Several women have come forward in Brazil to accuse an internationally known self-proclaimed spiritual healer of sexually abusing them under pretext of trying to "cure" them of depression or other problems.
The allegations against Joao Teixeira de Faria, 76, better known as "Joao de Deus" ("Joao of God") were made late Friday on a program on the widely viewed Globo Television network.
A Dutch choreographer identified as Zahira Leeneke Maus and nine Brazilian women who remained anonymous accused Mr Faria of making them masturbate him or perform fellatio, which he insisted was the only way to transfer his "cleansing" energy to them.
Ms Maus also told the program that Mr Faria had raped her.
The associated O Globo newspaper later reported that it had spoken to two other women who gave similar accounts of sexual abuse by Faria, bringing the total to a dozen.
All the women said they were aged in their 30s when the alleged acts took place between 2010 and early this year in Mr Faria's "spiritual hospital" in the town of Abadiania, close to the capital Brasilia.
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Globo's G1 news website cited a statement from Mr Faria's press service saying he had used his powers to treat thousands of people over the past 44 years and "he vehemently rejects (allegations of) any improper practice during his treatments".
Mr Faria's reputation reaches far beyond Brazil, with followers in the United States, Europe and Australia.
Oprah Winfrey, the US television celebrity and producer, visited Mr Faria in 2013 to look into his "miracles".
Several media outlets have done critical investigations into Mr Faria's claims of healing, and some uncovered previous allegations of sexual abuse and other improprieties for which Mr Faria has never been prosecuted.
The fresh allegations aired by Globo come amid a global reckoning of alleged sexual misconduct by powerful men against women under the ĢMeToo campaign.
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
You Were Never Really Here
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Starring: Joaquim Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov
Four stars
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
