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.
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.
Hellbound and Down 