Recruitment, abuse and psychological control. The exemplary case of Patricia Aguilar

Abstract

Patricia Aguilar was a minor from Elche (a town in the South East of Spain), 16 years old, when she had her first contact through the internet with Felix Steven Manrique, who was based in Lima, Peru. She visits a Facebook group on esotericism and paranormal life. It is there that someone, who initially claims to be a spiritual guide, offers her to interpret some dreams she had been having which made her restless. This is where the first contacts begin. Felix Steven used multiple identities on the net. Just like in his real life where, among other attributes, he claimed to have an NGO and to be a sociologist, on the net he used multiple nicks, with different identities and with constant reinventions of his character. Gradually he introduced her into the group's doctrine, making her believe that she was with the reincarnation of a great Master, the self-proclaimed "Prince Gurdjieff", who belonged to an important white lodge, which had direct contact with great and elevated Masters. The dismantling of the group came about through the joint collaboration of multiple factors. Patricia has been missing for many months. Many, including some family members, came to fear that the worst of the endings could have happened. The happy ending of this exemplary case cannot make us forget the process: it was a road full of obstacles, difficulties, negatives, questions, incomprehension, crying, fear, uncertainty, ...