CultNEWS101 Articles: 4/3/2026

[Patrick Ryan]

Global Community Communications Alliance,  Colonia ⁠Dignidad, Chile,  Foundation of Ubiquity

Green Valley News: Spiritual compound south of GV named in lawsuit; allegations include sex abuse, coercion, forced labor

"A woman who claims she escaped from a spiritual compound near Tumacácori after 20 years of abuse has filed a lawsuit in Superior Court in Santa Cruz County that includes allegations of forced labor, sexual exploitation and psychological coercion."

"...Among the allegations outlined in the 34-page filing:

• “Defendants engineered a system designed to break children and adults down, isolate them, and make them dependent on the very people harming them.”
• “Children were separated from their parents, deprived of education, forced into hard labor, subjected to sexualized discipline, and denied basic medical care.” “Surveillance” was constant and obedience to leadership “mandatory.”
• “Defendants conspired to operate … GCCA as a criminal enterprise for the common purpose of exploitation, trafficking, forced labor and sexual abuse.”
• Leaders “staged sham inspections and lied to government officials” who visited the gated compound and instructed members to lie to investigators.
• Ten elders made all decisions regarding labor assignments, childcare, discipline, financial management and medical access. They also determined “romantic partner choices” and which food to eat.
• Members were required to surrender “all money and possessions upon joining," and movement on and off the property was tightly restricted.

The lawsuit lists as defendants Global Community Communications Alliance; the estate of its late leader and founder, Anthony Joseph Delevin; and four other leaders of the group."

Reuters: Germany plans talks with Chile over site tied to cult led by abusive German preacher

"Germany will talk to Chile's new right-wing government about reports that it is dropping plans to turn a settlement founded by a German cult leader and sex abuser into ‌a memorial to victims of torture.

"The German government supports the project to establish a memorial in Chile. We will continue discussions on this, especially in light of this new information," a foreign ministry spokesperson told a government press conference."

"...The enclave, originally called ‌Colonia ⁠Dignidad and renamed Villa Baviera, was founded in 1961 by Paul Schaefer, an evangelical preacher and cult leader who was later jailed for sexually abusing children.

He died in 2010, while serving a 20-year sentence.

During Augusto Pinochet's right-wing dictatorship from 1973 to 1990, the 290-acre (117-hectare) community hosted a secret prison where military forces tortured political prisoners."

News-Leader: From the Darkroom shows cult leader after deadly bus hijacking

"In this July 1982 photograph, cult leader Emory Lamb Sr. posed for a portrait to accompany an article on a deadly bus hijacking by a couple of his followers.

Keith and Kate Haigler of Jasper, Arkansas, held 17 passengers hostage on July 3, 1982. The two brandished handguns and a bag of "dynamite" that was later found to be red painted sticks. The Haiglers believed the hijacking would bring attention to their religion and end their lives so they could be resurrected three and a half days later. The couple were shot in the shoulders by snipers, but ultimately, Mrs. Haigler ended both of their lives. None of the hostages were harmed.

A portrait of Emory Lamb Sr., leader of the Jasper, Arkansas-based religious cult known as the FOU (Foundation of Ubiquity). Lamb led his followers to believe that he was a reincarnation of Jesus Christ. Two of his followers hijacked a bus with 17 people and killed themselves onboard, no hostages were injured.

The Haiglers were followers of FOU, which stood for the Foundation of Ubiquity, or Father of Us. FOU came to Emory Lamb Sr. in a vision. Lamb owned a store at the time, which he covered in spray paint and signs declaring, “FOU Was Here.”

Keith Hagler, a nomad, was drawn to the store out of curiosity and received a pamphlet on FOU. Keith and Kate Haigler were Lamb’s only followers outside of his wife and daughter. The bus hijacking drew heavy media attention, though it was often critical of FOU rather than promotional, as the Haiglers had hoped."

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