A French sect leader and 'tantric sex guru' is set to appear in court in Nantes on Monday, accused of raping a 14-year-old girl and a second woman. Gabriel Loison ran 'new age' courses in group sex for years until his arrest in 2011.
Gabriel Loison, 73, the founder of the 'University of Nature, Ecology and Relationships,' will appear before a court in Nantes, western France on Monday.
He is charged with the rape and corruption of a minor, rape and sexual assault of another woman, as well as an aggravated charge of taking advantage of both victims' weakness.
The teenager was just 14 at the time of the alleged assault.
Julie Baschet, 39, Loison's partner, is also due to appear in court on Monday. She is charged with being an accomplice to the rape of the teen, as well as joining Loison in raping and sexually assaulting the older victim, and an aggravated charge of taking advantage of the weakness of both victims.
Since founding his 'University' in 1996, Loison charged as many as 200 followers up to €14,000 for courses in tantric and group sex on three to ten-week retreats to western France, Spain, Morocco and Costa Rica, according to BFMTV.
Among his devotees were the parents of a 14-year-old girl, now aged 17, who is alleged to have been raped by him.
Loison's previous group 'Jardins de la Vie' was outlawed in 1995 after a parliamentary investigation into religious sects and cults in France.
The so-called guru is also facing rape charges from three separate accusers, in an unrelated proceeding.
In the mid-1980s a French nun made repeated claims that Loison had raped her, though the charges against him were later dropped.
And in 1989, Loison was suspected of involvement in the deaths of two 'trainees' who disappeared while walking in the mountains in the southern French department of Hérault, though no charges were ever brought against him.
