Castelló (EFE)
The detainees went so far as to carry out trust tests on the most devoted followers who were required to pay more than 10,000 euros under the promise of access to the circle closest to the “teacher” and, if they refused, they received threats of being repudiated. by “The Family of the Soul”.
The leaders had been carrying out this activity for years and for a few months they had established themselves in a chalet in the Castellón town of La Pobla Tornesa, as reported by the Civil Guard.
A hundred affected from Tarragona, Castellón and Barcelona
Those affected are mainly from the provinces of Tarragona, Castellón and Barcelona and there are around a hundred, according to what the Civil Guard has learned from the complaints presented and from people who have been identified throughout the long period of activity of this group. .
The ages of recruitment and initiation in the therapies were around 20 years of age in most cases and all the victims had a low state of mind due to personal or emotional problems. Some of them have been immersed in the collective for more than 15 years, and would have even started as minors.
All the victims had been recruited through people trusted by the organization’s leaders, and young people in situations of emotional vulnerability and in search of solutions to their problems were the priority target.
The agents began the investigation after receiving a complaint from the parents of two of the victims reporting the existence of a group of injured parties who had managed to leave the sect and who were also willing to report the facts.
Shamanic rituals with consumption of drugs, mezcal and hallucinogenic substances
The practice of shamanic rituals with the consumption of drugs, mezcal and hallucinogenic substances was common to later practice collective nudes or workshops related to the chakras and sexual therapies.
Sometimes these acts were carried out against the victims after annulling their will, rituals that were sometimes filmed by those responsible in the house in La Pobla Tornesa, where various sexual abuses allegedly took place.
The situation of the victims made it easier for the teacher to manipulate them through the use of different techniques of control, persuasion, emotional dependence and affective separation from their closest environment in order to remain isolated and later integrated into the “Soul Family”.
Threats to victims
The sessions and rituals had to be held when and as the teacher established, and in order to achieve her goals, she threatened the victims with punishment, humiliation, and even being disowned when there was already an emotional dependence on the rest of the members.
The leader gave the therapies to those affected in exchange for paying large amounts of money, and as the fidelity and emotional dependence of the victims increased, the price of the therapies increased, which were paid with methods that allowed the activities to be hidden.
In the sect there was a group higher in the hierarchy known as “the Circle” or “the Veterans”.
Found large amount of money
In the chalet where the therapies were carried out, a significant amount of cash was found, distributed in envelopes with notes of the names of the alleged victims; payment lists; psychotropic substances that cause a state of hallucination, mental alienation and total loss of will; and a large number of agendas and notes corresponding to the life and personal data of the victims.
The investigation has been directed by the Court of Instruction 3 of Castellón, at whose disposal the three detainees have been placed -among them the “teacher” and her husband-, who are accused of illicit association, labor intrusion, against public health , sexual assault and disclosure of secrets, among others.
The operation was carried out by agents of the Information Group of the Tarragona Civil Guard Command, the Information Headquarters (UCE-3) and the Castellón Civil Guard Command.