Random Children Of Famous Cult Leaders: Where Are They Now? (15 items)

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  (#1) Jim Jones’ Son: Stephan Gandhi Jones

  Stephan Gandhi Jones was away at a basketball game in Georgetown when his father, Jim Jones, ordered the Peoples Temple mass suicide in 1978 at a compound in Guyana, dubbed "Jonestown." Reverend Jim Jones gave the order when California Congressman Leo Ryan came to investigate reports of abuse and false imprisonment, only to end up among more than 900 dead (a third of whom were children). Stephan Gandhi Jones was 19. 

  For many years, Jones struggled with the guilt of survival, his father’s grim legacy, and his own subsequent substance abuse. He sought treatment, and eventually, the father of three settled into a quiet life in California. 

  "I don’t care what you think of my father," Jones wrote in 2015. "I don’t care what you think of his ancestor or progeny. I am no apologist."
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  (#2) Charles Manson’s Potential Sons: Charles Jr., Charles Luther, and Michael

  Since murderous mastermind Charles Manson had a tendency to say things like "You’re all my children," it’s been difficult to prove the paternity of several kids he may have fathered. He has three possible sons.

  Charles Manson Jr. was born in 1956 to Rosalie Jean Willis. Manson Jr. took his life in 1993.

  Charles Luther Manson was born on April 10, 1963 to Leona Rae "Candy" Stevens. Charles Luther Manson's whereabouts are unknown.

  Michael Brunner was born in 1968 to Mary Brunner. He apparently lives as an anonymous citizen.
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  (#3) L. Ron Hubbard’s Son: Ronald DeWolf

  The founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, passed in 1986. His son was born Lafayette Ronald Hubbard Jr., but later changed his name to Ronald DeWolf after rejecting Scientology. He went on to become one of Hubbard's most notable public detractors.

  In a 1983 Penthouse interview, DeWolf harshly criticized his father and revealed many sordid details of their personal lives and Scientology's doctrines, though he later disavowed his statements. DeWolf passed in 1991 at the age of 57.
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  (#4) Shoko Asahara’s Daughter: Rika Matsumoto

  Shoko Asahara (born Chizuo Matsumoto) was the leader of Aum Shinrikyo, a sect responsible for a Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995. The attack killed 13 people and injured thousands more. Asahara was put on death row.

  One of the 15 children Asahara fathered, Rika Matsumoto, was 12 when her father was brought in. In 2015, she published a memoir about her life on the 20th anniversary of the attacks. Matsumoto, who was considered a key figure in the cult, found post-Aum Shinrikyo life difficult, saying that she could not find work, a place to live, or a school that would accept her.

  Matsumoto sought to have her father examined to see if he was actually mentally ill. "I do not intend to say my father is innocent, but I want to know the truth - if or how he was involved in the crimes," Matsumoto said. "I want to hear from him in his own words what really happened."
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  (#5) Warren Jeffs' Son: Roy Jeffs

  Roy Jeffs is one of more than 60 children fathered by Warren Jeffs, the polygamist founder of the breakaway Mormon sect FLDS (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). Jeffs was sentenced to life plus 20 years in 2011 for aggravated sexual assault. His victims were two girls, 12 and 15, whom Jeffs said were his "spiritual wives." 

  In 2016, Roy Jeffs told CNN that he had been sexually abused by his father. Before he left the church, he was sent to work on a construction detail as punishment. On one of these work details, he decided to walk away from the sect for good. 

  Jeffs moved to Salt Lake City to work construction. In 2015, he learned how to swim, despite the sect’s beliefs that the Devil controls water. 

  Sadly, Roy Jeffs passed in 2019 at the age of 26.  It is believed that he took his life. 
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  (#6) Reverend Sun Myung Moon’s Son: Hyung Jin Moon

  Hyung Jin Moon is the youngest of Reverend Sun Myung Moon’s surviving children and is a Harvard theology graduate. He has continued to lead his father's Unification Church, helming the World Peace and Unification Sanctuary. 

  In 2015, Moon addressed the allegations that his father had sex with six women, or six "Marys," in ritual sexual cleansing ceremonies. He indicates that the rituals happened, and seems to show support for his father's actions.
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  (#7) David Koresh’s Son: Sky Okimoto

  Branch Davidian leader David Koresh believed that the end of the world was coming and prepared his breakaway Seventh-Day Adventist church members for the coming apocalypse. Koresh believed he was called upon by God to have many children with his female followers to ensure a House of David. Koresh established that only he could have sex with female sect members.

  Allegations of child abuse, statutory rape, and the stockpiling of weapons led to investigations by authorities. When the ATF appeared at the group’s Mt. Carmel compound, a standoff ensued. After 51 days, Koresh, 75 people died, including 25 children. 

  In 2008, Koresh’s son Sky Okimoto told Good Morning America, "Being the son of David Koresh, yes it was pretty hard. I felt like something was wrong with me because so many people hated my father." He also added, "I'm pretty much at peace with the fact that he existed. Sometimes I look up to him because of his charisma. Other times I think he was crazy."
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  (#8) David Berg's Daughter: Linda Berg

  David Berg created the cult originally known as Children of God, which became Family International. Berg himself was a notorious womanizer who allegedly abused family members, and explicitly incorporated sex into his cult - he came up with the concept of "flirty fishing," a way for his female followers to seduce new male members into the group.

  One of his many children, Linda (she was referred to as "Deborah" while in the church) left the church and wrote a tell-all book that exposed how Berg had begun to make sexual advances towards her, how he'd molested one of his other daughters, and how he faked a story about the miracle healing of Berg's mother, Virginia.
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  (#9) Aravindan Balakrishnan's Daughter: Katy Morgan-Davies

  Aravindan Balakrishnan was a Maoist cult leader who threatened his followers with a supernatural force named "Jackie" that he said would wreak havoc on the world if he were disobeyed. Balakrishnan sought to mold his female followers into an army of women soldiers through sexual degradation and violence.

  Balakrishnan also imprisoned his daughter for 30 years. In 2005, Katy Morgan-Davies escaped from her father but had been in captivity for so long that she didn't know how the outside world operated. When she went to the police station for help, she was returned to her father, who continued to brutally beat her for her perceived transgressions. She wasn't able to truly escape until 2013 when another woman helped her get out. 
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  (#10) Wayne Bent's Son: Jeff Bent

  After reportedly receiving a message from God saying "You are the Messiah" in the year 2000, Wayne Bent left the Seventh-Day Adventist religion and started the Lord Our Righteousness Church, which members referred to as "Strong City." Bent later went to prison for molesting some of the young girls in Strong City, but in 2016, he was released after being diagnosed with cancer. 

  Wayne's son Jeff Bent defended Wayne's actions to the press, saying, "This wasn't his natural desire to be involved in any of this. This was what God had him do." He also compared his dad to Jesus: "These circumstances are the same as when the ministry of Jesus ended. Jesus was betrayed by a former disciple."
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  (#11) Jeffrey Lundgren's Son: Caleb Lundgren

  Jeffrey Lundgren began running an offshoot of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He started preaching out of his home, and after amassing some followers, Lundgren moved everyone to Kirtland, OH, to witness the second coming of Christ. Shortly after the move, he killed a family of five and was brought down by the FBI and ATF. 

  After his father was arrested and put to death, Caleb Lundgren's life seemingly unraveled. In 2010, he was arrested for throwing his 3-month-old daughter across a room while high on meth, breaking the girl's skull.
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  (#12) Ervil LeBaron's Daughter: Jacqueline LeBaron

  Ervil LeBaron was the leader of a polygamist Mormon cult called the Church of the First Born of the Lamb of God. When members of his church defected, LeBaron started ordering their deaths, as well as the deaths of rival polygamist cult leaders. 

  LeBaron's kids took after him. Six of his adult children, including Jacqueline LeBaron, were convicted of many of the murders. 
• (#13) Roch Thériault's Son: François Thériault

  Between 1977 and 1989, Roch Thériault led a group of people called the Ant Hill Kids near Burnt River, Ontario. Thériault's cult was similar to Seventh-Day Adventists, and they were constantly waiting for the world to end. But Thériault was also impregnating all of the women while gruesomely mutilating their bodies. Thériault was eventually arrested and sentenced to life in prison, and was murdered in his cell in 2011. 

  After hearing about the murder, François Thériault spoke to Canadian media and admitted to being surprised that it didn't happen sooner. In 2009, François and one of his brothers published a book about their hellish childhood with their father.
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  (#14) Fred Phelps' Son: Nathan Phelps

  Fred Phelps began the Westboro Baptist Church, a group known for its hate speech and picketing of soldiers' funerals.

  Nathan Phelps is one of Fred's many children. Rather than join his father's cause, he escaped the church in the middle of the night on his 18th birthday. Phelps frequently spoke out against the Westboro Baptist Church and worked for the Centre for Inquiry, a secular organization that advocates for secular thought.
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  (#15) Anton LaVey's Daughter: Zeena LaVey

  Conceived as more of a mockery of Western religion than true Satanism, Anton LaVey's Church of Satan quickly became a thriving cult of personality. Despite being hailed as one of the great modern philosophers by his followers, LaVey was always a showman first and guru second. 

  LaVey's daughter, Zeena, received constant death threats since the age of 13 and backed away from the spotlight as she grew older. In 2002, she founded the Sethian Liberation Movement, a religious body aimed at allowing people to freely learn magic and to offer assistance to ex-cult members.

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