A “shamanic leader” of a Southern California religious group has been arrested after two female victims, including a girl under the age of 14, came forward to accuse him of sexual assault, authorities said.
Ricardo I. Flores, 59, also known as “Blind Coyote,” is charged with eight felony counts, including forcible rape and aggravated sexual assault of a child, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. The New York Times reported..
Police said Flores is a “religious leader of shamanic communities in various locations” in Riverside County and was arrested at the southern border on the morning of Aug. 7 while returning to the U.S. from Mexico. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.
The Rialto resident became the target of investigators after “multiple” victims came to the Moreno Valley Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 1 to report sexual assaults he allegedly committed at Chicoco Shamanic Arts, a nonprofit organization he leads in the city.
The attacks occurred between 2012 and 2023, authorities said.
Flores was taken into custody and booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on suspicion of sexual assault and child molestation.
Authorities said there may be more victims and urged anyone with information to come forward.
He was arraigned Aug. 9, according to the Times. He is next scheduled to appear in court Aug. 23 at Riverside Hall of Justice, according to jail records.
The Post has reached out to the Riverside County Public Defender’s Office, which represents Flores, for comment.
Flores, a Salvadoran author, describes himself in his online profile as an exiled shaman and says he is knowledgeable in esoteric teachings such as magic, alchemy and yoga.
According to his Amazon author profile, he “studied tantric yoga and Western mysticism in his youth, but was forced into exile after becoming a target of the troubled country’s death squads. He entered the United States in 1985 and was granted political asylum.”
Flores promotes his “healing system” called “Aka Dua” and “ancient healing energy.”
Flores has also mentioned his sex teachings in various podcast appearances and online blogs, where he preaches about mastering “sexual alchemy” and “sex magick,” according to the paper.
More recently, Flores has been hosting retreats in Xicoco, which his Amazon profile calls a “Toltec esoteric school that teaches students magic, shamanism, mysticism and yoga.” Participants can pay thousands of dollars for workshops, according to the Times.
Xicoco website “We will be hosting sweat lodges, vision quests and medicine wheels,” it reads.
His wide-ranging writings and teachings are based on several spiritual traditions, including Native American beliefs and modern mystics such as Aleister Crowley, according to the Times.
