Following a year-long investigation, police in Longueuil have arrested a 65-year-old pastor and his wife.
Mario Monette and Carole Van Houtte have been charged with 32 crimes, including armed assault, battery, uttering threats, confinement, and inciting others to commit a crime.
The couple is also accused of physically abusing children between 1974 and 2019.
On Friday the couple was arraigned in court and granted bail as long as they abide by a lengthy list of conditions.
Among them: Monette has to surrender a firearm to police within five days, and he is not allowed to have any contact with religious groups.
Both Monette and Van Houtte are also forbidden from contacting a long list of people whose names are protected by a publication ban.
One year ago the couple was accused of running a cult by their now-adult son and another man who had since left the church, known as the South Metropolitan Baptist Bible Church.
According to interviews given to a radio station one year ago, Pastor Monette and his wife encouraged members of their church to cut all ties with friends and family who did not belong to their religious group.
They also allegedly demanded a tithe of ten percent of a person's pre-tax income, and said that children should be beaten with a stick whenever they did something wrong.
Longueuil police said they are still seeking information about the accused, and encouraged people to leave anonymous tips by calling at 450-463-7211.
