He raped his 'handmaidens' and impoverished his followers: fake guru Bruno Malatesta arrested

Turin: Sexual assaults on women and minors, disguised as "purifying therapies," and the victims' vows of poverty, recruited through yoga classes, to fatten his bank accounts: Bruno Antonio Malatesta, "the master" or "the chosen one," as he called himself, has been arrested with a pre-trial detention order. Hundreds of people are believed to have fallen into his trap over the past few years; as early as 2018, RAI had reported on his pseudo-spiritual sect in the Lower Susa Valley.

This morning, as part of Operation Asmodeus (named after a powerful, persecuting demon in biblical tradition), the Carabinieri arrested the 59-year-old and took him to Turin prison. The investigation, coordinated by Turin Deputy Prosecutor Davide Pretti, unmasked the yoga instructor, a well-known figure online who claimed to practice holistic healing disciplines and to be an expert in Indian martial arts and bioenergetic rebalancing with crystals.

In his professional profile, he describes having begun his training in India, attending Himalayan monasteries and ashrams, and having also studied naturopathy, bioenergy, and shamanism over the years. But perhaps he hasn't moved much from Almese, a town near Turin, where he has his practice and where he used to house his followers, especially women.

Yoga and meditation courses: Victims recruited in hopes of recovery

According to the Prosecutor's Office, Malatesta, behind the facade of yoga, meditation, and martial arts courses, approached vulnerable people, recruiting them into a system of psychological subjugation involving violence, coercion at work, and sexual abuse. The charges raised by the Turin Prosecutor's Office include enslavement, domestic abuse, aggravated sexual assault, and aggravated fraud against the state.

The investigation was triggered by several complaints, the first dating back to 2017, many of which were later withdrawn, likely due to pressure from the man.

The shaman claimed he could cure even serious illnesses and cancer with his 'purifying' therapies.

In addition to spiritual healing, according to investigators' findings, the "master" also promised followers cures for cancer. This is one of the charges against Malatesta: coercing people in difficult or vulnerable situations and enslaving them. Some victims were allegedly recruited during yoga classes open to all and then induced to join the sect.

A vow of chastity was imposed on the 'maids', with a ban on sexual relations with their companions and husbands, but not with the holy man.

The followers lived in terraced houses registered to companies that, according to investigations, could be indirectly linked to the 59-year-old. They wore orange robes and shaved their heads. All were reportedly required to take a vow of poverty, while the women, known as "nuns" and "handmaids," were also required to take a vow of chastity in their relationships with their partners or husbands, but not with the holy man. The system reconstructed by investigators also included corporal punishment or sleeping on the floor.

Sexual abuse of 17-year-old girls: Carabinieri appeal to the still unknown victims to report

The charges also include sexual abuse of minors: the victims were reportedly 16 and 17 years old at the time of the incident. Among the victims of the man who proclaimed himself the "chosen one" in contact with the "Divine Mother" were minors, whom he allegedly sexually assaulted. The 59-year-old allegedly abused women, including minors, repeatedly, passing off the sexual assaults as alleged "purifying therapies."

The Turin Carabinieri's investigation is complex, supported by several complaints and the investigations conducted, but there may be other victims who have not come forward for fear of repercussions. This is why the Carabinieri have launched an appeal.

"We urge anyone who has been a victim of abuse and violence to contact their local Carabinieri station to report it," said Lieutenant Colonel Diego Berlingieri, Commander of the Turin Carabinieri Operations Unit. The investigation, Berlingieri further clarified, revealed that Bruno Malatesta "promoted yoga, meditation, and self-defense courses, approaching vulnerable victims, hosting them in his residential community, and subjecting them to physical and psychological abuse." Several dozen victims have been identified so far, but the investigation is ongoing, and it is suspected that there may be many more victims.

Bruno Malatesta pretended to be disabled to collect his pension: investigated for fraud against the state.

But Malatesta, who claimed to heal others through holistic practices, was, according to his medical records, incapable of healing himself, so much so that he was receiving a disability pension due to difficulty walking. In reality, this too was a major fraud, this time to the detriment of the state.

According to the prosecution, the man allegedly faked his walking disability by pretending to be disabled and defrauding the INPS medical commission, receiving over €80.000 in disability pension.

And then, by including among the obligations a vow of obedience and poverty to join the sect, he allegedly unduly enriched himself with the money of his followers, especially women, through psychological manipulation. All by virtue of his alleged supernatural powers and shamanic therapies.

Powers that, unfortunately for him, did not 'reveal' to him that he was about to be arrested.