Brazil Police Arrest Self-Styled Religious Leaders in Ritual Abuse Probes

Overview

• Leandro Mota Pereira, known as Pai Leandro de Oxóssi, was captured in Sobradinho II after months as a fugitive under a court-ordered preventive arrest.
• Police found Pereira hiding under a bed and took him to the 35th Police Station as inquiries continue into at least five complaints that include minors.
• A 63-year-old leader was arrested in Campo Grande on suspicion of child rape tied to alleged rituals, with an undocumented shotgun seized at the center.
• In interrogations in Mato Grosso do Sul, the suspect claimed his consciousness was ‘blacked out’ during rituals, a version police say will be tested against forensic and witness evidence.
• Another 63-year-old was detained preventively in Gaspar, Santa Catarina, in a case that also cites conduct in Paraná, with a phone seized and investigators targeting a swift conclusion.