Tortured & Brainwashed: How Ben Shenton Survived Australia’s Most Disturbing Cult

True Crime Conversations · May 7, 2025 · 52m

At just 18 months old, Ben Shenton was handed over to a woman who claimed she was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. That woman was Anne Hamilton-Byrne, the leader of a secretive doomsday cult called The Family. For 14 years, Ben lived cut off from the outside world—beaten, starved, drugged, and taught to stay “unseen, unheard, unknown.” The cult twisted Christianity into a tool of fear and control. Ben was finally rescued at age 15 during a police raid. Today, he’s an advocate for survivors and a pastor who still follows the teachings of Jesus Christ, just not the…