Former 'maiden' of Minn. cult leader who was sexually abused for nine years starting at age 13 files lawsuit

By David Boroff
New York Daily News
January 25, 2017

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/ex-maiden-minnesota-cult-leader-abused-files-lawsuit-article-1.2955520

Lindsay Tornambe (r.) and Jess Schlinsky (l.) were both victims of cult leader Victor Barnard.

Former cult leader Victor Barnard is serving 30 years in prison.

Victor Barnard was one of the leaders of the Minnesota cult that preyed on young girls.

A former "maiden" of a Minnesota cult leader who was repeatedly forced to have sex with him for nine years starting when she was a child has filed a lawsuit against Victor Barnard and other elders of the "church."

Lindsay Tornambe claims in the suit filed this week that Barnard persuaded her to believe her relationship with him was comparable to the one "between Mary Magdalene and Jesus, or King Solomon and his concubines."

Tornambe was sexually abused starting when she was 13, and the assaults continued until she was 22, according to the suit. She is seeking damages against Barnard, the River Road Fellowship and its leaders for failing to protect her at the compound in Finlayson, Minnesota.

"Since childhood, I was brainwashed into believing that being a Maiden was a way of achieving a higher spiritual state," Tornambe, now 30, said in a press release. "It wasn't until years after I left the River Road Fellowship that I realized that the Maidens and the sex was all a lie and a manipulation by Victor Barnard."

The members of the so-called "Maidens Group" ranged from 12 to 24 years old, according to Tornambe's lawyer Patrick Noaker.

Barnard had regular sexual contact with members of the group, according to Noaker. The suit alleges the cult leader would have intercourse as much as five times a month with Tornambe. He taught her that "it was her duty to have sex with him because he was a man of God and doing so would save her from harm and help save her soul."

After initially requiring Tornambe to use birth control, Barnard eventually had surgery that prevented him from having children, according to the lawsuit, so he could continue his sexual abuse of the young girls in his camp without the risk of pregnancy.

Additionally, Barnard told Tornambe that she could remain a virgin even though they were having sex "because he was Christ in the flesh and that it was both spiritual and natural for him to take care of her that way," the lawsuit states.

Barnard was sentenced to 30 years in prison in October for sexually assaulting two of the maidens, Tornambe and Jess Schlinsky. He was captured in 2015 after spending several years as a fugitive from justice.

Noaker says that even though Barnard is safely behind bars, his victims should not be ignored.

"Even though the River Road Fellowship has disbanded since criminal charges were filed against Victor Barnard, the girls who were raped still need help," he said. "Those who participated in the River Road Fellowship program, a program that required under-aged girls to have sex with their leader, need to now participate in providing health care treatment and other assistance to those girls so that they can recover."

There are also concerns that the cult has reorganized in Washington state, according to lawyer Leander James.

“We intend to uncover any ongoing cult activities in Spokane, Bellingham and the Northwest that is putting our children in jeopardy today," said James, who also represents Tornambe.