Woman says Bluffton spiritual ‘healer’ engaged in sexual misconduct. Police investigating
A woman reported to police that a Bluffton spiritual “healer” engaged in unwanted sexual contact with her, according to a police report.
No charges have been filed in this incident, but the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office confirmed it is investigating the alleged assault, according to Maj. Bob Bromage.
Deputies responded to apartments in Bluffton off of U.S. 278 on Saturday, where they interviewed a woman and her husband, according to a Sheriff’s Office report.
The husband had previously met the healer, also known as a curandero “to many in the Hispanic community in the area,” the report said.
Curanderismo is a holistic Mexican-American folk practice meant to treat spiritual and bodily ailments. A curandero is a male “healer.”
The husband visited the man months before for pain he had been having, the report said. It went normally, he said.
But when his wife went to the same healer for stomach pains on Saturday, the man required she go up to his bedroom, she told police.
The man had her lie on the bed and he began the unwanted sexual contact, according to the report.
It was the first time the woman had ever been to a healer or met the man, she said.
She told police she wanted to press charges.
When asked about the incident, the “healer” did not tell deputies that anything sexual happened, police said.
The man is not being named because no charges have been filed.
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, the Lowcountry’s Hopeful Horizons organization has a 24-hour support line at (843) 770-1070. Resources can be found online at www.hopefulhorizons.org.
Help can also be reached at the National Sexual Assault Hotline at (800) 656-4673.
This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 4:45 AM.
