Cult Leader Convicted of Rape and Revenge Porn Posting in DeKalb County

DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston has announced a conviction in the case against Eligio Bishop, a 40-year-old alleged cult leader accused of raping a former member and posting revenge porn online. A jury found Bishop guilty on charges of Rape, False Imprisonment, and three counts of Prohibition on Nude or Sexually Explicit Electronic Transmissions.

The investigation began when officers from the DeKalb County Police Department responded to a domestic incident call on March 30, 2022, at a residence on Arbor Chase in unincorporated Decatur. The victim, who had been a member of what she described as a “sex cult” led by Bishop, reported that Bishop had posted multiple sexually explicit videos of her online without her consent.

The victim revealed that she decided to leave the group on March 24, 2022, after Bishop ordered other women in the group to assault her. When she attempted to leave, Bishop refused and attempted to sexually assault her, prompting her to comply out of fear for her safety.

Managing to escape the following day while others in the group were asleep, the victim discovered that explicit videos of her had been posted to Bishop’s Twitter page two days later. She expressed to investigators her belief that Bishop had posted the videos to taunt and humiliate her.

In the aftermath of the guilty verdicts, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Stacey Hydrick, who presided over the trial, sentenced Bishop to Life Without Parole plus 10 years.

The case was handled by the Sexual Exploitation and Crimes Against Children Unit and prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Michael Coveney, with assistance from District Attorney Investigator Rosalyn Byrd and Victim Advocate Peggy Remy. Initial investigation duties were led by DeKalb County Police Department Detective Panosian.