A secretive cult network built on intense psychological coercion has been dismantled in Saint-Laurent-de-Cerdans, a remote village tucked away in the Pyrenees-Orientales (a mountainous border region of southern France, ~150 km north of Barcelona). French law enforcement has targeted the group’s leader, Jelle B., a 73-year-old Dutch national who ruled over an isolated community of roughly thirty devoted followers. Drawing ideological inspiration from the controversial Indian mystic Osho, the group’s strict doctrine mandated intensive dynamic meditation (a vigorous Osho-devised cathartic practice) alongside absolute sexual freedom.
The judicial investigation exposes severe exploitation across a sprawling 66-hectare estate. Members, who were almost exclusively young Dutch adults, were forced to break off all communication with their families. The guru systematically separated couples according to his whims, while children were blocked from attending the local village school, instead being sent across the border to a French Montessori establishment in Figueres, Spain (~25 km south of the French border).
Followers provided a steady stream of unpaid labor to keep the massive estate operational. Cult members maintained the agricultural grounds and staffed a highly lucrative, entirely undeclared bed-and-breakfast business, alongside an illicit vehicle repair garage. None of these commercial ventures were registered with French tax authorities. One of the leader’s four live-in companions managed the administrative operations of the clandestine hospitality business. She has since been indicted by magistrates for hidden labor.
Official reports reveal horrific details of physical deprivation, with several members suffering from severe emaciation due to strictly rationed food supplies. While the Perpignan prosecutor’s office demanded immediate imprisonment, the judge ordered a lenient supervised release under judicial control. « Beyond viewing him as a sexual predator, the victims are suffering deeply from the long-term psychological impacts of manipulation », stated Petra Cramer, the attorney representing the civil parties (victim-plaintiffs in French criminal proceedings), during an official court briefing on May 15, 2026. A faction of the disciples has already fled to Andalusia near Cordoba, Spain (~450 km southwest of Barcelona), where the cult structure is actively attempting to rebuild its network.
The initial breakthrough came from the Netherlands, where desperate parents raised alarms over the sudden disappearance of their children. The French National Gendarmerie and Miviludes (the anti-sect ministerial task force) collaborated over several years to crack the case. The public can track updates on this criminal network through the official report on Midi Libre.
