Federal investigators in the United States have charged the flamboyant head of a megachurch in the Philippines with involvement in a vast sex trafficking network, alleging he pressured girls and young women into having sex with him.
Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name (KOJC), is charged in a 74-page indictment. He is also a friend and adviser to Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte.
Duterte has previously responded strongly to attacks on allies, and last year threatened to break a vital military treaty with the U.S. over the denial of a U.S. visa to a Philippine senator who was an ally.
Other church leaders, including two managers stationed in the U.S., have been charged with running a sex-trafficking ring that threatened victims as young as 12 with "eternal damnation" and physical assault.
Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles said the new indictment built on previous claims against three Los Angeles-area KOJC church administrators.
It accuses nine defendants of participating in a scheme in which church members were brought to the U.S. on forged visas and coerced into soliciting funds for a fictitious children's charity.
Prosecutors asserted that the funds were intended to support the church officials' "opulent lifestyles."
Quiboloy and five other defendants were added to an existing indictment filed in 2020.
Prosecutors said three of the new defendants were arrested Thursday in the U.S., while three others, including Quiboloy, were thought to be in the Philippines.
The additional defendants' attorneys could not be immediately named, and the Philippines embassy did not respond to a request for comment.
According to the accusation, Quiboloy and two other defendants recruited females between the ages of 12 and 25 to work as personal assistants, or "pastorals."
They were tasked with preparing Quiboloy's meals, cleaning his dwellings, massaging him, and having sexual intercourse with him during what they referred to as "night duty."
Quiboloy, who proclaims himself as the "Owner of the Universe" and "Appointed Son of God," has been a close friend and spiritual adviser to Duterte for years. Millions of Filipinos follow the popular evangelist.
In September, Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao sued Quiboloy for libel after he accused the multiple world champion of embezzling funds destined for a sports development.
Pacquiao is a presidential candidate next year and has regularly fought with Duterte.
Church leaders wield considerable sway in Philippine elections.
Duterte is barred from seeking a second term as president under the constitution.
