Women accuse Brazilian spiritual healer of sexual abuse


Save Story

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Ten women in Brazil have accused a self-styled spiritual healer of sexually abusing them at a clinic in the central-western state of Goias.

The accusations against Joao Teixeira de Faria, known as John of God, were made Saturday night on the Globo TV network.

It was not immediately clear if Farias was being investigated by prosecutors.

In a statement to the G1 news portal, Faria's press office said: "John of God vehemently denies having committed any inappropriate behavior during his treatments."

Faria's faith-based healing skills drew the attention of TV host Oprah Winfrey, who said on her website that she interviewed him at his clinic in 2013 and saw him performing psychic surgeries.

Faria's website says he has treated former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Brazil's ex-President Luiz Inacio da Silva.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Most recent World stories

Related topics

The Associated Press
    KSL.com Beyond Series
    KSL.com Beyond Business

    KSL Weather Forecast

    KSL Weather Forecast
    Play button