Cult leader's son charged with rape

Associated Press/September 3, 2005

Danvers, Mass. The son of an infamous cult leader was arrested in Oregon this week on charges he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl at a Danvers hotel.

Police say 30-year-old Nathan LeBaron met the girl in an Internet chat room and lured her to the hotel last week. The girl told police that had LeBaron flown into Providence and picked her up in Braintree.

After the alleged assault, he dropped her off and flew back to his native Salem, Oregon. That's where police arrested him Wednesday on a warrant obtained by Danvers police.

Oregon police told The Salem News that LeBaron is one of more than 50 children fathered by the late Ervil LeBaron, who founded a polygamous cult called the Church of the Lamb of God. Ervil LeBaron died in 1981 while imprisoned for masterminding the murder of another polygamous leader.

Nathan LeBaron has reportedly waived extradition and is expected to be brought to Massachusetts next week.