An alleged 'psycho-sect' composed
mainly of woman and led by a 77-year-old man that allegedly
reduced adepts into sex slavery and sexually abused female
minors was smashed across northern Italy on Monday.
Police dismantled what they called the "very powerful" sect with
a raft of citations in Novara, Milan, Genoa and Pavia.
In all, some 26 people were placed under investigation in the
police operation, codenamed 'Dionysus' from the orgiastic rites
performed in the ancient world in the Roman god's name.
The head of the sector, who demanded to be called 'doctor' or
just 'he', used a group of women including psychologists to
recruit some 50 handmaidens,some of them underage, police said.
They were persuaded to leave their families by promises of
entering a magical world and were systematically punished if
they disobeyed the leader's whims, police said.
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