List of Religious Leaders Convicted of Crimes - Violent Crimes

Violent Crimes

• Tony Alamo - Headed a Santa Clarita commune. Convicted of tax evasion in 1994 and then resided in a halfway house in Texarkana. In 2009, he was convicted of ten federal counts of taking minors across state lines for sex, and sentenced to 150 years in federal prison.
• Shoko Asahara - Founder of Aum Shinrikyo sentenced to death by hanging under Japanese law for involvement in the 1995 Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway.

• Wayne Bent (aka: Michael Travesser) - Founder of Lord Our Righteousness Church, sometimes called Strong City. Was convicted of one counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor in 2008. Was sentenced to 18 years with eight years suspended.

• Graham Capill - former leader of Christian Heritage New Zealand. Sentenced to nine-year imprisonment term in 2005 after multiple charges of child sexual abuse against girls younger than twelve.

• Matthew F. Hale - Former leader of Creativity Movement sentenced to a 40-year prison term for soliciting an undercover FBI informant to kill a federal judge.

• Warren Jeffs - Once President of Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (a polygamist Mormon sect), convicted of rape as an accomplice (overturned in 2010). Jeffs also awaits trial in other states and in the federal court system.
• Jung Myung Seok - South Korean religious sect leader and founder of Providence. Convicted for raping several of his followers.

• William Kamm - An Australian religious sect leader and self-styled Pope Peter II who was sentenced to prison in October 2005 for a string of sexual attacks on a 15-year-old girl. In August 2007 his sentence was increased after being found guilty for a series of sexual abuses against another teenage girl over a five-year period.

• Ervil LeBaron - Led a small sect of polygamous Mormon fundamentalists, and was convicted of involvement in the murder of two people and plotting to kill another person in 1981.
• Alice Lenshina - Zambian head and founder of the Lumpa Church. Conflicts with the government over the sect's rejection of taxes led to a violent confrontation and her subsequent imprisonment.
• Jeffrey Lundgren - Headed splinter group from Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, executed October 24, 2006, for multiple murders.

• Charles Manson - Leader of the Manson Family who is serving life for first degree murder.
• Shukri Mustafa - Egyptian leader of Takfir wal-Hijra who was captured and executed for the kidnap murder of an Egyptian ex-government minister.

• Fred Phelps - Leader of anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church. Convicted for disorderly conduct and battery.
• Howard Douglas Porter - Pastor at Hickman Community Church, convicted of first-degree murder, embezzlement, elder abuse and attempted murder in 2008.
• Swami Premananda of Tiruchirapalli - Inidian religious leader convicted and sentenced to two life sentences for the rape of 13 girls and murder in 2005.

• Theodore Rinaldo - Leader of a religious group in Snohomish, Washington convicted of third-degree statutory rape for having sexual intercourse with one minor girl and of taking indecent liberties with another.
• Jacques Robidoux - Leader of defunct group The Body of Christ who is serving time for first degree murder after starving his son, apparently thinking it was God's will.

• Paul Schäfer - Former head of Chile-based Colonia Dignidad, was convicted of sexually abusing 25 children.

• Roch Thériault - Former head of "Ant Hill Kids commune" served a life sentence in Canada for the murder of Solange Boislard.

• Yahweh Ben Yahweh - Head of Nation of Yahweh, convicted for Federal racketeering charges and conspiracy involving 14 murders.
• Dwight York - Head of Nuwaubianism, convicted in 2004 of multiple RICO, child molestation, and financial reporting charges and sentenced to 135 years in prison.