Brazil: terreiro leader convicted of abusing five women told sex was 'spiritual cleansing'

2024 Bulaq al-Dakrur, Giza, Egypt

Bulaq spiritual healer: ten-year sentence for coercive recording and extortion

2024 Dolbeau and Mistassini, Quebec, Canada

Canada: Quebec court authorizes class action against a teaching congregation over decades of abuse at church-run schools

2024 Temuco, Araucanía, Chile

Chile: Pentecostal pastor sentenced to 10 years for repeated abuse of a child under 14

2024 Jacmel, Haiti

Dana Jackson (US) dies at a manbo initiation retreat

2024 Longford, Ireland

David Reilly: conviction for assault during an energy-healing session

2024 Washington, DC, USA

DC 'psychic' $4M extortion scheme (10+ yrs)

2024 Lame Deer, MT, USA

Dean Alan Smith: convictions and thirty-year sentence for abuse of children who trusted him as pastor

2024 Aubin, Aveyron, France

France: 'guru' and accomplice convicted of raping a teenager under an exorcism pretext

2024 Cléry-Saint-André, Loiret; Perros-Guirec, Côtes-d'Armor, France

France: basilica rector Olivier de Scitivaux's rape and sexual-assault conviction final after he withdrew appeal

2024 Douvres-la-Délivrande, Normandy, France

France: Maronite priest convicted in absentia of raping minors at the children's home he ran

2024 Bordeaux, Gironde; Angoulême, Charente, France

France: self-styled 'sorcerer guru' convicted on appeal for raping a student he claimed to be spiritually cleansing

2024 Seine-Saint-Denis, France

France: self-styled marabout given the maximum 15 years for raping nine women under a jinn-healing pretext

2024 Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany

Germany: Augsburg diocese priest's conviction for abusing a dependent becomes final on appeal

2024 Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany

Germany: ForuM study finds 1,259 accused and 2,225 affected in the Evangelical Church and diaconal services

2024 Rottenburg-Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Germany: Rottenburg-Stuttgart diocese's own count reaches 454 victims and 241 accused since 1946

2024 Bad Kissingen, Bavaria, Germany

Germany: Würzburg diocese chaplain's conviction for abusing an altar server becomes final

2024 Selangor, Malaysia

GISBH (Al-Arqam successor): mass child abuse in company-run welfare homes

2024 Gran Canaria, Spain

Gran Canaria court convicts a Santería practitioner who used rites to assault a child

2024 Southern Corfu, Metropolis of Corfu and the Ionian Islands, Greece

Greece: village priest convicted of the continuous seduction of a 16-year-old parishioner inside the church

2024 Quetzaltenango, Guatemala

Guatemala: pastor sentenced to 33 years for aggravated sexual assault of a minor congregant

2024 Hong Kong

Hong Kong: children's-home pastor jailed after drugging and assaulting six teenage residents

2024 Hong Kong

Hong Kong: life imprisonment for the death of a disabled disciple declared spirit-possessed

2024 Ernakulam, Kerala, India

India: Catholic vicar's conviction for raping a minor parishioner upheld by the Kerala High Court, sentence reduced

2024 Ajmer, Rajasthan, India

India: six convicted in the 1992 Ajmer dargah blackmail-rape case — 32 years on

2024 Padang Tiji, Pidie, Aceh, Indonesia

Indonesia (Aceh): dayah leader sentenced for molesting four santriwati

2024 Langsa, Aceh, Indonesia

Indonesia (Aceh): dayah leader sentenced to 14 years and 150 cane strokes for raping a boy santri and a teacher

2024 Banjarnegara, Central Java, Indonesia

Indonesia: 'Mbah Slamet' — death sentence for poisoning twelve clients of his money-multiplying ritual

2024 Jembrana, Bali, Indonesia

Indonesia: dukun convicted of raping a girl under an 'aura-opening' ritual with supernatural threats

2024 Magetan, East Java, Indonesia

Indonesia: repeat-offender dukun convicted of raping five minors via a spirit-pregnancy hoax

2024 Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra, Indonesia

Indonesia: Simalungun Protestant pastor convicted of harassing a congregant

2024 Ireland (national, at least 22 counties)

Ireland: Scoping Inquiry finds 2,395 allegations of historical sexual abuse across 308 schools run by 24 religious orders

2024 Jerusalem, Israel

Israel: seminary 'cult' head convicted of holding women in slavery-like conditions

2024 Avellino, Campania, Italy

Italy: priest's conviction for abusing a thirteen-year-old boy in a residential community becomes final

2024 Tōgane, Chiba, Japan

Japan: temple abbot convicted after court finds he exploited a disciple's 'absolute obedience'

2024 Butler County, Pennsylvania, USA

Jehovah's Witness congregation member Shaun Sheffer: convicted of raping a child of a fellow congregant family over five years

2024 Bugbrooke, Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdom

Jesus Fellowship (Jesus Army) Redress Scheme final report finds abuse endemic across community, names founder Noel Stanton among 539 accused

2024 Vredenburg, South Africa

Joslin Smith — mother charged, muti trafficking of a child

2024 Talsi County, Latvia

Latvia: 83-year-old priest sentenced to ten years for sexual violence against five girls

2024 Hertfordshire, UK

Makhan Singh Mauji (granthi): 24+ years, sexual assaults on three girls

2024 Winchester and Iwerne Minster, Dorset, England, United Kingdom

Makin Review: independent inquiry finds Church of England cover-up of John Smyth's Iwerne camp abuse; Archbishop of Canterbury resigns

2024 Mwanza, Malawi

Malawi: prophet jailed for defiling a girl her mother had brought to him for prayer

2024 Cheng, Melaka, Malaysia

Malaysia: bomoh sentenced to 50 years for assaulting a girl under a black-magic-removal pretext

2024 Pagoh, Muar, Johor, Malaysia

Malaysia: bomoh's 35-year sentence for raping a patient under a black-magic-removal pretext

2024 Vázquez de Coronado, San José Province, Costa Rica

Manuel Antonio Guevara Fonseca: eighteen-year sentence for abuse of a child altar server

2024 Camoapa, Boaco, Nicaragua

Mariano Ramón Sánchez Martínez: twenty-two-year sentence after pastoral guardianship

2024 Port-Gentil, Gabon

Martial Mbele Obiang: fifteen-year sentence for abuse framed as divine revelation

2024 Chalnakhel, Dakshinkali, Nepal

Nepal: self-styled tulku convicted of raping a woman held at his monastery for over nine years

2024 New Zealand (national)

New Zealand Royal Commission: Jehovah's Witnesses' own congregation records show an elder had sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old member, treated internally as a matter of reputational damage

2024 Haupiri, West Coast, New Zealand

New Zealand: former Gloriavale leader Jonathan Benjamin convicted on 26 counts of sexual offending against community children spanning three decades

2024 Ikotun, Lagos State, Nigeria

Nigeria: Islamic cleric sentenced to life imprisonment for defiling his fourteen-year-old Quranic student inside a mosque

2024 Lekki, Lagos State, Nigeria

Nigeria: Lagos pastor sentenced to life imprisonment for raping a church member

2024 Omuo-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria

Nigeria: Winners Chapel (Living Faith Church Worldwide) pastor convicted of raping a 12-year-old congregant at his vicarage

2024 Ticapampa, Áncash, Peru

Peru: priest sentenced to life imprisonment for years of rape of a child in the parish house

2024 Angeles City, Pampanga, Philippines

Philippines: South Korean pastor's life sentence for trafficking minors recruited as unpaid theology students affirmed by the Supreme Court

2024 Kinshasa and Moanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Pierre Kasambakana: eleven-year sentence for forced marriage and sexual offenses

2024 Biłgoraj, Zamość, Poland

Poland: priest convicted of molesting a seventeen-year-old at the rectory under a massage pretext

2024 Ostrołęka, Mazovia, Poland

Poland: priest's six-year sentence for molesting a minor confirmed; sourced to the prosecutor's office

2024 Hormigueros and Mayagüez, Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico: priest convicted of lewd acts against a minor at the Santuario de la Monserrate, court cites his 'relación de superioridad' of religious leadership

2024 Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec, Canada

Quebec: Presbyterian minister jailed for sexually abusing the 13-year-old daughter of a congregation member

2024 Philadelphia, PA, USA

Richard Densmore: 30-year sentence for 764-network exploitation and coercion

2024 Cleja, Bacău County, Romania

Romania: Catholic priest convicted of raping a 13-year-old parishioner after diocese handled it canonically for two years

2024 Rostov-on-Don, Russia

Russia: online 'hereditary healer' convicted of defrauding thirteen clients seeking curse-removal

2024 Phoenix, AZ, USA

Samuel Bateman: 50-year sentence in child-marriage and sexual-abuse conspiracy

2024 Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland, United Kingdom (tried at High Court sitting in Paisley)

Scotland: priest convicted of what the judge called 'crimes today classified as rape,' extradited from Australia after decades

2024 Mfuleni Location, Mbizana District, Eastern Cape, South Africa

South Africa: illegal ulwaluko initiation-school principal and caregivers convicted after an initiate's beating death

2024 Seoul, South Korea

South Korea: pastor and school founder convicted for molesting North Korean defector students in his care

2024 Cuenca, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

Spain: Cuenca parish priest's final conviction for abusing three children using church property as access

2024 Talavera de la Reina, Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

Spain: priest's conviction for continuous sexual abuse of a student under his spiritual direction affirmed by Supreme Court

2024 Istanbul, Turkey

Turkey: Hiranur Foundation (İsmailağa-linked) leader and follower convicted for the sexual abuse and forced marriage of the founder's six-year-old daughter

2024 Ümraniye, Istanbul, Turkey

Turkey: Süleymancı boys' dormitory imam sentenced to 28 years for abusing an 11-year-old resident

2024 Lusanja, Wakiso District, Uganda

Uganda: self-proclaimed prophet convicted of defiling choir members from his church

2024 Dakar, Senegal

UN prevention-of-torture review documents forced begging and abuse in Senegal’s daara system

2024 Belfast, Newry and Armagh, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Christian Brother and school principal Paul Dunleavy convicted across three trials of 72 sexual-abuse offences against 18 boys

2024 Sedlescombe, East Sussex, England, United Kingdom (tried at Hove Crown Court)

United Kingdom: former Church of England priest jailed for life after raping a six-year-old boy he had baptised, in a church vestry

2024 Watford, England, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: official findings that Soul Survivor's founder used spiritual authority to coerce youths

2024 Hooke, Dorset, England, United Kingdom (tried at Bournemouth Crown Court)

United Kingdom: priest jailed for non-recent sexual abuse of boys at a Catholic boys' school

2024 Croydon, Streatham and Sydenham, London, United Kingdom (tried at Inner London Crown Court)

United Kingdom: priest who abused at least 11 boys across four south London parishes before fleeing to Ireland jailed again

2024 Ivins, Utah, USA

United States: counselor sentenced for child abuse committed through doctrinal control of a mother

2024 Rexburg, Idaho, USA

United States: doomsday author sentenced to death for murders his followers' doctrine rationalised

2024 United States (national, 37 states and territories)

United States: Interior Department's Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative finds 417 church-partnered schools and a federally funded assimilation system

2024 Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA

United States: Jehovah's Witness elder convicted of molesting three girls of the extended family hosting him

2024 White Oak, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA

United States: Jehovah's Witness elder pleads guilty after 'mentoring' a teenager under cover of spiritual guidance

2024 Drama, Greece

Unnamed priest: conviction upheld for sexual touching during confession

2024 Cumaná, Sucre, Venezuela

Venezuela: pastor sentenced to 16 years for abusing five children at services held in his home

2023 Cohuna and Burkes Bridge, Victoria, Australia

Australia: evangelical minister Christopher Coleborn jailed for abusing a boy at his own home during a church youth camp

2023 Melbourne, Australia

Australia: Malka Leifer, ultra-Orthodox school principal, convicted of raping students after a 15-year extradition fight

2023 Dakshinkhan, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Bangladesh: madrasa teacher given life imprisonment for raping a student

2023 Kansat, Shibganj, Chapainawabganj, Bangladesh

Bangladesh: madrasa teacher given life imprisonment for raping three girl students

2023 Cochabamba, Bolivia

Bolivia: Jesuit priest's own diary, confirmed by his family and investigated by the Vatican and Bolivian prosecutors, documents his abuse of 85 boarding-school children

2023 Brasília, Federal District, Brazil

Brasília pastor: appellate court affirms conviction for abuse presented as curse removal

2023 Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

Brazil: 'Amor Supremo' temple leader convicted for 'spiritual surgeries' used to coerce sex from followers

2023 Sorocaba, São Paulo, Brazil

Brazil: appellate court raises a 'pai de santo's' sentence to 175 years for raping twelve women under cover of terreiro rituals

2023 Bayeux, Paraíba, Brazil

Brazil: Assembly of God pastor convicted of raping three children using his religious standing to win family trust

2023 West Bountiful, UT, USA

Carl Matthew Johnson (LDS bishop, ex-mayor): 9-to-life, child sexual abuse

2023 Viby, Aarhus, Denmark

Denmark: free-church pastor convicted of exploiting a parishioner's trust — court cites his role as her confidant

2023 Salinas, Santa Elena, Ecuador

Ecuador: pastor sentenced to 13 years for abusing a girl from age ten in the pastoral residence

2023 Nahuizalco, Sonsonate, El Salvador

Edwin Analberto Pérez González: twenty-year sentence after church-work grooming

2023 Panchimalco, El Salvador

El Salvador: self-styled pastor convicted of continuous rape of a minor in a household that lodged him on religious trust

2023 Larnaca, Cyprus

Former Bishop of Kiti: first criminal conviction of a senior Cypriot Orthodox cleric for indecent assault

2023 Mindelheim, Bavaria, Germany

Germany: former Marist brother and boarding-school director convicted of abusing pupils, appeal fails

2023 Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Germany: Mainz diocese report finds 401 victims, 181 accused, and a culture that prioritised avoiding scandal

2023 Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, Germany

Germany: Osnabrück diocese study finds over 400 victims, contributes to bishop's early resignation

2023 Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Germany: self-styled shaman convicted of raping a girl 'treated' under spiritual therapy — final at the Federal Court

2023 Saarbrücken, Saarland, Germany

Germany: Trier diocese priest convicted of sexually coercing a fourteen-year-old in his rectory

2023 Guatemala City, Guatemala

Guatemala: pastor sentenced to 18 years for sexually assaulting an eleven-year-old in the church

2023 Illinois, USA

Illinois attorney general report: 451 substantiated Catholic clerics and religious brothers, at least 1,997 children

2023 Tohana, Fatehabad, Haryana, India

India: 'Jalebi Baba', temple mahant, convicted of drugging, raping and filming scores of women devotees

2023 Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

India: second life sentence for Asaram Bapu for raping a disciple at his Ahmedabad ashram

2023 Ulee Glee, Pidie Jaya, Aceh, Indonesia

Indonesia (Aceh): dayah leader given the sharia maximum for raping seven boy santri

2023 Pandeglang, Banten, Indonesia

Indonesia: 'magical healing' practitioner jailed for eleven years after a year of ritual-pretext rape

2023 Alor, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

Indonesia: candidate pastor sentenced to death for raping nine children

2023 Pandeglang, Banten, Indonesia

Indonesia: kyai sentenced to 11 years for repeated abuse of three santriwati

2023 Bekasi, West Java, Indonesia

Indonesia: life sentences for three money-ritual practitioners who poisoned clients who saw through the fraud

2023 Depok, West Java, Indonesia

Indonesia: pesantren teacher sentenced to 18 years for abusing female students

2023 Ramadi, Anbar, Iraq

Iraq: mosque muezzin and Quran instructor given double life sentence for raping boys in his sessions

2023 Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom (offences); tried at the Central Criminal Court, Dublin, Ireland

Ireland/Scotland: priest jailed after Court of Appeal overturned a fully suspended sentence for sexually assaulting a vulnerable woman

2023 Fort Kent, Maine, USA

Jehovah's Witness elder Ernest Fyans: gross-sexual-assault conviction for abusing two Kingdom Hall children, affirmed on appeal

2023 Benton County, TN, USA

Joshua Henley: forty-five-year sentence after parish work was used to transport and abuse a teen

2023 Mariakani, Kwale, Kenya

Kenya: pastor convicted in two cases of defiling girls who attended his church

2023 Ngong, Kajiado, Kenya

Kenya: pastor sentenced to 70 years for defiling two child congregants using 'God's oil'

2023 Jahra Governorate, Kuwait

Kuwait: Jahra mosque imam's life sentence for indecent assault on a child affirmed as final

2023 Wappingers Falls, New York, USA

Lama Norlha Rinpoche / Kagyu Thubten Choling: sangha disclosure and federal abuse lawsuit

2023 Talsi, Latvia

Latvia: Baptist minister and Sunday-school director convicted of abusing children in his care

2023 Talsi, Latvia

Latvia: Baptist minister and Sunday-school director convicted of abusing five girls

2023 Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Maryland AG: 156 abusers and 600+ child victims in the Archdiocese of Baltimore

2023 Patarrá, San José Province, Costa Rica

Mauricio Víquez: final twenty-year sentence and civil finding against church authorities

2023 Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria

Mazraoua raqi: five-year sentence after fatal beating framed as spirit removal

2023 Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua, Mexico

Mexico: evangelical pastor sentenced to 53 years for abusing a disciple during spiritual retreats

2023 Cadereyta Jiménez, Nuevo León, Mexico

Mexico: pastor convicted twice — 11 then 37 years — for abusing congregants

2023 Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico

Mexico: pastor sentenced to 59 years for abusing residents of a church-run children's home

2023 Kantunilkín, Lázaro Cárdenas, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Mexico: pastor's acquittal reversed on appeal; 50-year sentence imposed for abusing his hierarchical position over a 12-year-old congregant

2023 Aquixtla, Puebla, Mexico

Mexico: priest sentenced to 21 years for luring and assaulting a seven-year-old at his church

2023 Toledo, OH, USA

Michael Zacharias: life sentence for trafficking victims groomed through priestly authority

2023 Lansing, Michigan, USA

Michigan: priest Joseph 'Jack' Baker sentenced for first-degree criminal sexual conduct

2023 Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Michigan: priest Timothy Crowley sentenced for second-degree criminal sexual conduct

2023 Burton, Michigan, USA

Michigan: priest Vincent DeLorenzo sentenced for abusing a 5-year-old boy

2023 The Hague, Netherlands

Netherlands: Hindu priest convicted of sexually abusing a woman during a healing ritual

2023 Romerike, Akershus, Norway

Norway: congregation leader convicted of six-year sexual exploitation of a member who saw his words as God's word

2023 Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico

Nuevo León: evangelical pastor sentenced to 59 years for sexually abusing girls at a children's home

2023 Cadereyta Jiménez, Nuevo León, Mexico

Nuevo León: religious minister sentenced to 37 years for sexual crimes against congregants

2023 Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan

Pakistan: Bahawalpur madrassa teacher sentenced to 20 years for assaulting his Quran student

2023 Gualaca, Chiriquí, Panama

Panama: priest convicted of raping a five-year-old parish child, sentenced to 30 years

2023 José Falcón, Presidente Hayes, Paraguay

Paraguay: pastor and his wife convicted of abusing a girl from his church

2023 Arequipa, Peru

Peru: priest sentenced to 13 years for indecent assault of two young congregants

2023 Socorro, Surigao del Norte, Philippines

Philippines: 'Senior Agila' cult leader charged with trafficking and forced child marriage of followers' children

2023 Chodzież, Poland

Poland: former priest's conviction for decade-long abuse of an altar server upheld on appeal

2023 Siedlce, Poland

Poland: priest sentenced to five years for repeatedly forcing a parishioner into sexual acts

2023 Opole Lubelskie, Diocese of Sandomierz, Poland

Poland: priest Tomasz F. finally convicted on appeal for sexually abusing two altar boys

2023 Lisbon, Portugal

Portugal independent commission validates 512 testimonies of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church

2023 Omsk, Russia

Russia: pastor convicted of inducing trance states in congregants — and later prosecuted for his beliefs

2023 Salta, Argentina

Salta temple: affirmed trafficking convictions for two spiritual leaders

2023 Ermelo, Mpumalanga, South Africa

South Africa: two life terms for a pastor who raped a fifteen-year-old fellow congregant

2023 Uribe Kosta, Biscay, Basque Country, Spain

Spain: Bilbao diocese priest's conviction for abusing scout monitors at parish summer camps, unappealed and final

2023 Spain (national)

Spain: Ombudsman's national report estimates hundreds of thousands abused in church contexts

2023 Balapitiya, Galle District, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: forest-hermitage chief incumbent convicted of raping a nine-year-old boy resident at the temple

2023 Lausanne, Switzerland

Swiss court — juju sex-trafficking conviction

2023 Zurich, Switzerland

Switzerland: University of Zurich pilot study finds 1,002 cases of abuse in the Catholic Church since 1950

2023 Tangier, Morocco

Tangier raqi: ten-year sentence for assaults committed through claimed ruqya

2023 Kisumu, Kenya

Thomas Scheller: 81-year sentence for defiling boys after posing as a church missionary

2023 Tubarão, Santa Catarina, Brazil

Tubarão pastor: forty-year sentence for thirteen acts framed as prayer

2023 Tarsus, Mersin, Turkey

Turkey: imam sentenced to twenty-seven years for abusing a twelve-year-old Quran-course student

2023 Ağrı, Turkey

Turkey: Quran-course instructor sentenced to 35 years 5 months for the abuse and confinement of a nine-year-old student in Ağrı

2023 Jinja, Uganda

Uganda: Pentecostal pastor convicted of child ritual sacrifice and human trafficking

2023 Croydon, London, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Croydon Quran teacher convicted of attempted rape and assaults on pupils

2023 Stephenville, Texas, USA

United States: 764's founder sentenced to eighty years — the network built on coerced self-harm

2023 Bentonville, Arkansas, USA

United States: Bentonville youth pastor sentenced to 60 years on thirteen counts

2023 Los Angeles, California, USA

United States: Danny Masterson convicted of raping two fellow Scientology members

2023 Springfield, Massachusetts, USA

United States: Jehovah's Witness elder convicted of assaulting a thirteen-year-old congregant

2023 Newbury, Rowley and Salisbury, Massachusetts, USA

United States: licensed United Methodist youth minister Russell Woodman Davis pleads guilty to raping three boys over nearly two decades

2023 Houston, Harris County, Texas, USA

United States: Texas church deacon sentenced to life for continuous sexual abuse of his daughter; other church girls' accusations admitted at trial, affirmed

2022 Rosignol, West Coast Berbice, Guyana

Andrew Hannibal: Guyana Court of Appeal affirms pastor's child-rape conviction

2022 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Argentina: priest sentenced to 12 years for abusing two nuns under his spiritual direction

2022 Ballarat and regional Victoria, Australia

Australia: Christian Brother Edward Dowlan convicted in three rounds spanning 26 years

2022 Nassau, Bahamas

Bahamas: youth pastor convicted of sexually assaulting a girl taken into his family's care, then jailed again for three more victims

2022 Taraganj, Rangpur, Bangladesh

Bangladesh: mosque imam sentenced to life imprisonment for raping a ten-year-old child during Arabic lessons

2022 Abomey-Calavi, Benin

Benin: evangelical pastor convicted of serially raping congregants and defrauding them in a land-purchase scheme

2022 Americana, São Paulo, Brazil

Brazil: Catholic priest convicted of abusing four former altar boys

2022 Sorocaba, São Paulo, Brazil

Brazil: pai de santo convicted of raping twelve terreiro members through simulated spirit incorporation

2022 Tubarão, Santa Catarina, Brazil

Brazil: pastor sentenced to 40 years for sexual violation by fraud of nine congregants

2022 Santiago, Chile

Chile: the archdiocese official who received abuse complaints convicted of abusing minors himself

2022 Heredia, Costa Rica

Costa Rica: pastor's 34-year sentence for abusing a teenage congregant confirmed through the Supreme Court's criminal cassation chamber

2022 Fort Leonard Wood, MO, USA

David J. McKay: thirty-year sentence for abuse enabled through a military youth ministry

2022 Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands

Derrick Miller: eleven-year sentence after abuse of pastoral trust

2022 Mbale, Uganda

Eric Tuininga: ten-year federal sentence for abusing a Ugandan girl in his pastoral care

2022 Atiquizaya, Ahuachapán, El Salvador

Francisco Abigail Zuniga Figueroa: twelve-year sentence for abuse of a child congregant

2022 Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Germany: Cologne priest sentenced to twelve years on 110 counts spanning twenty-five years

2022 Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Germany: Munich abuse report finds Joseph Ratzinger 'with high probability' knowingly deployed abusers

2022 Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Germany: Münster diocese report finds 196 accused clergy and 610 victims, faults four successive bishops

2022 Agrinio, Aetolia-Acarnania, Greece

Greece: priest who ran a quasi-monastic household of three mothers and eight children convicted of raping and abusing minors over years, sentence upheld on appeal

2022 Woodstock, Georgia, USA

Guidepost investigation finds credible sexual-assault allegation against former SBC president Johnny Hunt

2022 Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Guidepost Solutions finds SBC Executive Committee kept a secret decade-long list of 700+ accused ministers while stonewalling abuse survivors

2022 Bandung, Indonesia

Herry Wirawan: life sentence for abuse of students under pesantren authority

2022 Puerto Lempira, Gracias a Dios, and La Ceiba, Atlántida, Honduras

Honduras: Miskito community pastor convicted of trafficking and aggravated rape of a 15-year-old he took from her family under promise of paid childcare work

2022 Nellikuzhi, Ernakulam, Kerala, India

India: madrasa teacher sentenced to 20 years for sexually assaulting his 11-year-old student

2022 Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, India

India: NHRC issues suo motu notices over continued devadasi dedication despite decades-old bans

2022 Perinthalmanna, Malappuram, Kerala, India

India: Pentecostal pastor convicted of raping a 13-year-old girl after convincing her family she was possessed by evil spirits

2022 Thrissur, Kerala, India

India: priest convicted of raping a nine-year-old preparing for her First Communion at his church

2022 Pullamala, Kollam, Kerala, India

India: seminary rector sentenced to 18 years for sexually abusing four minor seminarians in his care

2022 Ploso, Jombang, East Java, Indonesia

Indonesia: pesantren heir convicted of abusing female students after years shielded by his father's standing

2022 Depok, West Java, Indonesia

Indonesia: Quran teacher sentenced to 19 years for abusing ten pupils

2022 Depok, West Java, Indonesia

Indonesia: self-styled 'Bruder Angelo' sentenced to 14 years for abusing boys at his religious shelter

2022 Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland

Ireland: Spiritan order discloses 233 abuse allegations against 77 priests at Blackrock College and its feeder schools, prompting a state Scoping Inquiry

2022 Bisbee, AZ, USA

LDS 'help line' case (AP/court records): abuse continued 7 yrs; wife convicted

2022 Woodridge, NY, USA

Lev Tahor leaders convicted: kidnapping + child exploitation (forced child marriage)

2022 Malawi

Malawi albino ritual murder: 155-year sentences

2022 Nkungulu, Mangochi, Malawi

Malawi: traditional healer sentenced to ten years for raping and impregnating a client under his care for a mental-health condition

2022 Lassa, Commune IV, Bamako, Mali

Mali: marabout convicted by the Bamako Assize Court of abusing a small child

2022 Thomastown, MS, USA

Marcus Lepard: conviction affirmed after Sunday-school access was used to groom a child

2022 San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico

Mexico: priest sentenced to 60 years for raping a boy in his parish, reported by his own bishop

2022 San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, Mexico

Mexico: religious preacher convicted of aggravated sexual abuse of two children in Oaxaca's Cuenca region

2022 Wayne County, Michigan, USA

Michigan: priest convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct against a child parishioner

2022 Michigan, USA

Michigan: priest Gary Berthiaume sentenced for criminal sexual conduct and gross indecency

2022 Upper Peninsula, Michigan, USA

Michigan: priest Gary Jacobs sentenced for abusing five children in the Upper Peninsula

2022 Rankin County, Mississippi, USA

Mississippi: longtime family pastor given temporary custody of a boy convicted of sexually battering him

2022 Los Angeles, California, USA

Naasón Joaquín García: La Luz del Mundo 'Apostle' convicted in California of sexual abuse of minors

2022 Tauranga, New Zealand

New Zealand: Baptist church youth leader Luke Stainton convicted of a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old member of his youth group

2022 Boaco, Nicaragua

Nicaragua: parish priest sentenced to 30 years for abuse of a girl, amid contested proceedings

2022 Boaco, Nicaragua

Nicaragua: priest José Leonardo Urbina Rodríguez sentenced to 30 years for rape of a 14-year-old

2022 Igando, Lagos State, Nigeria

Nigeria: Islamic cleric sentenced to life imprisonment for raping his five-year-old Arabic school pupil

2022 Kingston, Jamaica

Oraine Ellis: rape conviction upheld after church counselling pretext

2022 Marion County, Oregon, USA

Oregon: home-church pastor's convictions for abusing a congregant he counseled, plus a family victim, affirmed

2022 Juan Díaz, Panama City, Panama

Panama: priest Luis Ruiz Quiroga convicted of aggravated lewd acts against a 17-year-old parishioner

2022 Alto Paraná, Paraguay

Paraguay: evangelical pastor sentenced to 27 years for abusing ten Aché indigenous girls

2022 Asturias, Cebu, Philippines

Philippines: self-styled 'Dios Amahan' healer charged with raping patients held at his temple

2022 Diocese of Drohiczyn, Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland

Poland: vicar and religion teacher M.Ł. finally convicted for repeated rape of a 14-year-old parishioner

2022 Puebla, Mexico

Puebla: Christian pastor sentenced to nearly 14 years for raping a minor congregant

2022 Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada

Quebec: Diocese of Chicoutimi settlement pays $13.75 million to more than 150 victims of a single priest, Paul-André Harvey

2022 Ciudad Real, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

Spain: ex-priest and seminary trainer's 30-year sentence for abusing seven minor seminarians affirmed by Supreme Court

2022 Kayunga, Uganda

Uganda v. Sentongo: infant murder and aggravated trafficking for ritual exploitation

2022 Mitooma District, Uganda

Uganda: Church of Uganda (Anglican) priest Gordon Muhwezi sentenced to 28 years for defilement

2022 Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, UK

UK: hypnotherapist Ian Roper convicted after commanding a client under trance to undress

2022 Um Baru, North Darfur, Sudan

Um Baru khalwa leader: fifteen-year sentence for abuse of child pupils

2022 Alnwick, Northumberland, England, United Kingdom (tried at Newcastle Crown Court, Tyne and Wear)

United Kingdom: priest jailed for historic sex attacks on a boy in a church vestry and convent

2022 Nottinghamshire / Hove, England, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: self-styled 'Buddha Maitreya' meditation-centre teacher convicted of indecently assaulting students' daughters

2022 Dublin, California, USA

United States: FCI Dublin federal prison chaplain sentenced for sexually abusing an inmate he was counseling

2022 Crystal Lake, McHenry County, Illinois, USA

United States: two Jehovah's Witness elders convicted for failing to report a child's abuse after headquarters advised against it

2022 Minas, Lavalleja, Uruguay

Uruguay: priest sentenced to eight years for repeated abuse of two sisters

2021 Yaoundé, Cameroon

André Guy Atangana Mbida: life sentence for fatal violence during claimed exorcism

2021 Burradoo (Bowral), New South Wales, Australia

Australia: Missionaries of the Sacred Heart priest jailed for fifteen years for abusing twelve boarding-school students

2021 La Paz, Bolivia

Bolivia: evangelical pastor sentenced to 17 years for raping girls in his congregation

2021 Vegreville, Alberta, Canada

Canada: Alberta pastor sentenced to five years after grooming a congregant he had recruited as co-preacher

2021 Joliette, Quebec, Canada

Canada: Clerics of St Viator priest convicted for abuse at Quebec religious schools

2021 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Canada: head monk of a Winnipeg Lao temple convicted of sexual interference against two girls

2021 Quapaw, OK, USA

Carl Gene Ortner Jr.: conviction after posing as a Native spiritual counselor

2021 Santiago, Chile

Chile: Jesuit-commissioned posthumous inquiry finds prominent priest Renato Poblete sexually abused children and adults for decades

2021 Jinan, Shandong, China

China: false 'living Buddha' sentenced to 25 years for raping sworn disciples

2021 Shenzhen, Guangdong, China

China: man posing as a reincarnated lama convicted of raping and defrauding followers

2021 Paris, France

CIASE/Sauvé Report: est. 216,000 abused by French clergy since 1950

2021 Đakovo-Osijek Archdiocese, Croatia

Croatia: Đakovo-Osijek Archdiocese priest's final conviction for indecent acts against an altar server

2021 Accra, Ghana

Daniel Akuffo: fifteen-year sentence for abuse under an exorcism pretext

2021 London, UK

Danyal Hussein: life, murders of Bibaa Henry & Nicole Smallman (blood-pact)

2021 El Terrón, Ngäbe-Buglé, Panama

El Terrón: nine convictions after seven people were killed during a sect’s religious rite

2021 Lyon, France

France: Bernard Preynat's conviction for two decades of scout abuse made final by Cassation

2021 Cullinan, South Africa

Gabisile Shabane: child killed for muti (life terms)

2021 Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Germany: Gercke report names 202 accused and finds duty violations across Cologne archdiocese leadership

2021 Hildesheim, Lower Saxony, Germany

Germany: Hildesheim diocese report finds bishop and personnel director transferred a known-accused priest rather than act

2021 Goch, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Germany: self-declared prophet convicted on 132 counts against a girl raised in his sect

2021 Mount Dora, FL, USA

Grave desecration for a Palo Mayombe shrine

2021 Salamina, Greece

Greece: Old Calendar priest convicted of indecent acts against a boy, released pending appeal

2021 Larissa, Greece

Greece: priest sentenced to eight years for abusing an 11-year-old, mother convicted as accomplice

2021 England and Wales, United Kingdom

IICSA: Jehovah's Witness elders discouraged reporting, substituting internal discipline

2021 Satbari, South Delhi, India

India: Delhi temple priest given life imprisonment for raping two young girls

2021 Kottiyoor, Kerala, India

India: priest convicted of raping a sixteen-year-old parishioner; upheld by the Kerala High Court

2021 Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

Indonesia: pastor's 11-year sentence for abusing a congregant he had informally adopted

2021 Ireland (national — 18 mother-and-baby and county-home institutions, 1922-1998)

Ireland: Mother and Baby Homes Commission finds roughly 9,000 child deaths and a coercive, misogynistic institutional culture

2021 Cortona, Arezzo, Italy

Italy: ex-priest 'santone' — sexual-violence conviction against sect followers final at Cassation

2021 Osaka, Japan

Japan: Shinto shrine priest convicted of indecent acts against worshippers during prayer rites

2021 Zlín and Olomouc regions, Czech Republic

Jaroslav Dobeš and Barbora Plášková: seven rape convictions involving an ‘unhooking’ ritual

2021 Karaganda region, Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan: village mullah's 20-year sentence for raping a thirteen-year-old upheld on appeal

2021 Soyapango, San Salvador, El Salvador

Manuel Quijano Vega: sixteen-year sentence in a child congregant case

2021 Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico

Mexico: priest sentenced to 65 years for raping a girl during catechism classes

2021 Lansing, Michigan, USA

Michigan: priest Joseph Comperchio pleads guilty to sexual abuse of four minors

2021 Fort Bend County, Texas, USA

Mohamed Omar Ali: 35-year sentence for abusing children he recruited through mosques to teach the Quran

2021 Zmij, Melloussa, Tangier, Morocco

Morocco: village Quran teacher sentenced to 30 years for assaulting six girl pupils

2021 Nebraska, USA

Nebraska attorney general report: 258 documented victims across three Catholic dioceses

2021 Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria

Nigeria: self-styled prophet sentenced to life imprisonment for manslaughter after raping a woman seeking a cure for barrenness

2021 North Dakota, USA

North Dakota BCI clergy-abuse investigation: probable cause identified but surviving cases time-barred

2021 Ruszów, Diocese of Legnica, Poland

Poland: parish priest Piotr M. finally convicted of molesting two intellectually disabled girls he was preparing for First Communion

2021 Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec, Canada

Quebec: Bas-Saint-Laurent priest Béatrix Morin sentenced to three years for sexual assaults spanning two decades

2021 Quebec, Canada

Quebec: Brothers of the Sacred Heart reach $60-million court-approved settlement covering 250 victims and 93 abusers across fifty schools

2021 Saraktash, Orenburg Oblast, Russia

Russia: archpriest of a children's religious community sentenced to 21 years

2021 Orenburg Oblast, Russia

Russia: hieromonk sentenced to thirteen years for violent acts against children under fourteen

2021 Amurzet, Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia

Russia: village rector sentenced to eighteen years for abusing fifty-three boys over twelve years

2021 Thiénaba, Thiès, Senegal

Senegal: marabout convicted after four talibés died at his unregistered daara

2021 Diourbel, Senegal

Senegal: Quranic teacher convicted for chaining talibé children in his daara

2021 Daegu, South Korea

South Korea: priest sentenced to three years for molesting a nine-year-old parishioner in the rectory

2021 Valladolid, Spain

Spain Supreme Court upholds voodoo-oath trafficking (20 yrs)

2021 Spain (national)

Spain: Jesuit province publishes first order-wide report acknowledging 118 sexual-abuse cases by 96 members since 1927

2021 Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain

Spain: Salesian religion teacher sentenced to 32 years; fled before imprisonment

2021 Valladolid, Castilla y León, Spain

Spain: Valladolid priest's conviction for grooming and sexually abusing a minor parishioner confirmed on appeal

2021 Lugano, Ticino, Switzerland

Switzerland: priest convicted on appeal of raping and drugging a person under his spiritual direction

2021 Oecusse, Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste: American ex-priest convicted of abusing girls at the orphanage he ran

2021 Akyazı, Sakarya, Turkey

Turkey: self-styled Uşşaki tarikat leader Fatih Nurullah convicted of child sexual abuse; sentence upheld through Court of Cassation

2021 Northfleet and Birchington, Kent, England, United Kingdom (tried at Maidstone Crown Court)

United Kingdom: vicar jailed for second time for sexually abusing two boys, having been allowed back into ministry after an earlier conviction

2021 Yesera San Sebastián, Tarija, Bolivia

Yesera curandero: twelve-year sentence for assaults committed under cleansing-ritual claims

2020 Berkane and Oujda, Morocco

'Raqi of Berkane': ten-year sentence affirmed for trafficking and sexual violence

2020 Espanola, NM, USA

3HO-commissioned investigation finds sexual and related misconduct by Yogi Bhajan more likely than not

2020 Singapore

Ab Razak Ab Hameed: fifteen-month sentence for abuse during claimed protection and exorcism rituals

2020 Nogoyá, Entre Ríos, Argentina

Argentina: Carmelite prioress convicted of torturing and confining nuns under her authority

2020 Carroll County, Arkansas, USA

Arkansas: church elder and Sunday-school superintendent's civil liability for abusing a 13-year-old parishioner affirmed on appeal

2020 Kuurne, West Flanders, Belgium

Belgium: hypnotherapist convicted a second time of assaulting clients he had placed under hypnosis

2020 Yambol, Stara Zagora and Ruse regions, Bulgaria

Bulgaria: self-styled clairvoyant-healer convicted of defrauding thirteen clients under fear of curses

2020 St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada

Canada: Archdiocese held vicariously liable for Mount Cashel abuse; final after SCC denies leave

2020 Surrey, British Columbia, Canada

Canada: Surrey imam convicted of sexual assault; kept serving after charge and conviction

2020 London, UK

Charity Commission for England and Wales statutory inquiry finds Rigpa put students at risk of harm from Sogyal Lakar

2020 Luohe, Henan, China

China: 'Sun-Moon Qigong' master sentenced to nineteen years for raping followers under dual-cultivation doctrine

2020 Miranda, Cauca, Colombia

Colombia: town priest sentenced to 16 years for sexual crimes against a twelve-year-old altar server

2020 Paraíso, Cartago, Costa Rica

Costa Rica: pastor sentenced to eight years for grooming a 14-year-old congregant through church-linked messaging

2020 Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India

Dagri Rinpoche: commissioned investigation finds a pattern of sexual misconduct; barred by FPMT

2020 Glasgow, UK

Derek Lincoln (Children of God): guilty plea, 11.5 years, rape of two children

2020 El Gedaref, Sudan

El Gedaref khalwa leader: conviction for abuse of Quranic-school pupils

2020 Comasagua, La Libertad, El Salvador

El Salvador: pastor sentenced to 20 years for raping a congregant child inside his church

2020 Nausori, Fiji

Fiji: pastor sentenced in absentia to 14 years for raping a fifteen-year-old congregant

2020 Suva, Fiji

Fiji: pastor sentenced to 16 years for raping and assaulting members of his church

2020 Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Germany: independent report finds 175 abuse victims and 81 accused clergy in the Diocese of Aachen

2020 Guatemala City, Guatemala

Guatemala: pastor convicted of producing child sexual-abuse material of a girl who came to him for help

2020 Limpopo, South Africa

Hlungwani ritual murder: 4 relatives, life

2020 England, United Kingdom

IICSA: 390 Church of England clergy and trusted persons convicted of child sexual offences

2020 Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

IICSA: Birmingham Archdiocese prioritised reputation and priests over victims for seventy years

2020 Diocese of Limerick, Ireland (location withheld; tried at Limerick Circuit Court)

Ireland: priest jailed 3 years for sexually abusing a boy across several parishes in the Diocese of Limerick

2020 San Salvador, El Salvador

José Eligio Esquina Pérez: twenty-year sentence after a prophetic healing pretext

2020 Kentucky, USA

Kentucky's Covington and Lexington dioceses release independent-review findings naming 90 and 20 accused clergy

2020 Knutby, Uppsala, Sweden

Knutby leadership: three former pastors convicted of assault, coercion and sexual exploitation

2020 Sumter, SC, USA

Larry Durant: affirmed twenty-year sentence for abuse presented as prayer and spiritual protection

2020 Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia

Malaysia: tahfiz warden's conviction for assaulting an eleven-year-old boarder upheld on appeal

2020 Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico

Mexico: 'Padre Meño' — seminary formator's rape conviction ratified on appeal

2020 Otsego, Michigan, USA

Michigan: priest Brian Stanley sentenced for attempted false imprisonment of a teenage boy

2020 Eagle Lake, Warren County, Mississippi, USA

Mississippi: Methodist pastor convicted of statutory rape of a congregant

2020 Eagle Lake, Warren County, Mississippi, USA

Mississippi: Methodist pastor's convictions for statutory rape and sexual battery of two congregants affirmed

2020 Netherlands (national)

Netherlands: Utrecht University study documents 751 sexual-abuse reports within Jehovah's Witnesses community

2020 Abuja, FCT, Nigeria

Nigeria: apostle's conviction for raping a 14-year-old congregant affirmed by the Court of Appeal

2020 Turkistan Region, Kazakhstan

Nurgazy Bukhbanbayev: eleven-year rape sentence after claimed healing and clairvoyance

2020 Albany, NY, USA

NXIVM/Keith Raniere: 120 years — branding, collateral, sex trafficking

2020 Willemstad, Curaçao

Orlando B. (O.I.B.): fourteen-year sentence upheld for abuse of seven community members

2020 Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Pakistan: Mansehra madrassa cleric sentenced to 16.5 years after DNA-confirmed rape of an 8-year-old

2020 Brussels and Liège, Belgium

Robert Spatz: final five-year suspended sentence for abuse and exploitation within OKC

2020 Satalo, Falealili, Samoa

Samoa: Methodist minister convicted of abusing a girl placed in his household for moral guidance

2020 Tranent and Gartmore, Scotland, United Kingdom

Scotland: De La Salle Brother convicted a third time — decades of abuse at two List D schools

2020 Fort Augustus, Highlands, Scotland, United Kingdom

Scotland: Fort Augustus monk convicted after extradition from Australia

2020 Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia

Sergio Luis Betancourt Yepes: 16-year sentence for assault during a purported deliverance ritual

2020 Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

South Korea: pastor convicted after fatal 'laying-on-of-hands' exorcism prayer on a fasting congregant

2020 Burlington, VT, USA

St. Joseph's Orphanage task force: abuse documented, murder uncorroborated and charges time-barred

2020 Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

UK: Cherubim and Seraphim prophet convicted of raping congregants during 'spiritual bathing' rituals

2020 Thompson Falls, Montana, USA

United States: Montana Supreme Court rules church confidentiality doctrine excused elders from reporting a child-abuse disclosure

2020 Advance and Stoddard County, Missouri, USA

United States: retired priest Frederick Lutz charged with forcible sodomy after Missouri attorney general's clergy probe

2020 Texarkana, Bowie County, Texas, USA

United States: Texas youth group leader convicted of sexual assault and indecency with a congregant, affirmed on appeal

2020 Cần Thơ, Vietnam

Vietnam: pagoda abbot sentenced to six years for raping a fourteen-year-old

2019 Luanda, Angola

Angola: pastor sentenced to twelve years for drugging and raping a fourteen-year-old congregant

2019 Mendoza, Argentina

Argentina: Próvolo Institute priests convicted of abusing deaf child students — 45 and 42 years

2019 Morisset, NSW, Australia

Australia: Brother Bernard McGrath given 62 years across two trials for abusing resident boys

2019 Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Australia: priest Vincent Ryan convicted in four rounds of abusing altar boys

2019 Abadiânia, Goiás, Brazil

Brazil: 'João de Deus' — the medium whose healing consultations produced hundreds of complainants

2019 Santa Catarina, Brazil

Brazil: sentence increased on appeal for a pastor and faith healer who abused a seven-year-old

2019 Surrey, British Columbia, Canada

Canada: Cloverdale youth pastor convicted of sexual assault, conviction upheld on appeal for abuse of authority

2019 Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia, Canada

Canada: Nova Scotia youth pastor convicted of grooming and sexually assaulting a teenage congregant

2019 Deyang, Sichuan, China

China: fake monk given a suspended death sentence for rapes under exorcism and luck-changing rituals

2019 Denver, Colorado, USA

Colorado: independent review finds abuse reported to police fewer than 10 times in 100 opportunities

2019 Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Costa Rica: pastor convicted on 13 counts of sexual abuse, 66 years nominal

2019 Guápulo, Quito, Ecuador

Ecuador: parish priest sentenced to over nine years for abusing a ten-year-old girl

2019 Suwon, South Korea (offenses committed in Fiji)

Grace Road Church: founding pastor convicted after 'threshing floor' beatings and confinement of followers in Fiji

2019 Naxos, Cyclades, Greece

Greece: archimandrite Theokletos's conviction for repeated sexual harassment of two parish boys affirmed by the Supreme Court

2019 San Pedro Sula, Cortés, Honduras

Honduras: congregation elder convicted on 13 counts of rape of a 12-year-old

2019 Troy, MI, USA

Hurmiz Ishak: Chaldean Catholic subdeacon convicted of assaulting a teen altar boy at his church

2019 Irving, Texas, USA

Imam Zia Ul-Haq Sheikh ordered to pay $2.55 million after grooming a congregant he counseled from her teens

2019 Odisha, India

India: 'Tarini Baba', a tantrik, convicted of abducting, raping and trafficking a girl whose family trusted his rituals

2019 Itarsi, Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh, India

India: tantrik 'Baba' and six accomplices convicted of raping a child delivered to him under a religious-ceremony pretext

2019 Dublin, Ireland

Ireland: Transcendental Meditation teacher jailed for indecent assault of a child at the Dublin centre

2019 Gozzano, Novara Province, Italy

Italy: Legionaries of Christ priest Vladimir Reséndiz Gutiérrez convicted in absentia of abusing minor seminarians, affirmed on appeal

2019 Busto Arsizio, Varese, Lombardy, Italy

Italy: nun convicted of sexually abusing a 15-year-old she groomed at her parish oratory

2019 Kingston, Jamaica

Jamaica: pastor sentenced for repeated sexual abuse of a twelve-year-old he impregnated

2019 Abadiânia, Brazil

João Teixeira de Faria ('John of God'): convicted of rapes of spiritual patients; ~600 accusers

2019 Poway and Escondido, California, USA

John Earnest: life plus 30 years for Poway synagogue shooting and mosque arson

2019 Eldoret, Kenya

Kenya: pastor's defilement conviction affirmed by the Court of Appeal

2019 Seoul, South Korea

Lee Jaerock: 16 years for raping congregants who believed him religiously infallible

2019 Marseille, France

Marseille: Supreme Vikings juju-oath trafficking convictions

2019 Vatican City

McCarrick: ex-cardinal found guilty by Vatican canonical process, laicized

2019 Milan, Italy

Milan: voodoo 'mental dependency' slavery conviction

2019 Missouri, USA

Missouri attorney general report: 163 credible instances of Catholic clergy abuse, 12 cases referred for prosecution

2019 Mar del Plata, Argentina

Monte Sión: affirmed convictions for trafficking, servitude and sexual abuse

2019 Surat, Gujarat, India

Narayan Sai: life sentences after convictions involving a devotee and ashram administrator

2019 Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA

New Jersey: priest Thomas Ganley — first conviction from the state Clergy Abuse Task Force

2019 New Jersey, USA

New Jersey's five Catholic dioceses jointly name 188 priests credibly accused of child sexual abuse

2019 West Auckland, New Zealand

New Zealand: gurdwara priest convicted of sexual offending against two children at the temple

2019 Kontagora, Niger State, Nigeria

Nigeria: Islamic school teacher sentenced to seven years for the anal rape of thirty-five pupils

2019 Buvussi, West New Britain, Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea: Assemblies of God pastor sentenced for abusing a girl in his household care

2019 Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, USA

Pennsylvania: priest David Poulson sentenced — second conviction from the 2018 grand jury report

2019 Planalto Norte, Santa Catarina, Brazil

Planalto Norte spiritual leader: appellate court affirms a ten-year sexual-abuse sentence

2019 Tomar, Santarém, Portugal

Portugal: former Adventist pastor convicted on 24 counts of child sexual abuse

2019 Tomar, Santarém, Portugal

Portugal: former Adventist pastor convicted on 24 counts of sexual abuse

2019 Tigard, Oregon, USA

Quran instructor Muhammad Laftah Hasan: guilty plea for sexually abusing two girl students

2019 New Haven, Connecticut, USA

Rabbi Daniel Greer convicted of abusing a student at the yeshiva he founded

2019 Moscow Oblast, Russia

Russia: 'Kaula Dharma' leader sentenced to 16 years for raping and torturing followers' children

2019 Lipin Bor, Vologda Oblast, Russia

Russia: rector convicted after eighteen months of indecent acts against a twelve-year-old parishioner

2019 Halifax, Canada

Shambhala-commissioned investigation finds two sexual-misconduct allegations against Sakyong Mipham credible

2019 Singapore

Singapore: accredited religious teacher jailed for molesting a student under a black-magic 'cure'

2019 Feni, Bangladesh

SM Siraj Ud Daula and co-defendants convicted at trial of retaliatory murder after a student's harassment complaint

2019 Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands: Australian mission director and pastor jailed for indecently assaulting girls supported by his mission

2019 Krugersdorp, Gauteng, South Africa

South Africa: 'Electus per Deus' leader given thirteen life sentences over eleven killings

2019 Alexandria, VA, USA

Terry Millender: eight-year sentence for selling a fraudulent investment as a Christian mission

2019 Ban Phaeo, Samut Sakhon, Thailand

Thailand: abbot of Wat Pa Suwatthanaram charged with abusing ten novices and a temple boy

2019 Regueb, Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia

Tunisia: unlicensed Quranic boarding-school director convicted after raid revealed abuse of resident boys

2019 Newham, London, United Kingdom (tried at Snaresbrook Crown Court)

United Kingdom: imam appointed to tutor two sisters in the Quran jailed 8 years for sexually abusing them

2019 Palm Beach County, Florida, USA

United States: 'Apostle' pastor convicted of sexually abusing three girls in his congregation

2019 Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

United States: Air Force chaplain and priest convicted of sexually abusing an altar boy at Kirtland Air Force Base

2019 Georgia, USA

United States: minister convicted of molesting two young girls from congregant families at his church

2019 St. Louis County, Missouri, USA

United States: priest Fred Lenczycki sentenced for sodomy of two boys in a north St. Louis County parish

2019 Virginia, USA

United States: Virginia youth pastor pleads guilty to indecent acts with a teenager from his church

2019 Covington, Virginia, USA

Virginia: COGIC deacon convicted of molesting children from his church's youth department; Supreme Court revives negligence suit against the denomination

2019 Jackson County, West Virginia, USA

West Virginia: pastor's conviction for soliciting and grooming a 15-year-old congregant affirmed

2018 Moscow, Russia

Andrei Popov ('God Kuzya'): convictions for religious-group abuse and fraud

2018 Jodhpur, India

Asaram Bapu: life imprisonment, rape of a minor under exorcism pretext

2018 Kogarah, New South Wales, Australia

Australia: Marist Brother and school principal 'Brother Christopher' Wade convicted of indecent assault on a pupil; conviction upheld on appeal

2018 Brasília, Federal District, Brazil

Brasília religious leader: conviction affirmed for sex obtained through a curse-and-anointing claim

2018 Franco da Rocha, São Paulo, Brazil

Brazil: labor prosecutors sue a Word of Faith Fellowship-linked church for forced labor of congregants

2018 Sobral, Ceará, Brazil

Brazil: Presbyterian pastor convicted of raping five children under ten in his congregation

2018 Bronx, New York, USA

Bronx: man charged with drugging and sexually abusing clients during purported Santería 'healing' rituals

2018 London, Ontario, Canada

Canada: Anglican rector convicted of abusing First Nations altar boys in Ontario; second conviction for Yukon victims followed

2018 Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Canada: Orthodox day-school teacher convicted of decades-spanning abuse of students

2018 Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Daniel Stephen Johnson: life sentence for abuse of children at the Cambodian orphanage he ran as a Christian missionary

2018 Silkeborg, Denmark

Denmark: free-church pastor convicted of abusing eight congregants, deported

2018 Tømmerup, Kalundborg, Denmark

Denmark: parish priest's ten-year sentence for decade-long abuse of eight parish youths upheld

2018 Guayaquil, Ecuador

Ecuador: parish priest convicted of abusing five girls from his congregation

2018 Batang Kali, Selangor, Malaysia

EE Yong Nan: Court of Appeal upholds 12-year sentence for rape during a purported cleansing ritual

2018 Soyapango, San Salvador, El Salvador

El Salvador: pastor sentenced to 20 years for the continued rape of a thirteen-year-old from his church

2018 Spain

Europol op: 89 arrests, Nigerian juju trafficking ring

2018 Alwar, Rajasthan, India

Falahari Baba: life sentence for rape of a disciple in his ashram

2018 La Boulaye, Saône-et-Loire, France

France: lama at the Temple of a Thousand Buddhas sentenced to 12 years for raping disciples and their children

2018 Puerto Barrios, Izabal, Guatemala

Guatemala: priest Ignacio López sentenced to 16 years for rape of a 14-year-old

2018 Ampleforth and Downside, England, United Kingdom

IICSA: ten men convicted or cautioned for abuse at two Benedictine schools

2018 Bidadi, Ramanagara district, Karnataka, India

India: godman Nithyananda formally charged with raping a disciple inside his ashram; now a fugitive

2018 Mataram, Indonesia

Indonesia: celebrity spiritual guru 'Aa Gatot' convicted of raping an underage follower in padepokan 'rituals'

2018 Safed, Israel

Israel: yeshiva head sentenced to seven and a half years for assaulting women who sought his counsel

2018 Moncalieri, Turin, Italy

Italy: 'santone' convicted of abusing followers through coerced 'energy exchange' rituals

2018 Birmingham, UK

Iyamu — 1st Modern Slavery Act cross-border juju conviction

2018 Freeport, ME, USA

James Talbot: guilty pleas for abuse during religious instruction at a Maine church

2018 Brockton, MA, USA

MA child-torture cases charged as 'voodoo ritual'

2018 Brooklyn Center, MN, USA

Meally Morris Freeman: two convictions after a purported deliverance session

2018 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Melvin David Quiroz and Ana Rosmery Brito: convictions for demon-deliverance abuse scheme

2018 Germany

MHG Study: commissioned review identifies 1,670 accused clerics and 3,677 affected minors

2018 Detroit, Michigan, USA

Michigan: priest Patrick Casey convicted of aggravated assault

2018 Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria

Nigeria: herbalist sentenced to fourteen years for sexually assaulting a ten-year-old brought to him for epilepsy treatment

2018 Ramanagara, India

Nithyananda: rape charges framed; non-bailable warrant; fled India 2019 (never tried)

2018 Benin City, Nigeria

Oba of Benin revokes juju trafficking oaths

2018 Harrisburg, PA, USA

PA grand jury: 301 priests, 1,000+ child victims documented ('weaponized' faith)

2018 Paris, France

Paris trial — voodoo-oath sex-trafficking network

2018 Pennsylvania, USA

Pennsylvania Grand Jury: 301 'predator priests', 1,000+ child victims across six dioceses

2018 Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, USA

Pennsylvania: priest John Sweeney — first conviction from the 2018 grand jury report

2018 London, UK

Rigpa-commissioned investigation upholds serious allegations against Sogyal Rinpoche

2018 Yakutsk, Sakha Republic, Russia

Russia: Orthodox gymnasium director convicted on forty-six proven episodes against his pupils

2018 Priozersk, Leningrad Oblast, Russia

Russia: priest convicted of abusing children at Orthodox camps — appeal denied

2018 Leningrad Region, Russia

Russian Orthodox priest Gleb Grozovsky convicted of abusing girls at a church holiday camp

2018 Ayrshire, Scotland, United Kingdom

Scotland: priest convicted of abusing three children and a trainee priest

2018 Na Duang, Loei, Thailand

Thailand: former abbot convicted of raping a woman lured with an 'exorcism' ritual

2018 Hazro, Diyarbakır, Turkey

Turkey: district mufti convicted after using marriage promises and blackmail to sexually abuse a Quran-course supervisor

2018 Northampton, Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Jesus Army member convicted of indecent assault and buggery of a boy in the community during the 1990s

2018 Sanpete County, Utah, USA

United States: doomsday-splinter leaders imprisoned for 'marrying' each other's small daughters

2018 United States (national)

United States: Jesuits West and Jesuits Midwest provinces each publish named lists of members with established sexual-abuse allegations

2018 Ruffin, North Carolina, USA

United States: North Carolina pastor and school principal sentenced for abuse of a student who was also a congregant

2018 Rohini, Delhi, India

Virendra Dev Dixit: CBI cases and Delhi High Court oversight over an ashram after girls were rescued; founder a fugitive

2018 Si Sa Ket, Thailand

Wirapol Sukphol (ex-monk): 16 years, rape of a 13-year-old

2018 Victoria Falls, Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: Enlightened Christian Gathering pastor convicted of raping a 12-year-old congregant during a house prayer visit

2017 Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

Australia: Gerald Ridsdale — serial abuse convictions across seven court rounds

2017 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Australia: LDS youth leader sentenced to ten years for abusing eleven boys over twenty-five years

2017 Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil

Brazil: Catholic group founder 'Papi' convicted of raping young men he recruited through his community

2017 Bruges, Belgium

Bruges: Nigerian voodoo-trafficking ring convicted

2017 Shediac and Collette, New Brunswick, Canada

Canada: former Moncton priest sentenced to four years after admitting to molesting nine boys

2017 Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada

Canada: mosque director convicted of assaulting a congregant during a 'curse removal'

2017 Suva, Fiji

Fiji: self-styled 'last prophet' convicted on all ten counts against four women of his prayer group

2017 Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Germany: Essen diocese's legal review of personnel files names 62 accused priests, deacons and staff

2017 Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany

Germany: independent investigator finds up to 700 abuse victims among Regensburg Domspatzen choirboys

2017 Gualaceo, Azuay, Ecuador

Gualaceo curandero: twenty-nine-year sentence after a false healing claim and death threat

2017 Sirsa, India

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh: 20 years, rape of two followers (Dera Sacha Sauda)

2017 Comayagüela, Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Honduras: pastor sentenced to 136 years for raping four children of his congregation

2017 Sirsa, Haryana, India (trial: Panchkula, Haryana)

India: Dera Sacha Sauda chief convicted of raping two disciples inside the sect he headed

2017 Probolinggo, East Java, Indonesia

Indonesia: Dimas Kanjeng convicted of murdering followers who threatened to expose his money-multiplying 'powers'

2017 Kingston, Jamaica

Jamaica: pastor sentenced to 20 years for raping a thirteen-year-old baptised member of his church

2017 Suzak district, Jalal-Abad region, Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan: village mosque imam's final conviction for sexual assault of a ten-year-old boy, 21-year sentence

2017 York and Pocklington, England, United Kingdom

Methodist minister John Price convicted of abusing boys from his congregations under a 'hypnosis' ritual

2017 Villa Alta, Oaxaca, Mexico

Mexico: Oaxaca priest's sentence — an early Mexican clergy conviction — confirmed on appeal

2017 Mangrove Mountain, NSW, Australia

Royal Commission Case Study 21: Satyananda Yoga Ashram — guru-disciple abuse at Mangrove Mountain

2017 Melbourne and Sydney, Australia

Royal Commission Case Study 22: reporting suppressed at Yeshivah institutions

2017 Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Royal Commission Case Study 42: Anglican Diocese of Newcastle's 'do nothing' response

2017 Canberra, Australia (national)

Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse: final report

2017 South Africa

South Africa: CRL Rights Commission finds systemic commercialisation and abuse of belief in the unregulated prophetic-church sector

2017 Tysfjord, Nordland, Norway

Tysfjord abuse report: Nordland police document 151 assaults in a Sami/Laestadian community, silenced by religious forgiveness

2017 Ealing, London, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: former Abbot of Ealing Abbey convicted after fleeing abroad for five years to avoid prosecution

2017 Northampton, Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Jesus Army 'transient member' convicted of indecent assault and gross indecency against boys sharing a communal dormitory

2017 Hot Springs, Garland County, Arkansas, USA

United States (2017): youth pastor's rape convictions for two teenage girls affirmed on direct appeal and again on post-conviction review

2017 Mapleton, Utah, USA

United States: Mapleton bishop imprisoned for abusing two teenage boys of his congregation

2017 Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Unnamed imam: three-month sentence for assault during Quranic healing

2016 Highton, Geelong, Victoria, Australia

Australia: Christian Brother William Houston convicted twice of abusing boys in his care at St Augustine's Orphanage

2016 Benin

Benin 'voodoo convents' — child servitude for ritual debt

2016 Los Angeles, CA, USA

Bikram Choudhury: civil jury — 'malice, oppression and fraud'; $7.3M; left US

2016 Varna, Bulgaria

Bulgaria: Orthodox priest convicted of indecent acts against a thirteen-year-old boy

2016 Balama, Cabo Delgado, Mozambique

Cabo Delgado albino ritual murder: two men sentenced to 35 years on a ritual specialist's instructions

2016 Lagos, Nigeria

Chukwuemeka Ezeugo ('Rev. King'): murder and attempted-murder convictions affirmed

2016 Greifswald, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany

Germany: Jehovah's Witness congregant convicted of abusing a boy during Kingdom Hall ceremonies, Greifswald

2016 Klosterzimmern, Bavaria, Germany

Germany: Twelve Tribes teachers convicted for doctrine-mandated rod beatings of sect children

2016 Kópavogur, Iceland

Iceland: Smárakirkja youth leader convicted of sexually abusing a 15-year-old member he had groomed

2016 Elgin, Illinois, USA

Imam Mohammed Abdullah Saleem: guilty plea for abusing a student and an employee at the Islamic school he founded

2016 Puthenvelikkara, Ernakulam, Kerala, India

India: parish priest convicted of raping a minor parishioner who came to him for confession

2016 Peechi, Thrissur, Kerala, India

India: Salvation Army pastor convicted twice — 40 years, then life until death

2016 Suva, Fiji

Iowane Vakadranu: Back to Eden pastor convicted after using divine-command claims to sexually exploit followers

2016 Tel Aviv, Israel

Israel: Belz-affiliated cheder teacher convicted on twenty-three counts for sadistic abuse of young boys at Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass

2016 Jerusalem, Israel

Israel: Shuvu Bonim leader Eliezer Berland — convictions for indecent acts and for selling 'blessings' to the sick

2016 Franks Eddy, Cayo District, Belize

Julio Cesar Garcia: Belize Court of Appeal affirms church-member abuse conviction

2016 Laurel, DE, USA

Laurel congregation: Delaware court rejects automatic clergy-privilege defense to child-abuse reporting action

2016 Oud-Beijerland, Netherlands

Netherlands: Hersteld Hervormde Kerk predikant Peter K. convicted of abusing a congregant, 2009-2012

2016 Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, USA

Pennsylvania: founder and lead pastor convicted of indecent assault after using an offer to pray for an employee as pretext for assault

2016 Sydney, Australia

Royal Commission Case Study 29: 1,006 alleged JW perpetrators, none reported to police

2016 Australia (national)

Royal Commission Case Study 29: 1,006 alleged perpetrators in internal files, none reported by the organisation

2016 Box Hill, Bayswater, Victoria and Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia

Royal Commission Case Study 33: Salvation Army children's homes, Southern Territory

2016 São Paulo State, Brazil

São Paulo pastor: unanimous conviction for assault presented as purification

2016 Falkland, Fife, Scotland, United Kingdom

Scotland: Christian Brothers headmaster and teacher convicted of physically and sexually abusing boys at St Ninian's, Falkland

2016 Pločica, Kovin, Serbia

Serbia: village priest's conviction for abusing a choir girl upheld on appeal

2016 Sása, Slovakia

Slovakia: first priest to receive an unconditional sentence for abusing an altar server

2016 oThongathi (Tongaat), KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

South Africa: Hindu priest from Kerala sentenced to an effective life term for raping a 12-year-old girl he claimed to be healing

2016 Chatsworth (Havenside), Durban, South Africa

South Africa: Hindu priest jailed for raping a child devotee brought to him to be blessed

2016 Gwangju, Buk-gu, South Korea

South Korea: pastor convicted after fatally pressing on a congregant's abdomen during a healing prayer for schizophrenia

2016 Leioa, Vizcaya, Spain

Spain: Opus Dei teacher's abuse conviction stands after Supreme Court reduces sentence

2016 Vigo area, Galicia, Spain

Spain: prominent Galician exorcist priest's conviction for sexually assaulting a parishioner in the sacristy is confirmed on appeal

2016 Changhua, Taiwan

Taiwan: cultivation-group leader's thirteen-year sentence for a member's son beaten to death in confinement

2016 Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Cardiff imam jailed for 13 years for abusing girls in his religious classes

2016 Belgravia, London, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Church of England youth worker convicted of raping congregants he groomed

2016 Northampton, Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: elderly Jesus Army member jailed for sexually abusing two boys at sect communal houses

2016 Coulsdon, London Borough of Croydon, England, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: pastor who ran a church as a 'cult' jailed for sexually assaulting women under a doctrine of 'Christian Domestic Discipline'

2016 Newport, Arkansas, USA

United States: Arkansas state prison chaplain sentenced for sexually assaulting inmate under guise of counseling and ministry

2016 Pine County, Minnesota, USA

United States: Victor Barnard convicted for abusing girls ceremonially surrendered to him as 'Maidens'

2016 New Hartford, New York, USA

United States: Word of Life pastor and members convicted after a teenager was beaten to death in an all-night 'counseling session'

2016 Siem Reap, Cambodia

Vong Chet: former pagoda chief sentenced for sexual abuse of novice monks in residential care

2015 Hamilton and Pagewood, New South Wales, Australia

Australia: Marist Brother Francis Cable ('Brother Romuald') convicted across two proceedings of sexually abusing children at Hamilton and Pagewood

2015 Chichester and Gloucester, England, United Kingdom

Bishop Peter Ball: convicted of abusing young men who sought spiritual direction

2015 Bouya Omar, El Kelâa des Sraghna, Morocco

Bouya Omar: official findings end shrine-based confinement of people with mental illness

2015 Edmundston, New Brunswick, Canada

Canada: defrocked Edmundston priest sentenced to seven and a half years for abusing altar boys

2015 Zhuhai, Guangdong, China

China: 'Huazang Dharma' leader given life imprisonment — a conviction rights groups call retaliation

2015 Liborina, Antioquia, Colombia

Colombia: Antioquia parish priest convicted of abusing two children under cover of confession, thirteen years

2015 Fremont, California, USA

Conti v. Watchtower: California appellate court affirms Jehovah's Witnesses' civil liability for failing to supervise a known abuser during church 'field service'

2015 Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Germany: priest's six-year sentence for abusing two brothers confirmed by the Federal Court

2015 Bad Cannstatt, Stuttgart, Germany

Germany: self-styled 'depth-psychological hypnoanalyst' convicted of abusing two clients under hypnosis

2015 Tetrakomo, Arta, Greece

Greece: village priest convicted of raping a girl from age seven over seven years, sentence confirmed on appeal

2015 Bangor, Maine, USA

Greek Orthodox priest Adam Metropoulos convicted of abusing an altar server

2015 Honduras

Honduras: US missionary priest convicted of abusing boys at shelters his ministry funded

2015 Caguas, Puerto Rico

Israel Berríos-Berríos: eleven-year federal sentence after altar-service access

2015 Osh, Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan: madrasa teacher sentenced to 15 years for raping a nine-year-old pupil

2015 United Kingdom

Methodist Church in Britain's Past Cases Review finds 1,885 abuse cases 1950-2014, roughly a quarter naming ministers or church employees

2015 Washington, D.C., USA

Rabbi Barry Freundel: 52 voyeurism counts for recording women at the mikveh he supervised

2015 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Royal Commission Case Study 16: the Melbourne Response found insufficiently independent

2015 Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

Royal Commission Case Study 28: 'catastrophic failure' of church leadership in Ballarat

2015 Aberdeenshire, Scotland, United Kingdom (tried at Glasgow Sheriff Court)

Scotland: priest convicted of indecently assaulting boys training for the priesthood at Blairs College seminary

2015 Jangseong, South Jeolla, South Korea

South Korea: abbot convicted of raping the girl he raised at his temple as a child monastic

2015 Loudon County, Tennessee, USA

State v. Crank: Tennessee Supreme Court affirms child-neglect conviction after cancer was treated with prayer

2015 Oregon City, Oregon, USA

State v. Hickman: Oregon Supreme Court affirms manslaughter convictions after Followers of Christ parents withheld care from a newborn

2015 Uppsala, Sweden

Sweden: priest convicted of child rape of his own confirmand

2015 Thailand

Thailand: Buddhist monk convicted as ringleader of a temple-based trafficking ring targeting novice boys

2015 Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Bradford imam jailed 13 years for 1990s sexual offences committed while serving at the mosque

2015 Salford, Manchester, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Charedi community figure convicted; sentence appeal dismissed

2015 Westminster and Ampleforth, England, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: choir-school housemaster convicted on all fifteen counts against ten boys

2015 Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: former Jehovah's Witness elder jailed for indecently assaulting a schoolgirl in his congregation

2015 Lackawaxen Township, Pike County, Pennsylvania, USA

United States: Chabad rabbi Aryeh Goodman sentenced for indecently assaulting a 12-year-old boy at a Chabad summer camp

2015 Provo and Davis County, Utah, USA

United States: Especially For Youth counselor Keldon Cook imprisoned for grooming a camper he told the abuse was acceptable

2015 Collegeville, Minnesota, USA

United States: St John's Abbey settlement forces release of internal files naming 19 Benedictine monks credibly accused of child sexual abuse

2015 Georgia, USA

Wilson v. State: felony-murder conviction affirmed after a toddler believed 'demon-possessed' was starved and beaten during exorcism plans

2015 Mansa, Luapula, Zambia

Zambia: pastor jailed 20 years for assaulting a girl brought to him for prayer

2014 Albury, Wagga Wagga and Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Australia: Christian Brother Desmond Richards ('Brother Neil') convicted across multiple rounds of abusing students at NSW Christian Brothers schools; conviction upheld on appeal

2014 Sunbury, Victoria, Australia

Australia: Salesian priest Frank Klep sentenced to a decade for a 'campaign of abuse' at Rupertswood

2014 Jadranska Lesnica, Serbia

Branislav Peranovic: twenty-year murder sentence at an Orthodox addiction center

2014 Southern Santa Catarina, Brazil

Brazil: priest's sentence raised to twenty-six years for abuse during pre-communion confession

2014 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Canada: Orthodox Church in America archbishop convicted of sexually assaulting a boy sent to live and serve at his church

2014 Santiago, Chile

Chile: Legionary of Christ school chaplain John O'Reilly convicted of abusing a student

2014 Martinique

Emmanuel Gordon: eight-year sentence in absentia for abuse during spiritual education

2014 Balamban, Cebu, Philippines

Philippines: 'Dios Amahan' cult leader charged with murder and trafficking of a follower's child

2014 Santa Isabel and Ponce, Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico: pastor sentenced to 40 years federal for abusing church-vehicle-washing pretext to assault minor congregants

2014 Philadelphia, PA, USA

Schaible: 3rd-degree murder, second child dead of untreated pneumonia

2014 Taichung, Taiwan

Taiwan: temple founder convicted of coercing disciples into sex under a 'dual cultivation' doctrine

2014 Raleigh, NC, USA

Thomas L. Kimmel: convictions for a Ponzi scheme marketed through Biblical-finance seminars

2014 Preston Down, Paignton, Devon, England, United Kingdom

UK Charity Commission finds Exclusive Brethren separation doctrine causes detriment to withdrawn members and children, conditions charitable registration on doctrinal change

2014 Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, United Kingdom (tried at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court)

United Kingdom: Jehovah's Witness elder jailed 14 years for raping and indecently assaulting women in his congregation

2014 Winterset, Madison County, Iowa, USA

United States (2014): church youth coordinator's conviction for assaulting a sixteen-year-old group member affirmed

2014 Mission, Texas, USA

United States v. Maya: Santería ritual blessing of a marijuana load documented in a federal trafficking conviction

2014 Smithfield Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania, USA

United States: Camp Dora Golding counselor Chisdai Ben-Porath pleads guilty to molesting a camper

2014 San Diego, California, USA

United States: default judgment against the Watchtower Society for recommending a known child molester as a boy's Bible-study mentor

2014 Granjeno, Hidalgo County, Texas, USA

United States: Diocese of Brownsville deacon Ronaldo Chavez pleads guilty to molesting an altar boy

2014 Waynesville, North Carolina, USA

United States: former Cove Creek Baptist Church youth pastor convicted of a lewd act against a girl from his congregation

2014 Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia

Virgilio Sierra Avendaño: final 24-year sentence for abusing a congregant's child

2014 Zhaoyuan, Shandong, China

Zhaoyuan 'Almighty God' group: murder convictions after defendants called a stranger a demon

2014 Harare, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: church founder convicted of raping four congregants he threatened with evil spells

2013 Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Asadullo Ibrohimov: seven-year sentence for sexual misconduct during purported infertility treatment

2013 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Australia: Yeshivah College staff figure David Cyprys convicted of rape of a student; appeal rejected

2013 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Australia: Yeshivah College teacher David Kramer convicted of assaulting students

2013 Kremsmünster, Upper Austria, Austria

Austria: Benedictine boarding-school director convicted of abusing 24 students

2013 São João de Meriti, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Brazil: Assembleia de Deus dos Últimos Dias founding pastor convicted of raping a congregant; Supreme Federal Court cites his spiritual authority as the coercion

2013 Stickney Township, Illinois, USA

Camnong Boa-Ubol: Thai Buddhist monk's guilty plea and 15-year sentence for assaulting a girl at Wat Dhammaram

2013 Sudbury / Windsor / Saskatoon, Canada

Canada: Basilian priest-teacher convicted after admitting abuse of dozens of students

2013 Colonia Dignidad near Parral, Chile

Colonia Dignidad: final convictions and official findings on systematic child abuse

2013 Marathon County, WI, USA

Dale and Leilani Neumann: reckless-homicide convictions after prayer replaced medical care

2013 Manchester, England, UK

England: Jehovah's Witness congregation trustee convicted of indecent assault; Charity Commission finds victims were made to face him in a judicial hearing

2013 Monflanquin, Lot-et-Garonne, France

France: Thierry Tilly's decade-long occult domination of the Védrines family — conviction final

2013 West Dundee, Kane County, Illinois, USA

Illinois: youth ministries director pleads guilty to grooming and sexually abusing a teenage member of his church youth group

2013 Venice, Florida, USA

Illinois/Florida: Carmelite priest William Wert convicted and sentenced to life after a second child-victim disclosure

2013 Delhi, India

India: temple priest's conviction for raping an intellectually disabled devotee upheld — 'satanic and unholy'

2013 Madiun, East Java, Indonesia

Indonesia: life imprisonment for poisoning a family of three whose money ritual had failed

2013 Ireland (national — ten Magdalene Laundries operated by four religious orders)

Ireland: McAleese Report finds State complicity in the Magdalene Laundry system; no individual nun ever criminally prosecuted

2013 Sensembra, Morazán, El Salvador

Israel Antonio Alvarez Bonilla: twenty-seven-year sentence for rape and harassment through pastoral authority

2013 Jerusalem, Israel

Israel: Moti Elon — leading religious-Zionist rabbi convicted of indecent acts against a minor student

2013 Novosibirsk, Russia

Konstantin Rudnev: 11-year sentence for crimes committed through the Ashram Shambala group

2013 Menifee, California, USA

LDS bishop Todd Michael Edwards: guilty plea for molesting teenage girls in his congregation

2013 Nokia, Pirkanmaa, Finland

Markku Koivisto (Nokia Mission): conviction for abuse framed as spiritual 'healing'

2013 Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Meir Dascalowitz: guilty plea for molesting a disabled teenage boy in a Satmar mikveh

2013 Stockport, England, UK

Michael Ireland: 16-year sentence for assaults disguised as Reiki and spiritual healing

2013 New York, NY, USA

NYC psychic curse-removal fraud (5-15 yrs)

2013 Los Angeles and Mount Baldy, California, USA

Rinzai-ji investigation finds Zen master Joshu Sasaki coerced students over four decades

2013 San Lucas Sacatepéquez, Guatemala

San Lucas Catholic school: director convicted of concealing a volunteer's abuse

2013 Kochi, Kerala, India

Santhosh Madhavan / Swami Amritha Chaithanya: Kerala High Court affirms one rape conviction

2013 Linköping, Östergötland, Sweden

Sweden: Pentecostal youth-ministry leader convicted of raping a 14-year-old congregation member

2013 Martinsburg, West Virginia, USA

United States: 35-to-75 years for a church-endorsed babysitter, and the civil case the church settled mid-trial

2013 Hammond, Indiana, USA

United States: Jack Schaap, megachurch IFB pastor, sentenced federally for abusing a girl he was 'counseling'

2013 Lakewood, New Jersey, USA

United States: Lakewood yeshiva teacher's 15-year sentence — and the communal campaign against his victim's family

2013 Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA

United States: LDS church leader guilty of molesting a boy over five years, using church roles to access the family

2013 Gilmer, Texas, USA

United States: pastor given six consecutive life sentences for a decade of abuse of a choir girl

2013 Amazon region, Brazil

Warren Scott Kennell: 58-year federal sentence for abusing Amazon indigenous children while planting a church

2013 Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: Johane Masowe sect leader convicted of statutory rape of a minor congregant lured to pick prayer pebbles

2012 Colliguay, Quilpué, Chile

Antares de la Luz: convictions after an apocalyptic group’s ritual killing of an infant

2012 Ghent, East Flanders, Belgium

Belgium: Salesian priest Luk Delft convicted of child abuse and child pornography, later transferred by the order to work with children in Central Africa despite the ban

2012 Northwestern Ontario / Manitoba, Canada

Canada: Anglican bush-pilot priest convicted of 75 sex crimes against First Nations boys

2012 Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada

Canada: former Yarmouth priest sentenced to five and a half years after admitting to molesting six children

2012 Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi Moshe Keller: guilty plea for endangering the welfare of a child after abusing a teenage boy

2012 Reykjavík, Iceland

Iceland: Catholic Church commission confirms abuse at Landakotsskóli school and Riftún camp

2012 London, UK

Kristy Bamu: kindoki 'deliverance' murder convictions (30/25-yr minimums)

2012 Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA

Lawson v. State: murder conviction affirmed after a child died during a forced exorcism ritual

2012 Nacozari de García, Sonora, Mexico

Nacozari family killings: convictions after sacrifices attributed to Santa Muerte devotion

2012 Birmingham, UK

Naila Mumtaz: four family members convicted of murder in jinn-'exorcism' smothering

2012 Brooklyn, NY, USA

Nechemya Weberman: 103 years, 59 counts of sexual abuse (Satmar counselor)

2012 Canterbury, UK

Osolase — juju sex-trafficking conviction (20 yrs)

2012 Pella, IA, USA

Patrick Edouard: five convictions for sexual exploitation through pastoral counseling

2012 Madre de Dios, Peru

Peru: shaman convicted of homicide after concealing an 18-year-old's death at his ayahuasca retreat

2012 Kingston, ON, Canada

Shafia murders: three convicted of killing four family members ('twisted notion of honour' — the judge)

2012 Downside, Somerset, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Downside housemaster convicted; school had kept him teaching after 1987 disclosure

2012 Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

United States: Antiochian Orthodox priest convicted of assaulting a parishioner during years of 'spiritual father' counseling sessions

2012 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

United States: Edward Avery's guilty plea — the one Philadelphia conviction that stands

2012 West Valley City, Salt Lake County, Utah, USA

United States: LDS branch president convicted of sexually battering a teenage congregant summoned to his office

2012 Brooklyn, New York, USA

United States: yeshiva rebbe's misdemeanor plea — and the $2.1 million settlement his yeshiva paid

2012 Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, USA

USA: unlicensed Satmar 'religious therapist' convicted of sexually abusing a girl sent to him for religious counseling

2011 Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Australia: Anglican lay figure James Michael Brown convicted on 27 counts against 19 boys

2011 Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

Australia: Christian Brother Robert Best convicted of abusing boys at three schools

2011 Durham-Sud, Quebec, Canada

Canada: New Age retreat leader convicted of criminal negligence causing death after a hyperthermia ritual

2011 Reykjavík, Iceland

Church of Iceland inquiry criticizes institutional response to allegations against former bishop Ólafur Skúlason

2011 Kidwelly, Wales

Colin Batley occult sex cult: indeterminate sentence, min 11 years

2011 Bogotá, Colombia, and Trujillo, Peru

Colombia: Anglican missionary convicted of abusing a 9-year-old boy fled to Peru and continued serving as a deacon for 14 years before his sentence lapsed unserved

2011 Utrecht, Netherlands

Deetman Commission documents authority-linked abuse and institutional failures in the Dutch Catholic Church

2011 Nassau, Bahamas

Earl Randolph Fraser: conviction for abuse of a child entrusted for counselling

2011 Achiase, Eastern Region, Ghana

Ghana: prayer-camp pastor jailed twenty years for raping five sisters, one drugged unconscious

2011 Manitoba Colony, Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia

Manitoba Colony: convictions after systematic drug-facilitated rapes in an isolated Mennonite community

2011 Little Meadows, PA, USA

Philip Ferrara: Melkite Greek Catholic priest convicted after using a retreat house to assault a boy

2011 Driftwood, TX, USA

Prakashanand Saraswati: 20 counts child molestation; fled, fugitive

2011 Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom

Scotland: Sikh priest convicted of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in his temple room in Glasgow

2011 Brezno and Remšnik parishes, Slovenia

Slovenia: priest's final conviction for groping two girls during confirmation preparation

2011 Michigan, USA

United States: 2×2 worker convicted twice for abusing a host family's daughter

2011 Eldorado, Texas, USA

United States: FLDS bishop convicted of solemnizing the 'celestial marriage' of a twelve-year-old

2011 Union, South Carolina, USA

United States: youth pastor's conviction for abusing a congregant teenager upheld on appeal

2011 Mansfield, Ohio, USA

United States: Youth pastor's scripture-based grooming of church girls, convictions and 40-year sentence affirmed

2011 YFZ Ranch near Eldorado, TX, USA

Warren Jeffs: life and 20-year sentences for two child-sexual-assault convictions

2010 Newcastle and Hunter region, NSW, Australia

Australia: priest John Sidney Denham convicted of abusing at least 57 boys

2010 Vienna, Austria

Austria: Klasnic Commission establishes independent victim-protection process for church abuse claims

2010 Oregon City, OR, USA

Beagley faith-healing death: parents convicted (criminally negligent homicide)

2010 Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, India

Bhilai human-sacrifice murder: Supreme Court confirmed convictions and death sentences

2010 Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, India

Durg human-sacrifice murder: Supreme Court confirmed convictions and life sentences

2010 Fanda, Senegal

Fanda: independent GRACE investigation finds more than 50 missionaries' children abused at New Tribes Mission boarding school

2010 County Cork, Ireland

Ireland (2010): Cloyne priest given a suspended sentence for gross indecency

2010 Jerusalem, Israel

Israel: 'rabbi' Elior Chen — 24 years for torturing a follower's children, upheld by the Supreme Court

2010 Frankfort, Kentucky, USA

Kentucky: priest Joseph Muench sentenced after Alford plea to unlawful imprisonment and attempted sexual abuse

2010 Mexico City, Mexico

Marcial Maciel and the Legionaries of Christ: Holy See findings on abuse and a founder-centered system of power

2010 Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada

New Brunswick: Acadian priest Lévi Noël sentenced to eight years, the heaviest sentence ever given a Catholic priest in Canada

2010 Masterton, Wairarapa, New Zealand

New Zealand: Marist Brother convicted of eleven historic sex offences against boarders at a Catholic boarding school

2010 Zabrze, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

Poland: nun convicted of mistreating children and enabling sexual abuse at a Zabrze care home

2010 Colonie, New York, USA

Rabbi Yaakov Weiss (Chabad of Colonie founder): guilty plea for endangering two boys, including contact in the synagogue's mikveh

2010 Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Fr James Robinson convicted on 21 counts after extradition from California

2010 Newburgh, New York, USA

United States (2010): youth pastor's convictions for abusing three Sunday-school boys affirmed

2010 Washington, Daviess County, Indiana, USA

United States: pastor convicted of raping the young son of a family who housed his church, sentenced to eighty years

2009 Morón, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Argentina: Julio Grassi's conviction for abusing a boy of his children's foundation — final at every level

2009 Paris, France

Church of Scientology convicted of organized fraud (upheld 2013)

2009 Líbano, Tolima, Colombia

Colombia: priest convicted of abusing displaced children in his care — and the Supreme Court's landmark civil ruling

2009 Crna Reka, Serbia

Crna Reka spiritual-rehabilitation center: employee rape and violence convictions

2009 Banjol, Rab, Krk Diocese, Croatia

Croatia: Krk Diocese priest's final conviction for indecent acts against five boys, upheld on appeal

2009 Kanilai, The Gambia

Gambia state 'witch-hunt': TRRC finds Jammeh-ordered ritual-cleansing campaign killed dozens

2009 Alassio, Savona, Liguria, Italy

Italy: Albenga-Imperia diocese priest's conviction for abusing an altar server stands, though the church later cleared him

2009 Sedona, AZ, USA

James Arthur Ray: three negligent-homicide convictions after “Spiritual Warrior” sweat lodge

2009 Shinchi, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan

Japan: prayer healer convicted of defrauding clients of 130 million yen through purported spiritual consultations

2009 Kaneohe, HI, USA

Manuel Taboada: eight sexual-assault convictions after scripture was used to justify abuse

2009 Dublin, Ireland

Ryan Commission: abuse 'endemic' in Catholic-run institutions (state inquiry)

2009 Victoria, Australia

Stawingua Dresen: eight convictions for assaults during claimed chakra healing

2009 Texarkana and Fouke, AR, USA

Tony Alamo: 175-year sentence after ten convictions for transporting minors for sex

2009 Ealing, London, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Ealing Abbey Benedictine monk and former headteacher convicted of abusing five pupils over 36 years

2009 Brooklyn, New York, USA

United States: bar-mitzvah tutor convicted of abusing two boys under his religious instruction

2009 Chicago, Illinois, USA

United States: Jesuit spiritual director Donald McGuire convicted in state and federal courts

2009 Laredo, Texas, USA

Zetas teenage sicarios Cardona and Reta: murder convictions in a cartel kill-team that toasted killings to Santa Muerte

2008 Blida, Algeria

'Raqi Hamdan': three-year sentence after fatal violence during claimed ruqya

2008 Moscow, Russia

Grigory Grabovoi: eleven fraud convictions for paid supernatural claims

2008 Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada

Holdeman Mennonite church discipline used to suppress reporting of an 18-year abuse case

2008 Philippines

Philippines: pastor's rape conviction affirmed by the Supreme Court — assault in the pastoral house

2008 Slovenia

Slovenia: first priest finally convicted of imprisonable child sexual abuse, five-year sentence

2008 Mukono District, Uganda

Uganda: shrine operator and accomplices convicted of gang-raping a client seeking healing

2008 Sunland, California, USA

United States: Baptist pastor sentenced to 32 years for abusing two congregant girls

2008 Gilmer, Texas, USA

United States: Baptist youth minister given life after faking his own death to flee

2008 Harrisville, Utah, USA

United States: LDS bishop imprisoned for molesting girls of his own ward

2007 Albury, New South Wales, Australia

Australia: Exclusive Brethren man convicted of sexually assaulting two girls he was responsible for under sect welfare arrangements

2007 Larimer County, Colorado, USA

Colorado: priest Timothy Evans — the only Colorado priest tried and convicted of sexual assault since 2002

2007 Tacoma, WA, USA

Dong Wan Park: church offices and false ordinations used in a religious-worker visa scheme

2007 Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, India

India: ritual dedication of girls (Devadasi/Jogini/Mathamma) feeding sexual exploitation

2007 Papilys, Biržai, Lithuania

Lithuania: priest convicted at Supreme Court level of indecent acts against two first-graders he taught

2007 McCarthy, Alaska, USA

Robert Hale / Papa Pilgrim: fourteen-year sentence after Bible-based isolation and coercion

2007 Newark, NJ, USA

State v. Miraballes — Palo Mayombe grave-robbing

2007 Douglas County, Minnesota, USA

United States: 2×2 travelling worker convicted of abusing the child of a host family

2007 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

United States: Milwaukee nun convicted of sexually abusing two boys she taught as school principal

2007 Annapolis, Maryland, USA

United States: Naval Academy chaplain court-martialed for forcibly sodomizing a midshipman and coercing men he was counseling

2006 Tel Aviv, Israel

ALEPH substantiates Marc Gafni's ethical breaches and bans him from Jewish Renewal settings

2006 Southwestern Ontario, Canada

Canada: priest pleads guilty to 47 counts against girls across four decades of parishes

2006 Somma Lombardo, Varese, Italy

Italy: 'Beasts of Satan' — group members killed by their own circle in satanic rites

2006 Gilling Castle, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Ampleforth monk convicted of assaulting fifteen boys at the junior school

2006 San Jose, California, USA

United States: 2×2 worker Ruben Mata convicted — 36 years to life — for abusing boys of host families

2005 Šestine, Zagreb, Croatia

Croatia: parish priest's final conviction for indecent acts against ten schoolgirls in religious-education class

2005 United States (bankruptcy court, Texas) and India

ISKCON gurukula abuse: $9.5 million court-supervised settlement for former boarding students

2005 Fresno, CA, USA

Marcus Wesson: nine murder and fourteen sexual-abuse convictions

2005 Feilding, New Zealand

New Zealand: Christian Brother Andrew Cody convicted of sexually abusing sick and vulnerable boys in his care at Hato Pāora College

2005 Humenné region, eastern Slovakia

Slovakia: priest convicted of sexually abusing a girl who visited his parish rectory as a child, verdict delivered 18 years after the abuse

2005 Tanacu, Vaslui, Romania

Tanacu exorcism death: Orthodox priest and nuns convicted after a fatal 'demon' exorcism

2005 Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany

United States: Army chaplain court-martialed in Germany for forcible sodomy against enlisted men he was counseling

2005 Pomona, California, USA

United States: Buddhist monk's rape conviction and the temple's civil liability for enabling access to victims

2005 Georgia, USA

United States: church youth-choir director convicted of molesting a boy from his choir

2005 Newton, Massachusetts, USA

United States: Paul Shanley's child-rape conviction affirmed by the Supreme Judicial Court

2004 Guernsey, WY, USA

Anthony Jablonowski: prison sentence for abuse following priestly counseling

2004 Inuvik, NWT / Manitoba, Canada

Canada: Grollier Hall supervisor convicted in the 1960s — then ordained a priest in 1990

2004 Kamloops and Mission, British Columbia, Canada

Canada: Kamloops and St. Mary's residential-school supervisor's conviction on twelve counts of sexual abuse

2004 Eatonton, GA, USA

Dwight York: 135-year sentence after eleven federal convictions

2004 Alberta, Canada

Harold Mearon: twelve years after a man posing as a 'medicine man' abused women and girls during 'healing' sessions

2004 Knutby, Uppsala, Sweden

Helge Fossmo: murder-incitement convictions after religious messages were used to compel violence

2004 Savona, Liguria, Italy

Italy: Savona-Noli diocese priest's conviction for abusing a migrant minor in his custody, final since 2010

2004 Kenner, LA, USA

Louisiana curse-removal fraud convictions

2004 Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

Quebec: Petit Séminaire de Québec priest-teacher pleads guilty to sexually abusing seven students

2004 Hagerstown, Maryland, USA

United States: Episcopal school chaplain Kenneth Behrel convicted of abusing two students, second sentence after appeal

2003 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Australia: priest and youth-foundation director Michael Glennon convicted across three rounds

2003 Marshall, Texas, USA

ELCA pastor Gerald P. Thomas Jr. convicted of sex crimes against children from his congregation

2003 London, UK

Hackney 'witch-child' torture case

2003 Hong Kong

Hong Kong: feng shui master jailed for 'mystical rites' sex with a fourteen-year-old

2003 Letterfrack, Galway, Ireland

Ireland: Br Dax convicted of sexually abusing boys at Letterfrack industrial school

2003 Boston, MA, USA

Massachusetts attorney general finds institutional failure enabled abuse in Boston Archdiocese

2003 Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA

Minnesota: Catholic priest's conviction for sexually penetrating a parishioner during spiritual counseling reinstated by state Supreme Court

2003 Manchester, New Hampshire, USA

New Hampshire attorney general publishes 9,000-page investigative file naming 35 New Hampshire priests

2003 Tacoma, Washington, USA

United States: Youth pastor's guilty plea to child rape of boys in his congregation, Church For All Nations

2003 Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: apostolic shrine leader convicted on seven counts of raping women who came for spiritual help

2002 Lismore and Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia

Australia: Anglican priest Allan Kitchingham convicted of indecent assault on a boy at North Coast Children's Home

2002 Manchester, NH, USA

Diocese of Manchester: child-endangerment evidence resolved through a monitored nonprosecution agreement

2002 Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland

Ferryhouse: Ryan Report records a convicted Brother and dormitory access given to outsiders

2002 Lyon, France

Four Raelian Movement members: final convictions for offenses at movement meetings

2002 Letterfrack, Galway, Ireland

Ireland: Br Anatole convicted of indecently assaulting boys at Letterfrack industrial school

2002 Auckland, New Zealand

New Zealand: church youth leader Nathanael Thompson convicted of sexually violating boys he met through his congregation; conviction upheld on appeal

2002 Atlanta, Georgia, USA

United States: House of Prayer pastor convicted — affirmed on appeal — for church-ordered whippings of children

2002 Boston, Massachusetts, USA

United States: John Geoghan convicted — the case that broke open the Boston scandal

2002 Ocean Township, New Jersey, USA

United States: NCSY national director convicted of abusing students at the yeshiva he led

2001 London, UK

'Adam' — child ritual murder, torso in the Thames

2001 Timmins–North Bay area, Ontario, Canada

Canada: Jehovah's Witness bishop-equivalent elder convicted of sexually exploiting a ward member he was counseling

2001 Fukushima Prefecture, Japan

Japan: self-professed exorcist executed for beating six believers to death in demon-expulsion rites

2001 Richmond Hill, Queens, New York, USA

United States: Hindu priest convicted of sexually abusing a parishioner who came to him for counseling

2001 Harlingen, Cameron County, Texas, USA

United States: LDS ward clerk convicted of indecency with a member's child after two families' complaints to the bishop, affirmed

2001 Evergreen, Colorado, USA (offense); Golden, Colorado, USA (trial)

USA: two attachment-therapy practitioners convicted of reckless child abuse resulting in death of Candace Newmaker

2001 London, UK

Victoria Climbié: murder convictions; possession belief; Laming Inquiry followed

2000 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Commonwealth v. Foster: child-endangerment convictions affirmed after parents refused cancer care for a toddler on religious grounds

2000 Craigsville, Augusta County, Virginia, USA

United States: Asatru 'high priest' executed for ritually murdering a fellow member of his own prison kindred

1999 Ballarat, Port Fairy and Ouyen, Victoria, Australia

Australia: Ballarat Diocese priest Bryan Coffey convicted of indecently assaulting parish children across three decades

1999 Fort Albany, Ontario, Canada

Canada: St Anne's residential-school nun convicted of assaults and administering a noxious substance

1999 Hunan, China

China: 'Lord God Sect' founder executed after conviction for raping eleven followers

1999 Lota, Cork, Ireland

Ireland: Brothers of Charity convictions at Lota — repeated pleas across three courts

1999 Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

United States: Kingston Order leader convicted of incest after a doctrinal plural 'marriage' to his niece

1999 St. Petersburg, FL, USA

US: DeMolay 'Chapter Dad' convicted on 27 counts, life sentence, for abusing his own chapter's teen members

1998 Ormiston, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Australia: breatharian teachers convicted of manslaughter after a 21-day 'initiation' fast killed their student

1998 Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada

Canada: Grollier Hall supervisor convicted across three decades of proceedings

1998 Fort Albany, Ontario, Canada

Canada: St Anne's residential-school nun convicted of assaulting female students

1998 Altoona, Pennsylvania, USA

Commonwealth v. Nixon: convictions affirmed after Faith Tabernacle parents used prayer for a dying diabetic teen

1998 Lubuk Pakam, North Sumatra, Indonesia

Indonesia: dukun executed after 42 murders of women who came to him for spiritual help

1998 Wexford, Ireland

Ireland: Ferns priest sentenced to four years after pleading guilty to indecent assault

1998 Clearwater, Florida, USA

Lisa McPherson: felony charges filed, then dropped, over a member's death during the Introspection Rundown

1998 Mamou, Guinea

Mamou Alliance Academy: independent commission finds decades of physical, sexual and psychological abuse of missionaries' children

1998 Volta Region, Ghana

Trokosi ritual servitude of girls (~1,400)

1998 Dallas, Texas, USA

United States: Rudolph Kos sentenced to life after altar boys' testimony of years of abuse

1997 Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India

Dharamsala triple murder: two Dorje Shugden-associated suspects charged but never tried

1997 Potomac, Maryland, USA

Gurdarshan Singh (head granthi, Guru Gobind Singh Foundation): guilty plea for child sexual abuse of a student

1997 Potomac, Maryland, USA

Gurdarshan Singh: Sikh granthi's guilty plea for abusing a child music student at his gurdwara foundation

1997 Rancho Santa Fe, California, USA

Heaven's Gate: official investigation determines 39 members participated in collective suicide

1997 Tiruchirappalli, India

Swami Premananda: convicted of 13 rapes + murder; double life; died in custody

1997 Houston, Texas, USA

United States: Church of the Lamb of God successor convicted of ordering the murder of sect defectors

1996 New South Wales, Canberra and Innisfail, Queensland, Australia

Australia: Marist Brother Gregory Sutton convicted across three decades of sexually abusing children in New South Wales, Canberra and Queensland

1996 Moundsville, WV, USA

Kirtanananda (New Vrindaban): racketeering plea; Drescher convicted of murders of dissidents

1996 British Columbia, Canada

Missionary Oblates and the residential-school system: clergy convictions and documented abuse of Indigenous children

1996 Sevier County, Tennessee, USA

United States: pastor convicted of statutory rape of a congregant; retaining church ousted from SBC decades later

1995 Tokyo, Japan

Aum Shinrikyo: mass-murder convictions for sarin attacks directed by its guru

1995 Box Hill, Victoria, Australia

Australia: Salvation Army sergeant Willem Willemson convicted of indecent assault at Box Hill Boys' Home

1995 Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada

Canada: Alberni residential-school supervisor sentenced as a 'sexual terrorist'

1995 London, UK

Ward judgment: High Court findings on Children of God child sexual abuse

1994 Lake Eildon, Victoria, Australia

Australia: Hamilton-Byrne's 'The Family' — children acquired by fraud for a woman who told them she was Christ

1994 Lake County, Waukegan, Illinois, USA

Illinois: head pastor and 'bishop' convicted of sexually assaulting two minor members of his international church

1994 Ireland

Ireland: Brendan Smyth — twelve years on seventy-four counts, and the case that broke the Irish scandal

1994 Fayette County, Kentucky, USA

Kentucky: priest Leonard Nienaber convicted of ten counts of child sexual abuse

1994 Lenox, MA, USA

Kripalu removes founder Amrit Desai after concealed relationships with disciples

1994 Keene, New Hampshire, USA

New Hampshire: priest Gordon MacRae convicted of sexual assault; conviction upheld through direct appeal and federal habeas review

1994 Auckland and Invercargill, New Zealand

New Zealand: Marist Brother Charles Afeaki repeatedly convicted and re-sentenced for serial child sexual abuse at Auckland and Invercargill schools

1994 Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

United States: the highest-ranking LDS official ever convicted — 'exploited the religious respect' she held for him

1993 Mount Carmel, near Waco, Texas, USA

Branch Davidians at Waco: official findings on authority, abuse evidence, siege and deaths

1993 Burnt River, Ontario, Canada

Roch Thériault / Ant Hill Kids: life sentence after spiritual rule, ritualized violence and murder

1993 Burnt River and Coboconk, Ontario, Canada

Roch Thériault and the Ant Hill Kids: murder and aggravated-assault convictions

1993 Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA

United States: David Holley sentenced to 275 years for abusing boys across two dioceses

1993 Santa Barbara, California, USA

United States: Franciscan province of Santa Barbara's own investigation finds 34 boys abused by a dozen priests at St Anthony's Seminary

1993 Fall River, Massachusetts, USA

United States: James Porter pleads guilty to 41 counts against 28 children

1992 Albany, Auckland, New Zealand

Bert Potter: 13 convictions for abuse framed as therapy and spiritual advancement at Centrepoint

1992 South Shore and Goodwin, SD, USA

Edward J. Werner: seven affirmed convictions after using pastoral access to abuse parish girls

1992 Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

New Mexico: Catholic priest convicted decades later of sexually abusing altar servers across three Albuquerque parishes

1992 Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas, USA

US: DeMolay chapter advisor Eric Sims convicted, 70 years to life, for sodomizing and molesting chapter boys he groomed with gifts

1992 Miami, FL, USA

Yahweh ben Yahweh: 18-year sentence for a RICO conspiracy involving murder and arson

1991 St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada

Canada: Hughes Inquiry finds justice system suppressed the Mount Cashel investigation

1991 St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada

Canada: Mount Cashel superintendent convicted of assaulting seven boys in his care

1991 Williams Lake and Kuper Island, British Columbia, Canada

Canada: Oblate brother Glenn Doughty convicted across two proceedings of sexually abusing Indigenous children at two British Columbia residential schools

1991 Friedrichshof, Burgenland, Austria

Otto Muehl: seven-year sentence for sexual abuse and abuse of authority within Friedrichshof

1991 Waukegan and Oregon, Illinois, USA

United States: Episcopal priest Richard Kearney convicted of abusing teenage boys in his parishes

1990 Los Angeles County, California, USA

California: self-proclaimed curandero's convictions for sexually assaulting followers under threat of illness and death affirmed

1990 Igloolik and Baker Lake, Nunavut, Canada

Canada: Oblate missionary priest convicted across three proceedings (1990, 2015, 2025) of sexually abusing Inuit children in his own parishes

1990 Ballyfermot and Westland Row, Dublin, Ireland

Dublin Archdiocese: Murphy Report finds a serial abuser known from 1978 was transferred, not removed

1990 County Wexford, Ireland

Ireland (1990): Ferns priest given a suspended sentence for indecent and common assault

1990 St Joseph's School for Deaf Boys, Cabra, Dublin, Ireland

Ireland: at the deaf school in Cabra, one man was Garda-investigated with no recorded outcome, and three more were let go without the Gardai ever being told

1990 Kilkenny, Ireland

Ireland: St Mary's School for the Deaf — Dominican Sisters admit a visiting priest sexually abused a pupil; he 'left shortly after ... and never returned', no Garda referral recorded

1990 Kirtland, OH, USA

Jeffrey Lundgren: five aggravated-murder and kidnapping convictions

1990 Waukegan, Illinois, USA

United States (1990): pastor's convictions affirmed for abusing two children of a churchgoing family

1989 Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Canada: congregation elder convicted of sexually assaulting a disabled member of his own congregation

1989 British Columbia, Canada

Canada: Oblate priest Harold McIntee convicted of sexually assaulting 17 boys and young men across three decades at a residential school and two parishes

1989 Boulder, Colorado, USA

Ösel Tendzin (Vajra Regent): knowing HIV transmission to students within Vajradhatu

1988 Boulder, CO, USA

Ösel Tendzin / Vajradhatu: HIV nondisclosure allegations and leadership response

1986 Whitley County, IN, USA

Gary and Margaret Hall: reckless-homicide convictions after prayer replaced medical care

1986 Huntington Beach, California, USA

United States: Orange diocese associate pastor convicted on 26 counts; initially sentenced to probation

1985 Pennsylvania, USA

Commonwealth v. Barnhart: convictions affirmed after Faith Tabernacle parents relied on prayer for a child's cancer

1985 Mississauga, ON, Canada

Matthew Berko: Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest convicted of assaulting his parish youth-group president

1985 Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana, USA

United States: Gilbert Gauthe — the first widely publicized American priest conviction

1985 California, USA

United States: Sunday school teacher's criminal conviction for molesting a boy in his class; church's own civil liability rejected on appeal

1984 Elkhart and Kosciusko Counties, IN, USA

Faith Assembly mortality investigation: 40 confirmed deaths amid avoidance of medical care

1983 Goldenbridge, Dublin, Ireland

Goldenbridge: Ryan Report finds pervasive punishment and constant humiliation of committed girls

1980 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Canada: military base chaplain court-martialed for sexually assaulting children in the base chapel at CFB Edmonton

1980 Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland

Ireland: a Rosminian priest admitted sexually abusing a child to his Provincial in 1980; the Order sat on it for 15 years and a solicitor advised against telling the Gardai even after the Department said to

1980 Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland

Ireland: Ferryhouse Brother caught raping and drugging boys for four years is dismissed, not reported to Gardai — and when told directly, a Department of Education official decides 'no further action' is needed

1980 Kingsport, Sullivan County, Tennessee, USA

United States: priest convicted of raping his altar boy decades earlier, sentence affirmed on appeal

1978 North West District, Guyana

Jonestown and Peoples Temple: coercive control, official investigations and mass deaths

1975 Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland

Ireland: Ryan Report records the conviction of a Ferryhouse volunteer worker, pseudonymised as 'Mr Garnier', for abusing a 15-year-old boy

1973 Daingean, County Offaly, Ireland

Daingean: Ryan Report finds flogging 'inhumane and cruel' in a climate of fear

1971 Los Angeles, California, USA

United States: the Manson Family — convictions built on a leader's total authority over his followers

1971 Chatsworth, Los Angeles County, California, USA

United States: the Manson Family's killing of Spahn Ranch hand 'Shorty' Shea on suspicion of informing

1970 Topanga, Los Angeles County, California, USA

United States: the Gary Hinman murder — the killing of a man inside the Manson Family's own orbit

1969 Artane, Dublin, Ireland

Artane: Ryan Report finds Brothers who admitted abusing boys were retained and transferred

1969 Los Angeles County, California, USA

Charles Manson and the Family: convictions tied to apocalyptic authority and coercive control

1969 Vidal and Blythe, California, USA

Solar Lodge (OTO standing contested): child-abuse convictions and Jean Brayton's no-contest plea

1969 Berlin, Germany

The Kentler experiment: foster placements with known pedophiles in West Berlin

1969 Blythe, Riverside County, California, USA

United States: seven convicted after a six-year-old was found chained in a box at a desert commune

1964 Maastricht, Netherlands

Netherlands (1964): brother convicted of abusing a pupil from the age of eight

1963 Morley, Alberta, Canada

Canada (1963): Morley residential-school conviction for indecent assault

1963 Yerbabuena, Tamaulipas, Mexico

Mexico: 'high priestess' convicted after followers who doubted her godhood were killed as sacrifices

1962 Salthill, Galway, Ireland

Ireland: 'In none of the Br Dacian cases was there a prosecution or even a formal report to the Gardai' — the Ryan Report's own words for a 25-year pattern

1961 Maastricht, Netherlands

Netherlands (1961): brother's sentence halved on appeal but conviction and teaching ban upheld

1960 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Canada (1960): Edmonton residential-school conviction for gross indecency

1959 Amersfoort, Netherlands

Netherlands (1959): religious-order brother convicted of abusing schoolboys in his care

1958 Maastricht, Netherlands

Netherlands (1958): senior congregation member convicted, prosecution appealing the sentence as too light

1957 Veurne, Belgium

Belgium (1957): five-year sentence for a priest who abused eighteen boys under sixteen

1957 Hasselt, Belgium

Belgium (1957): priest sentenced to three years for the abuse of twenty-five boys

1956 Harreveld, Netherlands

Netherlands (1956): two friars convicted after a boarding-school pupil's complaint — the Heithuis case

1955 Greenmount, Cork, Ireland

Ireland: 'Br Carlito was not prosecuted' — the Ryan Report's own words for a Resident Manager two bishops and a Garda superintendent all knew about

1954 Bindoon, Western Australia, Australia

Bindoon Farm School: Royal Commission finding on abuse of child migrants in Christian Brothers care

1954 Kilkenny and Upton, Ireland

Ireland: the cases that were never prosecuted — clergy lobbying and the State's decisions not to charge

1954 Upton, County Cork, Ireland

Ireland: the Rosminians' own Rome archive names seven sexual abusers at Upton across three decades — 'the Order did not expel members for sexual abuse' and none were ever reported as a crime

1954 Eindhoven, Netherlands

Netherlands (1954): brother given a suspended sentence, lost his teaching credential, and reoffended

1954 Netherlands

Netherlands (1954): friar convicted of abusing three boys of about eight

1953 Tralee, Kerry, Ireland

Ireland: Tralee's known abuser was never reported to the Gardaí — a twenty-year non-prosecution pattern

1951 Turlock, California, USA

United States (1951): Turlock pastor's guilty plea to statutory rape of a congregant affirmed

1948 Lenoir City, Tennessee, USA

United States (1948): Baptist pastor's abduction conviction affirmed — a church member 'considerably under his influence'

1948 Chico, California, USA

United States (1948): Chico rector's convictions affirmed for lewd acts against his guild boys and altar boys

1947 Gordon's Reserve, Saskatchewan, Canada

Canada (1947): second Gordon's residential-school conviction in the TRC's appendix

1947 Major County, Oklahoma, USA

United States (1947): revival minister's conviction affirmed for abusing a boy entrusted by his mother

1946 Carriglea, Dun Laoghaire, Ireland

Ireland: Carriglea industrial school — internal Church tribunals found 'criminal or indecent assault' proven, twice, and never once called the Gardai

1945 Gordon's Reserve, Saskatchewan, Canada

Canada (1945): Gordon's residential-school staff member convicted — documented by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

1944 Glin, County Limerick, Ireland

Ireland: Glin industrial school — a confessed abuser offered the choice of 'apply for a dispensation or stand trial', and the Congregation chose neither

1932 Letterfrack, County Galway, Ireland

Letterfrack: Ryan Report finding on abuse of a boy committed to a Christian Brothers industrial school

1925 Great Bend, Kansas, USA

United States (1925): Kansas pastor's statutory-rape conviction affirmed — victim 'whose spiritual mentor he was'

1819 Saco and York County, Maine (then District of Maine, Massachusetts), USA

United States: Self-proclaimed prophet convicted of adultery and gross lewdness after assigning half his sect's women to himself as 'spiritual wives'

A documentary survey of belief used as an instrument of coercion.

Source register audited July 2026 · About · Sources