Brainwashing case against cult leader Rocco Leo set for trial

A lawsuit by a disabled woman against fugitive Australian cult leader Rocco Leo has not been settled and will go to trial.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports

Former Agape Ministries member Silvana Melchiorre is suing Leo for $420,000 she claimed she was brainwashed into giving the church.

Leo and two of his associates are being detained in Fiji and are wanted in South Australia on arrest warrants.

Leo’s former followers claim he preached a doomsday scenario and promised them a new life on an island in Vanuatu to save them from the end of the world. Police say followers have sold properties and provided the money to help fund the plan.

The cult leader fled to Fiji in May 2010, just before police raided his Agape Ministries properties. During the raid police discovered thousands of rounds of ammunition and guns.

More about Rocco Leo and Agape Ministries
What is brainwashing?

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Religion News Blog posted this on Tuesday November 1, 2011.
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