A quartet of former Seventh Day Adventist Church members went on trial in France this week for nearly killing a 19-year-old girl they tied up during a crucifixion-like exorcism.
Three men — including the teen’s boyfriend, Eric Deron — and a woman allegedly bound the girl to a mattress and hung her in the position of Christ on the cross when they believed she was possessed by the devil in 2011, the Agence France-Presse reported.
Police found the girl, identified only as Antoinette, in the Grigny housing estate just south of Paris after she had been tortured for seven days. Officials said the girl was emaciated, dehydrated and showed signs of being beaten, the AFP reported.
The teen told investigators that the four religious fanatics had kept her alive by feeding her small amounts of oil and water.
