The Ant Hill Kids
Responsible for possibly the most extreme forms of abuse of any modern cult
1977 - 1989
Warning: This page contains graphic information regarding abuse that some readers might find disturbing
The Ant Hill Kids was a brutal cult founded by Roch Thériault, who was known for his cruel and sadistic treatment of his followers. His reign of terror began in the 1970s when he convinced a small group of people to abandon their posessions and follow him to a remote, isolated community in rural Quebec. Once he had them under his control, Thériault regulated every aspect of the Ant Hill Kid's lives, from what they ate and wore to how they thought and spoke. Members were forced to live in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions without access to proper medical care. On top of these unlivable conditions, children were beaten, starved, and forced to work long hours in the fields, while adults were sexually abused by Thériault, who claimed it was necessary for their spiritual development. Yet, this is only the tip of the iceberg, as Thériault inflicted even worse instances of horrific abuse, detailed below.
Members of the Ant Hill Kids cult were afraid to leave the compound, as Thériault convinced them that they would be killed and would lose their salvation. However, in 1989, one of the cult members managed to escape and alert the authorities. Police raided the property and found dozens of abused individuals, many of whom were children. Thériault was arrested and charged with multiple counts of assault, sexual assault, and unlawful confinement, due to his treatment of members of the Ant Hill Kids cult. He was eventually convicted of multiple charges and sentenced to life in prison. After 17 years of imprisonment, he was stabbed to death by his cellmate.
The Ant Hill Kids cult is a chilling reminder of how easily individuals can be manipulated and controlled when they trust a leader without question. It also shines a light on the power of one individual to speak out and bring about change, as it was the bravery of one member who managed to escape and alert the authorities, which ultimately led to the downfall of the cult and the imprisonment of its leader.
Religion: Christianity
Denomination: Adventist
Founder: Roch Thériault
Founded: 1977
Ended: 1989
Location: Burnt River, Ontario, Canada
Size: Nearly 40 members by the 1980s
Also called: Holy Moses Mountain Family
Roch Thériault forced his followers to break their legs with sledgehammers to prove loyalty (source)
Thériault forced the Ant Hill Kids to sit on lit stoves, shoot each other in the shoulders, eat their own feces, and smear feces on each other (source)
Follower Gabrielle Lavallée suffered welding torch burns to her genitals, had a hypodermic needle break off in her back, a finger amputated with wire cutters, parts of her breast cut off, and her head smashed in with the blunt side of an axe (source)
Thériault told the Ant Hill Kids to cut off each other's toes to show loyalty (source)
Members were forced to participate in purification rituals, in which they were hit and whipped by Thériault while they were nude (source)
Thériault injected ethanol into the stomachs of his followers and performed circumcisions on adults and children (source)
Pregnant cult member Maryse Grenier had her ribs broken for eating two extra pancakes (source)
Additional examples of abuse are listed below
Roch Thériault pulled out eight teeth of a follower to treat a toothache (source)
To cure stiffness in a finger, Thériault used a hunting knife to pin follower Gabrielle Lavallée's hand to the table for an hour, then hacked off her arm with a dull meat cleaver and cauterized the wound days later with a drive shaft from a truck heated with an acetylene torch (source)
Thériault performed surgeries on the Ant Hill Kids with kitchen utensils, pliers, or a blowtorch, while they were fully conscious. Most followers lost limbs, teeth, fingers, and toes from this practice (source)
Two followers that relied on Thériault's medical treatment died in his care (source)
The Ant Hill Kids believed the world would end in 1979 and used the commune to prepare for this event (source)
Children in the Ant Hill Kids cult were sexually abused, held over fires, and nailed to trees while other children stoned them (source)
14 children were removed from the commune by authorities in 1985 (source)
21 children were removed from the commune in 1987 by authorities (source)
A follower gave her child over to the state so she could stay in the commune (source)
From 1986 to 1988, nine children were taken away within days of their birth (source)
Roch Thériault was seen as a prophet and worshipped as "Moses" by the Ant Hill Kids (source)
Thériault embraced the title "King of the Israelites," which was given by the leader of another polygamist commune (source)
Thériault believed God sent him to save the world from evil and an upcoming apocalypse (source)
When Ant Hill Kids member Solange Boilard complained of abdominal pain, Roch Thériault "forced her to undress, laid her on the kitchen table, punched her in the stomach, performed an enema by shoving a tube up her rectum and filled her up with olive oil. Then he cut her stomach open, ripped out parts of her intestines with his bare hands, and forced another member to stitch her up. Then, he shoved a tube down her throat and made the other women blow air into it." The woman died as a result, and her body was desecrated. Afterward, Thériault put one of her ribs in a leather case and wore it around his neck (source, source)
In 1985, newborn baby Eleazar Lavallée died after being left outside in a blizzard by the mother, allegedly to save the child from Thériault (source)
Two-year-old Samuel Giguère stopped passing urine after he was harshly beaten, so Thériault "operated" on his genitals with scissors. The child died of blood loss the next day. (source, source)
If a member wanted to leave the Ant Hill Kids, Roch Thériault would suspend them from the ceiling, pluck each of their body hairs individually, then defecate on them (source)
After follower Maryse Grenier talked about leaving the Ant Hill Kids, her toe was hacked off with an axe (source)
Since the commune was a registered church, authorities were unable to investigate the adults that were getting abused (source)
Castration:
Follower Guy Veer had his testicles cut off as punishment (source)
Follower Ouelette had a rubber band placed around his testicles as punishment for a minor transgression. After it swelled up, Roch Thériault cut off a testicle and cauterized the incision with a hot iron (source)
Group sex:
Roch Thériault would take two or more wives to bed at once and have contests to see who could have the most orgasms (source)
One six-year-old girl reported she and her mother would take turns masturbating Thériault (source)
Homosexual Requirements:
Thériault instructed a boy to masturbate a male follower (source)
Necrophilia:
Male members ejaculated into a hole that was drilled into a dead member's skull in an attempt to resurrect her (source)
Nudism:
Members would fight in the nude for Thériault's entertainment (source)
A favorite punishment was to force followers to strip naked and stand in the show for hours (source)
Pedophilia:
Children reported being forced to masturbate Thériault and engage in other sexual acts (source)
A prostitute was hired to perform sexual acts on one of Thériault's sons (source)
Polygamy:
Thériault had eight wives (source)
Prostitution
Invalid Ant Hill Kids member Gabrielle Nadeau was prostituted in exchange for milk, meat, and cheese (source)
Sex with leader:
Female members of the Ant Hill Kids were required to become impregnated by Thériault, remaining in "an almost constant state of pregnancy" (source)
Other Info:
Roch Thériault had a vision that correctly predicted the Jonestown Massacre twenty-one months beforehand (source)
The Ant Hill Kids were not allowed to speak to each other when Thériault was not present (source)
Some of Thériault's followers remained devoted to him after he was arrested. One became impregnated by him while visiting him in prison (source)
According to the Ant Hill Kids, Thériault's abuse was fueled by his alcoholism, and he would "cry like a baby with his head at his feet, begging God to stop commanding him to commit such brutality" when sober (source)
In prison, Thériault was killed with a homemade knife. Afterward, the killer walked up to the guards and proclaimed, "That piece of shit is down on the range. Here's the knife, I've sliced him up." (source)
Other Tags:
Documentary about the Ant Kill Kids, including interviews from survivors
