Pastor Apollo Carreon Quiboloy is accused of multiple counts of trafficking and child abuse and is listed on the FBI's Most Wanted List. He was arrested Sunday after a massive police and military force were used to hunt for him at the sprawling compound in the Philippines of his church, Kingdom of Jesus Christ, in an operation that began on Aug. 24. Hundreds of the pastor’s supporters formed human barricades to block search attempts. Suspecting a network of underground bunkers, authorities deployed sensing machines used after earthquakes to detect signs of activity underground. Quiboloy faces accusations of running a cult and exploiting his influence to coerce victims into providing sex and money, NPR reports. A question now is whether Quiboloy might be extradited to the U.S., where he could face life in prison if found guilty. Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said on Monday that Quiboloy will first face the local charges that prompted his arrest warrant, stating that "the extradition request is not yet there.”
While Quiboloy is accused of serious crimes in the Philippines, he’s also been indicted in the U.S. on charges that depict a complex sex trafficking, fraud and money laundering scheme that operated throughout the U.S.
From 2002 to at least 2018, the U.S. indictment says, leaders of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ selected girls and young women between the ages of 12 and 25 to be “pastorals” -- personal assistants to Quiboloy who were also coerced into sex, U.S. prosecutors say. The indictment accuses Quiboloy and church administrators of telling the girls and young women that sex with the pastor was God’s will, threatening them with physical and verbal abuse “and eternal damnation” if they didn’t comply. Pastorals who performed their duties well were “rewarded … with privileges, including trips to tourist destinations like Disneyland, flights in private jets, use of cell phones, and yearly monetary payments referred to as ‘honorariums,’” according to the indictment. The U.S. also alleges that the Kingdom of Jesus Christ used church workers to solicit donations for a fake charity, the Children's Joy Foundation, which funded the church's operations and lavish lifestyle.
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