Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Athanor Founder Sentenced to 18 Years for Rapes and Drug-Facilitated Abuse

The Hérault criminal court found he ran a coercive sect that used hallucinogens to impose sex acts.

Overview

  • Judges detailed a system of physical and moral constraint in a shared household where LSD and ecstasy were used to compel sexual relations.
  • Convictions include rapes of adherents—one during a so‑called tantric massage—rapes of two former stepdaughters when they were minors, and corruption of his daughter.
  • The court also found he had usurped the psychotherapist title and directed a sect-like association he founded in Montpellier.
  • The 18-year term carries a 12-year security period that bars parole or early release during that span.
  • The sentence matches the prosecutor’s request, is two years below the 20-year maximum, and he has 10 days to appeal after roughly four years in pretrial detention.