A court in Goiás ordered João Teixeira de Faria, known as João de Deus, and the Dom Inácio de Loyola Spiritist Centre to pay 20 million reais in collective damages.
The ruling concerns sexual abuse said to have taken place at the centre during spiritual sessions in Abadiânia. Judge André Luiz Ligório also ordered individual compensation for people who prove they were harmed while attending the institution. CNN Brasil reported the decision, citing the Goiás state prosecutor’s office.
Individual awards will be calculated separately after facts and documents are reviewed. Claimants must establish the incident, their status as victims, a connection to the centre’s activities and the amount of material damage. The destination of the collective award will be decided in a later stage of the proceedings.
The judgment says the money should support programmes to prevent and address sexual violence against women, with Abadiânia potentially given priority. The court also maintained a restriction on the Dom Inácio agricultural estate, registered in Anápolis.
CNN Brasil said the defence had not responded to a request for comment. The report says criminal charges concern 67 victims identified in indictments, while another 121 cases were not considered because limitation periods expired or the right to file a complaint lapsed. Those figures relate to criminal cases; the new ruling concerns civil compensation.