The Children of Ant Hill Cult: A Dark Chapter in Cult History and Its Horrific Crimes

2.1 Total Control and Isolation

Once established in the rural wilderness, Thériault isolated his followers from society, family, and even the church that originally inspired their beliefs. Members were forced to sever all outside contact, and communication within the commune was strictly controlled.

Thériault’s leadership was authoritarian, and he wielded absolute power over members’ lives. He married all the women in the cult, fathering 26 children with his followers, further tightening his grip on their dependency.

2.2 Forced Reproduction and Family Control

Thériault believed that procreation was a divine duty. All women, including minors, were compelled to become pregnant, and he impregnated nine women himself. His children, some as young as infants, were raised in an environment of violence and neglect, subjected to sexual abuse and physical harm.

2.3 Violence, Torture, and Psychological Manipulation

The cult members endured relentless physical and psychological torture. Thériault used beatings, mutilation, and starvation to enforce obedience. Members were forced to participate in acts of violence, including torturing each other, and some were made to break their own legs with sledgehammers to demonstrate loyalty.

Members who disobeyed or showed signs of doubt were subjected to severe punishment—being hung from ceilings, having hair pulled out, forced to eat rats and human waste, or even being nailed to trees to serve as targets for other members’ rocks.

2.4 Child Abuse and Sexual Violence

Children in the cult faced horrific abuse. They were sexually assaulted, forced to sit on flames, and even nailed to trees where other children threw rocks at them. The environment was one of constant brutality, with children suffering physical and sexual violence from both adults and peers.

January 29, 2026 | 7:02 pm