A growing cross-jurisdictional tracker · 193 core map records · 2 official-hearing annotations · 228 case pages · 481 source records
37%
U.S. prevalence estimate
A 2023 survey of 1,581 U.S. adults estimated that religious trauma may affect as many as 37% when respondents reporting at least three of six major symptoms were included. Read the study
This tracker applies a narrower test: documented harm in which belief, ritual, an institution or spiritual authority materially enabled coercion.
Index 01
Select a tradition to narrow the case record and map.
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
This index orders independently documented records by date. Adjacency here does not indicate a shared cause, lineage, organization or tradition.
1990Kirtland, OH, USA
Jeffrey Lundgren: five aggravated-murder and kidnapping convictions
1991Friedrichshof, Burgenland, Austria
Otto Muehl: seven-year sentence for sexual abuse and abuse of authority within Friedrichshof
1992Albany, Auckland, New Zealand
Bert Potter: 13 convictions for abuse framed as therapy and spiritual advancement at Centrepoint
1992Miami, FL, USA
Yahweh ben Yahweh: 18-year sentence for a RICO conspiracy involving murder and arson
1993Burnt River, Ontario, Canada
Roch Thériault / Ant Hill Kids: life sentence after spiritual rule, ritualized violence and murder
1995London, UK
Ward judgment: High Court findings on Children of God child sexual abuse
1995Tokyo, Japan
Aum Shinrikyo: mass-murder convictions for sarin attacks directed by its guru
1996Moundsville, WV, USA
Kirtanananda (New Vrindaban): racketeering plea; Drescher convicted of murders of dissidents
1997Tiruchirappalli, India
Swami Premananda: convicted of 13 rapes + murder; double life; died in custody
1998Volta Region, Ghana
Trokosi ritual servitude of girls (~1,400)
1998San Mateo, CA, USA
Donald Walters / Swami Kriyananda and Ananda: civil verdict on abuse of spiritual authority
2000Kanungu District, Uganda
Kanungu: official state report attributes the sect's mass killing to its elders
2001London, UK
'Adam' — child ritual murder, torso in the Thames
2001London, UK
Victoria Climbié: murder convictions; possession belief; Laming Inquiry followed
2003London, UK
Hackney 'witch-child' torture case
2004Kenner, LA, USA
Louisiana curse-removal fraud convictions
2004Knutby, Uppsala, Sweden
Helge Fossmo: murder-incitement convictions after religious messages were used to compel violence
2004Eatonton, GA, USA
Dwight York: 135-year sentence after eleven federal convictions
2005Fresno, CA, USA
Marcus Wesson: nine murder and fourteen sexual-abuse convictions
2007Newark, NJ, USA
State v. Miraballes — Palo Mayombe grave-robbing
2007McCarthy, Alaska, USA
Robert Hale / Papa Pilgrim: fourteen-year sentence after Bible-based isolation and coercion
2008Moscow, Russia
Grigory Grabovoi: eleven fraud convictions for paid supernatural claims
2008Blida, Algeria
'Raqi Hamdan': three-year sentence after fatal violence during claimed ruqya
2009Paris, France
Church of Scientology convicted of organized fraud (upheld 2013)
2009Sedona, AZ, USA
James Arthur Ray: three negligent-homicide convictions after “Spiritual Warrior” sweat lodge
2009Victoria, Australia
Stawingua Dresen: eight convictions for assaults during claimed chakra healing
2009Texarkana and Fouke, AR, USA
Tony Alamo: 175-year sentence after ten convictions for transporting minors for sex
2010Grand'Anse, Haiti
2010 cholera lynchings: 45+ killed, mostly Vodou priests
2010Oregon City, OR, USA
Beagley faith-healing death: parents convicted (criminally negligent homicide)
2011Kidwelly, Wales
Colin Batley occult sex cult: indeterminate sentence, min 11 years
2011Driftwood, TX, USA
Prakashanand Saraswati: 20 counts child molestation; fled, fugitive
2011YFZ Ranch near Eldorado, TX, USA
Warren Jeffs: life and 20-year sentences for two child-sexual-assault convictions
2011Nassau, Bahamas
Earl Randolph Fraser: conviction for abuse of a child entrusted for counselling
2012Canterbury, UK
Osolase — juju sex-trafficking conviction (20 yrs)
2012Brooklyn, NY, USA
Nechemya Weberman: 103 years, 59 counts of sexual abuse (Satmar counselor)
2012Birmingham, UK
Naila Mumtaz: four family members convicted of murder in jinn-'exorcism' smothering
2012Kingston, ON, Canada
Shafia murders: three convicted of killing four family members ('twisted notion of honour' — the judge)
2012London, UK
Kristy Bamu: kindoki 'deliverance' murder convictions (30/25-yr minimums)
2012Colliguay, Quilpué, Chile
Antares de la Luz: convictions after an apocalyptic group’s ritual killing of an infant
2012Pella, IA, USA
Patrick Edouard: five convictions for sexual exploitation through pastoral counseling
2013New York, NY, USA
NYC psychic curse-removal fraud (5-15 yrs)
2013Novosibirsk, Russia
Konstantin Rudnev: 11-year sentence for crimes committed through the Ashram Shambala group
2013Sensembra, Morazán, El Salvador
Israel Antonio Alvarez Bonilla: twenty-seven-year sentence for rape and harassment through pastoral authority
2013Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Asadullo Ibrohimov: seven-year sentence for sexual misconduct during purported infertility treatment
2013Kochi, Kerala, India
Santhosh Madhavan / Swami Amritha Chaithanya: Kerala High Court affirms one rape conviction
2014Philadelphia, PA, USA
Schaible: 3rd-degree murder, second child dead of untreated pneumonia
2014Martinique
Emmanuel Gordon: eight-year sentence in absentia for abuse during spiritual education
2014Jadranska Lesnica, Serbia
Branislav Peranovic: twenty-year murder sentence at an Orthodox addiction center
2014Zhaoyuan, Shandong, China
Zhaoyuan 'Almighty God' group: murder convictions after defendants called a stranger a demon
2014Raleigh, NC, USA
Thomas L. Kimmel: convictions for a Ponzi scheme marketed through Biblical-finance seminars
2015Caguas, Puerto Rico
Israel Berríos-Berríos: eleven-year federal sentence after altar-service access
2016Benin
Benin 'voodoo convents' — child servitude for ritual debt
2016Sydney, Australia
Royal Commission Case Study 29: 1,006 alleged JW perpetrators, none reported to police
2016Los Angeles, CA, USA
Bikram Choudhury: civil jury — 'malice, oppression and fraud'; $7.3M; left US
2016São Paulo State, Brazil
São Paulo pastor: unanimous conviction for assault presented as purification
2016Franks Eddy, Cayo District, Belize
Julio Cesar Garcia: Belize Court of Appeal affirms church-member abuse conviction
2016Lagos, Nigeria
Chukwuemeka Ezeugo ('Rev. King'): murder and attempted-murder convictions affirmed
2017Bruges, Belgium
Bruges: Nigerian voodoo-trafficking ring convicted
2017Sirsa, India
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh: 20 years, rape of two followers (Dera Sacha Sauda)
2017Gualaceo, Azuay, Ecuador
Gualaceo curandero: twenty-nine-year sentence after a false healing claim and death threat
2017Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Unnamed imam: three-month sentence for assault during Quranic healing
2018Benin City, Nigeria
Oba of Benin revokes juju trafficking oaths
2018Spain
Europol op: 89 arrests, Nigerian juju trafficking ring
2018Paris, France
Paris trial — voodoo-oath sex-trafficking network
2018Birmingham, UK
Iyamu — 1st Modern Slavery Act cross-border juju conviction
2018Brockton, MA, USA
MA child-torture cases charged as 'voodoo ritual'
2018Jodhpur, India
Asaram Bapu: life imprisonment, rape of a minor under exorcism pretext
2018Si Sa Ket, Thailand
Wirapol Sukphol (ex-monk): 16 years, rape of a 13-year-old
2018Harrisburg, PA, USA
PA grand jury: 301 priests, 1,000+ child victims documented ('weaponized' faith)
2018Ramanagara, India
Nithyananda: rape charges framed; non-bailable warrant; fled India 2019 (never tried)
2018Brasília, Federal District, Brazil
Brasília religious leader: conviction affirmed for sex obtained through a curse-and-anointing claim
2018Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Melvin David Quiroz and Ana Rosmery Brito: convictions for demon-deliverance abuse scheme
2018Moscow, Russia
Andrei Popov ('God Kuzya'): convictions for religious-group abuse and fraud
2018Alwar, Rajasthan, India
Falahari Baba: life sentence for rape of a disciple in his ashram
2018Brooklyn Center, MN, USA
Meally Morris Freeman: two convictions after a purported deliverance session
2018Freeport, ME, USA
James Talbot: guilty pleas for abuse during religious instruction at a Maine church
2019Marseille, France
Marseille: Supreme Vikings juju-oath trafficking convictions
2019Milan, Italy
Milan: voodoo 'mental dependency' slavery conviction
2019Vatican City
McCarrick: ex-cardinal found guilty by Vatican canonical process, laicized
2019Abadiânia, Brazil
João Teixeira de Faria ('John of God'): convicted of rapes of spiritual patients; ~600 accusers
2019Mar del Plata, Argentina
Monte Sión: affirmed convictions for trafficking, servitude and sexual abuse
2019Planalto Norte, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Planalto Norte spiritual leader: appellate court affirms a ten-year sexual-abuse sentence
2019Surat, Gujarat, India
Narayan Sai: life sentences after convictions involving a devotee and ashram administrator
2020Limpopo, South Africa
Hlungwani ritual murder: 4 relatives, life
2020Albany, NY, USA
NXIVM/Keith Raniere: 120 years — branding, collateral, sex trafficking
2020Glasgow, UK
Derek Lincoln (Children of God): guilty plea, 11.5 years, rape of two children
2020Knutby, Uppsala, Sweden
Knutby leadership: three former pastors convicted of assault, coercion and sexual exploitation
2020San Salvador, El Salvador
José Eligio Esquina Pérez: twenty-year sentence after a prophetic healing pretext
2020St. Catherine, Jamaica
Winston Campbell: charged over alleged sex-as-deliverance claims
2020Willemstad, Curaçao
Orlando B. (O.I.B.): fourteen-year sentence upheld for abuse of seven community members
2020Turkistan Region, Kazakhstan
Nurgazy Bukhbanbayev: eleven-year rape sentence after claimed healing and clairvoyance
2020Berkane and Oujda, Morocco
'Raqi of Berkane': ten-year sentence affirmed for trafficking and sexual violence
2020El Gedaref, Sudan
El Gedaref khalwa leader: conviction for abuse of Quranic-school pupils
2020Singapore
Ab Razak Ab Hameed: fifteen-month sentence for abuse during claimed protection and exorcism rituals
2021Mount Dora, FL, USA
Grave desecration for a Palo Mayombe shrine
2021Valladolid, Spain
Spain Supreme Court upholds voodoo-oath trafficking (20 yrs)
2021Cullinan, South Africa
Gabisile Shabane: child killed for muti (life terms)
2021London, UK
Danyal Hussein: life, murders of Bibaa Henry & Nicole Smallman (blood-pact)
2021Paris, France
CIASE/Sauvé Report: est. 216,000 abused by French clergy since 1950
2021Quapaw, OK, USA
Carl Gene Ortner Jr.: conviction after posing as a Native spiritual counselor
2021El Terrón, Ngäbe-Buglé, Panama
El Terrón: nine convictions after seven people were killed during a sect’s religious rite
2021Zlín and Olomouc regions, Czech Republic
Jaroslav Dobeš and Barbora Plášková: seven rape convictions involving an ‘unhooking’ ritual
2021Yesera San Sebastián, Tarija, Bolivia
Yesera curandero: twelve-year sentence for assaults committed under cleansing-ritual claims
2021Soyapango, San Salvador, El Salvador
Manuel Quijano Vega: sixteen-year sentence in a child congregant case
2021Accra, Ghana
Daniel Akuffo: fifteen-year sentence for abuse under an exorcism pretext
2021Yaoundé, Cameroon
André Guy Atangana Mbida: life sentence for fatal violence during claimed exorcism
2022Malawi
Malawi albino ritual murder: 155-year sentences
2022Woodridge, NY, USA
Lev Tahor leaders convicted: kidnapping + child exploitation (forced child marriage)
2022Vicenza, Italy
Ethan Melzer (O9A): 45 years, plot to ambush his own Army unit
2022Bisbee, AZ, USA
LDS 'help line' case (AP/court records): abuse continued 7 yrs; wife convicted
2022Bandung, Indonesia
Herry Wirawan: life sentence for abuse of students under pesantren authority
2022Kayunga, Uganda
Uganda v. Sentongo: infant murder and aggravated trafficking for ritual exploitation
2022Rosignol, West Coast Berbice, Guyana
Andrew Hannibal: Guyana Court of Appeal affirms pastor's child-rape conviction
2022Atiquizaya, Ahuachapán, El Salvador
Francisco Abigail Zuniga Figueroa: twelve-year sentence for abuse of a child congregant
2022Kingston, Jamaica
Oraine Ellis: rape conviction upheld after church counselling pretext
2022Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands
Derrick Miller: eleven-year sentence after abuse of pastoral trust
2022Um Baru, North Darfur, Sudan
Um Baru khalwa leader: fifteen-year sentence for abuse of child pupils
2022Thomastown, MS, USA
Marcus Lepard: conviction affirmed after Sunday-school access was used to groom a child
2022Fort Leonard Wood, MO, USA
David J. McKay: thirty-year sentence for abuse enabled through a military youth ministry
2023Lausanne, Switzerland
Swiss court — juju sex-trafficking conviction
2023West Bountiful, UT, USA
Carl Matthew Johnson (LDS bishop, ex-mayor): 9-to-life, child sexual abuse
2023Toledo, OH, USA
Michael Zacharias: life sentence for trafficking victims groomed through priestly authority
2023Paris, France
Gregorian Bivolaru / MISA: French judicial investigation for aggravated rape and human trafficking
2023Salta, Argentina
Salta temple: affirmed trafficking convictions for two spiritual leaders
2023Tubarão, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Tubarão pastor: forty-year sentence for thirteen acts framed as prayer
2023Brasília, Federal District, Brazil
Brasília pastor: appellate court affirms conviction for abuse presented as curse removal
2023Nahuizalco, Sonsonate, El Salvador
Edwin Analberto Pérez González: twenty-year sentence after church-work grooming
2023Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria
Mazraoua raqi: five-year sentence after fatal beating framed as spirit removal
2023Tangier, Morocco
Tangier raqi: ten-year sentence for assaults committed through claimed ruqya
2024Vredenburg, South Africa
Joslin Smith — mother charged, muti trafficking of a child
2024Cité Soleil, Haiti
Massacre: 184 killed on a Vodou priest's witchcraft accusation
2024Jacmel, Haiti
Dana Jackson (US) dies at a manbo initiation retreat
2024Washington, DC, USA
DC 'psychic' $4M extortion scheme (10+ yrs)
2024Hertfordshire, UK
Makhan Singh Mauji (granthi): 24+ years, sexual assaults on three girls
2024Phoenix, AZ, USA
Samuel Bateman: 50-year sentence in child-marriage and sexual-abuse conspiracy
2024Philadelphia, PA, USA
Richard Densmore: 30-year sentence for 764-network exploitation and coercion
2024Longford, Ireland
David Reilly: conviction for assault during an energy-healing session
2024Gran Canaria, Spain
Gran Canaria court convicts a Santería practitioner who used rites to assault a child
2024Istanbul, Turkey
Adnan Oktar: final convictions for sexual abuse, confinement and coercion within his organization
2024Shakahola, Kilifi County, Kenya
Paul Mackenzie and 30 co-defendants: 191 murder charges in the Shakahola proceeding
2024La Matanza, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
Abba Krishna: four convictions for aggravated human trafficking
2024Cartagena and Turbaco, Bolívar, Colombia
Cartagena: man charged over assaults allegedly presented as spirit-cleansing sessions
2024Vázquez de Coronado, San José Province, Costa Rica
Manuel Antonio Guevara Fonseca: eighteen-year sentence for abuse of a child altar server
2024Camoapa, Boaco, Nicaragua
Mariano Ramón Sánchez Martínez: twenty-two-year sentence after pastoral guardianship
2024Drama, Greece
Unnamed priest: conviction upheld for sexual touching during confession
2024Kinshasa and Moanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Pierre Kasambakana: eleven-year sentence for forced marriage and sexual offenses
2024Port-Gentil, Gabon
Martial Mbele Obiang: fifteen-year sentence for abuse framed as divine revelation
2024Bulaq al-Dakrur, Giza, Egypt
Bulaq spiritual healer: ten-year sentence for coercive recording and extortion
2024Lame Deer, MT, USA
Dean Alan Smith: convictions and thirty-year sentence for abuse of children who trusted him as pastor
2025Tucson, AZ, USA
Baron Martin (764 network): DOJ terrorism-support charges (indictment — charges only)
2025Towaoc, CO, USA
Lyndreth Hemp Wall: 15 federal convictions for assaults during purported spiritual treatment
2025Brooklyn, NY, USA
OneTaste leaders convicted of forced-labor conspiracy
2025Daejeon, South Korea
Jeong Myeong-seok / JMS: Supreme Court affirms 17-year sentence
2025Kansas City, KS, USA
United Nation of Islam leaders sentenced in child forced-labor conspiracy
2025Manila, Philippines
Apollo Quiboloy / KOJC: Philippine proceedings and separate U.S. trafficking indictment
2025Salt Lake County, UT, USA
Former LDS bishop Mark Lehnhof Stevens charged with assaulting a minor during religious counseling
2025Frutal, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Frutal Umbanda leader: nearly fifty years for sexual crimes presented as rituals
2025Criciúma, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Criciúma spiritual-healing leader: forty-year sentence for crimes against ten women
2025Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
Sergio Betancourt: sixteen-year sentence for assaults committed through exorcism claims
2025Paramaribo, Suriname
Cedric Landveld: conviction after sexual abuse during prayer and anointing
2025La Vega and Guaduas, Cundinamarca, Colombia
Édgar Orlando Gaitán Camacho: fourteen-year appellate sentence for assaults during yagé healing rituals
2025La Esperanza, Trujillo, Peru
Trujillo: purported shaman held pretrial over alleged assault during a cleansing ritual
2025Heredia and San José, Costa Rica
Carlos Chavarría Fonseca: affirmed thirty-six-year sentence and a later child-rape conviction
2025Oratorio, Santa Rosa, Guatemala
Lev Tahor in Guatemala: leader and marriage officiant charged in forced-pregnancy proceeding
2025San Pedro Sula, Cortés, Honduras
Erick Geovany Zambrano Estrada: three convictions tied to Sunday-school access
2025Los Alcarrizos, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Johan Manuel Castillo Ortega: ten-year sentence for abuse of six child congregants
2025Higüey, La Altagracia, Dominican Republic
Víctor Manuel Kery and Robinson Peguero: convictions after overnight church vigils
2025Novosibirsk, Russia
Vissarion community leaders: convictions for psychological violence and serious harm
2025Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Pastor Jonas: conviction for a public witchcraft accusation during prayer
2025Ouesso, Republic of the Congo
Lili Endakeki: five-year sentence for abusive claimed spiritual treatment
2025Northern Uganda
Joseph Kony / LRA: ICC confirms 29 war-crime and crimes-against-humanity charges in absentia
2025Hämeenlinna region, Finland
Hämeenlinna faith-movement 'prophet': first-instance convictions for sexual abuse, violence and extortion
2025Jerusalem, Israel
Knesset hearings and active police review of organized ritual sexual-abuse allegations
2026Miami, FL, USA
Little River: Haitian-Vodou threat to traffic a victim
2026London, UK
Imam Abdul Halim Khan: life, 21 sexual offences; victims' beliefs used to silence them (CPS)
2026Las Vegas, NV, USA
Nathan Chasing Horse: 13 felony convictions and 37-years-to-life sentence
2026Detroit, MI, USA
Kingdom of God Global Church leaders charged in multi-state forced-labor conspiracy
2026Orange, NJ, USA
Jesus Is Lord by the Holy Ghost pastors charged with forced labor; Treva Edwards also charged with sex trafficking
2026Baltimore, MD, USA
Erik Madison: 764 member pleads guilty to exploiting minors
2026The Hague, Netherlands
The Hague court convicts a spiritual healer of rape and sexual assault during healing sessions
2026Cuenca, Azuay, Ecuador
Cuenca curandero: appellate court imposes twenty-nine-year sentence after assault during medicine sessions
2026Regadillos, Lepaterique, Francisco Morazán, Honduras
Lepaterique pastor: charged after an alleged prayer-and-anointing pretext
2026El Progreso, Yoro, Honduras
Denis Javier Erazo Cruz: trial over alleged abuse and domestic servitude after pastoral placement
2026Guadeloupe
Jean-Luc Promeneur: seventeen-year sentence for abuse under mystical domination
2026Fort-de-France, Martinique
Patrick Phanor-Lange: twelve-year sentence for aggravated rape by spiritual authority
2026St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Lawrence Turnbull: federal and territorial charges involving a child congregant
2026Astana, Kazakhstan
Unnamed TikTok healer: final fraud conviction for paid magical-healing claims
2026Touba and Diourbel, Senegal
Serigne Khadim Mbacké: twenty-year sentence for abuse of Quranic-school pupils
2026Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Moumouni Ibrahima: prosecutor announces investigation of alleged coercion of congregants
2026Conakry, Guinea
Abdoulaye Bangoura: police investigation of alleged abuse during a healing ritual
2026El Omrane, Tunis, Tunisia
El Omrane ruqya killing: murder conviction after a fatal claimed healing session
2026Haupiri, West Coast, New Zealand
Howard Temple / Gloriavale: 12 guilty pleas; High Court substitutes home detention on sentence appeal
2026Albany County, New York, USA
Norse Pagan church leader James Yerdon charged with child sexual abuse in New York
2026Meridian, ID, USA
Isaiah Teague: life sentence after abuse of a child he met as a youth pastor
2026Jerusalem, Israel
Knesset panel hears former Bratslav-community members on child marriage and abuse