US sex abuse suspect detained in Brazil

US sex abuse suspect detained in Brazil
Updated on

Summary Barnard is accused of a series of assaults between 2000 and 2012.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - An American man suspected of multiple sexual assaults on young women while running a cult has been detained in Brazil, police said Saturday.

Police ran 53-year-old Victor Barnard, wanted on 59 counts of abuse, to the ground in the beach resort of Pipa, near the northern city of Natal after a search coordinated with US authorities, Globo reported.

Barnard, who founded his River Road Fellowship sect in Minnesota, is accused of a series of assaults between 2000 and 2012. He was the subject of an international manhunt.