A South Korean Pastor, Lee Jaerock, who claimed God ordered him to rape 8 women has been sentenced to 15 years in jail
A pastor who styled himself as a god, was sent to jail after raping eight female followers of his church in South Korea.
Religious devotion is widespread in technologically advanced South Korea, with 44 percent of people identifying themselves as believers.
Most belong to mainstream churches, which can accumulate wealth and influence with tens of thousands of followers donating as much as 10 percent of their income.
But fringe groups are also widespread — experts say around 60 people in the country claim to be divine — and some have been implicated in fraud, brainwashing, coercion, and other behaviour associated with cults worldwide.
Lee Jae-Rock, the G.O of Manmin Central Church, led a 130,000-strong congregation until his recent downfall.
Swirling allegations of sexual abuse finally caught up with Lee, having first been accused of sexually assaulting five women in April, 2018.
The survivors reported to the Korea Herald that he forced them to have sex several times, and claimed it was an order from God.
“I was unable to turn him down,” one of them told South Korean television.
“He was more than a king. He was God,” added the woman, who had been a church member since childhood.
The court found he raped the victims tens of times over a long period.
