DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A judge sentenced alleged cult leader Eligio Bishop to life without parole plus 10 years after a jury found him guilty of rape and other charges Friday.
The 40-year-old, known as "Natureboy," is the alleged leader of the "Carbon Nation" group. He was arrested in April 2022. A grand jury later indicted him on five charges, including rape in July 2022.
Below is a breakdown of the verdict and his sentencing:
- Count 1 - Rape - Guilty (Sentenced to life without possibility of parole)
- Count 2- False imprisonment - Guilty (Sentenced to 10 years, to run consecutively)
- Count 3 - Prohibition on nude or sexually explicit electronic transmissions (12 months to serve, to run concurrent with false imprisonment sentence)
- Count 4 - Prohibition on nude or sexually explicit electronic transmissions (Sentenced to 5 years, to run concurrent with false imprisonment sentence)
- Count 5 - Prohibition on nude or sexually explicit electronic transmissions (Sentenced to 5 years, to run concurrent with false imprisonment sentence)
For context about this case, a former member of the alleged cult who identified herself as his girlfriend said he posted revenge porn "because she left him." Police reports detailed that the woman told authorities that "she had joined a sex cult in which her boyfriend is the leader" and that "she did live together with Mr. Bishop, and he has posted sexually explicit videos of her and him without her consent on X, formerly known as Twitter. Later, Bishop's wife and former cult member told 11Alive he had sexually and emotionally abused members.
Before the judge handed down the sentence Friday, some of the witnesses gave statements to the court, sharing some of the abuse they experienced. One of them even described Bishop as “a monster to us all."
"Now you are a prisioner, like you prisoned us," she said.
Bishop, who the judge told to direct his comments to her, made a statement, claiming he wasn't upset. He repeated several times, "I forgive you" and "I still love you" in court.
The judge said Bishop didn't show remorse during the trial, which led to his life without parole sentence.
“You’re a master manipulator and probably the classic definition of a narcissist," she said.
One of the witnesses said past years are time that she will never get back, but was glad that justice was being served.