01x02 - The Scandal

[bunniefuu]

SCENES OF UNCONVENTIONAL SURGERY AND

REPORTS OF SEXUAL ABUSE MAY BE TRIGGERING

A NETFLIX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY SERIES

[mysterious music plays]

[man] In 1998,

I started to read some books

about shamanism and about healers.

I had a companion who had a health problem

that wasn't being resolved.

I read a book

about credible miracles happening.

People were receiving miracle healings.

It was about John.

Unfortunately, we all believe,

more or less

what we read.

So, I believed.

Then, when my wife and I

moved to Abadiânia,

one of the posada owners said,

"Let's sit down and have a talk."

"We wanna explain to you,

it's a little different

now that you moved here,

you have to be aware of something:

you have to ask

John's permission for anything."

"If you want to open a shop,

you wanna wear your hair long,

have a barbecue on Sunday,

you need to ask him."

[unsettling music plays]

MICHAEL BAILO

EX-TOUR GUIDE FOR THE HOME

I began to observe,

because I went there every day

at seven in the morning.

I was one of the mediums.

I sat about three chairs away from him.

I noticed the minute the lines came in,

he wasn't at all in a trance or anything.

He was checking out the young girls.

DON IGNATIUS' ROOM

He hand-picked the prettiest young women,

give them special attention

and often invite them to come

for a private session.

It's ready.

You don't have to do a thing.

Just look through it and frame me.

- Don't cut my head off.

- [woman] I see you in there.

Those are the Casa in the background.

[theme music plays]

CURE - FAITH - MEDIUM

SPIRITUAL SURGERY

SILENCE

[mysterious music plays]

[Araújo in Portuguese]

Many people don't believe it,

and there are people like me

who were actually abused.

I know it happened

REJANE ARAÚJO

SURVIVOR

because nobody told me. I was there.

I wasn't the entity.

I didn't feel the energy.

It was John himself.

He put my hand on his chakra,

in his heart.

As far as I can remember,

he started guiding me,

directing me, passing through his chakras.

I can't remember what happened

after he got to the sacral chakra.

I can't remember because I was hypnotized

so when I woke up,

I heard the voice of my entity.

It was screaming.

It was slapping my hand like this,

because I was already touching his p*nis.

It was screaming

and slapping both of my hands like this.

It was screaming and saying, "Not her!"

How do I explain that to people

who don't know about spirituality?

Who don't live this reality?

Then I asked, "Why me?"

And he said he didn't know why.

[man] I'd often see a woman crying,

people complained, some buzz.

He'd usually call pretty women.

CLODOALDO TURCATO

FORMER ACCOUNTAN

He wouldn't call the wounded or the ugly.

Just pretty women.

Usually without their husbands

or companion.

[guitar music plays]

I'm currently a visual artist.

I've been working

with art for a long time,

and I have an accounting degree.

I went to Abadiânia

due to a stomach disorder.

I had a terrible ulcer.

After two years,

which is the period I stayed there for,

I left completely healed.

If it was the medicine of John,

if it was God or the universe,

I don't know.

I went there for a week.

He asked me to stay for another 15 days

then he asked me

to stay for another month,

so I ended up staying.

I started working

as an accountant for the Home

and then I ended up

working as his personal accountant.

During the first six months, I was amazed.

One day, I was in the office,

and suddenly John arrived.

He sat and began talking to me.

I felt like

I was talking to Michael Jackson

or that the president was giving me

a minute of his attention.

Something like that, you know?

If he told me

to flush my head down the toilet,

maybe I'd do that.

[woman in English] Good morning,

my brothers and sisters.

On behalf of John of God,

we welcome you

to the House of Don Ignatius of Loyola.

[applause]

- [applause fades]

- [guitar music plays]

[man in Portuguese] This is him

incorporating Ignatius of Loyola.

You can see many points of light

falling upon him and nobody else.

This would be a group of entities,

It's what we call

a "phalanx" or "egregore."

This is me giving a lecture.

I didn't have a beard then.

If there's something we can't see here,

it's the quackery

in the psychic sense, you know?

If there are other factors

that complicated his ethical

and moral life,

that's another thing.

But the medium phenomenon,

he has always been authentic. Always.

MEDIUM PHENOMENON

I've lived with him for 20 years.

For most of that time,

MARCELO STODUTO

FORMER VOLUNTEER AT THE HOME

it was the most sublime

and spiritual experience

I could've ever lived through.

I've never had so many emotions

and had never been so touched spiritually

with so many transcendent

and sacred experiences

as the ones then.

At that time,

the work was way more authentic,

more devoted.

It came from the heart.

People would do it for love,

dedication, gratitude.

- Hail!

- Hail!

There wasn't so much commercial

and financial interest as later on.

That intensified when dollars and euros

started circulating in Abadiânia.

[woman in English] You're going to receive

a prescription when you pass the entity.

Please start taking

that medication immediately.

The wooden rosaries

are in the little shop.

[in Portuguese] The rosary is one

of the only memories of this Home.

You should take it and say your prayers.

I suggest you get to know, scientifically,

the work performed

by João Teixeira de Faria.

So get this book at the bookstore,

where you can find fluidified water

and bring it here so the entity

can put even more energy

on this book with its signature.

OFFICE

ARTISANAL TEA

[Bailot in English] While I was there,

what was happening was

this was essentially

a Brazilian phenomenon.

But during this time John

and the posada owners began to cultivate

some of the foreigners that were there.

They were encouraging the foreigners

to go back home

and do a presentation at a local library,

or at a healing resort, or something,

and talk about John and bring people.

This was John's idea: bring foreigners

because they had much more money.

At this point,

I'd picked up a little Portuguese.

I was with the main posada owners.

And so we go through the line

and we get to there

and he says to John in Portuguese,

"This guy would make a good guide."

Immediately, John turns to me and says,

"I'd like you to bring people here."

"Go to your community

where you live and talk about this."

"You have your camera here,

you've taken some film, show everybody."

"I'm giving you permission

to bring people here."

"And you can charge anything you want,

just bring the people."

I'm filled with self-importance.

"Wow, he chose me

out of all these other people."

I was very enthused.

I had seen only good things

and there were very many people there,

not so many foreigners at that point,

but enough,

a couple dozen foreigners were there.

Everybody was enthused and I thought,

"Wow, this is something else.

I want to do this. I want to be a guide."

- [in Portuguese] Here. Heather, please.

- [Heather] Yes, sir.

[in English]

He does not study in university.

He did not study in school,

regular school.

And until today

And even today, he doesn't know how

to fill out a checkbook.

But he has God.

[Machado in Portuguese] In the beginning,

John of God was a popular healer.

Only later, with foreigners

is it that he started to get some fame.

MARIA HELENA MACHADO

HISTORIAN AND JOHN OF GOD'S BIOGRAPHER

[in English] He say you can use

that house, the house is yours.

GREEK VISITORS

You can bring anybody you want to help.

The house here

is universal.

Is for everyone.

We feel that.

[chattering in Portuguese]

One question.

We want to make a donation

[in Portuguese] The Australians

were the first to get there.

They liked it,

and someone started bringing groups.

The most important person was Pellegrino.

This man is the one who found out

and started bringing groups from Europe.

The first book in English

about John of God is his.

[in English] Christ healed just by

just by being in his presence.

John can do the same.

He often says, "What is wrong with you?"

She'll say, "I cannot bend over,

lift my legs, I'm in excruciating pain."

ROBERT PELLEGRINO-ESTRICH

AUTHOR AND GUIDE AT THE HOME

He'll say, "I will not touch you.

Now, bend over."

Then they do.

So you've seen paralyzed people walk?

Oh, yes. Oh, quite.

[woman in Portuguese]

The spiritual treatment offered

by John of God

attracts people from all over the world.

There's heavy security

in the streets of this city

located 70 miles from Brasília,

for the arrival of Oprah Winfrey

HOME OF DON IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA

OPRAH WINFREY

TV h*s

[in English] It was so strong,

I had to sit down.

I thought I was gonna pass out.

[intense music plays]

[Bailot] I had a friend.

He wanted

to invite John to go to a foreign country.

John said,

"You have to meet my requirements."

"What requirements?"

"I'll come with eight,

ten people, we'll fly first class."

"We'll stay in a four-star hotel."

"I'll be allowed

to bring a container full of the pills

and sell them."

"You'll charge people"

I forget what it was, a lot of money,

to see him for the evening.

"And I am gonna keep every penny of it."

[man in Spanish]

There are 5,000 people registered

to see the miraculous Brazilian.

[indistinct commotion]

People are forming a long line.

They are entering the house

in groups of ten,

where John of God awaits.

[man 2] João Teixeira, a spiritual master

was invited by president Alberto Fujimori.

NEW YORK - USA

[Heather in English] Who heals is God,

but we know

that without him

none of this would be possible.

For it is him who unites people

from around the world, around the globe.

LOWER HUTT - NEW ZEALAND

[Kist in Portuguese] I traveled

with medium John to many places,

here and abroad.

The first foreign country we visited

was New Zealand.

So I talked to the entity,

"I can't speak English."

NORBERTO KIS

VOLUNTEER AND HOSTEL OWNER

The entity told me,

"Son, your voice and your heart

are more important than that."

"You talk with your heart."

[in English] When you believe

"I can."

"I have a need to pray more."

"I have a need to see more."

"I have a need to be happy more."

This is important.

Here comes medium John, please.

[Turcato in Portuguese] I picture John

as a great movie actor.

He has a great talent.

He had everything to do good,

but he got lost along the way.

His legacy is

that he's someone who got lost.

Once, there was a girl who was 17 or 18,

she was very pretty.

She was staying

at one of the hostels I used to visit.

She was crying

and saying John had abused her,

that he had tried to touch her.

She was saying that out loud,

so everyone could hear it.

The hostel's owner kept saying,

"Calm down, don't do this."

Her mother was also saying

that she was just confused.

But she said she would go to the police

because John had touched her.

John suddenly showed up.

It took about two minutes.

And he had a really powerful voice.

He said, "You are lying."

He threatened her.

The girl simply disappeared.

She never came back.

John has many flaws:

he's a womanizer,

he's a trouble-maker,

but I've never r*ped anyone.

I never did.

So you didn't see me

grabbing women in here or did you?

Me? No.

Did you see me touching women?

All right, then. That's it.

I couldn't sleep at night when I heard it.

If I grabbed her and r*ped her,

I'll have to marry her,

because she's young.

You're gonna have to be my best man.

Do you want me to call the girl

who accused me of grabbing her?

Along with her father and her mother?

- Should we call them?

- No. No need.

- No, don't worry.

- She's sitting right there.

Right on the

So, I want my fellows to forgive me.

The ones who don't believe you

are not your friends.

I'm not a saint.

I have many flaws because I'm a man.

I'm old, but I can still get laid.

Just not here

at the Home of Don Ignatius.

That's it.

[Stoduto] I think that people

who have worked directly

with John at Don Ignatius

and say they've never heard

anything about the assaults

are acting like demagogues.

But the healing didn't stop happening.

People kept getting

great benefits from it.

Despite hearing about one or two cases,

we never thought,

"Now things went downhill."

"And everything that happens there

is fake,

quackery or mysticism."

[Bailot in English] When John sits there,

supposedly incorporating,

and says to everyone in the room,

"You can't open your eyes.

Keep your eyes closed."

Most people in that room

have their eyes closed,

they don't see what's happening

in front of everybody.

Even people standing in the line.

He molests women right there in the line.

She goes up to him, he takes her hand,

he puts it down in his pants.

He's had an ejaculation,

her hand comes up with semen on it.

[in Portuguese] and lead us

not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil

Father Almighty,

Creator of Heaven and Earth,

and Jesus Christ, His only son our Lord

[Bailot in English] My two friends

that had been helping me

became afraid.

They went through the line,

talked to John.

He said, "No, this is a lie.

Nobody is doing this."

"If anybody's doing it, it's the entity."

Everybody got really confused.

"The entity's doing this? Wow!"

"You're not sure what's going on there."

[Turcato in Portuguese]

The feeling I had was

I had hopes that something would be done

at some point.

But I couldn't do anything

to him by myself.

He was too dangerous. He is too dangerous.

His g*ons, his body guards,

would say stuff

So people would hear it

and feel intimidated.

I would expect nothing else

from a man like him.

And people from the city

who didn't like John,

said they'd rather be silent

than go against him.

But there was talk about murders,

extortion, threats

SILENCE IS A PRAYER

[Bailot in English]

Then other stories started to come out.

I asked this posada owner

that does all the translations.

"I don't know anything about this."

I asked other people. "Oh, no."

People offer ideas.

They say, "Maybe it's some

weird healing technique."

"Maybe the only way

he could cure her was by that."

They all were justifying it.

And I'd say, "No, man, this is serious."

"Something bad's happening here."

I have, at this point, 40 people

who have contracted with me

to pick them up at the airport,

so I'm thinking,

"I can't bring these people here.

In good conscience I can't."

So I wrote to them.

I said,

"Sorry, I believe

there's criminal activity here."

"John's a fraud.

In good conscience, I can't bring you."

The e-mail ended up back

with this posada owner.

So he showed up very early one morning

with this in his hand, very angry,

"You don't understand one thing:

Here in Abadiânia,

it costs 300 reais for a man to pay

to m*rder another person."

At that point I stopped talking to him.

My wife and I discussed it and we moved

away from Abadiânia a week later.

[man] It's rare for Mr. Faria

to do interviews for a good reason.

He has a lot to hide.

There is a big business

around your spirit here.

- Is this more about money than

- Were these questions on the list?

- Do you think it's fair to ask?

- I don't think we're going into

Let me ask you, have you ever

sexually assaulted your followers?

[woman in Portuguese]

[John]

[man in English] Perhaps realizing

his ungodly comments

were bad for business,

he returned demanding to see our tape.

[in Portuguese] I want to watch because

I don't know what you have recorded.

[in English] He wants

to see what you have recorded.

- [man] No.

- [in Portuguese] No, I will watch it.

I didn't curse at you.

You're a professional.

[in English] No, please don't.

[pleasant piano music plays]

[Mannelli in Portuguese] My mom

recovered from her surgery

and she wanted to go back there

because had told her, "You'll be cured

and you will return to thank me."

So we went.

On the first day, we went to the Home,

we had an appointment.

We thanked him,

told him we'd return to thank him,

that my mother was healed

ANDREA MANNELLI

BUSINESS MANAGER

My dad was really considering

making a donation

to help the Home

with whatever they needed.

On the second day,

one of the girls who was in our group,

when the session was over,

she asked me

to follow her to the restroom.

I went with her and she said,

"Hey, I wanted to ask you something."

"Has John ever done anything to you?"

I was a little bit surprised

by that question.

I said, "What do you mean?

I don't get it."

And she asked,

"Has he ever done something to you?"

"Has he called you to a private session?"

"Did he abuse you

in that private session?"

[menacing strings play]

I was shocked when she told me.

I said, "What?"

It was like I'd fallen

into a hole in the ground

because at that moment

I understood what was happening there.

Right there

I started feeling a great pain.

I felt extremely outraged.

I felt extremely disappointed.

How could I fall for that story?

That lie, when it was so obvious?

So, I went back to the Home.

I went back there to talk to him.

I knocked on his door

and tried talking to him.

He wouldn't open the door,

but I knocked until he did.

When he opened it, I confronted him.

I pointed my finger to him and said,

"You're a pig, you're a piece of sh*t,

you're a son of a b*tch."

"How could you do this?"

So, he started calling his assistants,

his henchmen, started yelling.

When I saw his men were armed,

I realized I was in danger, so I left.

[Stoduto] These cases

have been going on for years.

It's a fact that many people knew.

But people wouldn't report him

for many reasons.

Or they wouldn't report him

because of interest.

"I need to keep my posada, my tour group."

"I need this. I need that."

So it kept going.

[Turcato] Mr. John used to pay us weekly.

Payments were never overdue or anything.

We'd count the money

and put it in trash bags.

Mr. John would get the bags

and stuff them in his ceiling.

We'd get 25, 30, 40,

60 thousand, depending on the week.

He'd take everything.

He was controlling.

Nobody could touch his money.

I think he's a classic gangster.

[Bailot in English] The posada owners,

not all of them,

but quite a few of the posada owners,

were instructed to tell John every day

about troublemakers,

people questioning what was happening,

about rich people.

The rich people

were marked from the beginning.

He'd say, "I know you got stomach cancer."

"You're gonna need extreme help."

"What if God is"

"I'm a poor man, but I love crystals,

I've been collecting them all my life."

"I've got a crystal that'll cure

your stomach cancer."

"How much is it?"

One man from South Africa,

while I lived there, paid 50,000 dollars,

for a crystal this big.

John showed up

over a period of two or three months

with six brand-new cars

and pick-up trucks.

Brand-new. Each one different.

He always would come in the morning

with two or three huge,

enormous pistoleros,

because he alleged somebody

had tried to assassinate him.

These guys had pistols.

[John in Portuguese]

This gentleman wanted to buy land

to build a place that would become

a posada to Americans.

I didn't ask for anything.

How much did he say

he was going to pay for that lot, Ricardo?

[in English] How much did Gary

offer medium John for the land?

[in Portuguese] 220,000 dollars.

[Heather in English] He gave you

the crystal bed,

which is 4,000 dollars, for cheap.

Had given you as part of the deal.

But he feels that he is

made

been taken advantage of.

[man] Who's that?

[Heather] Medium John.

[indistinct]

[John in Portuguese]

You can shove it up your a*s.

Well, when I'm not here,

I'll do it as well.

And everyone get the hell out of here

because I'm not a bum! You are!

[man in English] No. John, over and over

you have told me half lies.

You told me I could work in your room.

[in Portuguese] It's how it's gonna be.

Have a seat. Sit down.

Please sit down. Sit.

- [in Portuguese] Sit down, then.

Sit down. Sit. What are you thinking?

- You're screaming. Sit down.

- No, don't.

[Heather in English]

Gary, please, sit down.

Sit down, please.

Medium John will sit down.

He doesn't need to yell at me.

[Turcato in Portuguese]

And then came the extortion.

Hostels had to pay a percentage to John.

Each hostel would pay

a minimum fee per month.

There were almost 50 hostels.

Also taxi drivers had to pay

half their wages to drive around there.

TAXI TO DON IGNATIUS

People who brought tour groups

also needed John's permission to do it.

This permission was basically payment.

The only embarrassing thing

is that on payday,

if people didn't have money,

I had to tell Claudio, the Home's manager.

And he'd deal with it.

How he'd do that?

The money always came.

[in English] During this time,

John had Abadiânia completely in his fist.

[Turcato in Portuguese]

He'd welcome politicians, famous people,

artists, police officers, police chiefs

He did have contact

with the dark side of the power.

[Stoduto] If I am anonymous,

I am a common r*pist.

I am just a random offender.

If I'm a big celebrity,

and have people

from the highest levels of society,

kneeling before me and kissing my hand,

it won't be that easy to say

and prove that I'm a r*pist.

That's obvious.

You can deceive people for a year or two,

but for 24 years in the same place?

That's not possible.

You can't deceive people for 41 years.

Around four or five billion people

being deceived for 44 years?

To be on this mission for 48 years

deceiving people is improbable.

For a year or two, but for 55?

but for 60 years deceiving people

in various countries,

in all of Brazil's state capitals

It's difficult.

[guitar music plays]

[man] I was waiting for you.

- [man 2] Good morning.

- Good morning.

About our João Teixeira de Faria, right?

ZÉ TELIM

JOHN OF GOD'S FRIEND

Our John of God, right?

I like him a lot.

A very good person, very noble.

He helped a lot of people here in Itapaci.

I've known him since he was a kid.

He got very rich.

He entered the mining business.

He used to buy gold and emeralds here.

I think spiritualism

can do people no good.

What made him money were the gemstones

and the rich people followed him.

Let me tell you something:

John is a really powerful man.

He is a tough guy.

[woman] Here everybody knew him

as John from Yucca.

John from Yucca.

And she worked a lot, his mother.

She was a hard worker.

SEBASTIANA ALVES

JOHN OF GOD'S FORMER NANNY

She worked as a dyer.

He stayed with me.

With time, I heard

that he had become famous.

He was famous.

I saw him on TV in São Paulo

and I said, "My son's really famous."

"He's doing surgeries."

[man] I met John when he was a little boy.

We used to hang around together.

Party together.

Always going to the red-light district,

me and him.

LINDOLFO BENTO DE MACEDO

JOHN OF GOD'S FRIEND

Hi, my friend! Excuse me.

- [man] Come to the kitchen.

- How are you?

- How are you?

- He's Pintinho, a pioneer in Itapaci.

Alleluia.

When he was young, we grew up together

because they used to live here.

We used to hang out here,

play by the river.

We were really close friends.

When he grew up,

he wouldn't care about us anymore.

PAULO PINTO

JOHN OF GOD'S FRIEND

Rich people don't even look

at poor people. They don't.

They just care about themselves.

They just want more and more.

When clients come here

feeling unwell or something,

I put my hand on their heads,

like this, and say,

"God, our Father,

who is powerful and good."

"Give strength to those

going through hardships."

"Give light to those seeking the truth."

"And put into men's hearts compassion."

And put into men's hearts

compassion and kindness.

God.

[guitar music playing]

[Machado] He has always been

a very ambitious man.

In the beginning, he said that

he didn't have a commitment

to the spiritual world

so he'd feel those things and heal,

but he wanted money.

After that, he'd play pool.

Mr. John has always been a party lover.

He liked to dance.

He got married many times.

He had children from different mothers.

He was a socialite.

[woman] We're sailing through the river

This is the Furnas Dam in Minaçu, Goiás.

We're accompanied by

the honorable mayor of this city.

Turn to the camera.

Who's there?

[woman] And my distinguished husband,

João Teixeira de Faria.

[John] This mission is not easy.

My fellows think

that this homemade medicine

has made me a fortune.

"John is rich because he takes it

from the Home of Don Ignatius."

No, João Teixeira is a miner.

I'm an adventurous miner.

[upbeat music plays]

[Machado] He used to wander around.

He was a wanderer.

During that time, he went to Serra Pelada.

1980s

SERRA PELADA - PARÁ

Then he became a partner

of other mines in Goiás

and started investing in land.

He became a farmer.

[John] I'm not on this mission

to get money, fellows.

It's because I have faith

in God that I'll thrive.

That's what I want.

The day I think about making money

I want the Eternal Father

to turn my whole body into leper.

Lord, may your will be done in my life.

[Mannelli] Looking back

at some elements now,

I can see

there was something weird about it.

When he locked the door,

that called my attention.

But I didn't question him.

Then he asked me

if I was wearing something metallic.

I asked him, "Do you mean prosthetics

or something like that?"

He said, "No, are you wearing any metal?"

I said I had earrings on,

a ring, something like that.

He asked me if I was wearing a bra.

I said, "Yes."

And he said, "You have to take it off,

because I'll do a cleansing

and you can't have

any metal on your body."

The process started

with psychological abuse.

He begins by telling you

a bunch of things like,

"You will heal your mother."

"Do you want to heal your mother?"

"If you want to heal your mother,

you have to cooperate."

"Because if you don't do what I tell you,

your mother will die."

Then that man, who's almost six feet tall,

obese, rude, screaming at you,

asking you to do something.

So you don't question and say,

"No, I'm not doing it."

You think it's weird,

because he starts violating your body,

so you say to yourself,

"Something doesn't add up."

So at first,

when he started abusing me,

I started crying.

When I started crying, he asked me,

"Do you want your mom to die?"

Then he started yelling,

"Do you want your mom to die?"

That left me in a difficult position

and I thought,

"No, I don't want her to die."

"So you have to cooperate,

otherwise she'll die."

"And you'll be responsible for that

because you can heal your mom."

Every time that he would touch me,

I'd cry.

And every time I'd cry,

my mom and dad would listen outside.

So his cruelty has no limits.

He's capable of raping the daughter

of a couple

who were sitting outside listening,

as if it were something ordinary.

With no remorse whatsoever.

He steals away much more than your faith.

He steals a lot of things,

along with your faith.

He intimidated me.

He threatened me.

He said I would be responsible

for my mother's death.

Who in good conscience

would wanna bear this responsibility?

Who would wanna pay the price

to see if it's true or not?

If he really has that power or not?

I wasn't willing to.

[Wagner] In September, someone called me

and showed me the documents

and said, "This has been published"

JARDEL WAGNER

VOLUNTEER AT THE HOME

"and the company is already preparing

a news story to crush him

and the Home of Don Ignatius."

"So I'm passing it on to you

and you know what to do."

So I came into the room,

sat down with him, and he said,

"Explain everything to me."

I said, "I got a call from someone."

"They said Globo Network

is preparing a report against you."

And he said,

"What do you think I should do?"

I said, "Look, you have to prepare.

Get a good lawyer."

He said, "No."

He said,

"Don't leave me. Stay with me."

DECEMBER 7, 2018

Today we're hearing for the first time

some statements

about the other side of John of God.

We've heard ten women who felt

sexually abused by the medium.

When I watched Bial, the TV show,

and I saw those women

giving their testimonies,

and I beside Marcia, my wife.

I see myself in them.

I couldn't say I was relieved

because it wasn't a relief.

I felt pain.

[reporter] John of God.

This was one of the most spoken names

over the weekend in Brazilian

and international media.

[reporter 2] Horrendous stories

from many places in the world.

[reporter 3] The victims state

that they were sexually assaulted

by the medium known as John of God.

More than 80 women have come forward

to talk about the sexual abuse

they allegedly suffered

by the medium João Teixeira de Faria.

That news report was a shock to everyone.

The Home always welcomed people.

We'd never seen anything that was said.

We'd never witnessed it.

I've never seen anything myself

and suddenly we came across

that huge news report.

I thought the problem

would be solved soon.

But on Saturday, things escalated.

ANGELA HOMERCHER

VOLUNTEER AT THE HOME

Things started to get bigger.

As hours went by, the news got worse.

Investigations suggest that the abuses

may have started in the '80s.

It's still impossible

to determine the total number of victims

in Brazil and also abroad.

[woman] According to the victims,

they were chosen by the medium

to see him in his room, unescorted.

I won't say I didn't believe it,

but I had doubts.

I had an internal conflict.

Like, what's the truth? Is it a lie?

I've never seen anything.

I've never witnessed anything.

How come in 25 years of the Home,

practically living there

for the past ten years,

I had never seen anything?

[Wagner] The night before, he called me.

That night I stayed with him.

In the morning, he made a decision.

He said, "Let's do this."

"Can you take me?" I said, "Sure, sir."

"Take me, and bring me back."

I said, "Sure. It's a pleasure."

I drove there

and the press was following us.

[crowd clamoring]

Calm down.

[Kist] João Teixeira de Faria,

John of God.

The day he got there,

he was holding on like this.

Many people around him.

It was brutal.

It was the most desperate look

I've seen in medium John.

[crowd clamoring]

There ain't no bums here!

I thank God for being here.

I'm still John of God.

But I want to observe the Brazilian law.

I'm in the hands of Brazilian law.

John of God is still alive.

May God's peace be with you.

[Wagner] We were with him here.

He gave me the mic

and he asked me to take him inside.

He and I got inside holding hands.

And walked towards the armchair,

where you could see

the statue of Saint Rita.

He asked me to take the statue

and put it on the armchair.

He also talked to some people.

He said some words to them

and said that he was giving

this mission to Saint Rita.

Then he looked at me and said,

"Now you can take me from here."

[crowd clamoring]

- Mr. John!

- A little word, John!

Are you innocent?

I'm innocent.

[Wagner] I was hurt

by the cameras hitting my back, my legs.

And I was escorting and defending him.

People would punch and kick the car

so I drove slowly not to hurt anyone

and then I left.

I hit the gas as hard as I could,

but when I looked back,

I saw two cars were chasing us.

When I made this U-turn, he asked,

"Where are they?"

I looked and said, "Right there."

Both cars were coming this way.

He said, "Faster."

I looked up to the sky and said,

"God will guide me."

"I don't know what else to do."

Then I didn't see anything else.

THANK YOU, ABADIÂNIA

[woman] The police went to

at least 20 different locations

looking for the spiritual leader.

He's now considered to be on the run.