Former Brazilian model and wellness influencer Kat Torres, known for her glamorous lifestyle and association with celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, has been sentenced to eight years.
In prison for human trafficking and sex-enslavement of multiple women. Two young Brazilian women had gone missing in 2022, who Torres had enslaved, prompting the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to launch a hunt.
Kat Torres, who built a large following on social media in the US, used her online presence to lure victims into her web of exploitation, sexual, financial and mental, according to a BBC report.
The former model, using her influence, also ran a cult-like society of vulnerable women in the US.
HOW KAT TORRES LURED WOMEN INTO SLAVERY
Speaking to the BBC, Ana, one of the victims, said she was drawn to Torres because of her journey of overcoming adversity. “She [Torres] kind of resembled hope for me,” said Ana, whose journey of hope turned into one of despair.
Ana was not among the two women who had gone missing, but proved instrumental in Torres’ arrest in November 2023. She revealed how she was lured by Torres’ rise to fame marked by her rags-to-riches story.
“She was on the cover of magazines. She was seen with famous people such as Leonardo DiCaprio. Everything I saw seemed credible,” Anan told the BBC.
Ana, who had a violent childhood and an abusive relationship, was made to join Torres as her live-in assistant in New York. Unknown to Torres’ dark deeds, Ana soon found herself trapped in a situation where she was exploited and treated as a servant, deprived of basic comforts and freedoms.
“Now, I see that she was using me as a slave… she had satisfaction in it,” Ana revealed.
Torres took to her social media channels to introduce her followers to her “witch clan”.
“The wellness guru and self-proclaimed “witch” is accused of using manipulation and hypnosis to traffic young women,” said a VICE report in November 2023.
Similar accounts emerged from other victims who were coerced into working for Torres under false pretences, leading to a web of exploitation and abuse.
Desirre, another victim who Torres had paid to fly into the US, was pressured into working at a local strip club, and eventually turned to commercial sex work. If she didn’t meet the earning quotas set by Torres, she was not allowed to return to the house that night.
“I ended up sleeping on the street several times because I couldn’t reach that,” Desirre told the BBC.
The women were subjected to strict rules, financial exploitation, and psychological coercion, with some forced into illegal activities to meet Torres’ demands.
WAS TORRES ON DRUGS, IN SUGAR-BABY ARRANGEMENT?
Torres’ former New York roommate, Luzer Twersky, revealed to the BBC that her Hollywood friends had introduced her to the hallucinogenic drug ayahuasca, which dramatically changed her. It was after she allegedly took the drug that she dived deep into spirituality.
“That’s when she kind ofâ€æ started going off the deep end,” he said.
Twersky also suspected that she was involved in a sugar-baby arrangement, where she was financially supported by affluent and influential men who were also covering the rent for their shared apartment.
“After discovering ayahuasca and sharing her healing journey online, she reinvented herself as a life coach and hypnotist, while reportedly spending time in a LA community that uses the hallucinogenic Amazonian tea as a sacrament,” reported the VICE in 2023.
Torres’ scheme extended beyond Ana and Desirre, targeting more young women who were promised help in achieving their dreams but instead found themselves in a nightmare of manipulation and control.
Over 20 women came forward with stories of being scammed or exploited by Torres, and they are still undergoing psychiatric therapy to recover from their experiences, reported the BBC.
In a rare interview from a Brazilian prison in April, Torres vehemently denied the allegations against her, painting herself as a victim of falsehoods. Despite her protests, a Brazilian court sentenced her to prison for her crimes against Desirre, one of many victims who have come forward to share their harrowing experiences.
TORRES CLAIMED SHE WAS ASKED TO STAY MUM BY DICAPRIO
Torres’ association with film star Leonardo DiCaprio has been widely reported, although the extent of their relationship remains unclear.
In 2013, Torres mentioned that she had a pact with Dicaprio not to speak of their relationship, suggesting a secret pact.
Then 24-year-old, Torres confirmed that she and DiCaprio had shared a house during his stay in France for the Cannes Film Festival in May 2013, Leeds-based online magazine Contactmusic reported.
“I worry about what he will think about me talking to you. We have a pact that nothing can ever be said about our relationship. In Europe, it is different. People see us together in many places, so they do not need to ask us about anything. He doesn’t like being photographed and barely goes out walking once people have realised it’s him,” Kat Torres earlier told AceShowbiz magazine.
However, she later backtracked and admitted they were “just friends”.