João Teixeira de Faria, also known as John of God, self-proclaimed Brazilian medium and spiritual surgeon, has accumulated sentences exceeding 489 years in prison for systematic rapes and sexual abuses.
In September 2023, a Goiás court imposed an additional 118 years, six months, and 15 days on him for 17 cases of rape, rape by deception, and rape of vulnerable persons. He had already received 19 years and four months in December 2019 for four rapes, and in 2020 he added another 40 years for five additional cases.
The convictions are based on judicial evidence and testimonies that the courts considered credible. More than 600 women from Brazil and abroad, aged between 9 and 67 years, reported abuses committed between 1986 and 2017 at his center in Abadiânia.
Among them is his own daughter, Dalva Teixeira, who recounted abuses from the ages of 10 to 14 and a forced pregnancy that ended in abortion due to beatings.
The victims described an identical pattern: Faria would separate them during “private healing sessions,” turn off the lights, and sexually assault them under the excuse of transferring spiritual energy.
International media reported even more serious allegations of an alleged “baby farms” system: poor young women supposedly held and forced to gestate in order to sell newborns abroad.
Mito o realidad
En 1987, en un pueblo de Brasil, un hombre llamado João Teixeira de Faria (conocido como “João de Deus”) se hizo famoso como “cirujano psíquico”. Decía operar sin bisturí: metía las manos en el cuerpo de las personas y sacaba tumores, huesos rotos y hasta… pic.twitter.com/RiSM9vx2vU
— Héctor | Datos y Curiosidades (@HectorDeTroyz) February 15, 2026
These allegations, spread by activists and some victims, were investigated, but the firm convictions focused on the sexual crimes proven in trial.Oprah Winfrey elevated Faria’s figure to a global level. In 2010 she dedicated an episode of her program to his “miracles” and in 2012 she traveled to Brazil to record Oprah’s Next Chapter, where she explored his methods and presented them as inspiring.
After the scandal broke out in December 2018, the presenter removed the contents from her platform and issued a brief statement: “I empathize with the women who are now coming forward and hope that justice is done.” She has not spoken publicly about the topic again.
This case bears parallels with the scandals at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, her $40 million school in South Africa.
In 2007 a matron was accused of sexual and physical abuses against students; although she was acquitted in 2010, Oprah admitted that the case “shook her to the core” and ordered a complete cleanup.In 2011 a 17-year-old student gave birth on campus and a dead baby appeared in her backpack.
The institution also expelled students for sexual harassment among peers. Oprah’s professional friendship with Harvey Weinstein, the producer convicted of rape, adds another element. They collaborated on films like The Butler and she publicly described him as a “bully” in calls, but she never reported criminal behavior until the scandal exploded.
What is not in dispute is that the man Oprah presented as a miraculous healer in prime time ended up convicted of massive abuses against hundreds of women and girls.
In a world where media and Hollywood elites preach female empowerment while ignoring warning signs for years, this case reveals the distance between progressive discourse and real accountability.
About The Author
Joana Campos
Joana Campos es abogada y editora con más de 10 años de experiencia en la gestión de proyectos de desarrollo internacional, enfocada en la sostenibilidad y el impacto social positivo. Anteriormente, trabajó como abogada corporativa. Egresada de la Universidad de Guadalajara.
