Brazilian Police Arrest Fugitive Cult Leader from Minnesota

Duluth News Tribune
March 1, 2015

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/crime/3689885-brazilian-police-arrest-fugitive-cult-leader-minnesota

Victor Barnard

Victor Barnard, the Minnesota man who authorities allege ran a cult in Pine County that victimized young women, was arrested Friday in Brazil after nearly a year as a fugitive.

Brazilian media outlets reported that Barnard, 53, was arrested in Rio Grande do Norte, the northeasternmost state of the South American country.

Barnard, 53, had eluded law enforcement since he was charged in April 2014 with 59 crimes related to the sexual abuse of girls who lived at his River Road Fellowship camp near Finlayson, a small town just off Interstate 35 southwest of Duluth.

He was added to the U.S. Marshals Service’s 15 Most Wanted Fugitives list in November.

“The malicious crimes allegedly committed by Victor Barnard make him a significant threat to the community,” U.S. Marshals Service Director Stacia Hylton said in a news release at the time. From 2000-09, Barnard allegedly sexually assaulted numerous girls, who he called “maidens” and who lived away from their parents in an area of the encampment known as “Shepherd’s Camp.”

Barnard left Minnesota for Washington state in 2009 after some followers questioned his relationship with his young female followers. He has been a fugitive since being charged with the sexual assault.

Barnard was arrested late Friday at Pipa Beach, a popular resort area along the Atlantic coast, a Brazilian military police spokeswoman said. The officers were acting on orders from federal police, she said.

The Marshals Service had reported in November that officials believed Barnard may have fled the country and that he continued to receive support from some of his followers.

On Saturday, one of the women who has accused Barnard of sexual abuse told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that Barnard had long talked about relocating the cult to South America to “hide out.”

Barnard is awaiting extradition to the U.S. Brazilian media reports said that his extradition papers already have been signed by courts in Brazil, the Star Tribune reported.