Police find suitcase stuffed with cash and emeralds hidden in home of faith healer accused of sexually abusing hundreds of women in Brazil
- The suitcase was discovered at the home of Joao Teixeira de Faria on Friday
- It was in a basement accessed by a trap door in a closet at the house in Goias
- He worked for decades in rural Brazil as a healer who claimed he could cure diseases
Brazil’s state police say they have found a suitcase full of cash and emeralds hidden in the home of a faith healer accused of sexual abuse by hundreds of women.
The suitcase was discovered at the home of Joao Teixeira de Faria on Friday in a basement accessed by a trap door in a closet.
Police in the central state of Goias said they also found about $300,000 worth of Brazilian reals. They had yet to appraise the emeralds.
De Faria worked for several decades in rural Brazil as a healer who claimed he could cure diseases.
Joao Teixeira de Faria arrives at the Dom Inacio Loyola House in Abadiania, Brazil on Dec 12
TV channel Globo aired accounts on Dec. 7 from several alleged victims who said they had been sexually abused for years.
Joao Teixeira de Faria, who is known as Joao de Deus – John of God – came under fire when ten women in Brazil came forward to accuse him of sexually abusing them at his clinic, Casa de Dom Inacio de Loyola in Abadiania, Brazil.
They announced their bombshell accusations on Globo TV and authorities were soon contacted by more than 300 other accusers, including de Faria’s adult daughter, Dalva Teixeira.
Following the claims, de Faria was given up until 3pm last Saturday to comply with an arrest warrant, however he did not surrender by the deadline and was deemed a fugitive from justice, officials said.
Self-styled spiritual healer Joao Teixeira de Faria uses scissors to perform a spiritual surgery on Rosangela Maria Benedeti’s nose at the ‘Casa de Dom Inacio de Loyola’ in Abadiania, Brazil
The 76-year-old medium, who has been interviewed by Oprah and has treated Bill Clinton, surrendered on the outskirts of Abadiania, Goais, on the 17th December, police reported.
According to a video released by the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo, de Faria said: ‘I surrender to divine justice and justice on Earth.’
He reportedly spent the night at the State Delegation of Criminal Investigations in the state capital.
Joao Teixeira de Faria, known as ‘John of God’, arrives at a police station a day after being officially ruled a fugitive, in Goiania, Brazil
In an interview published Friday by Brazilian magazine Veja, Teixeira said that under the pretense of mystical treatments he abused and raped his daughter between the ages of 10 and 14.
She said her father stopped after she became pregnant by one of his employees, but she alleges she was beaten so severely by her father that she suffered a miscarriage.
Representatives for the law office representing de Faria have said that they were not making statements on the case.
Faria is escorted by supporters, upon arrival at his ‘healing center’ Casa de Dom Inacio de Loyola
De Faria has been a faith healer for four decades in a small town in central Brazil and became famous for conducting ‘psychic surgeries’ that he claimed could cure diseases, including cancer.
He attracted followers from around the world, all looking for spiritual guidance or cures for afflictions.
He gained international exposure in 2012 when Oprah Winfrey visited his retreat to interview him for her talk show.
In a since-deleted column on oprah.com, Winfrey wrote that she was overwhelmed by the experience of seeing him cut into the breast of a woman without anesthesia and that she left feeling ‘an overwhelming sense of peace.’