California cult leader sentenced to 225 years for raping, molesting followers

An Oroville man who used a religious organization he founded to sexually assault women and young girls was sentenced to 225 years to life in prison this week, the maximum allowed under California law.

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Sansue Bee Vang, 58, was convicted in February by a Butte County jury of eight counts of child molestation and three counts of rape involving members of his Hmong congregation.

At the hearing, five of the six named victims addressed the court, each describing the lasting toll Vang’s assaults had taken on their mental health and family relationships, according to the news release from the Butte County District Attorney’s Office. 

Vang founded the organization Kev Ntseeg Leej Niam Kee Tiam Vaj Lis Thum, loosely translated as “Belief in the Mother,” in Appleton, Wisconsin. The Hmong are an ethnic minority originally from Southeast Asia, and large numbers of Hmong people have immigrated to the United States and California over the past five decades. After building a following in Wisconsin, Vang moved the group to Fresno in 2015 before relocating select families from Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Carolina and Fresno to Oroville in 2020. There, they began constructing a temple and religious community at the base of Table Mountain. According to state records, the organization is based at 274 Thompson Flat Road, north of Oroville, near Highway 70. The group’s website describes plans to develop a temple and community on 170 acres of land at a projected cost of $15 million to $20 million.

Followers regarded Vang as a prophet, the Butte County District Attorney’s Office said.   

Evidence at trial showed Vang molested one child on five separate occasions when she was between 8 and 10 years old, threatening to beat her if she spoke of the abuse. Two adult women testified that Vang raped them. One said he warned her he would hurt her and her family if she came forward. The other testified that Vang told her “terrible things” would befall the Hmong community if she refused to have sex with him, the DA’s office said.

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Despite the life sentence, Vang could be eligible for parole in roughly 20 years under California’s Elderly Parole Program, which allows inmates who are 50 or older and have served at least 20 years to appear before the parole board. Vang is 58, meaning he could seek release at 78.

The possibility has drawn criticism from Republican state lawmakers. State Sen. Tony Strickland called it a threat to public safety. “I think the most central role of government is public safety, and allowing these folks to get out on parole will make us less safe as they go out into our neighborhoods and our communities,” Strickland told KMPH-TV.

The Butte County District Attorney’s Office said Vang’s lack of remorse and failure to accept responsibility are now part of the official record and will be considered at any future parole hearing.