COMPTON : Faith Healer Guilty in Robbery, Rapes of Family
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A self-styled faith healer who performed satanic rituals as part of his ceremonies was convicted this week of robbing, raping and sexually assaulting nine members of a Latino family.
Oswaldo Cardonas, 52, was found guilty on five counts of grand theft, one count of rape, three counts of sexual assault, 17 counts of child molestation and 37 counts of unlawful sexual intercourse. The victims ranged in age from 9 to 65.
A Compton Superior Court jury deliberated for 17 days before returning the verdicts, and will continue to deliberate on 30 other counts, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office said.
The case against Cardonas came to light when a 27-year-old woman went to him in 1990 for treatment of stress and headaches. She was told that she and her family would need a “cleansing” process and certain rituals to relieve her pain, Deputy Dist. Atty. Sindee Kain-Kerker said.
As part of the treatment, Cardonas would tell the victims he needed to cleanse their money, jewelry and cars. He would then perform sex acts with the female family members.
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