Documentary record Bound by Fear
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Conviction Afro-Brazilian religious settings Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil · 2026

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

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

See cited record

Organization

No organization assigned

Spiritual nexus

As the terreiro's spiritual director, the defendant invoked named spiritual entities and doctrine directly to instruct the victims that sex with him was ordained by the orixás -- prophecy attributed to spirit entities used as the explicit mechanism of coercion, which the court found compromised the victims' free will.

  • Prophecy or divine command
  • Threatened spiritual consequence

Evidence structure

Proceedings

  1. 2026-04-10 · First-instance conviction and sentencing

    14th Criminal Court, Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Convicted of sexual violation by fraud (two counts); eight years nine months, closed regime; removed from public post

Primary record

Sources

A Tribuna MT (2026) 'Cuiabá: Líder religioso é condenado por violação sexual mediante fraude'. Available at: atribunamt.com.br (Accessed 2026-07-19). English gloss: Judge João Bosco Soares da Silva of Cuiabá's 14th Criminal Court convicted Umbanda terreiro leader and lawyer Luiz Antônio Rodrigues Silva to eight years nine months for sexual violation by fraud against two teenage devotees. One victim had attended the terreiro since age 11; at 15 the defendant began invoking the spirit 'Chico Preto,' claiming the pair were 'married in past lives' and that sex between them was ordained by the orixás with oxalá's permission. The other victim, then 16, was taken to a motel to supposedly 'pay Exu' for religious consultations. The court found the victims' free will compromised by the religious fraud and ordered him removed from his municipal auditor post.

A Tribuna MT (2026) 'Cuiabá: Líder religioso é condenado por violação sexual mediante fraude'. Available at: atribunamt.com.br (Accessed 2026-07-19). English gloss: Judge João Bosco Soares da Silva of Cuiabá's 14th Criminal Court convicted Umbanda terreiro leader and lawyer Luiz Antônio Rodrigues Silva to eight years nine months for sexual violation by fraud against two teenage devotees. One victim had attended the terreiro since age 11; at 15 the defendant began invoking the spirit 'Chico Preto,' claiming the pair were 'married in past lives' and that sex between them was ordained by the orixás with oxalá's permission. The other victim, then 16, was taken to a motel to supposedly 'pay Exu' for religious consultations. The court found the victims' free will compromised by the religious fraud and ordered him removed from his municipal auditor post.

CBN Cuiabá (2026) 'Líder religioso é condenado a 8 anos de prisão por abusos contra jovens'. Available at: cbncuiaba.com.br (Accessed 2026-07-19).

CBN Cuiabá (2026) 'Líder religioso é condenado a 8 anos de prisão por abusos contra jovens'. Available at: cbncuiaba.com.br (Accessed 2026-07-19).

Related record

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