01of 06Tony Alamo and His Child BridesShutterstockWhen it started in the 1960s on the streets of Los Angeles,the Tony Alamo Christian Ministriesheld hope for a better society for young people seeking purpose.But the word of the group’s eponymous leader (pictured)turned apocalyptic over time, and he began to assertgreater control over members' lives: There were countless rules, including one requiring members to ask permission to go outside.When Alamo’s wife, Susan, died in 1982, his behavior became even more deviant as he extolled the righteousness of polygamy andmarrying young girls. Among his child “wives” was an 8-year-old girl.In 2009, he was convicted of taking young girls across state lines to have sex with them. He was sentenced to 175 years and died in federal prison in 2017 at 82.You can watch the full episode ofPeople Magazine Investigates: Cultson Tony Alamohere.
01of 06
Tony Alamo and His Child Brides
Shutterstock
When it started in the 1960s on the streets of Los Angeles,the Tony Alamo Christian Ministriesheld hope for a better society for young people seeking purpose.
But the word of the group’s eponymous leader (pictured)turned apocalyptic over time, and he began to assertgreater control over members' lives: There were countless rules, including one requiring members to ask permission to go outside.
When Alamo’s wife, Susan, died in 1982, his behavior became even more deviant as he extolled the righteousness of polygamy andmarrying young girls. Among his child “wives” was an 8-year-old girl.
In 2009, he was convicted of taking young girls across state lines to have sex with them. He was sentenced to 175 years and died in federal prison in 2017 at 82.
You can watch the full episode ofPeople Magazine Investigates: Cultson Tony Alamohere.
02of 06Hundreds Driven to Mass Suicide at JonestownDavid Hume Kennerly/GettyBefore he became infamousas a murderous cult leaderwho led more than 900 of his Peoples Temple followers to suicide, Jim Jones was an advocate for the poor who preached a message of racial harmony.But Jones' paranoia and abuseescalated as his drug use increased. In 1977, after a magazine article exposed his abuses to Americans, Jones moved his congregants to “Jonestown,” a 3,800-acre jungle compound in northern Guyana.In Jonestown, children performed forced labor under threat of armed guards, and Jones ran a series of “White Night” mass suicide drills as loyalty tests, in which congregants were toldthey were drinking a mixture containing fatal poison.On Nov. 18, 1978, more than 900 people died — including 304 children — when they drank a cyanide-laced solution. It wasthe largest mass suicide in modern history. (Pictured: an aerial view of the aftermath.)You can watch the full episode ofPeople Magazine InvestigatesCultson Jonestownhere.
02of 06
Hundreds Driven to Mass Suicide at Jonestown
David Hume Kennerly/Getty
Before he became infamousas a murderous cult leaderwho led more than 900 of his Peoples Temple followers to suicide, Jim Jones was an advocate for the poor who preached a message of racial harmony.
But Jones' paranoia and abuseescalated as his drug use increased. In 1977, after a magazine article exposed his abuses to Americans, Jones moved his congregants to “Jonestown,” a 3,800-acre jungle compound in northern Guyana.
In Jonestown, children performed forced labor under threat of armed guards, and Jones ran a series of “White Night” mass suicide drills as loyalty tests, in which congregants were toldthey were drinking a mixture containing fatal poison.
On Nov. 18, 1978, more than 900 people died — including 304 children — when they drank a cyanide-laced solution. It wasthe largest mass suicide in modern history. (Pictured: an aerial view of the aftermath.)
You can watch the full episode ofPeople Magazine InvestigatesCultson Jonestownhere.
03of 06
A Reclusive Church Turns on 2 Teenage Members
Mike Groll/AP/REX/Shutterstock
TheWord of Life Christian Church(whose headquarters are pictured) started as a small bible study group in upstate New York. But over time, as membership dwindled, church leaders began to exert greater control over congregants.
It all culminated on the night of Oct. 11, 2015, when teenage brothers Lucas and Christopher Leonard, then 19 and 17, announced their plans to leave the church and in responsewere savagely beaten over 12 hoursinside the church’s sanctuary room.
Among the assailants were their parents. Lucas died from his wounds the next day.
Nine members of the churchwere later sentenced for their roles in the attack.
You can watch the full episode ofPeople Magazine Investigates: Cultson Word of Lifehere.
04of 06
A Self-Made ‘Son of God’ Who Plotted Murder
Bettmann/Getty
Proclaiming himself the son of God,Yahweh Ben Yahweh(pictured) — born Hulon Mitchell Jr. in Oklahoma before moving south and renaming himself in 1978 — was the leader of the same-namedNation of Yahweh, founded in Miami. Though his community-revitalizing work and gospel of love and self-esteem earned plaudits and devotees nationwide, his endorsement of violent black separatism portended darker deeds.
A key member, former football player Robert Rozier, turned against the Yahwehs after his own arrest, helping convict Yahweh and multiple other group members. Found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, Yahweh was sentenced to 18 years in prison and paroled in 2001. He died in 2007 at 71.
You can watch the full episode ofPeople Magazine Investigates: Cultson the Nation of Yahwehhere.
05of 06An ‘Oracle of God’ Hiding Child Abuse?AP/REX/ShutterstockDeborah Green (pictured) in 1981 co-foundedthe Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps, a militaristic religious sect in New Mexico, with her husband, James Green.In 2017, Deborah, as well as son Joshua Green and son-in-law Peter Green and another group member, Stacey Miller, were arrested and accused of various crimes in connection with the abuse of children.Criminal complaints alleged that Deborah was known to her followers as an “Oracle of God.” Several experts have described the organization as a cult.Deborah was accused of child abuse, negligent abuse and criminal sexual penetration while Joshua was charged with not reporting a birth.Miller was accused of one count each of intentional abuse of a child, bribery of a witness and not reporting a birth.Peter, who helped oversee the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps in Fence Lake, was charged with 100 counts of criminal sexual penetration of a child.According to allegations laid out in the criminal complaints, both Peter and Deborah sexually abused a girl they had adopted illegally from Uganda. The girl told police that Deborah treated her like a slave, withheld food from her and forced her to sleep on the floor.The Greens are further accused of of controlling the group’s finances, limiting members’ communication with the outside world and depriving followers of much-needed medical attention.In a statement in August, the ACMTC rebuked the accusations against its members: “We don’t know who all the accusers are, but the accusations are just re-runs of old lies that have been investigated and shown to be malicious attacks against a legitimate ministry, time and again.“You can watch the full episode ofPeople Magazine Investigates: Cultson the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corpshere.
05of 06
An ‘Oracle of God’ Hiding Child Abuse?
AP/REX/Shutterstock
Deborah Green (pictured) in 1981 co-foundedthe Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps, a militaristic religious sect in New Mexico, with her husband, James Green.
In 2017, Deborah, as well as son Joshua Green and son-in-law Peter Green and another group member, Stacey Miller, were arrested and accused of various crimes in connection with the abuse of children.
Criminal complaints alleged that Deborah was known to her followers as an “Oracle of God.” Several experts have described the organization as a cult.
Deborah was accused of child abuse, negligent abuse and criminal sexual penetration while Joshua was charged with not reporting a birth.
Miller was accused of one count each of intentional abuse of a child, bribery of a witness and not reporting a birth.
Peter, who helped oversee the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps in Fence Lake, was charged with 100 counts of criminal sexual penetration of a child.
According to allegations laid out in the criminal complaints, both Peter and Deborah sexually abused a girl they had adopted illegally from Uganda. The girl told police that Deborah treated her like a slave, withheld food from her and forced her to sleep on the floor.
The Greens are further accused of of controlling the group’s finances, limiting members’ communication with the outside world and depriving followers of much-needed medical attention.
In a statement in August, the ACMTC rebuked the accusations against its members: “We don’t know who all the accusers are, but the accusations are just re-runs of old lies that have been investigated and shown to be malicious attacks against a legitimate ministry, time and again.”
You can watch the full episode ofPeople Magazine Investigates: Cultson the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corpshere.
06of 06
W. A. Bridges Jr./Atlanta Journal-Constitution/AP
ThePeople Magazine Investigates: Cultsepisode on the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors airs Monday (9 p.m. ET) on Investigation Discovery
source: people.com
