February 18, 1919 - David Berg
What distinguished Berg's influence was the institutional architecture he built around his beliefs — a communal religious movement that systematized sexual exploitation and deployed it as both doctrine and recruitment strategy across decades. His group's practices left documented harm across generations of members, including children raised within its structures. The organization he founded outlasted him, continuing under successive names and remaining a subject of legal and journalistic scrutiny long after his death.
From Wikipedia
David Brandt Berg (February 18, 1919 – October 1, 1994) was an American cult leader who founded the "Children of God", which was later known as The Family International. Berg's group, established in 1968 among the counterculture youth in Southern California, gained notoriety for incorporating sexuality into its spiritual message and recruitment methods. Berg and his organization were accused of a broad range of sexual misconduct, including child sexual abuse.
- Last updated on .