Although registered as a evangelical religious entity, the practices described by the parents of several victims of a presumed sexual predator jailed by the UFAM and former followers of this church in l’Horta verge on what could be considered a cult. Once outside, the harm becomes clearer, even though for many years they complied without question with the directives set by the “prophet,” who was the mother of the man arrested by the National Police’s UFAM, accused of sexual assaults against at least eight minors.
The woman attributed the girls’ poor condition or any behavior she deemed sinful to possession by demons. She laid a hand on their heads while praying in unfamiliar tongues and reciting biblical verses to expel the demon within. She even gave names to the supposed malignant spirits, a former adherent recalls.
“She morally destroys you; it’s a damned cult,” says the mother of one of the youngest victims of the alleged pedophile, who also endures distress because another daughter remains in the same religious-family circle after marrying the man believed to be her sister’s aggressor. The young woman, now 23, married at 17 in a ceremony arranged by the “prophet.” “I’m sure she did it to protect her son, because she had already had sex with her when she was younger,” a witness notes. In fact, at 16 she already faced a pregnancy test, and records indicate that by age twelve the eldest daughter had started a relationship with this man, seven years her senior.
No, this wasn’t an isolated case. Some worshippers who left the community recall that during meals and religious meetings at the arresting man’s home, he was constantly surrounded by minors and even took them to his room. Sexual contact among some followers also occurred, though in those cases, being adults and supposedly consensual, there would be no crime. An analysis of the familial links between complainants and the alleged leaders shows a pattern of endogamy within the group.
Castings and humiliations
Another father of two children who also suffered sexual assaults while underage recounts punishments and humiliations imposed by the arrestee’s mother on her followers. He recalls an occasion when, after one of the Prophet’s daughters betrayed her husband, that husband was forced to beg forgiveness on his knees, in front of everyone, for not pleasing her sexually. “The shame she inflicted was horrible.”
“She interfered in the sex life of couples to the point of destroying them.” According to testimonies, the Prophet even wanted to know the positions people used in intimate relations. “She made you feel like a bad wife and a bad mother; she seemed to want you to hand over your children so she could educate them,” one account notes, aligning with methods typical of a sect. “This family has broken many homes and marriages.”
Tolerance zero for sexual abuse
The Evangelical Council of the Valencian Community (CECVA) has issued a message of “zero tolerance” toward sexual abuse, especially when minors are involved. “This kind of abuse represents a clear and evident violation of human rights and runs directly counter to the faith and ethics of Protestant religious tradition,” the statement says.