Story By: Maja Mishevksa, Sub Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash

This university student has been arrested for allegedly leading a Satanic sect where he sexually abused minors and forced them to eat ‘human meat’ while referring to himself as ‘The Devil’.

The man, identified by local newspaper Il Tirreno as Matteo Valdambrini, was arrested in the province of Prato, in the northern Italian region of Tuscany.

Local media report Valdambrini, who is also known as ‘Il Diavolo’ (The Devil) has been charged with 13 counts of sexual violence, slavery and child pornography.

He is accused of leading a sect where he convinced the members to perform sexual acts with him by telling them they would receive supernatural powers from it.

According to reports, he forced at least 13 young people, some aged 17, to suffer sexual violence in the forests of Prato between 2018 and 2019.

Local media report the suspect, who was studying at Firenze University, told his victims they had been chosen to save the world, selecting his victims by looking for fragile people online and through word of mouth.

He is alleged to have created a “resurrection ritual” where he would be strangled by new members of the sect before pretending to be dead and then standing up as if resurrected.

He reportedly threatened his victims to stop them reporting the abuse and told one girl she had to have sex with him or her seven-year-old sister and parents would die.

The victims were reportedly told having sex with him could get rid of their demons.

Local newspaper Corriere report that on New Year’s Eve 2018, the victims were told to eat ‘human meat’ he claimed to have bought from a man selling bodies in Florence. It is unclear if the meat was really human flesh.

Victims were reportedly forced to send naked pictures of themselves to the leader of the sect, and as some of them were minors he has been charged with child pornography.

The sect’s rituals reportedly consisted of physical violence, with victims being told to have their arms bitten so they could have supernatural powers “like vampires or werewolves” and the suspect claiming to his followers he could change into different creatures.

The case, which was at first an investigation into four victims but has now grown, is ongoing.

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.