Friday, March 1, 2024

State v. Eligio Bishop

Decatur, Ga.- DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announces a conviction by jury trial in the case against an alleged cult leader accused of raping one of his former members as she tried to leave the group and then posting revenge porn online. 

Jurors returned guilty verdicts against Eligio Bishop, 40, on charges of Rape, False Imprisonment, and three counts of Prohibition on Nude or Sexually Explicit Electronic Transmissions. 

According to the investigation, officers with the DeKalb County Police Department responded to a call about a domestic incident on March 30, 2022 at a home on Arbor Chase in unincorporated Decatur.  They met with the victim who told police she had joined a “sex cult” and that her boyfriend, Defendant Bishop, was the leader.  The woman said she wanted to file charges against Bishop because he had posted multiple sexually explicit videos of her online without her consent. 

The victim told investigators she decided to leave the group on March 24, 2022 after Defendant Bishop had ordered some of the other women to beat her.  The victim packed her bags and went to say goodbye to Defendant Bishop.  She said Bishop refused to let her leave and attempted to have sex with her.  The woman relented, fearing for her safety. 

The victim snuck out of the house the next day while other members of the group were sleeping.  Two days later, the explicit videos were posted to Defendant Bishop’s Twitter page. The victim told investigators she believed Bishop posted the videos to taunt and humiliate her. 

Immediately following the guilty verdicts, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Stacey Hydrick, who presided over the trial, sentenced Defendant Bishop to Life Without Parole plus 10 years.  

The case, assigned to the Sexual Exploitation and Crimes Against Children Unit, was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Michael Coveney with assistance from District Attorney Investigator Rosalyn Byrd and Victim Advocate Peggy Remy.  DeKalb County Police Department Detective Panosian led the initial investigation.