36 ICSA TODAY 34
Spanish priest arrested for performing exorcism on
anorexic girl
In Spain, a Spanish priest and Jesús Hernández Sahagún,
the official exorcist of Valladolid, have been charged with
gender violence and causing injury and mistreatment after
the exorcist performed repeated exorcisms on an anorexic
teenage girl. A judge in Burgos called for their arrests after
the girl endured 13 exorcisms while she was still a minor.
According to the Spanish newspaper El País, the exorcisms
began in 2012 when the girl started to suffer from anorexia.
Her parents were convinced she was possessed by a devil.
She was then tied up and had crucifixes hung above her bed,
an ordeal that later led her to attempt suicide. Her uncle and
aunt filed a complaint to authorities, but it has taken until now
for the case to come to court. The priest reportedly knew that
the young girl was receiving medical treatment for anorexia,
the court heard, and he had assured her parents that the
exorcisms would not interfere with her health.
Exorcisms are on the rise across many Catholic countries.
Hernandez says he has performed more than 200 of them.
And in 2013, it was reported that the Catholic Church in
Spain had recruited eight specialist exorcists to combat
an “unprecedented rise” in cases of “demonic possession.”
(Newsweek, 3/19/15)
Wife of Utah polygamist leader files for divorce describes
disturbing, allegedly “illegal” practices
Charlene Wall Jeffs, the legal wife of Lyle Jeffs, who is the
leader of the FLDS group and brother of imprisoned Warren
Jeffs, has filed for a divorce and wants custody of her minor
children. Lyle and Charlene have been married since 1983 and
have had 10 children. Two teenage children, a boy and a girl,
are still minors and the object of her custody claim. Charlene
has been excluded from the teens’ lives for 3 years.
Charlene filed a petition on April 10, 2015, in the 5th District
Juvenile Court in St. George, Utah. The petition asks that her
two children in Lyle Jeff’s compound in Hildale be placed
with her or into protective custody. The documents show that
Judge Paul Dame didn’t view the children to be in immediate
danger and declined her request to remove them immediately
from Jeffs’ compound. The divorce petition was filed April 17,
2015, in a separate case in 3rd District Court in Tooele.
Documents filed by Charlene discuss her life in the group.
Charlene was sent away in November of 2002 to repent
because she didn’t know how to properly treat the
Priesthood—i.e., FLDS leaders. In her first year of exile, she was
allowed to live in the family home, but she couldn’t mother
her children. In the second year of exile, she was moved into
a guesthouse in Hildale. After two years of repenting, she
returned to the family home but wasn’t allowed to rear her
children. In September of 2014, Charlene was ordered to leave
her husband’s compound for being “unrighteous” and hasn’t
seen her children since then.
In the papers filed, Charlene described what she says are two
illegal practices. One, adopted in recent years, is the “seed
bearer” doctrine, in which men no longer are allowed to have
children with their wives. Instead, a group of seed bearers
have been chosen to impregnate other men’s wives. The
second practice she describes is the “Law of Sarah,” in which
FLDS women perform sex acts on one another to prepare for
an encounter with a man in the Priesthood.
Warren Jeffs, 59, is serving a sentence of life plus 20 years in
Texas for convictions related to taking two girls as child brides.
He is still considered the president and prophet of the church
and communicates orders through his family. (The Salt Lake
Tribune, 4/24/15)
Mob of Utah polygamists stands off against woman
seeking custody of child
In Utah, Sabrina Broadbent, a former FLDS polygamist,
obtained custody of her children. Broadbent then went back
to the FLDS compound to get her children. But Flora Jessop,
a former polygamist, told ABC 4 in Utah that 600 devout
polygamist followers of former FLDS leader Warren Jeffs
refused to release Broadbent’s children. They surrounded the
van Broadbent was in and vandalized her vehicle. Then when
police came, the children were released. When Broadbent
returned home she discovered that someone had broken
in and destroyed nearly everything she had. The Sheriff’s
department later learned that Broadbent’s own children
vandalized the home. The department says this struggle is one
children face when they leave the compound. (KTRK-TV Salt
Lake City, 4/8/15)
Two couples tell of leaving religious cult
The Gloriavale Christian Church Community has more than
500 members and is located in Haupiri, New Zealand. Rosanna
and Elijah Overcomer told of their experience in the Gloriavale
Community and why they left. The leader of the Community,
Neville Cooper, kicked out Elijah Overcomer for questioning
him and refusing to follow his rules. Elijah told TV One’s Sunday
program that he had asked Cooper about his sexual-abuse
charges from 2 years ago. Cooper responded that Elijah had
no right to ask those kinds of questions and that he had
evil spirits in him. Elijah’s wife Rosanna, a member of the
Community for 27 years, told TV One she left the Community
to be with her husband and her children. She said Cooper
told her she could never be with her husband because he was
evil. Rosanna’s sister Joy Courage and her husband Mordecai
also left the group in 2013 after their secret relationship was
discovered. (New Zealand Herald, 4/20/15)
Woman arrested in attempt to resurrect child
Araceli Meza, the head of the church Iglesia Internacional
Jesus es el Rey, was arrested for allegedly starving a 2-year-
old boy to get rid of a demon and then, after he died, holding
a resurrection ceremony to try to revive him. Investigators
believe the boy died on March 21, 2015, or early the next day,
and that the ceremony was held March 22 at Meza’s home.
The police received an anonymous tip and went to the Meza
house. When they arrived to check on the boy, they discovered
his parents had returned to Mexico to bury his body. Meza was
Spanish priest arrested for performing exorcism on
anorexic girl
In Spain, a Spanish priest and Jesús Hernández Sahagún,
the official exorcist of Valladolid, have been charged with
gender violence and causing injury and mistreatment after
the exorcist performed repeated exorcisms on an anorexic
teenage girl. A judge in Burgos called for their arrests after
the girl endured 13 exorcisms while she was still a minor.
According to the Spanish newspaper El País, the exorcisms
began in 2012 when the girl started to suffer from anorexia.
Her parents were convinced she was possessed by a devil.
She was then tied up and had crucifixes hung above her bed,
an ordeal that later led her to attempt suicide. Her uncle and
aunt filed a complaint to authorities, but it has taken until now
for the case to come to court. The priest reportedly knew that
the young girl was receiving medical treatment for anorexia,
the court heard, and he had assured her parents that the
exorcisms would not interfere with her health.
Exorcisms are on the rise across many Catholic countries.
Hernandez says he has performed more than 200 of them.
And in 2013, it was reported that the Catholic Church in
Spain had recruited eight specialist exorcists to combat
an “unprecedented rise” in cases of “demonic possession.”
(Newsweek, 3/19/15)
Wife of Utah polygamist leader files for divorce describes
disturbing, allegedly “illegal” practices
Charlene Wall Jeffs, the legal wife of Lyle Jeffs, who is the
leader of the FLDS group and brother of imprisoned Warren
Jeffs, has filed for a divorce and wants custody of her minor
children. Lyle and Charlene have been married since 1983 and
have had 10 children. Two teenage children, a boy and a girl,
are still minors and the object of her custody claim. Charlene
has been excluded from the teens’ lives for 3 years.
Charlene filed a petition on April 10, 2015, in the 5th District
Juvenile Court in St. George, Utah. The petition asks that her
two children in Lyle Jeff’s compound in Hildale be placed
with her or into protective custody. The documents show that
Judge Paul Dame didn’t view the children to be in immediate
danger and declined her request to remove them immediately
from Jeffs’ compound. The divorce petition was filed April 17,
2015, in a separate case in 3rd District Court in Tooele.
Documents filed by Charlene discuss her life in the group.
Charlene was sent away in November of 2002 to repent
because she didn’t know how to properly treat the
Priesthood—i.e., FLDS leaders. In her first year of exile, she was
allowed to live in the family home, but she couldn’t mother
her children. In the second year of exile, she was moved into
a guesthouse in Hildale. After two years of repenting, she
returned to the family home but wasn’t allowed to rear her
children. In September of 2014, Charlene was ordered to leave
her husband’s compound for being “unrighteous” and hasn’t
seen her children since then.
In the papers filed, Charlene described what she says are two
illegal practices. One, adopted in recent years, is the “seed
bearer” doctrine, in which men no longer are allowed to have
children with their wives. Instead, a group of seed bearers
have been chosen to impregnate other men’s wives. The
second practice she describes is the “Law of Sarah,” in which
FLDS women perform sex acts on one another to prepare for
an encounter with a man in the Priesthood.
Warren Jeffs, 59, is serving a sentence of life plus 20 years in
Texas for convictions related to taking two girls as child brides.
He is still considered the president and prophet of the church
and communicates orders through his family. (The Salt Lake
Tribune, 4/24/15)
Mob of Utah polygamists stands off against woman
seeking custody of child
In Utah, Sabrina Broadbent, a former FLDS polygamist,
obtained custody of her children. Broadbent then went back
to the FLDS compound to get her children. But Flora Jessop,
a former polygamist, told ABC 4 in Utah that 600 devout
polygamist followers of former FLDS leader Warren Jeffs
refused to release Broadbent’s children. They surrounded the
van Broadbent was in and vandalized her vehicle. Then when
police came, the children were released. When Broadbent
returned home she discovered that someone had broken
in and destroyed nearly everything she had. The Sheriff’s
department later learned that Broadbent’s own children
vandalized the home. The department says this struggle is one
children face when they leave the compound. (KTRK-TV Salt
Lake City, 4/8/15)
Two couples tell of leaving religious cult
The Gloriavale Christian Church Community has more than
500 members and is located in Haupiri, New Zealand. Rosanna
and Elijah Overcomer told of their experience in the Gloriavale
Community and why they left. The leader of the Community,
Neville Cooper, kicked out Elijah Overcomer for questioning
him and refusing to follow his rules. Elijah told TV One’s Sunday
program that he had asked Cooper about his sexual-abuse
charges from 2 years ago. Cooper responded that Elijah had
no right to ask those kinds of questions and that he had
evil spirits in him. Elijah’s wife Rosanna, a member of the
Community for 27 years, told TV One she left the Community
to be with her husband and her children. She said Cooper
told her she could never be with her husband because he was
evil. Rosanna’s sister Joy Courage and her husband Mordecai
also left the group in 2013 after their secret relationship was
discovered. (New Zealand Herald, 4/20/15)
Woman arrested in attempt to resurrect child
Araceli Meza, the head of the church Iglesia Internacional
Jesus es el Rey, was arrested for allegedly starving a 2-year-
old boy to get rid of a demon and then, after he died, holding
a resurrection ceremony to try to revive him. Investigators
believe the boy died on March 21, 2015, or early the next day,
and that the ceremony was held March 22 at Meza’s home.
The police received an anonymous tip and went to the Meza
house. When they arrived to check on the boy, they discovered
his parents had returned to Mexico to bury his body. Meza was
