Episode 14: Eternal Mountain: The God Delusion of Roch Thériault and the Ant Hill Kids Cult
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As the 19th of February 1979 approached, the loyal disciples of the Ant Hill Kids cult anxiously awaited the end of the world. From their remote commune in Eastern Québec, their messiah, Roch Thériault or Moses, as he called himself, preached of fire and brimstone, and that he alone could provide salvation from the coming apocalypse. Only it wasn’t salvation he offered his followers, but cruelty and systematic dehumanisation. As each year passed, he became more and more unhinged and inflicted unbelievable violence on those around him. This is the story of the Ant Hill Kids Cult.
Roch Thériault’s Background
Roch Thériault was born on the 16th of May 1947 in Saguenay, Quebec. He was one of seven children born to parents, Hyacinthe and Pierette Thériault. When he was six, the family moved to the tiny town of Thetford Mine. Thériault was described an intelligent child, who showed academic promise, but his education was stunted by the fact that the single school in Thetford Mine only offered classes as far as the seventh grade.
Raised Catholic, Thériault became fascinated with the Old Testament of the bible and began a period of intense study. Both parents were heavily involved with a conservative Catholic organisation called the Union of Electors, also known as the White Berets with fascist and extremist views.
Roch had a particular fascination with apocalyptic ideas and was drawn to religious stories that predicted the end of the world. This interest in religious fundamentalism led to Roch converting from Catholicism to the Seventh-day Adventist Church in his 20s. As a Seventh-day Adventist, Roch adhered to strict rules around modesty, food and a specific code of ethics. He abstained from drugs and alcohol, didn’t smoke cigarettes, and avoided eating junk food or consuming soft drinks. However, this strict adherence to other people’s rules was not to last.
Marriage
In November 1967, when he was 20, Roch married Francine Grenier, a young woman from a nearby town. The newlyweds soon moved to Montréal, where they had two sons, Roch Sylvain, and Francois. While living in Montréal, Roch developed severe stomach ulcers, and found himself in a lot of pain. The surgery he had to remove the ulcers left him in great physical discomfort. It also accelerated his interest in health and human anatomy, possibly in the hopes of finding a cure for his physical ailments.
In 1970, Roch moved Francine and their two sons back to Thetford Mine. Here, he began developing his woodworking skills. He would frequently travel to other parts of Quebec, under the guise of selling his woodworking products. However, the reality was that he was meeting with multiple women for sex. One of the women he met and began a relationship with, Giséle Lafrance, is widely considered to be the first official cult member of the Ant Hill Kids. Thériault began to drink heavily, and his home was repossessed by the Credit Union due to missed payments.
Thériault began to attend weekly religious meetings with a Seventh-day Adventist minister, Pierre Zita, held in a local motel room. He strictly followed their recommended nutritional guidelines to avoid junk food, drugs and cigarettes, and also gave up alcohol. At first, the Seventh-day Adventists were extremely happy with Roch. They found that he was one of their most magnetising evangelists. However, before long, they noticed that the people he converted were more interested in the ‘cult of Roch’ than in their Church. New recruits gravitated towards Roch and held onto his every word. By 1977, Roch had a loyal following of mostly female disciples.
The group gravitated towards Thériault, who now styled himself as Moise, or Moses, claiming to be a reincarnation of the biblical Moses. They spent most weekends at Giséle’s apartment. Thériault preached about the inevitable end of the world, and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. He encouraged the group to stop working and to drop out of college, reasoning that it would be unnecessary, as the end of the world was nigh. The Adventist leadership became concerned that Roch Thériault was becoming his own kind of spiritual leader and noted that his power and influence over his growing flock was increasing exponentially.
In 1977, the group attended an Adventist summer retreat on Lake Rosseau in Ontario. It was here that Thériault met Gabrielle Lavallée, a young nurse struggling to find her place in the world. In a later interview, Gabrielle described how she had significant trauma from past childhood sexual abuse.
She admitted that at the time she met Thériault, she was in the middle of a deep depressive episode, and felt she had no direction in her life. She began attending a series of lectures by the Seventh-day Adventists and was encouraged to attend the summer camp retreat in the Muskoka Woods, in northern Ontario.
Thériault presented himself to Gabrielle as a homoeopathic healer. He was passionate about nutrition and holistic health and had plans to set up a food clinic. He also proposed setting up a wellness centre and invited Gabrielle to leave her life as a nurse to become an associate of his and help build his vision.
Excommunication
The group banded together to open the ‘Healthy Living Clinic’. This was advertised as an alternative medicine clinic that promoted healthy living and organic food. Thériault claimed that any ailment or illness could be cured by his remedies. He also dictated a strict uniform for his disciples. Women wore a full-length green tunic, and men wore the same garment in beige. Théirault differentiated himself from his underlings, by wearing dark brown robes.
Thériault used the clinic as a revenue-generating exercise, and as a recruitment tool to grow his numbers. Gisélle and Roch married at an Adventist church in Montréal in January 1978, but this did not stall his relationships with the other cult members.
Medical Negligence
In March 1978, Thérault began treating a 38-year-old woman, Geraldine Gagné Auclair at his clinic. Geraldine’s husband had become enamoured with Thériault and was convinced that she would be better off under his care. Geraldine had been diagnosed with leukaemia and was receiving treatment at a hospital in Québec City. Her husband convinced Geraldine to discharge herself for alternative treatment and moved to the clinic.
Thériault’s treatment plan for Geraldine’s cancer was a regime of organic food and grape juice. Geraldine was isolated, and her family, including her father, were banned from visiting her. Understandably, her condition worsened, and she died under Thériault’s watch. After her death, Thériault concocted a resurrection story, and told his followers that she had momentarily woken from death when he kissed her forehead. He added that God wanted Geraldine, and that it was her time, so he couldn’t intervene in God’s plans for her. This would not be the only death caused by Thériault’s negligence.
Break with the Church
By April 1978, the Seventh-day Adventists had decided to cut all ties with Roch Thériault, and formally excommunicated him from their church. Soon after his own wedding, Gisélle revealed that she was pregnant. Frustrated with Theriault’s promiscuity and affairs with other women, heavily pregnant Gisélle gave her husband an ultimatum – disband the commune, or she was leaving him. Thériault didn’t hesitate to react and give his answer. He punched her in the face and locked her in her room for several days. As Thériault’s power and influence grew, his abuse and bizarre physical punishments escalated.
Doomsday
Thériault had spent years preaching about a pending doomsday. He told his followers that the world would end on the 19th of February 1979. He claimed that the world would end beneath a hailstorm the size of boulders, lightning, and widespread earthquakes. He said that God would spare Thériault and his followers if they led a righteous life. And as with any cult, Thériault would be the arbitrator of what constituted righteousness.
Into the Wild
In June 1978, Thériault’s Healthy Living Clinic ran into difficulties. Police were suspicious of the treatment after Geraldine’s death and other unexplained incidents. The Adventists had stopped supplying food and medical supplies to the group, following Thériault’s expulsion, and the clinic’s debt was mounting. This is when he decided to move them to remote Sainte-Marie in Eastern Québec to build their commune. He referred to the area as Eternal Mountain.
Speaking later, Gabrielle described what Thériault had built as being ‘the worst possible jail that could exist. Because we don’t see the bars. It’s a psychological jail’. She said that the love-bombing she had experienced at the retreat fell away, and the reality of the situation sunk in.
The Ant Hill Kids Commune
In total, sixteen young people initially followed Thériault out into the Canadian wilderness. They slept in tents at night, and spent long days building log cabins for them to set up permanent residence in. The plan was to build a large communal cabin for the group to share, with a well dug into the centre. Gabrielle said that they were heavily sleep-deprived and near-starving for much of the time. So much so, that they barely had time to think, let alone question anything that was happening around them.
The group name, ‘The Ant Hill Kids’ was coined by Thériault, who did not participate in any of the manual labour to build or maintain the commune. He observed that the young people worked and bustled like little ants to build the commune and do Thériault’s bidding, and so labelled them, ‘The Ant Hill Kids’.
Group Marriage
Shortly before the proposed Doomsday date, Thériault became obsessed with procreation and increasing the numbers of his group. He felt that the natural way to do this was through increasing the number of children in the commune. He announced that all marriages in the commune were now void, apart from his marriage to Gisélle, and added that every woman in the group would become his wife. He conducted all marriage ceremonies himself and consummated them immediately. By the end of his reign, Thériault fathered 26 children with nine cult members.
Escape
Maryse Grenier was deeply unhappy at the Ant Hill Kids commune. She begged her husband to help her leave. Instead of helping his wife to escape, Jacques informed Thériault that Maryse was trying to leave. Thériault would not tolerate this betrayal and directed Jacques to cut off one of Maryse’s toes with an axe. When he hesitated, Thériault taunted him. He told him that women need to be taught lessons, and that if he didn’t do it, then Thériault would cut off all of her toes. Jacques took the axe to his wife’s foot and removed her smallest toe. This exercise in loyalty and obedience earned Jacques a place of trust with the cult leader, and from this point on, he became Thériault’s strictest enforcer.
Parental Intervention
In February 1978, when did world did not end, as he had predicted, Thériault made excuses, telling his followers that it was simply a difference in religious calendars. The following month, a newspaper ran a story on the cult, shining a spotlight on their activities. Some of the parents of Thériault’s young disciples were understandably concerned about Roch Thériault’s influence on their children. They asked the police to intervene, and Thériault was taken to a psychiatric hospital in Québec City for evaluation. So convincing and charismatic was the young prophet, that after his evaluation, the Head of Psychiatry of the hospital called a press conference to endorse Roch Thériault as a shining example of a back-to-the-land man of God.
Alcoholism
It was at this time that Thériault began drinking alcohol again. He gave up his Adventist diet and began eating meat, dairy and junk food. Here, in the wilderness, away from civilisation, all accepted social norms were removed. Thériault’s word was final and absolute. As his power and control grew, his cruel and maniacal tendencies were amplified. The group lived with uncertainty, as they never knew how he might react to the smallest infraction, or the depraved punishments he might devise and implement in the moment.
He forced the entire group to sit around him while he delivered drunken sermons that went on for hours. If a group member dared to fall asleep while he spoke, he would hit them over the head with a piece of wood.
In November 1980, 23-year-old Guy Veer was referred by the same psychiatric hospital that Thériault had been evaluated by. Guy had suffered from depression and had become enamoured with the enigmatic leader after seeing him on television. Guy was the first new member the group had allowed to join in three years. He was not initially allowed to live in the communal cabin, and was assigned to live in a tool shed, with some basic necessities and a single meal per day. He was also tasked with caring for the children of other cult members, who were not related to Thériault. This included Samuel and Miriam Giguére, aged two and four, and Simon Ouellette, aged two.
On the 23rd of March 1981, Thériault hosted a party. As an outsider, Guy was not invited and was told to look after the children. Samuel was upset and cried loudly, interrupting Guy’s sleep. Guy became so angry at the child, that he beat him so severely that he ended up in a coma.
Death by Misadventure
Thériault decided that circumcision would cure the child of the injuries that had caused him to fall into a coma. A procedure that Thériault would perform himself on the kitchen table of the cabin he shared with his disciples. Alcohol was administered to Samuel as an anaesthetic. Unsurprisingly, the entire procedure did not go well, and Samuel was found dead the following morning from presumed alcohol poisoning. Thériault decided that the child should be burned and buried, and Claude Ouellette carried out his orders.
The Mock Trial
One night, in a drunken stupor, Thériault decided that Guy must be punished for Samuel’s death. He decided that a trial would be held, with various members of the group taking up the roles of judge, jury and providing legal representation. It was a show trial, and Guy sat silently and didn’t protest. The jury found Guy not guilty by reason of insanity, but this was not enough for Thériault, who had already decided what the punishment would be. He then convened a jury of ten who agreed that Guy must be castrated. Guy protested, but after some time became convinced by Thériault’s persuasion and went along with the plan.
Life in the commune did not improve for Guy Veer, and he felt as though he had been demoted, and become the group’s punching bag. Thériault encouraged group members to kick him and even stab him with knives. In November 1981, Guy managed to flee the compound and immediately upon arriving at a small town, informed them that a child had been killed, and that the body was buried on the compound. Police descended on the Ant Hill Kids Commune and arrested Samuel’s parents. Thériault placed the blame solely on Guy Veer.
Police Investigation
Police were appalled at the conditions the children were living in, and promptly removed nine of the children and placed them in foster care. Their parents were told that they could regain custody if they left the compound, which they declined to do.
A coroner conducted an examination of Samuel’s remains and concluded that foul play was involved in the child’s death. Several cult members, including Roch, Jacques, Maryse, Solange, Claude and Guy were all arrested. Thériault was denied bail and deemed a danger to society. The trial lasted for nine months, with all six defendants being found guilty of all crimes.
Thériault was sentenced to two years in prison, and three years’ probation for criminal negligence, which he served at Orsainville Detention Centre in Québec City. Maryse and Solange were each given three years’ probation. Claude and Jacques received a six-month sentence each and three years’ probation. Guy was sentenced but later acquitted, due to his mental health problems. He was committed to Robert Giffard Hospital. Police cleared the site of the cult’s compound, burning the cabin to the ground and evicting all previous residents.
The Next Phase
A newly sober Thériault was released from prison in February 1984. Despite his lengthy absence, he continued to have a flock of loyal and dedicated followers, albeit with lower numbers than before. Most of the children had been removed from their parents’ care in the intervening years. By 1984, the Ant Hill Kids consisted of ten children, two men, nine women, including several that were heavily pregnant. Thériault decided that the group would begin again on a new plot of land and would rebuild their commune. The group settled in the Somerville Township, near Burnt River, Ontario.
When the group had been at the original commune in the late 1970s, individual cult members received welfare payments that they donated to the commune. By 1984, this was no longer the case. The State viewed the Ant Hill Kids as an institution, and as such, individual members did not qualify for a welfare payment. This left the group near-destitute. Thériault forced the group to shoplift food and other items, and even sewed special pockets into their tunics to help them do this undetected.
Prolonged Abuse
Thériault’s sobriety did not last long. Soon, he was drinking heavily, and everyone around him paid the price. He dictated that cult members were not allowed to speak to each other when he was not around. He also conducted bizarre and increasingly unhinged punishments for minor infractions.
Thériault was a sadist. He enjoyed the ritual humiliation of his followers and needed to have absolute control over them. From the time he started his cult in 1977/78, he began to systematically abuse those around him. Not even the children were safe. His punishments appeared to be spur of the moment, with little thought going into them before demanding they be carried out. Punishments were meted out, even if no infraction had taken place.
He regularly spied on his followers or had others do his bidding. He then confronted the guilty party and told them that he knew they were guilty, as God had told him what they had done. He removed fingers and toes with wire cutters, forced members to sit on open fire, eat dead rodents and faeces, and injure each other with weapons. He also performed exorcisms on group members to ‘purge’ them of the devil.
No Escape
If someone attempted to leave the group, Thériault would attack them with a belt or hammer. Sometimes he would suspend them from a ceiling beam and beat and torture them. They were usually so broken down after their torture, that they abandoned their escape plans. This also served the function of being a warning for the other group members to fall into line or be met with the same fate.
Solange
In September 1988, one of his wives, Solange, began to complain of stomach pain. Thériault seemed ecstatic at the prospect of yet another unnecessary surgery. He told Solange that her liver was infected, and he would have to operate on the kitchen table. He gave her an enema and began punching her repeatedly in the stomach. He placed a second tube down her throat and instructed the other members to blow into it. Next, he took a blade and sliced it into the side of her abdomen, all while she was fully conscious.
When he was satisfied that he had healed her, he instructed Gabrielle to use a needle and thread to close the wound. Shockingly, Solange was still conscious and speaking. He directed her to stand up and take a series of hot and cold baths, one after another. By the next day, she was dead. Thériault ordered that Solange be buried in the nearby woods. Later he decided to resurrect her and ordered her body to be exhumed. This exercise was unsuccessful, and Thériault had several suicide attempts before returning to his regular rule of law.
Gabrielle
Gabrielle had witnessed Thériault’s descent into madness for more than a decade. She had taken steps to leave the commune several times but always returned. Over the years, Gabrielle had been severely physically abused by Thériault. In July 1989, Gabrielle was seated at the kitchen table alongside Thériault.
She complained of a problem with the feeling in her hand, and without warning, Thériault stabbed her through the hand with a hunting knife, essentially pinning her hand to the table. He then retrieved a meat cleaver and amputated her arm. Miraculously, Gabrielle survived the primitive amputation. This was the impetus for Gabrielle to make her final escape attempt. Escaping into the woods, and then to the nearest town, she managed to get to a hospital for treatment. Doctors were horrified at her injuries, and the crude amputation, and contacted local police.
Arrest & Trial
Thériault had fled to Québec with three of the cult members. It took six weeks for police to locate their hideout, but when they did, they were able to arrest Thériault and several of his followers. A trial took place. Prosecutors wanted Thériault charged with first-degree murder, however, the judge didn’t believe that there was enough evidence of premeditation on Thériault’s part to sustain that charge. The charge for Solange’s death was dropped to second-degree murder, for which he received a sentence of life in prison. He also received a sentence of 12 years for the forced amputation of Gabrielle’s arm.
Aftermath
In 2000, Thériault was moved to Dorchester Penitentiary in New Brunswick. He was denied parole in 2002. In 2009, the Correctional Service of Canada blocked the sale of Thériault’s artwork through a US-based true crime auction site, as they believed that those convicted of violent crimes should not profit from their notoriety.
In February 2011, Thériault was found dead outside his prison cell with lacerations to his neck. He had been killed during an altercation with another inmate, Matthew Gerrard MacDonald, using a shiv. Gabrielle Lavallée wrote an autobiographical book detailing her life in the cult, titled, The Alliance of the Ewe. She became a motivational speaker and now speaks to schools and other groups about the idea of happiness, and how it cannot be found in another person or through another group, but only from within.
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