In this Stories from the Vault episode, Mark Mueller recounts one of the strangest and most disturbing cases of his legal career, a civil case involving a Dominican lay monk, alleged exorcisms, and deeply vulnerable women seeking help.
What began as an unusual phone call turned into a complex investigation involving spiritual authority, sexual trauma, psychological vulnerability, and the misuse of power. The case centered on a man known as “Brother Wrinn ,” who traveled with a group of Dominican monks performing exorcisms among undereducated Hispanic women, asking invasive sexual questions and conducting rituals that left multiple women confused, dissociated, and questioning what had happened to them.
As more women came forward with strikingly similar experiences, Mark took depositions that revealed alarming gaps in training, oversight, and accountability. One deposition, involving a survivor with multiple personalities and a psychologist present to help interpret the testimony, remains one of the most unusual courtroom moments Mark has ever experienced.
This story isn’t about belief versus disbelief. It’s about consent, ethics, and what happens when spiritual authority is placed in unqualified hands. The case ultimately settled, with conditions that removed the monk from contact with the community.
Stories from the Vault is where unusual, forgotten, and unbelievable legal stories live — told straight, with humanity and care.
