‘Exorcist’ turns self over to deputies

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department arrested a Paoli, Ind., man Wednesday afternoon on felony charges of battery and confinement after he performed an “exorcism” on a 14-year-old autistic boy over the course of 11 hours, police said.\nSheriff’s Department Det. Brad Swain said Edward F. Uyesugi, 22, turned himself into police at 12:30 p.m., Wednesday. \nWitnesses told police Uyesugi had said he punched the boy in the face 20 times and stuck his fingers down the boy’s throat in an attempt to “cast out the demons” in him, according to a probable cause affidavit.\nUyesugi was a pastor-in-training at Cherry Hill Ministries, 417 E. 16th St., the affidavit said. \nAccording to a press release Cherry Hill Ministries issued Wednesday, the church denounced Uyesugi for his behavior and the harm it caused to the boy. \n“We emphatically denounce the method, manner and mentality of this unauthorized and unsupervised exorcism attempted by this young man,” Pastor Kim Norris said in the press release.\nUyesugi was asked to resign his membership in the church.\nAccording to court documents filed July 20, Uyesugi told the boy’s mother that he could cure her son’s autism by “casting the demons out of him.”\nThe boy’s mother said Uyesugi was adamant that the boy be brought home from the group home in which he was living so Uyesugi could preform the ritual. The mother told police she was under the impression Cherry Hill Church Ministries knew about the “exorcism” and gave consent to it, according to the affidavit.\nThe mother said that when she brought her son home May 28, Uyesugi became loud and boisterous, causing the teenager to attempt to flee the room. Uyesugi grabbed the boy and pinned him to the floor, where he struck him. saying, “Come out, you filthy demon!” according to the affidavit. The mother told police she witnessed Uyesugi punch her son several times.\nLater, the boy was restrained on the bed for several hours while Uyesugi punched him repeatedly, \naccording to the document. Uyesugi directed the boy’s 15-year-old brother to assist with the exorcism. The boy’s two sisters told police they witnessed Uyesugi stick his fingers into their brother’s mouth, causing him to vomit, the document shows. The action was repeated numerous times. At one point, blood was present in the vomit, and when the mother pointed it out, Uyesugi denied it was blood and called it “Satan,” according to the affidavit.\nAfter the first session, which ran from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., Uyesugi announced that boy’s name would be changed to “Israel.” When the boy resisted the name change several times, Uyesugi announced the demons were still there and began the ritual again, according to the affidavit. The boy tried to flee but was stopped by his older brother, who did not understand what was going on.\nUyesugi wrapped his arms around the boy and pulled him up the stairs. When he broke free and ran into his mother’s room, which he considers a “safe place,” Uyesugi pursued the boy and the “exorcism” continued until midnight, according to the affidavit. The boy’s mother said she told Uyesugi that she was going to call the church about the ritual but was told by Uyesugi to stay where she was.\nThe following morning, the boy’s face was swollen, and he had black eyes and bruises across his face. The boy’s mother called Pastor Kim Norris to complain about the ritual Uyesugi performed on her child. She drove her son to the church to show Norris the injuries, according to the affidavit.\nSwain spoke to Uyesugi and his attorney June 27. Uyesugi told Swain that he has known the boy’s mother for some time and expressed concern about her son’s autism. She told Uyesugi another pastor she knew had informed her that her son had a demon in him, Uyesugi said. He said the mother had told him to pray over her son. When he began praying, the boy became upset and violent. Uyesugi restrained the boy and admitted to striking him once or twice. Uyesugi said the boy gagged, but it was not because of an attempt to cast out demons, according to the affidavit.\nThe mother denied she suggested her son’s condition might be due to demons, according to the document. \nUyesugi said he had never seen a child act as violently as the boy did, but he did not originally bring up the issue of demonic possession, according to the affidavit. \nSwain interviewed Norris on July 3 and learned that Uyesugi told Norris he had struck the boy in the face 20 times after he became aggressive. Uyesugi also told Norris that he put his fingers into the boy’s mouth to “pull out the spirit,” according to the affidavit. Norris described the events as bizarre and ridiculous and told Swain they had no basis in the teachings of the church.\nSwain said he would like to talk to Uyesugi again and ask Uyesugi why his version of the events are so different from the one reported by the boy’s mother and Norris.\nUyesugi is being held at the Monroe County Jail with a $5,000 bail. No court date has been set.