A prominent Brazilian spiritual leader, who has been interviewed by Oprah and has treated Bill Clinton, has been accused of sexually abusing at least 12 women at his psychic healing clinic.
Joao Teixeira de Faria, also known as John of God, came under fire on Saturday when 10 women in Brazil came forward to accuse the 76-year-old medium of sexually abusing them while they sought healing at his clinic Casa de Dom Inacio de Loyola in Abadiania, Brazil.
They announced their bombshell accusations on Saturday night on Brazil’s Globo TV network.
Two more women then reported they were also abused to Brazilian newspaper O Globo afterwards.
In a statement to Globo, Faria’s office denied the allegations.
‘John of God vehemently denies having committed any inappropriate behavior during his treatments,’ the office said.
It’s not immediately clear if Faria is being in investigated by prosecutors.
Dutch choreographer Zahira Lieneke Mous accused the medium of manipulating her into performing sex acts then raping her during a visit to his clinic, she revealed on late-night talk show Conversa com Bial.
American tour guide Amy Biank also appeared on the show claiming she witnessed Faria carry out his abuses.
Nine other Brazilian women, who all chose to remain anonymous, also told the Brazilian TV network they were abused too on the premise of transferring his ‘cleansing’ energy, according to BBC.
Some said they were seeking a cure for their depression and sexual assault trauma when the alleged abuse took place.
Mous said she went to the Abadiania center in 2014 seeking healing from the trauma of her previous sexual abuses. During her second visit she was told she was chosen to have a private consultation with Faria.
She recounted that she was told ‘You feel special’, according to Folha de São Paulo.
In that horrific second session she claims Faria came close to her, smelled her skin and asked her to stand with her back facing him and led her to a bathroom.
Once there he allegedly touched her genitals and forced her to have anal sex. She said didn’t run away because she wanted to be trained as a medium at the center.
She overcame her self-denial four years later.
‘I was terrified of them sending bad spirits in my direction, wrecking my life; that I would not be able to sleep,’ she said on Globo TV Saturday night.
Other victims said they were also abused after they were chosen for private consultations that made them feel special. They all said Faria offered them crystals and gemstones after the abuse.
One victim said she was taken advantage of when she visited the clinic following a breast cancer treatment in 2017. She said that he touched her all over her body and laid his penis against her buttocks to help completely cure her of her cancer.
‘He said that he was doing everything in his powers to help my family and me, but I was uncooperative. Also, that the disease would be coming back,’ she said.
Yet another woman saw the psychic for the first time in 2009 for a cure for her son’s sight problem. She continued to return to the clinic and 2013 sought help after divorcing her husband.
She was told she needed a special energy cleanse in Faria’s private room. He allegedly took her to the bathroom and placed her with her back facing him and touched her genitals. On another occasion he allegedly requested oral sex from her as he was sitting in a chair.
Another victim went to the clinic for help with her depression, visiting in 2014 and 2015. The second time she said she noticed Faria staring at her while she was in line for treatment. He invited her to the ‘special room’ and told the victim he had dreamed of her.
He allegedly locked the door and placed her hands on his penis. The victim said that he invited her to lunch and other abuses took place afterwards that he claimed were treatments to clean her chakras. He said the spirits requested secrecy about the cleansing.
Faria is not a medical doctor and grew up as a farmer in Brazil. The ‘psychic surgeon’ runs his clinic in Abadiania, Brazil where he has been visited by millions of people seeking healing.
He claims that his healing power comes from God, the saints, and spirits.
His faith-based healing skills gained international recognition when he appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show and sat face to face with the famed host at his clinic in 2013. She witnessed him performing psychic surgeries.
According to his website he’s treated up to 15 million people over the past 40 years including high-profile patients like former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Brazil’s ex-President Luiz Inacio da Silva.
Source: DailyMail
John of God (not of my God) was eventually accused by more than 600 women and children including his own daughter and was arrested in December 2018 following the investigative work of activist Sabrina Bittencourt who was suicided days after making her research public as well as the many brave women and children who came forward.
