A “shamanistic leader” of a religious community in Southern California was arrested after two female victims came forward and accused him of sexual assault, including one girl who was under 14, authorities said.
Ricardo I. Flores, 59, who also goes by “Koyote the Blind,” is facing eight felony charges, including rape by force and aggravated sexual assault of a child, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, the New York Times reported.
Flores, who was described by police as the “religious leader of a shamanistic community at various locations” in Riverside County, was arrested on the morning of Aug. 7 at the southern border where he was returning to the US from Mexico, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said.
The Rialto resident was targeted by investigators after “multiple” victims went to the sheriff’s station in Moreno Valley on Aug. 1 to report sexual assaults that Flores allegedly committed at Xicoco Shamanic Arts — a nonprofit organization Flores leads in the city.
The assaults occurred between 2012 and 2023, authorities said.
Flores was taken into custody and booked at the Robert Presley Detention Center for sexual assault and child sexual abuse charges.
Authorities said there may be additional victims and urged anyone with information to come forward.
He was arraigned on Aug. 9, according to the Times. He is scheduled to appear in court next on Aug. 23 at the Riverside Hall of Justice, jail records show.
The Post has reached out to the Riverside County Public Defender’s Office, which is representing Flores, for comment.
Flores, an author who is originally from El Salvador, describes himself in online profiles as an exiled shaman, who says he is versed in magic, alchemy and yoga, among other esoteric teachings.
He “trained in Tantra Yoga and Western Mysticism during his adolescence, until he was forced into exile when targeted by that troubled country’s death squads,” his author profile on Amazon claims. He entered the US in 1985 where he says he obtained political asylum.
Flores touts his “healing system” and “ancient healing energy” called “Aka Dua.”
Flores has also referred to teachings related to sex in his various podcasts appearances and online blogs where he preaches on his mastery of “Sexual Alchemy” and “Sex Magick,” the paper reported.
More recently, Flores has offered retreats at Xicoco, which he calls “an esoteric school of the Toltecs, where he trains students in magick, shamanism, mysticism, and yoga” in his Amazon profile. Participants can pay up to thousands of dollars for the workshops, according to The Times.
Xicoco’s website says it “hosts Sweat Lodges, Vision Quests, and a Medicine Wheel.”
His wide-ranging books and teachings draw on several spiritual traditions, from indigenous American beliefs and modern mystics like Aleister Crowley, according to The Times.
