http://cache.jezebel.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/jezebel.com.png http://jezebel.com/tag/wayne bent http://jezebel.com/tag/wayne bent

Michael Travesser, the fire and brimstone cult leader formerly known as Wayne Bent, has been released from jail. Michael was imprisoned on charges of child molestation for lying naked with some not-quite-18-year-old members of his sect. The $55,000 bond was paid for by his son, Jeff Bent. If you'll recall, Michael had sex with Jeff's wife, who is now "spiritually married" to the cult leader. The three minors who were living on the cult's rural New Mexico compound, known as "Strong City," have been removed. [AP via CBS News] More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=389464&view=rss&microfeed=true

Michael Travesser, formerly known as Wayne Bent, the cult leader accused of sexual molestation, sent his son, Jeff Bent to Larry King last night to do some damage control. King asked Jeff about the National Geographic documentary, Inside A Cult, during which Michael talks about boning Jeff's wife. Jeff claims that the couple were divorced by the time Michael and his wife consummated their "spiritual marriage," and besides, what they did wasn't sex as mere mortals know it. "They've been ordained by God...it was a spiritual experience illustrated by a physical act," Jeff tells King. Clip above. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=388991&view=rss&microfeed=true

Remember yesterday's post about Wayne Bent, aka Michael Travesser, the prophet of a cult called the Lord Our Righteousness Church who was arrested on charges of child molestation? Well last night, the National Geographic Channel aired a documentary about Travesser and the LORs, and lordy lordy, it was bonkers. This first clip shows Michael with "Healed," one of the minors he is accused of molesting. (Michael, who in cult lore is the son of God, said that God told him to lie naked with seven virgins.) Healed's parents no longer live on the cult's compound, and although her parents have begged her to leave, Healed insists on living with "God's son." Her crazed chuckle is enough to chill anyone with a pulse. After the jump, a second clip showing two other barely-legal LORs explaining the elation they felt at lying naked with Michael, doing "God's will". More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=388468&view=rss&microfeed=true

Meet Wayne Bent, aka Michael Travesser aka the Messiah. The Charles Manson-looking yahoo is the prophet and leader of the Lord Our Righteousness Church, and he was arrested on Tuesday on three counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor at the church's compound in rural New Mexico. The three allegedly molested children were also taken from the ranch. (At left is Bent with his wife, Emma. He is 66. She looks about 20, tops.) The compound is a former ranch near the Arizona border, which Bent and his followers have dubbed Strong City. According to the Associated Press, "Wayne Bent has acknowledged having sex with followers - including his daughter-in-law - and lying naked with virgins. He said the virgins asked for sex, but he refused." More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=387971&view=rss&microfeed=true