'Self-appointed spiritual leader' charged with sexual assault: Edmonton police
Edmonton police say a "self-appointed spiritual leader" has been charged with sexual assault, and investigators believe there may be additional victims.
Johannes (John) de Ruiter, 63, was arrested on Saturday.
He is accused of sexually assaulting four people in separate incidents between 2017 and 2020.
De Ruiter is a self-styled spiritual leader of a group known as the College of Integrated Philosophy, or the Oasis Group, which operated out of the Oasis Building at 109 Avenue and 177 Street from 2007 to 2021, police said.
Since 2021, he has been holding meetings out of an office building on St. Albert Trail in St. Albert, and holding spiritual retreats at a campground near Smith, Alta.
"It was reported that the accused informed certain female group members that he was directed by a spirit to engage in sexual activity with them, and that engaging in sexual activity with him will provide them an opportunity to achieve a state of higher being or spiritual enlightenment," police said in a release.
De Ruiter is originally from Stettler. He’s been sharing his so-called spiritual teachings for more than three decades.
John de Ruiter
Stephen Kent, a professor emeritus at the University of Alberta, has been following his activity since the 90s.
“It’s complicated trying to pin down exactly what de Ruiter’s teachings are,” he told CTV News on Monday. “In a practical matter, de Ruiter never registered his group as a religious charity. The organization called Oasis, that’s a form of business. Consequently, we have a business leader giving spiritual teachings to people.”
He says there were indications in the past that de Ruiter was having inappropriate relations with his followers, but there have never been any criminal allegations until now.
“The first indications that John was having sex with followers probably came in late 1999 when his marriage fell apart. He became involved with two sisters who were members,” Kent said
“The issues in this trial are not moral and ethical. They are not concerned with the appropriateness or inappropriateness of a leader, especially a spiritual leader, having sex with followers. The charges involve criminal allegations, and that’s what the focus of the trial will be.”
John de Ruiter
Kent says other people who may have been victimized may feel too much shame or fear to come forward.
“A lot of people who experience traumatic events inside high demand groups are afraid to come forward. They are embarrassed, they are afraid of retaliation, they probably have developed a mental attitude that the leader has extraordinary powers.
“The fact that only four women have launched formal complaints with their names is not necessarily an indication of how widespread the harmful behaviours might have been.”
A representative for de Ruiter sent a written statement to CTV News in response to the charges.
“Mr. de Ruiter will be represented by legal counsel and intends to vigorously contest these charges in a court of law. This situation is deeply impactful for those who have known and do know Mr. de Ruiter."
Anyone who believes they have been victimized by the accused is asked to call the Edmonton Police Service at 780-423-4567 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
With files from CTV News National's Bill Fortier.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
For the first time in report's history, Canada's air quality worse than U.S.
Air quality in Canada is now worse than in the U.S., according to the 6th Annual World Air Quality Report. Of the 15 most polluted cities in the two countries, 14 were in Canada.
A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumour mill. That's a tall order
Prince William and his wife Catherine have been filmed at a farm shop near their Windsor home, The Sun newspaper reported -- the first footage of Kate since she had abdominal surgery for an unspecified condition two months ago.
WATCH LIVE As former prime minister Mulroney lies in state, public tributes in Ottawa begin
Members of the public who wish to pay tribute to Brian Mulroney can visit his casket in Ottawa starting this afternoon.
BREAKING Roy McMurtry, former Ontario attorney general, dies at 91
CTV News has confirmed that former Ontario attorney general Roy McMurtry has died.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
'You ask for your money, they disappear': Ontario man loses $17K to AI crypto scam
A Toronto man is spreading the word of a cryptocurrency scam that lures victims using AI-generated news sites after he lost $17,000 in investments.
DEVELOPING Canada's annual inflation rate ticked down to 2.8 per cent in February, defying expectations
Statistics Canada says the annual inflation rate edged down to 2.8 per cent in February.
High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.