1 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:04,720 Speaker 1: Before we jump in, we must warn you this episode 2 00:00:04,760 --> 00:00:08,720 Speaker 1: contains explicit content, such as sexual abuse that may be 3 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: disturbing to some people. Listener discretion is advised. Also, if 4 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:16,079 Speaker 1: this is the first time you're listening to Sacred Scandal, 5 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:18,640 Speaker 1: everything will make a lot more sense if you start 6 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:31,240 Speaker 1: with episode one. In the fall of nineteen ninety seven, 7 00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: l Uz el Mundo or Ledm for short, was going 8 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:37,800 Speaker 1: through a rough time. The servant of God, the Apostle 9 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:41,440 Speaker 1: Samuel had just been publicly accused by multiple members of 10 00:00:41,479 --> 00:00:45,280 Speaker 1: having abused them when they were miners. That was hard 11 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:48,040 Speaker 1: to hear for Rehino Leone, a true believer and the 12 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:57,960 Speaker 1: head guard of the founder's sacred mausoleum. Shortly after the 13 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:01,200 Speaker 1: news came out about the abuse, Hino was standing by 14 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: the high altar the Grand Temple in her Mosa Provincia 15 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,680 Speaker 1: in Guallajara. Right behind him were his wife, Rebecca and 16 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:11,200 Speaker 1: his daughter LUs Maria, wearing dresses and lace veils over 17 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:15,840 Speaker 1: their heads. With the congregation as witness. Rahino cursed the accusers. 18 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 1: He was particularly hard on one of them, a young 19 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:22,120 Speaker 1: woman who claimed her own sister had delivered her to 20 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:25,560 Speaker 1: the Apostle when she was a teenhater, Rahino swore the 21 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:29,280 Speaker 1: woman was a liar. Lusmaria joined him in his denunciations, 22 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:32,479 Speaker 1: and the whole family cried and moaned as they asked 23 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:35,720 Speaker 1: the apostle and the flock to reject the sinner's claims. 24 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:39,160 Speaker 1: She must be crazy, they said, and surely possessed by 25 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:43,800 Speaker 1: the devil. Raghino Leon ended the speech swearing that his 26 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:46,200 Speaker 1: hand would not waver if he had to put a 27 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:52,560 Speaker 1: bullet in her head. The congregation exploded, chanting, Glory be 28 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:57,800 Speaker 1: to God, Glory to the Apostle. That woman's name was 29 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:13,200 Speaker 1: karim Leon, Rahinu's very own daughter. In this episode, we're 30 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:15,400 Speaker 1: going to dive into the life of karame Leon to 31 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 1: better understand what LLDM has in store for those that 32 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:23,960 Speaker 1: dare to push against the church's airtight defenses, because for many, 33 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 1: the stocking, harassment, public ridicule, and even financial hardships that 34 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,919 Speaker 1: come with leaving LLDM are only the beginning of a 35 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:36,440 Speaker 1: living nightmare. I'm ROBERTA. Garza and you're listening to Sacred 36 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:41,440 Speaker 1: Scandal season two. This is episode nine, the Life and 37 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:53,920 Speaker 1: Death of karame Leon. Karame Leon was a beautiful, shy 38 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:57,359 Speaker 1: girl with olive green eyes. And modest demeanor. Born into 39 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:01,600 Speaker 1: a promising and devout ELLDM family. Judy Hernandez, an ex 40 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:04,440 Speaker 1: LEDM member who grew up in her Masa Provincia right 41 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:08,000 Speaker 1: next to Karam's childhood home, describes her as a beautiful 42 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:11,480 Speaker 1: Linda Carter lookalike, you know, the original Wonder. 43 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:18,600 Speaker 2: Woman smo Esta actress person Linda. 44 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 1: Sadly, there was very little wonder in Karam's life, nor 45 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:24,079 Speaker 1: did she have any superpowers. 46 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:29,120 Speaker 2: Papa Mui Mui Restrictor. 47 00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:32,560 Speaker 1: Judita and Karam's brother were schoolmates, which gave her a 48 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:36,040 Speaker 1: closer glimpse at the strict and sometimes violent dynamic Rahino 49 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:39,960 Speaker 1: Leone imposed on his family. There's little doubt this upbringing 50 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:43,800 Speaker 1: had to do with Karam's serious demeanor. Her father's overprotecting 51 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:47,600 Speaker 1: nature was a perfect fit for his security job at LLDM. 52 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:51,120 Speaker 1: He was tasked with gardening around stone at the garden 53 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 1: of Getsemane in the very heart of Hermosa Provincia. His 54 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: allegiance to the Apostle was absolute and unwavering, as it 55 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 1: of a nice in the case of Zealots. He carried 56 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:04,880 Speaker 1: his gun proudly, and his violent temper was a secret to. 57 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:09,560 Speaker 2: No one is Mama Reveca, like. 58 00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:16,520 Speaker 1: Judith, describes Rahino as a dry man and Rebeka, the 59 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:19,680 Speaker 1: matriarch of the Leon family, as the embodiment of that 60 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:23,120 Speaker 1: Jaupinist phrase Latin women are well acquainted with one that 61 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:26,479 Speaker 1: can be translated as you look prettier when you're quiet. 62 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:30,800 Speaker 1: In honor of their last name, the front of their 63 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:33,960 Speaker 1: own family house was adorned with two big, proud stuck 64 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: allions that kept watch over the home. Unfortunately for Karim, 65 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:41,320 Speaker 1: the lions were hardly the only beasts in the house. 66 00:04:42,839 --> 00:04:46,040 Speaker 1: One day, in the early morning, Judit recalls seeing Rebecca 67 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:49,760 Speaker 1: run out of her home screaming. It seemed she was 68 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:51,320 Speaker 1: fleeing a violent altercation. 69 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:56,320 Speaker 3: Una madruga fair. 70 00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:01,279 Speaker 1: To cover Rahino's back and his honorable repetitation, the church 71 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:04,520 Speaker 1: told everyone that the devil was lurking around the family's 72 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:07,359 Speaker 1: home and that it was him that had attacked sister Rebecca. 73 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:17,640 Speaker 2: Jocoraca death pass this hair on Era Porkel, Diablo, Jian Davaron, 74 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,359 Speaker 2: Dan Doola cas maris a. 75 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:23,680 Speaker 1: Made up story that might seem ridiculous and hard to believe, 76 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 1: but not in a church that feeds its members a 77 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:29,960 Speaker 1: daily dose of miracles and demons and also one that 78 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:34,479 Speaker 1: notoriously blames their internal troubles on outside villains, and there's 79 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 1: no bigger villain than Satan. What those worried neighbors didn't know, 80 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:44,480 Speaker 1: and what nobody in Amosa Provincia really wanted to know, 81 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:47,479 Speaker 1: was that the dark force making the rounds around their 82 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: families was not a figment of their imagination. This devil 83 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:55,360 Speaker 1: had human form, and he was called Samuel Joaquin Floris. 84 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:03,240 Speaker 1: In nineteen ninety seven, many years after Judith witnessed this altercation, 85 00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:06,760 Speaker 1: Kadim Leone shared her story of abuse in a deposition 86 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: for the Mexican Police and shortly afterwards in an interview 87 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:14,120 Speaker 1: with the Academic Review for the Study of Religion. In 88 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:17,320 Speaker 1: those transcripts, we've learned what her life was really like 89 00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:20,080 Speaker 1: as a member of the Young family, and le Loos Elmondo. 90 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:25,680 Speaker 1: To help tell her story, we have recreated her words 91 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:26,960 Speaker 1: through a voice actor. 92 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:32,320 Speaker 3: When I told my mom and dad, they didn't believe me, 93 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:37,880 Speaker 3: and it was very hard for me, and my dad 94 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 3: told me that he would rather see me dead than 95 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:47,800 Speaker 3: out of the church. That was a shock and very 96 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:48,880 Speaker 3: difficult for me. 97 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:54,760 Speaker 1: It all started in September of nineteen eighty five, when 98 00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:59,000 Speaker 1: Kadima was just a teenager. She remembers it was mid September, 99 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:02,159 Speaker 1: on the Mexican Independence Fist Day, when it's a tradition 100 00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: for men and women to dress in revolutionary garb. Karam 101 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:09,039 Speaker 1: was dressed like a Chara, the famous Amazon women of Kalisko, 102 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:12,440 Speaker 1: riding her horse with a voluminous skirt and colored ribbons 103 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:13,320 Speaker 1: in her dressed hair. 104 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:17,720 Speaker 3: At that time, there was a woman named Karimen Rodriguez 105 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:20,720 Speaker 3: who was in church of a group called the Young 106 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:21,600 Speaker 3: Ladies Group. 107 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:25,400 Speaker 1: Rodriguez told Karim to ride her horse right under Samuel's 108 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:28,480 Speaker 1: window and to throw a fresh carnation at him. So 109 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:31,880 Speaker 1: Karam did, and the apostle noticed. 110 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:37,239 Speaker 3: This person was in church of grooming us. At first 111 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:41,440 Speaker 3: it was simply, hey, come, you are going to serve 112 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:43,160 Speaker 3: at the table of the men of God. 113 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:48,000 Speaker 1: Shy, soft spoken Karam could not be prouder. Her sister 114 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:51,000 Speaker 1: los Maria was called to the apostle side often, and 115 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:54,920 Speaker 1: now she too had been chosen. At first, it was 116 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:59,200 Speaker 1: just regular unpaid chores, serving the family meals, taking care 117 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:02,920 Speaker 1: of their pets, or doing housework. But Karain's menial duties 118 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:05,480 Speaker 1: soon became more demanding. 119 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:11,760 Speaker 3: After a while, Carmen told me, come, you're going to 120 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:14,720 Speaker 3: sleep in my room. She lived in what they called 121 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:18,520 Speaker 3: the grown house. They would call us to spend the 122 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:21,200 Speaker 3: night there, and they put us in a room in 123 00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 3: that room late at night. I don't know the time, 124 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:27,720 Speaker 3: but in the dark and hidden, we were ushered from 125 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:30,000 Speaker 3: Casa Grande to Casa Hilico. 126 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:36,640 Speaker 1: Casa Gheriko is a smaller house kept strictly for the Apostles' 127 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:39,800 Speaker 1: personal use, away from the reach of other family members 128 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:43,000 Speaker 1: and the regular stuff. It connects to other buildings via 129 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:47,040 Speaker 1: underground tunnels. We've heard of those secret tunnels before, connecting 130 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:50,240 Speaker 1: between Casa Rico, the apostles home, and to the Grand 131 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:53,760 Speaker 1: Temple and back. This is how he traveled, unbothered and 132 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:57,600 Speaker 1: arrived unannounced whenever he pleased. And for the many victims 133 00:08:57,679 --> 00:09:01,400 Speaker 1: of the Woking family, these tunnels are with living nightmares. 134 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:14,880 Speaker 1: We'd explore those dark corners after this break. Gardam's first 135 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:17,600 Speaker 1: nightmare took place when she was almost eighteen years old. 136 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:24,120 Speaker 1: On February fourteenth, nineteen eighty six, the Apostle's birthday, she 137 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:26,920 Speaker 1: was invited to a private party. Her job was to 138 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:30,280 Speaker 1: dance for Samuel in a lovely Hawaiian costume with flowers 139 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:34,160 Speaker 1: in her hair and a straw skirt. She felt so lucky. 140 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:34,960 Speaker 3: Over the moon. 141 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:35,360 Speaker 4: Happy. 142 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:38,599 Speaker 1: Samuel was God's chosen one and she was one of 143 00:09:38,679 --> 00:09:42,520 Speaker 1: the handful of girls selected to perform for him. Just 144 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:45,720 Speaker 1: moments before hitting the floor, Garimen Rodriguez took cut him 145 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:48,280 Speaker 1: aside to let her know the dance she was about 146 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:50,480 Speaker 1: to perform would be in the nude. 147 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:55,559 Speaker 3: We were given alcoholic beverages and we were dancing with 148 00:09:55,720 --> 00:10:01,199 Speaker 3: our breast uncovered while Ida Vela with the video camera. 149 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:05,800 Speaker 3: He was carrying her breast and kissing us on the mouth, 150 00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:11,040 Speaker 3: being intoxicated. I rejected him. I get very aggressive and 151 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:14,360 Speaker 3: direct when I drink, and for him it was huge 152 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:18,199 Speaker 3: offense to be rebuked and treated an equal because he 153 00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:20,480 Speaker 3: thinks of himself as king. 154 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:24,800 Speaker 1: Annoyed someone El sent Kadam away for the night, which 155 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:26,920 Speaker 1: was the best thing that could have happened to her. 156 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:30,600 Speaker 1: But a couple of months after the Hawaiian party, Kadam 157 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:32,800 Speaker 1: and her sister los Money I were called back to 158 00:10:32,960 --> 00:10:38,040 Speaker 1: Someone's side. As I entered his room, the Apostle was 159 00:10:38,080 --> 00:10:41,079 Speaker 1: on the bed, lying in his underwear, flanked by two 160 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:45,760 Speaker 1: of his older handmaidens. Karim was surprised and a little scared, 161 00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:49,199 Speaker 1: but noticed her sister didn't even flinch, so when she 162 00:10:49,360 --> 00:10:52,040 Speaker 1: was ordered to undress and rub someone's feet, she went 163 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:56,520 Speaker 1: along with it. A few minutes later, as I. 164 00:10:56,640 --> 00:10:59,760 Speaker 3: Was misaging some well's feet, he turned to my sister 165 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:03,480 Speaker 3: and said, lose Maria. Can I borrow your sister so 166 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:05,040 Speaker 3: I can feel like a poppy again. 167 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:09,640 Speaker 1: Kardam's blood froze as her sister replied. 168 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:13,760 Speaker 3: Yes, brother. It was then when he ordered me to 169 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:17,000 Speaker 3: hug him, so I did, and with his hand he 170 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:20,559 Speaker 3: pushed mine towards his penis so I would masturbade him 171 00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:25,959 Speaker 3: until he ejaculated. I didn't move or find him. I 172 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:28,720 Speaker 3: just went along to wherever he was moving my hand, 173 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:33,520 Speaker 3: and when he finished ejaculating, he slapped me on the cheek. 174 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:37,679 Speaker 3: I couldn't cry because I consider him to be the 175 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:42,080 Speaker 3: serbent of God, and my rother was to serve him unconditionally. 176 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:47,320 Speaker 1: Her sister and the other handmaid and stood by watching unfazed, 177 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:49,800 Speaker 1: as Samuel went on to tell Kardam not to worry 178 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:51,840 Speaker 1: that he often did the same to her older sister, 179 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:54,840 Speaker 1: Lose Maria. This was how he would release his many 180 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:58,240 Speaker 1: burdens and tensions. He sent the girls away, saying that 181 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:07,280 Speaker 1: God would reward them later. After that awful night, some 182 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:10,679 Speaker 1: ael started calling on Katam more often. On one occasion, 183 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:13,400 Speaker 1: Karam recalled. She and another young woman were awoken in 184 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:15,439 Speaker 1: the middle of the night and told to put on 185 00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:18,800 Speaker 1: makeup and lipstick, but not too much lest it appear 186 00:12:18,920 --> 00:12:22,160 Speaker 1: vulgar or stain some all's body. Then, in the cover 187 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:24,840 Speaker 1: of darkness, they were led through the tunnels. 188 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:31,880 Speaker 3: They took us to Casa Heerico and into one of 189 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:36,240 Speaker 3: the upstairs bedrooms. We were ordered, as I recall, to 190 00:12:36,400 --> 00:12:40,960 Speaker 3: satisfy him sexually. We were only wearing underwear when mister 191 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:44,880 Speaker 3: Samuel came in and grabbed in a row. He took 192 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:47,760 Speaker 3: it off, came into my bed and ordered me to 193 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:52,120 Speaker 3: kiss his body, so I did. He then held my 194 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:55,280 Speaker 3: head and told me to kiss it, referring to his pennies, 195 00:12:55,840 --> 00:12:58,520 Speaker 3: pushing my head against it so I would give him 196 00:12:58,559 --> 00:13:02,880 Speaker 3: all secks. Well. He violently kissed and fondled the other 197 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:03,600 Speaker 3: young woman. 198 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:09,640 Speaker 1: The apostle liked group sex, and he also liked to bite, scratch, pinch, 199 00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:10,440 Speaker 1: and slap. 200 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:16,520 Speaker 3: He hurt us. He would mark our bodies for me. 201 00:13:16,679 --> 00:13:20,520 Speaker 3: It was very traumatic. I had to be in therapy 202 00:13:20,679 --> 00:13:21,800 Speaker 3: for several years. 203 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:29,040 Speaker 1: Gardam began to plead over and over with her mother 204 00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:31,520 Speaker 1: and her family not to let her go to someonell's 205 00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:34,439 Speaker 1: house anymore, to tell the apostle and his groomors that 206 00:13:34,559 --> 00:13:38,800 Speaker 1: she was indispost. But instead of protecting their daughter or 207 00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:42,800 Speaker 1: asking her if something was wrong, Godam's parents chastise her 208 00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:46,199 Speaker 1: for bringing dishonor to them by refusing to serve God's 209 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:49,920 Speaker 1: chosen one. How could she turn down all those blessings? 210 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:56,400 Speaker 1: So she kept quiet and she obeyed, unable to turn 211 00:13:56,440 --> 00:13:58,240 Speaker 1: away from her abuser and tormentor. 212 00:13:59,480 --> 00:14:02,199 Speaker 3: They tell you that he's got and that as a man, 213 00:14:02,559 --> 00:14:05,760 Speaker 3: he has needs like all men, right, they have needs, 214 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:09,000 Speaker 3: and that this is obviously a blessing for us. 215 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:13,360 Speaker 1: Not everyone understand how some people can put up with 216 00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:16,600 Speaker 1: years or even a lifetime of abuse and stay quiet. 217 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:21,000 Speaker 1: Diane ben Scotter is an expert on high control groups 218 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:23,640 Speaker 1: and has spent most of her life helping people out 219 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:26,640 Speaker 1: of these environments. She is a former member of our 220 00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:29,880 Speaker 1: religious cult and the current founder of an organization that 221 00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:32,960 Speaker 1: takes a public health approach to psychological manipulation. 222 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:36,640 Speaker 4: When I think about a high control group, or what's 223 00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:41,720 Speaker 4: commonly known as a cult. I like to think about 224 00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:45,720 Speaker 4: the tactics that are used to take advantage of people 225 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:49,960 Speaker 4: on a psychological level. To me, that's what's most important 226 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:54,080 Speaker 4: in defining a high control group. Are there techniques and 227 00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:58,200 Speaker 4: tactics that are being used intentionally to take advantage of 228 00:14:58,280 --> 00:15:02,520 Speaker 4: people on a psychological level, to create assets out of 229 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:07,680 Speaker 4: the members. When you're born into it, it's integrated into 230 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:11,760 Speaker 4: your belief system from the beginning, and so in that respect, 231 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:16,520 Speaker 4: it's just part of your life. And to question it 232 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:20,800 Speaker 4: is to question your family, it's to question your community. 233 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:23,480 Speaker 4: It's to question everything that you've been taught is right 234 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:26,560 Speaker 4: and good. This is why Karen didn't speak out sooner. 235 00:15:26,920 --> 00:15:30,280 Speaker 4: Her father's quick revolver hand, the constant. 236 00:15:29,920 --> 00:15:33,080 Speaker 1: Fear in her mother's eyes, the love and well being 237 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:36,000 Speaker 1: of her siblings, and the company of her lifelong friends 238 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:39,200 Speaker 1: were wielded against her as weapons, as the Church often 239 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:44,600 Speaker 1: does against his critics and defectors. She tried to keep 240 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:47,560 Speaker 1: it all quietly hidden inside her, but her pain and 241 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:52,040 Speaker 1: suffering were starting to show on the outside. Mois Espadilla 242 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:55,040 Speaker 1: also lived on the same block as Kaden. He remembers 243 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:58,120 Speaker 1: seeing her transform from a joy filled little girl who 244 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:00,720 Speaker 1: played ball with him on the street into a somber, 245 00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:02,800 Speaker 1: weilding young woman in. 246 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:06,840 Speaker 5: The repente el character the jach Cambio Dula ve yak 247 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:10,360 Speaker 5: Yesta ven Solo Licentia Pernava. 248 00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:14,120 Speaker 1: Moises notice how somewhere around nineteen eighty six Karam stopped 249 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:16,840 Speaker 1: being the put together young lady he sometimes walked to 250 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:20,880 Speaker 1: school with. She wasn't painting regularly and often looked on kempt. 251 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:26,480 Speaker 1: The transformation was particularly worrisome to Moyses. A couple of 252 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:29,480 Speaker 1: years prior, he had seen very similar behaviors in his 253 00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:33,080 Speaker 1: own sister Marta, and they happened right before he learned 254 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:35,200 Speaker 1: that she too had been abused by some way. 255 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:41,640 Speaker 5: Quez Como kempp comuir Mana kez Jaya and La dolacentziapp 256 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:48,960 Speaker 5: In La kamas Intomas Klesta kyove Karim. 257 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:52,440 Speaker 1: Karen was desperate. Her whole life had been limited to 258 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:55,680 Speaker 1: l d M. She had been born in Hermosa Provincia. 259 00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:59,320 Speaker 1: Her family worked for the Apostle, She attended its schools 260 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:03,720 Speaker 1: and socialized only inside its confines. She couldn't reask telling 261 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:05,880 Speaker 1: her family why she didn't want to serve some well 262 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:11,439 Speaker 1: anymore out of fear that they wouldn't believe her. Diana 263 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:14,440 Speaker 1: explains why it is not uncommon for family and loved ones, 264 00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:17,240 Speaker 1: when under the influence of a high control group, to 265 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:19,560 Speaker 1: side with the victims torumentor. 266 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:22,720 Speaker 4: If somebody in the family had come out as being 267 00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:28,520 Speaker 4: abused sexually or something, then the family is threatened and 268 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:31,920 Speaker 4: that person seems to be a traitor. They're like a 269 00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:36,000 Speaker 4: problem person in the family, and it humiliates the family 270 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:40,760 Speaker 4: to have this person going against the teachings of God 271 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:43,920 Speaker 4: what they believe so strongly to be the ultimate truth. 272 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:49,520 Speaker 1: And that reaction from her family is exactly what Kuten feared. 273 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:52,879 Speaker 1: She was unable to rely on them for support, unable 274 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:54,800 Speaker 1: to get out of the cycle of sexual abuse she 275 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:58,359 Speaker 1: found herself in without being branded as an apostate, a 276 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:02,680 Speaker 1: destitute whore is serving to be publicly attacked, shunned, and exiled. 277 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:08,159 Speaker 1: Karam could only think of one way out, and that 278 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:26,960 Speaker 1: was marriage. More after the break, Karim had met Peppe, 279 00:18:27,359 --> 00:18:30,920 Speaker 1: a boy from Hermosa provincia, a few years earlier. She 280 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:33,320 Speaker 1: really liked him, but had been reluctant to make a 281 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:36,560 Speaker 1: more official courtship out of their friendship. So they kept 282 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:39,760 Speaker 1: thinks casual, a stolen smile once in a while, a 283 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:43,000 Speaker 1: forbidden conversation on the open plazas here and there. But 284 00:18:43,119 --> 00:18:45,680 Speaker 1: she knew very well that marriage was Samuel Jakin's way 285 00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:48,120 Speaker 1: of getting rid of women that had become too old 286 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:51,359 Speaker 1: or too troublesome for his bed. He couldn't stand to 287 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:56,480 Speaker 1: be with us goods. So three years after that horrible 288 00:18:56,560 --> 00:18:59,399 Speaker 1: Valentine's Day, and seeing no other way out of the 289 00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:02,560 Speaker 1: seemingly never ending cycle of abuse she was suffering from, 290 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:07,000 Speaker 1: Karen finally accepted Peppy's advances, and even though her family 291 00:19:07,080 --> 00:19:10,480 Speaker 1: resisted her decision and the Apostle was extremely unhappy to 292 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:13,720 Speaker 1: give her away, she dug her heels in hoping she 293 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:16,040 Speaker 1: would finally be free and got. 294 00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:22,560 Speaker 5: Married Sasa Tinni, Who's po rama nolas. 295 00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:26,600 Speaker 1: Pa Moses remembers that once married and with children, Karam 296 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:31,200 Speaker 1: still could not shake her traumatic past. Karam herself thought 297 00:19:31,359 --> 00:19:33,359 Speaker 1: that maybe she was never going to get over the 298 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:37,480 Speaker 1: pain until she confronted it, starting with her family. They 299 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:40,119 Speaker 1: needed to face the truth. They needed to see what 300 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:43,359 Speaker 1: really went on behind the royal houses walls, and to 301 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:46,080 Speaker 1: know that her sister los Maria was in on it, 302 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:48,040 Speaker 1: So she spoke. 303 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:54,160 Speaker 3: And you're going to see he would mark our bodies. 304 00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:56,440 Speaker 3: We were giving alcoholic beverages. 305 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:03,560 Speaker 1: But Karim did not get the relief she desperately did 306 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:07,000 Speaker 1: long for. Instead, the Leone family called her a liar, 307 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:10,520 Speaker 1: telling her Satan was surely planting impure thoughts in her 308 00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:13,720 Speaker 1: head and that she needed to repent and keep obeying 309 00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:21,600 Speaker 1: the servant of God unconditionally or else. So Karim once 310 00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:30,240 Speaker 1: again bowed her head and stayed quiet. Yes, the Apostle 311 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:32,639 Speaker 1: had stopped calling on her, and she had managed to 312 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:35,919 Speaker 1: keep her family and her community intact, visiting her parents 313 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:39,040 Speaker 1: and attending church as if nothing had happened. But her 314 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:43,560 Speaker 1: family's betrayal and abandonment broke her. She was destroyed by it, 315 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:45,639 Speaker 1: so she tried to kill herself. 316 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:52,720 Speaker 3: One day, I tried to commit suicide. Thanks God, I 317 00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:54,240 Speaker 3: wasn't successful. 318 00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:58,399 Speaker 1: A decade went by and Karm tried as hard as 319 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:01,760 Speaker 1: she could to keep her life together, but no amount 320 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:05,000 Speaker 1: of alcohol and tranquilizers would chase the memories that haunted her. 321 00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:09,040 Speaker 1: Every day. She suffered from seizures, mood swings, and sudden 322 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:12,040 Speaker 1: rages that taxed her and her family heavily. 323 00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:21,000 Speaker 5: Gianolin Portalasu's posso. He said, Eva the Paranda Reaposo Soufria. 324 00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:24,600 Speaker 1: As Moyess shares, she stopped caring about her husband and 325 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:29,359 Speaker 1: would go off drinking on her own without saying a word. Nevertheless, 326 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:32,119 Speaker 1: Pepe put up with that for years and still loved 327 00:21:32,119 --> 00:21:39,080 Speaker 1: her unconditionally. She distanced herself from church and attended services 328 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:43,160 Speaker 1: less often, but despite her struggles and relapses, her silence 329 00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:45,960 Speaker 1: guaranteed she remained very much a part of the community. 330 00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:50,840 Speaker 1: One day, as she was sitting at a cafe with Pepe, 331 00:21:51,119 --> 00:21:54,560 Speaker 1: she sawfered Randa Flores walk by. He was ll DM's 332 00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:58,040 Speaker 1: original historian, the first link between ll DM and the 333 00:21:58,119 --> 00:22:01,560 Speaker 1: post revolutionary local strongmen. He left the church when he 334 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,280 Speaker 1: discovered that his own beloved wife had been an early 335 00:22:04,359 --> 00:22:08,560 Speaker 1: victim of Samuel's abuses. Karam knew Flores had spoken against 336 00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:11,600 Speaker 1: the church and felt like she could trust him with 337 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:15,000 Speaker 1: her own burden. They spoke for hours, and soon after 338 00:22:15,359 --> 00:22:18,840 Speaker 1: Karam joined Flores, Moyses and the others in bringing Ela 339 00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:24,879 Speaker 1: d m's secrets out in the open. On July sixteenth, 340 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:28,600 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety seven, Karam was the first person to officially 341 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:36,800 Speaker 1: file a criminal complaint against L A d M. Like 342 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:39,880 Speaker 1: so many victims often do. She had to explain why 343 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:42,200 Speaker 1: it took her so long to denounce the abuses to 344 00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:44,000 Speaker 1: the uncooperative authorities. 345 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:49,080 Speaker 3: Yes, I was very scared, simply from seeing how my 346 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:53,080 Speaker 3: family reacted when I told them no one has spoken 347 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:56,480 Speaker 3: to me in seven years. They turned away from me 348 00:22:56,600 --> 00:22:58,680 Speaker 3: whenever I run into them. 349 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:07,240 Speaker 1: In her closing statement, Kadem expressed that it was her 350 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:09,240 Speaker 1: wish for no one else to be a victim of 351 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:11,840 Speaker 1: the abuse she had lived with, because what drove the 352 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:15,359 Speaker 1: small group of LADM victims to speak was the hope 353 00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:19,639 Speaker 1: that others would be spared and justice would finally be served. 354 00:23:22,119 --> 00:23:25,800 Speaker 1: But nothing happened. The deposition was kicked to the Attorney 355 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:28,760 Speaker 1: General's office and from there to the desk of Halisko's 356 00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:33,680 Speaker 1: Attorney General, where it has since they dormant. Asouchil Martin explains. 357 00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:36,800 Speaker 6: In ninety seven, the ties that they had with the government, 358 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:41,159 Speaker 6: and they just completely silenced the victims. They silenced the 359 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:44,399 Speaker 6: entire case, and they kept moving on with all of 360 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:48,520 Speaker 6: the hierarchy, to keep moving forward with the political favors 361 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:49,880 Speaker 6: that would come to them. 362 00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:53,040 Speaker 1: When Karim and her group realized their case was being 363 00:23:53,119 --> 00:23:57,840 Speaker 1: stalled straight into oblivion. They went to the press, on 364 00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:01,600 Speaker 1: the country's most important newspapers, on national TV channels, the 365 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:05,160 Speaker 1: brave accusers finally revealed to the world how Samuel had 366 00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:11,520 Speaker 1: violated and crushed them. Karim hoped that publicly shedding light 367 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:15,200 Speaker 1: on what happened to her would grant her some peace. Instead, 368 00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:20,119 Speaker 1: she got a fresh patch of hell on earth. The 369 00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:24,359 Speaker 1: Church's retribution, the one she had so fervently tried to avoid, 370 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:28,720 Speaker 1: came for her sharp and swift. Not only did Karim 371 00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:31,840 Speaker 1: get no justice, her own father came out against her 372 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:35,680 Speaker 1: in front of the whole congregation. Her own sister denied 373 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:39,639 Speaker 1: ever witnessing any wrongdoing from the apostle and called Karim 374 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:43,399 Speaker 1: a liar. Everything she feared would happen came true. She 375 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:48,200 Speaker 1: was shunned, harassed, attacked, exiled, and abandoned by all those 376 00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:55,639 Speaker 1: she had loved the most. As Diane explains, to. 377 00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:59,080 Speaker 4: Be part of this chosen group, you give up your autonomy. 378 00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:02,119 Speaker 4: That's the trade up. When you leave, it's hard to 379 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:05,080 Speaker 4: reclaim that. You realize that, Okay, I can't be part 380 00:25:05,119 --> 00:25:06,879 Speaker 4: of this anymore, but I don't know who I am. 381 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:10,560 Speaker 1: The Church made sure that when Karim found her voice, 382 00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:15,160 Speaker 1: she lost everything else. As the years passed, her depression, 383 00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:18,560 Speaker 1: panic attacks, and burst of anger became an impossible burden, 384 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:23,960 Speaker 1: even to her husband and young children. Peppe loved her dearly, 385 00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:27,000 Speaker 1: but decided to leave the house out of self preservation, 386 00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:29,840 Speaker 1: taking the kids with him in order to protect them. 387 00:25:30,359 --> 00:25:33,440 Speaker 1: And though they visited and tended to Karam regularly, he 388 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:36,720 Speaker 1: knew they needed to keep their distance because Karam's pain 389 00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:39,760 Speaker 1: made it almost impossible to live with her, so she 390 00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:45,840 Speaker 1: was left to face her terrors alone. We wish she 391 00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:47,920 Speaker 1: could tell us what she felt when she learned Ason 392 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:51,680 Speaker 1: was arrested, how she was finally vindicated in her bravery. 393 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:55,840 Speaker 1: But that's not possible. You're not hearing Karam's actual voice 394 00:25:55,880 --> 00:26:03,320 Speaker 1: here for a Reasonember seventh, twenty twenty two, at fifty 395 00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:07,879 Speaker 1: five years old, Karam killed herself. She was found by 396 00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:10,600 Speaker 1: her husband and daughter, who rushed to her home after 397 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:13,960 Speaker 1: a neighbor got alarmed when she stopped responding to her messages. 398 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:17,960 Speaker 1: For many years, her house stood on the outskirts of 399 00:26:18,080 --> 00:26:21,440 Speaker 1: Armosa Provincia, where every night she could see the glow 400 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:26,440 Speaker 1: of the Grand Temple's lights from Afar. All her life, 401 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:29,480 Speaker 1: Karim had tried to run from these lights, only to 402 00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:43,360 Speaker 1: end up dying right under their shadows. In the next episode, 403 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:46,399 Speaker 1: we will explore how many years later, and through the 404 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:49,680 Speaker 1: bravery of five other young women, much like Karim, Ellim 405 00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:52,280 Speaker 1: was finally brought to justice. But it would not be 406 00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:55,199 Speaker 1: in Mexico. The reckoning would happen in a different country, 407 00:26:55,760 --> 00:26:56,639 Speaker 1: the United States. 408 00:26:57,440 --> 00:27:01,119 Speaker 7: And certainly they had quite a bit of evidence, and 409 00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:05,399 Speaker 7: by quite a bit, I can't begin to tell you 410 00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:10,520 Speaker 7: how rare it is to have one one thousandth of 411 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:12,760 Speaker 7: the evidence that these girls had. 412 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:15,879 Speaker 4: So I've been a judge for a long time O 413 00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:21,040 Speaker 4: my thirly eighth year, and I've never ceased Bemas, but 414 00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:21,919 Speaker 4: some people do. 415 00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:24,480 Speaker 3: In the name of religion. 416 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:31,600 Speaker 1: That's next on Sacred Scandal. Sacred Scandala luzel Mundo is 417 00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:35,160 Speaker 1: a production of Exiled Content Studio in partnership with Ihearts 418 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:38,639 Speaker 1: Michael Tura podcast Network, and is hosted by me Roberta Garza, 419 00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:42,359 Speaker 1: produced by Sabin Jensen with the help of Stella Emett, Reynolds, 420 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:46,080 Speaker 1: Kutierres and Anna Isabel Octavio. Written by myself with help 421 00:27:46,119 --> 00:27:49,920 Speaker 1: from mariebel Gazara Smith, research by Robert Ta Garza. Additional 422 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:54,080 Speaker 1: reporting by Florencia Gonzales Garagarcia, engineering by Ugu Mendoza and 423 00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:58,679 Speaker 1: Sabin Jensen. So designed by Gonzalo Messi. Original music by 424 00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:02,960 Speaker 1: Patrick Hart, edited by writer also marievel Keesada Smith and 425 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:08,359 Speaker 1: Rose Reige. Executive producers are Rose Reed, Carmen gratterol Isaac Lee, 426 00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:12,760 Speaker 1: and Nando Villa. Daniel Bautista oversees audio at Exil Conton Studio. 427 00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:16,960 Speaker 1: Our executive producers had iHeart Rgisel Banzes and Arlene Santana. 428 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:20,800 Speaker 1: Sacred Scandal was created by Melanie Bartley and Paula Varos. 429 00:28:21,359 --> 00:28:24,560 Speaker 1: Special thanks to Valle Resenil who played Kaden, and to 430 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:28,480 Speaker 1: Sonic Union. For more podcasts, go to the iHeartRadio app 431 00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:30,679 Speaker 1: or whatever you listen to your favorite podcasts