This Week's Global Pervs and Paedos List > Guru arrested in France for sex exploitation; Canada's CSIS - A candy store for rapists

 

French police arrest yoga guru, 40 others over suspected sexual exploitation of followers

French authorities arrested the leader of a multinational tantric yoga organization Tuesday on suspicion of indoctrinating female followers for sexual exploitation.

This photo shows the red notice for Romania's Gregorian Bivolaru on the Interpol website, Tuesday, November 28, 2023. © AP

By:NEWS WIRES

The Romanian guru at the heart of the Atman Yoga Federation was detained during a massive morning police operation across the Paris region, according to a French judicial official, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about an ongoing investigation.

The French official identified the man as Gregorian B., whom French media identified as Gregorian Bivolaru, 71, an internationally known yoga teacher and author. The Altman Federation, which is headquartered in England, runs yoga courses and yoga teacher trainings.

According to the French official, the investigation into Bivolaru and the yoga federation, which also is known as the Movement for Spiritual Integration into the Absolute, began after reports of psychological manipulation and sexual exploitation within the organization. Former MISA members alerted authorities to the alleged abuses.

Bivolaru is being charged with human trafficking, organized kidnapping, rape, and organized abuse of weakness by members of a sect, according to French authorities.

International police agency Interpol also has issued a notice for Bivolaru's arrest on behalf of authorities in Finland, where he is wanted for alleged aggravated trafficking in human beings.

The Altman federation's website and other sites on Bivolaru allege that he is the victim of a wide-ranging plot to discredit him.

The raids in France involved 175 police officers and resulted in 40 other arrests across the French capital, Seine-et-Marne, Val-de-Marne, and the Alpes-Maritimes.

The operation targeted several locations used by the organization, where women were reportedly indoctrinated and coerced into sexual practices. The locations, described as “ashrams,” served as housing for women selected by Bivolaru for initiation into tantric yoga practices, according to French authorities.

Bivolaru, who was convicted of raping a minor in his native Romania, founded MISA in 1990. The organization expanded internationally as the Atman Yoga Federation.

The French investigation found evidence that students were coerced into sexual activities that included participating in explicit video chats for monetary gain, according to the judicial official. These alleged activities, purportedly carried out under the pretense of tantric yoga teachings, formed a part of an intricate system of financial exploitation and control, the official said.

(AP)

Canadian Security Intelligence Service staff allege rape, bullying in ‘toxic’ B.C. office

A rookie surveillance officer with Canada’s spy agency and another officer decades her senior were tracking a person in British Columbia in the summer of 2019 when they lost sight of their target.

She said the senior officer later blamed a communications failure due to a radio dead zone.

But the woman said the real reason was her colleague was raping her, having broken off surveillance to drive to a parkade where the alleged attack took place in their Canadian Security Intelligence Service vehicle.

The man, who was supposed to be her mentor and coach, treated his “own needs as more important than doing the job,” she said in an interview.

She said she was raped by her colleague nine times while at work in CSIS surveillance vehicles between July 2019 and February 2020.

A second officer said she too was sexually assaulted as a rookie by the same officer in surveillance vehicles during covert missions, despite warnings from the first to their bosses that he should not be partnered with young women.

They say supervisors told them other women had complained about not feeling safe around the man in the past.

“Nothing was done, and I started hearing these stories that there was this history of all these women (who) used to be working at our region. They used to be there, and they all had the same thing to say, and they all just ended up leaving,” the second officer said.

For more on this story please go to: The women are among four officers

Indian Guru Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Sentenced to 20 Years for Rape

By Manveena Suri and Omar Khan, CNN

New Delhi (CNN) - A controversial Indian spiritual guru has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for rape, India's Central Bureau of Investigation announced Monday.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, head of the spiritual sect Dera Sacha Sauda, was convicted on Friday of raping two of his followers in a case that dates back to 1999. The minimum sentence for rape is seven years.

He was sentenced to two consecutive 10-year terms, one for each conviction.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, center, greets followers as he arrives for a press conference

in New Delhi, India, in October 2016. 

Singh was sentenced behind locked doors inside Rohtak jail, where he arrived by helicopter Friday from a courthouse in the northern city of Panchkula. The move came in a bid to prevent supporters gathering outside.

Security forces in northern Haryana state are set to remain on high alert after supporters were involved in deadly protests following his conviction.

At least 36 people were killed in Friday's violence and hundreds more injured, as supporters of Singh's rampaged through several northern states, setting fire to empty train carriages and burning cars.

Loyal support

Singh, known as the "guru of bling" on account of his flamboyant lifestyle, commands a vast and loyal support base throughout the region, and while no new clashes were reported over the weekend, security remains tight, with internet and SMS services shut down in parts of both Punjab and Haryana states until Tuesday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police in Panchkula, Manbir Singh, told CNN that additional army and paramilitary forces have been deployed and are expected to remain on guard until Wednesday.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also condemned the violence.

Speaking on his monthly radio program "Mann ki Baat" ("Straight From the Heart") on Sunday, Modi reminded listeners that India was the home of "Gandhi and Lord Buddha" and that violence was not in the country's culture.

Dera Sacha Sauda sect members overturn an OB van on the streets of Panchkula, India, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. 

Sect followers refuse to leave

Dera Sacha Sauda, which describes itself as a "selfless socio-spiritual organization," has ashrams across 10 states and union territories across India and claims to have millions followers worldwide.

In the small town of Sirsa, located 150 miles away from Panchkula, thousands of devotees have gathered at the group's headquarters.

"The followers are still inside the compound and they could be in the numbers of 10,000 and upwards though people are leaving the compound," Vijay Kumar, the Deputy Superintendent of Police in Sirsa, told CNN.

Kumar added that a curfew and a ban on the gathering of five or more persons will remain in place in Sirsa throughout the coming days.

A follower of Indian religious leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh pleads for his safety after being hit with a stick during clashes between the controversial guru's followers and security forces in Panchkula on August 25, 2017.

Cult icon

Singh is a surprisingly influential figure in India, where he is considered a cult icon and performer.

He is the star of five films and numerous popular music videos, including the "Messenger of God," in which he acts as the hero who saves the nation.

His look is part-biker gang member, part Hindu epic hero.

In one of his most popular music videos, "Love Charger," Singh appears clad in a rhinestone-studded motorcycle vest with an embossed image of a lion on the back, while he sings before an adoring crowd.

India's Central Bureau of Investigation first picked up the case against Singh in 2002, but charges were only formally brought against him in 2007, according to the bureau's R.K. Gaur.

Singh is also at the center of an ongoing murder investigation.

Sirsa, India

Indian Guru's Rape Conviction Triggers Deadly Riots - Dozens Dead, 2 States Shut-Down

The Associated Press 

Indian paramilitary soldiers stand guard near an Indian court in Panchkula on Friday. Several north Indian cities were under a security lockdown as a court issued a verdict in a rape case involving a man who calls himself Saint Dr. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insaan. (Altaf Qadri/Associated Press)

Mobs rampaged across a north Indian state on Friday, leaving 28 people dead and more than 250 others injured, after a court declared a quasi-religious sect leader guilty of raping two of his followers, authorities said.

Mobs set fire to government buildings and attacked police and TV journalists in the town of Panchkula in Haryana state, smashing the windshields of news vans and breaking broadcast equipment.

Police initially used tear gas and water cannons and then fired bullets in the air in an attempt to control the surging mobs as people vandalized bus stations and government vehicles.

"The situation is tense. There has been arson and burning," Rajiv Mehrishi, the federal home secretary, said late Friday.

He said more than 1,000 of the guru's supporters had been detained in Panchkula on charges of arson and destruction of public property.

The special court announced the guilty verdict on Friday after hearing closing arguments in the 15-year-old case against the guru, who calls himself Saint Dr. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insaan.

Ram Rahim Singh, seen in a May file photo, was convicted of raping two followers, prompting the violent protest. (Tsering Topgyal/Associated Press)

The guru, who had denied the charges of raping the two women at his ashram in 2002, was flown by helicopter to a jail in the nearby town of Rohtak because district officials feared they would be overrun by his supporters. His sentencing is to be held Aug. 28, prosecutor H.P.S. Verma said.

Tens of thousands of followers had camped overnight awaiting the verdict.

Internet & cellphone services shut down

Violence also broke out elsewhere in Haryana and the neighbouring state of Punjab, as well as in the capital, New Delhi, police said. Railway stations in the towns of Malout and Balluana were ablaze, and two coaches of an empty train parked in New Delhi's Anand Vihar station were set on fire.

A curfew was imposed in at least four districts of Punjab, said Amrinder Singh, the state's chief minister.

A spokesperson for the guru's sect, Dera Sacha Sauda, urged his supporters to remain calm.

"I just want to request everyone to maintain peace at the moment," said Dilawar Insan. "We will explore what legal options are available to us."

The sect claims to have about 50 million followers and campaigns for vegetarianism and against drug addiction. It has also taken up social causes such as organizing the weddings of poor couples.

Such sects have huge followings in India. It's not unusual for their leaders to have small, heavily armed private militias protecting them.

Angry mobs also attacked police in the town of Sirsa, where the guru's ashram is located, local police said.

When the guru left his ashram early Friday for the hearing, he was accompanied by a convoy of more than 180 vehicles, Singh, the Punjab chief minister, said.

Police erected heavy metal barricades topped with barbed wire along main roads in the town, a quiet residential suburb of Chandigarh, the joint capital of Haryana and Punjab states.

Authorities ordered internet and cellphone services shut down across both Haryana and Punjab as a security precaution.

Train services were cancelled in the area, leading to railway delays across north India. Schools and colleges were also closed.

The case was tried in a special court run by India's top investigative agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Supporters of the Dera Sacha Sauda religious sect on a road leading to the courthouse where the decision finding Ram Rahim Singh guilty of rape was handed down. (Altaf Qadri/Associated Press)

Such cases against religious leaders have prompted violence in the past.

Clashes in 2007 between Dera Sacha Sauda followers and members of the Sikh faith left at least three people dead in north India.

In 2014, six people were killed when followers of another religious leader, guru Rampal, fought pitched battles with police who were attempting to arrest him after he repeatedly failed to appear in court in connection with a murder trial.

In a televised appeal on Thursday, Ram Rahim Singh asked his supporters not to resort to violence, but some said they would not tolerate a verdict that went against their leader.

"I consider guru-ji to be only next to God," farmer Malkit Singh said as he squatted on the ground in a park, saying Ram Rahim Singh had cured him of a 10-year addiction to drugs.

"There is a God above," he said. "Our guru-ji follows the path of truth."

Wikipedia: In 2002, a female follower of Singh's allegedly penned an anonymous letter to then Prime Minister of India Atal Vajpayee accusing Singh of sexual abuse. A CBI probe was ordered into the incident on September 24, 2002. 

In the same year, Singh had murder charges levied against him for the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chatrapati, who was writing articles at the time about Dera Sacha Sauda, and for the murder of Dera Sacha Sauda manager Ranjit Singh.

Singh has also been involved in controversies. Mainstream Sikh leaders have accused him of insulting their faith. He has also been accused of rape, murder and forced castrations.

Courageous and Strong: Indian Woman Hailed after Cutting Off Genitals of ‘Rapist’ Guru

FILE: Members of All India Students Association protest against rape in New Delhi, India,

October 18, 2015. © Anindito Mukherjee / Reuters

A young Indian woman who chopped off the penis of her alleged rapist has been praised for her ‘courage’ by local officials.

The 23-year-old law student from Kerala, southern India, removed the appendage as well as 90 percent of the man’s genitals in the attack, according to The Hindu. She reportedly contacted police immediately after the incident and was taken to a refuge for safety.

The man, identified as Swami Ganeshananda, a self-proclaimed religious guru, was treated for his injuries at a local government hospital.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan hailed the young woman, declaring the action “a courageous and strong act.”

That's an amazing thing for a high level politician to say, and a sad commentary on India's judicial system and its failure to make a dent in the astonishing levels of rape of Indian women and children. This act may not make a big difference either but it will stop one man.

The woman claims she was first assaulted by the 54-year-old self-styled ‘godman’ when she was 16 years old, and was repeatedly raped by him as he visited her family home under the auspices of curing her paralyzed father.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Arul B. Krishna told the Times of India that the woman’s mother appointed the guru to conduct prayer rituals at the house. Police have reportedly detained her for not reporting the sexual abuse, according to India Today.

The accused man, who is recovering from his injuries, was charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act for repeatedly raping the woman over seven years.

He has denied the accusations, telling police that he cut off his own penis “as it was not useful to him,” reported India Today.

Well, it certainly isn't now, but perhaps if it had been less useful to him over the past 7 years, he might still have it.

Bollywood Star, Sued for Alleged Sexual Abuse of B.C. Dancers in Sect

CBC British Columbia, Canada
Two former dance students allege one of India's biggest celebrities, Shiamak Davar, is a sexually abusive and controlling leader of a sect called VRRP Spiritual Learning group, according to two lawsuits filed in B.C. Supreme Court.

Shiamak, 53, teaches dance in six countries and has sold millions of albums. His choreography has gone from Bollywood to Hollywood blockbusters such as Mission Impossible 4. He's rubbed shoulders with everyone from Bollywood stars like Shilpa Shetty to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and B.C. Premier Christy Clark.

Jimmy Mistry (left) performs with Shiamak Davar in Mumbai in 2000
(Times of India)

Percy Shroff, 40, and Jimmy Mistry, 33, both of North Vancouver, B.C., say they endured years of unwanted sexual touching at the hands of Shiamak, who they say abused his authority as their spiritual leader to control all aspects of their lives.

"I used to believe that his word was god.… I just wanted to please him," said Shroff in an exclusive interview with CBC News.

Shroff claims the star, known simply as Shiamak, began grooming him for sexual exploitation when he was 16, and he is suing now to protect his young son.

Denies all allegations

In a written response to the lawsuits, Shiamak claims the allegations are not true and that the two former dancers are trying to ruin "his character, reputation and affiliated organizations."​

Indian choreographer Shiamak Davar and actress Shilpa Shetty perform on stage
at the Indian International Academy Awards in Sheffield, England, in June 2007.
(Darren Staples/Reuters)

Shiamak, who splits his time between Mumbai and North Vancouver, says he is the "custodian" of VRRP, not its leader, and that if the two men believed he was their spiritual guru, that was their personal view.

But in the claim, Mistry says Shiamak was their spiritual guru.

"In India, your guru, your teacher, goes way up there in respect, almost, if not more than your parents, so you don't think he can do anything wrong," he says of the man he once believed received messages directly from God.

​VRRP follows the teachings of Khorsheed Bhavnagari, who wrote The Laws of the Spirit World, in which she claimed her two dead sons communicated with her.

Shiamak says he also does what's called "auto writing" to receive messages from spirits.

Shroff alleges in his claim that Shiamak uses those messages to control VRRP members.

"You have to do what you are told," he says, explaining why he complied when he was 17, with a request to visit Shiamak in Mumbai.

"He started kissing my neck, then he told me to lie down on top of him, and he told me to grind my crotch into his crotch," says Shroff, who claims he told Shiamak he would never do that again.

Percy Shroff (left) and Jimmy Mistry are suing Shiamak Davar. (CBC)

The lawsuit claims Shiamak punished him, claiming his soul would not progress spiritually if he didn't submit.

Shroff claims he lost roles in dance performances, and was left behind on an out-of-town performance.

"He was just publicly humiliating me … because I wasn't giving him what he wanted … which was reciprocating to sexual acts," claims Shroff, who says he moved from Mumbai to North Vancouver to help Shiamak run the VRRP after Bhavnagari died in 2007.

Shiamak says he "has never had inappropriate sexual relations" with any dancer in his company or used his spirituality to manipulate, control or threaten anyone.

The lawsuit claims VRRP members in Canada must reside between 17th and 22nd Street near Lonsdale Avenue in North Vancouver, because the group believes the area was safe from an imminent apocalypse.

B.C. Premier Christy Clark and Shiamak Davar share a laugh on stage while
holding trophies during an event in Vancouver in January 2013 to announce
that the Times of India Film Awards would be held in the city.
 (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)

Shroff says he was told when to marry and have a child, and that Shiamak then ordered him to tell his wife he was gay, claiming he was conveying a message from one of Bhavnagari's dead sons.

Shroff says he complied and they separated, though he claims Shiamak ordered them to stay married.

The claim says Shiamak warned Shroff that choosing to be gay would "destroy his son's spiritual mission on earth," but Shiamak denies that, and says members are free to live their lives as they choose.

Good grief! How many 'gurus' are there in India and elsewhere? It seems they all have their own beliefs, they all have direct access to God, and they all have power and authority over followers. Such power and authority is very often abused as Shroff and Mistry allege. 

See:
The Horrors of Being a Girl at a Yoga Ashram - Save A Child
The Nightmare That Just Won't End, Another Ashram Horror Story
Bikram Choudhury, Millionaire Yoga Guru, Sued for Alleged Sexual Assault
As if There Isn't Enough Rape in India - It Appears that False Accusations May be Increasing

Committing child sex abuse is a certain sign that you are not connected to God. Satan, maybe, but not God. Hearing messages from dead people is also Satanic and not of God. The only way you can hear God's voice is through His Son, Jesus Christ - "No-one comes to the Father but by Me", He said.

Worried about son still in group

"It was a very scary situation for me, because you think it's the spirit souls in the world talking through him," says Shroff, who is now openly gay and requesting a court order to prohibit Shiamak from having contact with his son.

Shiamak Davar (behind) with former follower Percy Shroff. (Percy Shroff)

He shares custody with his ex-wife, who is still in the group.

"I am extremely worried that … my son will be touched the same way I was as he grows older.…. that he will be influenced by the radical philosophies [of VRRP]," he says.

Mistry says he was 18 when Shiamak invited a few male dancers to watch TV in his bedroom, wearing only his underwear, according to the claim.

"It got to the point of him grabbing my hand, putting it on his genitalia … while another dancer would kiss him or touch him," says Mistry, who soon joined Shiamak's spiritual group.

"I really got sucked in to that at that point in time, and also it started to get more physical," he says, adding that Shiamak often kissed him on the mouth, once gave him a hickey and made unwanted sexual advances.

Shiamak says there was never any sexual or physical interaction between him and Mistry.

Sex with students alleged 

Shroff claims he confronted Shiamak about having sex with young dance and spiritual students.  

"I said Shiamak, you need to stop because ... these are your dance and spiritual students who come to you for advice."

Shiamak Davar is pictured at one of his dance classes in Vancouver in 2011.
(CBC)

He claims Shiamak said the students "had more to lose by speaking out about it," but Shiamak says that conversation never happened.

Shroff and Mistry are claiming damages for psychological injuries.

"Going up against him is like going up against a prophet," says Shroff about his decision to sue.

"I am not doing this out of revenge, I am doing this to help my son" he says.

None of the plaintiffs allegations have been proven and Shiamak has asked the court to dismiss both lawsuits, with costs.

Mia Farrow's Brother Sentenced for Child Sex Abuse

The brother of movie star Mia Farrow will spend the next 10 years in prison for sexually abusing two boys in Maryland.

John Charles Villiers-Farrow, 67, was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison, with 15 years suspended.

John Charles Villiers-Farrow,  Mia Farrow's creepy brother

Villiers-Farrow entered an Alford plea in July to two counts of child abuse in the molestation of two 10-year-old boys who were his neighbors in Anne Arundel County, Md., in 2002.

He had faced 39 counts. 39 counts dropped to 2? That's a plea bargain and a half. Authorities say he abused one victim for seven years, beginning when the boy was nine, and abused another boy from the ages of 8 to 13.

An Alford plea means the suspect does not admit guilt, but concedes there is enough evidence for a conviction. What a strange thing that is. Is he guilty or not? If he's not, why is he going to jail? Weird, very weird.

Villiers-Farrow was arrested in November following an investigation that began when two men came forward in August 2012. At the time, Anne Arundel County police had recently received information that several children were sexually abused in the Edgewater area.

According to court documents, the boys were abused in Villiers-Farrow's home, and a few times in a nearby camper. The victims told police that Villiers-Farrow would show them pornographic movies. The encounters escalated to touching and then to oral sex, the documents said.

Mia Farrow

Villiers-Farrow made headlines in 1992 when he commented on the controversy surrounding sister Mia's custody battle with Woody Allen, and Allen's relationship with Farrow's adopted daughter Soon-Yi. At the time, Villiers-Farrow told People magazine, Allen "is going to be indicted, and he's going to be ruined. I think when all of it comes out, he's going to go to jail." He didn't, unfortunately.

People magazine described John as "a sometime screenwriter and boat salesman outside Annapolis, Md." A Baltimore Sun article from 1998 described "John Farrow" as co-owner of Chesapeake Catamaran Center in Annapolis, though that business has since been sold.

Villiers-Farrow also had a brush with fame in 1968 when he accompanied Mia and their sister, Prudence, to visit Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India. The Beatles arrived in India to meet with Maharishi while the Farrows were there. Villiers-Farrow is just one of many nightmare stories associated with people who visited the Maharishi that year. Much, much more to come on that story at a later date.

He appeared as a teen in the Robert Stack movie "John Paul Jones," which was written by his father, screenwriter and director John Farrow. Villiers-Farrow's mother was actress Maureen O'Sullivan.

Mia Farrow, UNICEF
Goodwill Ambassador

The website IMDB says Villiers-Farrow also had an uncredited role in the 1954 Elizabeth Taylor movie, "The Last Time I Saw Paris." And a Brooklyn newspaper said Villiers-Farrow was scheduled to have a movie role at the young age of 5 months, playing a baby in his father's movie "Blaze of Noon" with Anne Baxter and William Holden.

Mia Farrow became famous for her roles in the TV show "Peyton Place" and in movies including "Rosemary's Baby," and Woody Allen movies including "Zelig," "Broadway Danny Rose" and "Hannah and Her Sisters."

More recently, she has served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and as an activist for humanitarian aid and political change in Sudan.

Guru Arrested for Raping Girl

A controversial spiritual guru was arrested early Sunday on a rape charge filed by a teenage girl in the northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan, police said.

Asaram Bapu was arrested at a spiritual retreat in central India and flown to the city of Jodhpur, where police say he is wanted for allegedly raping the girl, said Ajay Singh Lamba, a top police officer.

The case is the latest in a series of high-profile rape cases in India that have fueled public protests and raised questions about how police handle the cases and treat the victims.

The girl filed a complaint two weeks ago accusing the Hindu religious preacher of raping her when she visited his retreat in Jodhpur with her mother. The girl's family says they have been followers of Asaram Bapu for more than a decade.

Asaram Bapu, who has hundreds of thousands of followers in India and is well known for his discourses on Hindu religion, has denied the charge.

There was drama Saturday when Rajasthan police arrived at his retreat to arrest him, with hundreds of his supporters thronging the ashram and attacking television crews.

Asaram Bapu outraged many Indians earlier this year when he said the victim of a gang rape on a New Delhi bus would have been let off if she had addressed her attackers as brothers and pleaded with them to spare her. 

Guru Bapu represents part of the old attitude toward women and girls that needs to change in India. We can pray for that change to come about quickly.