The Region : Self-Styled Exorcist Jailed in Kidnaping

A self-styled exorcist was arrested on suspicion of kidnaping a young woman and her two children by telling the mother that she was possessed by evil spirits. Los Angeles Police Sgt. Steve Moede said the victim, 23, and several witnesses walked into the Foothill Division station to accuse Jose Navarro, 63, of Stockton of having used the young woman’s fear of spirits to force her to have sex with him as part of a so-called rite of exorcism. Moede said the bizarre episode apparently began earlier this month in the Stockton area and ended after the woman, who had been living with Navarro and her twin 5-year-old children in a Southern California motel, was urged by acquaintances to seek police help. The name of the woman was not released by police.