The Conspiracy Tapes | 6. Unmasked

John Todd’s criminal activities span decades, involving sexual assault, exploitation, and manipulation, particularly targeting young women and teenage girls. His history of predatory behavior reveals a disturbing pattern of using deception and power to abuse his victims.

John Todd had a long history of sexually assaulting and exploiting young women and teenage girls.

Investigators uncovered over 70 accusations against John Todd of sexual assault, harassment, and psychological terror targeting young female applicants to his fake publishing company in the 1980s.

Over 70 women accused John Todd of sexual abuse related to his fraudulent activities as a book publisher. The allegations were revealed during an investigation by SLED agents, who also uncovered Todd's lack of publishing experience.

Prior to his high-profile exposure in the 1970s, John Todd had been accused of sexually assaulting teenage girls as part of his Wiccan cult activities, leading to a conviction and short prison sentence.

Victims, including journalism student Emma, reported incidents in which Todd raped them under the guise of business meetings, using intimidation tactics such as threatening with a knife. These assaults occurred while he was posing as a publisher named Jason Collins, which was later discovered to be a pseudonym used by John Todd.

While incarcerated, Todd continued his pattern of sexual exploitation, this time targeting male inmates by falsely claiming that sexual acts were part of Wiccan initiation rituals.

John Todd was found guilty of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and sentenced to 30 years in prison in South Carolina. Victims recounted how he lured them in with promises of opportunities and rewards from his fake publishing company, Five Winds Corporation. His tactics included flattery, vague commitments, and maintaining secrecy by using another person’s address and not giving out his phone number.

Even while in prison, the investigation from 1987 revealed Todd's long history of sexual offenses. Paul Murphy, who reviewed over 200 pages of documents, found evidence that dated back to the 1970s and highlighted Todd's man ...

John Todd's controversial role in Christian and occult communities has been marked by the spread of far-fetched conspiracy theories and the dramatic narrative of his supposed past as a high-tier member of the Illuminati.

John Todd built a large following among Christians and occultists by fabricating an elaborate backstory as a former high-ranking Illuminati member.

After being released from prison, having served only two months thanks to a lawyer arranged by Jack Chick, John Todd transformed himself into what he portrayed as a brave exposer of the Illuminati's darkest secrets. This reinvention opened doors for him across Christian circles.

Through his conspiracy theory tapes, John Todd claimed to expose the Illuminati’s secret plans, stoking fears and paranoia among his Christian listeners.

Many Christian congregations, despite having access to a Christianity Today article debunking Todd as a liar, continued to extend invitations to him in the 1980s. These communities, which seemed to have an intrinsic need to believe in the malignancy of witchcraft and the Illuminati, found in John Todd's fantastic conspiracy theories a confirmation of their fears.

Despite being exposed as a fraud in the Christian media, John Todd continued to be welcomed and supported by some churches and religious leaders who were eager to believe his sensational claims.

Todd demonstrated a keen ability to identify and exploit paranoia and prejudice with ...

John Todd's time in prison is marked by a series of manipulative behaviors where he reinvented himself as a champion of Wiccan rights, utilizing lawsuits and false claims to gain influence and exploit fellow inmates.

While incarcerated, John Todd reinvented himself as a champion of Wiccan rights, using lawsuits and false claims to elevate his status among fellow inmates.

While in prison, John Todd, who had switched back to Wicca from Christianity, began to encourage other inmates to call him by his witchcraft name, Chris Collins, spelled K-O-L-L-Y-N-S. He was known among Wiccan prisoners for making it possible to practice their religion in South Carolina after suing the Department of Corrections in 1992.

John Todd falsely portrayed himself as the sole protagonist in a landmark legal case that secured Wiccan inmates' right to practice their religion in South Carolina prisons.

Todd capitalized on his perceived status by launching lawsuits against the prison, alleging religious discrimination and claiming that staff targeted Wiccans and disparaged him. However, his claims were misleading; the legal case was actually a broader crusade for the religious rights of inmates across various minority religions, and Collins had simply added his name to a collective effort.

John Todd exploited his perceived status as a Wiccan leader to sexually abuse younger male inmates, claiming sexual acts were part of religious rituals.

Posing as Chris Collins, Todd claimed that oral sex was part of the initiation ritual into Wicca. These sexual encounters with younger male inmates were reported as consensual and were ev ...

Investigators looking into the past of John Todd uncovered a decades-long pattern of sexual predation and manipulation, revealing his dark side and ending the myth of his role as an Illuminati whistleblower.

Renewed investigations into John Todd's past uncovered a decades-long pattern of sexual predation and manipulation.

The renewed investigation into John Todd's history brought to light new evidence of his predatory behavior. This timeline included his flip-flopping between Christianity and witchcraft, where he professed different spiritual allegiances when it was suitable. Investigators matched known aspects of Todd's life with this new evidence of his sexual misconduct.

Investigators discovered that John Todd had been sexually assaulting and exploiting young women and girls long before his high-profile exposure in the 1970s, including during his time as a Wiccan cult leader.

John Todd, who later went by Chris Collins, was revealed to have manipulated and assaulted numerous young women and girls. This was documented in the folder of documents from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) which indicated a vast history of criminal behavior spanning many years. Before his time in Dayton, he had already been confronted by the leaders of a Christian church with accusations from multiple teenage girls. This predatory pattern triggered his moves to new towns and his switches between religions but ultimately resulted in his classification as a sexually violent predator in South Carolina following a 2004 investigation by SLED.

The discovery of John Todd's military records showed that he had been discharged for a personality disorder, shedding light on his propensity for pathological lying and self-aggrandizement.

John Todd's military records revealed he had been discharged for a personality disorder, which hinted at his pathological lying and tendencies toward self-aggrandizement. These personality features likely contributed to his misleading tales of being an ...