DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Nearly two years after his arrest during a late-night raid, a man accused of being a cult leader and raping a former follower will head to trial this week.
Channel 2 Action News first reported on Eligio Bishop, also known as “Nature Boy,” when he was arrested in April 2022.
Our cameras were there as DeKalb County police officers searched the home off Arbor Chase and arrested Bishop following a three-week investigation. Police charged Bishop with rape, false imprisonment and three counts of prohibition on nude or sexually explicit electronic transmissions.
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The trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday but an attorney conflict came up. Jury selection will now begin Wednesday morning.
Neighbors have accused Bishop of running an online cult called “Carbon Nation.”
“Carbon Nation is his cult. He’s been whooping girls, beating girls, fertilizing girls, getting girls ready for marriage,” a female neighbor said, not giving her name.
The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office says Bishop raped a former follower who tried to leave the cult in March 2022. The DA’s Office says Bishop also posted “revenge porn” online after the victim left the alleged cult.
Channel 2 Action News went by the home in April 2022 where several people claimed to be Bishop’s “disciples.”
“Basically, the police raided us on false accusations,” a disciple by the name of Musa told Channel 2 Action News.
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Musa said Bishop is their god and as a group they believe in nature, nudity, and kindness. He said the criminal accusations are from a disgruntled former member of the Carbon Nation family.
“She said she was here under false imprisonment. We have live documentation of when we said, ‘Hey, if you want to leave, you can leave, nobody is forced to stay here,’” Musa said.
According to a 2017 report from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Bishop is a former model, stripper, and barber.
Bishop also has ties to Atlanta dating back to at least 2009, but around 2016, he and his followers moved to first to Central America, then to Honduras, and then to Costa Rica, until they were forced to leave in 2017.
In 2020, reports show Bishop was arrested in Hawaii for breaking COVID-19 quarantine rules. It is not clear when he returned to Atlanta.
Channel 2 Action News will be following the latest in the trial throughout the coming days and weeks.
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