Kat Torres: Instagram influencer from Brazil dem jail for trafficking ...

Wen two young Brazilian women miss for September 2022, dia families and di FBI launch desperate search across di US to find dem. Wetin dem know be say dem dey live wit wellness influencer Kat Torres.

Torres now don dey sentenced to eight years in prison for di human trafficking and slavery of one of di women. BBC World Service also don hear say di charges dem file against her dey in relation to di second woman.

How di former model wey bin dey party wit Leonardo DiCaprio and grace di cover of international magazines, start to groom her followers and lure dem into sexual exploitation?

“She bin resemble hope for me one kain,” Ana tok, describing her reaction on wen she find Torres Instagram page for 2017.

Ana no dey among di women wey FBI dey find - but she too na victim of Torres mata and she be di key to dia rescue.

She tok say she bin dey attracted to Torres journey from di poor areas of Brazilian favela to international catwalks, partying wit Hollywood A-listers along di way.

“E be like say she don overcome di violence in her childhood, abuse, all dis traumatic experiences,” Ana tell BBC Eye Investigations and BBC News Brasil.

Ana bin dey vulnerable situation herself. She tok say she bin don suffer violent childhood, move alone to di US from southern Brazil, and she bin dey abusive relationship.

Torres bin recently publish her autobiography wey dem call A Voz [The Voice], in which she claim say she fit make predictions as a result of her spiritual powers, and reputable Brazilian media shows bin interview am.

“She bin dey di cover of magazines. Dem bin see her wit famous pipo such as Leonardo DiCaprio. Evertin I see dey credible,” she tok.

Ana tok say she trip for Torres approach to spirituality.

Wetin Ana no know be say di inspirational story Torres tell am na base on half-truths and lies.

Torres ex-flatmate for New York, Luzer Twersky, tell us say na her Hollywood friends introduce her to di hallucinogenic drug ayahuasca, and she no remain di same again.

”Dat na wen she kind of… start to dey go off di deep end,” e tok.

E tok say e also believe say she dey work as sugar baby - paid for romantic involvement wit wealthy and powerful men wey dey pay for di flat dem dey share together.

Torres wellness website and subscription service dey promise customers: “Love, money and self-esteem wey dem dey always dream of.” Self-help videos offer advice on relationships, wellness, business success and spirituality - including hypnosis, meditation and exercise programmes.

For extra $150 (£120) clients fit unlock exclusive one-to-one video consultations wit Torres, wia she claim to solve dia problems.

Amanda, anoda former client wey dey live for di Brazilian capital, tok say Kat make am feel special.

“All my doubts, my questions, my decisions: I always take dem to her first, so dat we fit make decisions togeda,” she tok.

But e appear say dat advice get dark side. Ana, Amanda, and oda former followers say dem find themselves becoming increasingly psychologically isolated from friends and family and willing to do anytin Torres suggest.

Wen Torres ask Ana for 2019 to move to New York to work as her live-in assistant, she agree. She bin dey study nutrition for university in Boston, but she arrange to study online instead. She accept di offer to look afta Torres animals - and do her cooking, laundry and cleaning - for about $2000 (£1,564) per month.

Wen she land Torres apartment, though, she quickly realise say e no match di perfection wey di influencer bin project for Instagram.

“E dey shocking becos di house dey really messy, really dirty, e no smell good,” she tok.

Ana say Torres no fit do basic things witout am, like taking shower, becos she no fit bear to dey alone. She tok say she dey always dey available for Torres, dem only allow am to sleep for few hours, ontop sofa wey dey covered in cat urine.

She tok say some days she fit hide for di apartment building gym, to grab a few hours sleep rather dan working out.

“Now, I see say she bin dey use me as slave,” Ana tok.

Ana tok say dem neva pay am.

“I feel like, ‘I dey stuck here, I no sabi my way out,’” she tok. “I dey among one of her first victims of human trafficking.”

She don give out her university accommodation back in Boston, so she no get anywia to return to, and no income to pay for alternative housing.

Ana say wen she try to confront Torres, she become aggressive, triggering Ana painful history wit domestic violence.

Eventually, afta three months, Ana find a way to escape by moving in wit her new boyfriend.

But dat no be di end of Ana role for Torres life. Wen di families of two oda young Brazilian women report dem missing for September 2022, Ana know say she go need to act.

By dis point, Torres life don already grow wella. She don marry one 21-year-old man, wey dem dey call Zach. She meet am for California, and dem rent a five-bedroom house for di suburbs of Austin, Texas.

Repeating di pattern she start wit Ana, Torres bin target her most dedicated followers, trying to recruit dem to come work for her. In return, she bin promise to help dem achieve dia dreams, capitalising on di intimate personal details dem bin share wit her during life-coaching sessions.

Desirrê Freitas, one Brazilian woman wey dey live for Germany, and Brazilian Letícia Maia - di two women wey dia disappear go on to spark di FBI search - dem move to live wit Torres. Torres recruit anoda Brazilian woman, wey dem dey call Sol.

Posting on her social media channels, Torres introduce her “witch clan” to her followers.

Di BBC don discover at least four more women wey she almost persuade to join am for di house but dem no gree.

Some of di women dey too scared to appear for BBC film - afraid of receiving online abuse and still traumatised by dia experiences - but we don verify dia accounts wit court documents, text messages, bank statements, and Desirrê’tori about her experiences - @Searching Desirrê, wey dey published by DISRUPTalks.

Desirrê tok say in her case, Torres buy am her plane ticket from Germany, afta she tell am say she dey suicidal and need Desirrê’s support.

Torres also dey accused of persuading Letícia, wey dey 14-year-old wen she start life-coaching sessions wit her, to move to di US for one au pair programme and den drop out to live and work wit her.

As for Sol, she tok say she agree to move in wit Torres afta becoming homeless and she bin dey hired to do tarot readings and yoga classes.

But e no too tey bifor di women discover say dia reality dey veri different to di fairy-tale wey dem promise dem.

Within weeks, Desirrê tok say Torres pressure am into working for one local strip club, saying if she no comply, Desirrê go need to repay all di money she don spend on her: flights, accommodation, furniture for her room, and even di “witchcraft” Torres bin don perform. Desirrê tok say she no get di money, she also believe at di time in di spiritual powers Torres claim say she get, so wen Torres threaten to curse am for not following orders she begin dey fear.

Reluctantly, Desirrê agree to work as stripper.

One manager from di strip club, James, tell BBC say she bin dey work for long hours, seven days for one week.

Desirrê and Sol say di women for di Austin mansion dey subjected to strict house rules. Dem no dey tok to each oda for house, dem go need Torres permission to comot for dia rooms - even to use di bathroom - and dem dey required to immediately hand ova all earnings.

“E bin dey very difficult to get out of di situation becos she dey hold your money,” Sol tell BBC.

“E bin dey terrifying. I bin think say sometin fit happen to me becos she get all my information, my passport, my driving licence.”

But Sol say she realise say she need to escape somehow afta she hear phone call wey Torres dey tell anoda client she must work as a prostitute in Brazil as “punishment”.

Sol fit comot wit di help of her ex-boyfriend.

Meanwhile, di guns Torres husband bin dey keep begin to regularly feature for her Instagram stories, and become source of fear for di remaining women.

Around dis time, Desirrê say Torres try to persuade her to leave di strip club for prostitution. She tok say she refuse and di following day Torres take her on surprise day out to one gun range.

Fear catch Desirrê and she say she eventually give in to Torres demand.

“Many questions worry me: ‘I fit don stop weneva I want?’” Desirrê write for her book.

“And if di condom break, I go get disease? [di client] fit be undercover cop and arrest me? What if e kill me?”

If di women no meet di earning quotas wey Torres set, wey bin don increase from $1,000 (£782) to $3,000 (£2,345) per day, dem no go dey allowed to return to di house dat night, dem tok.

“I dey sleep for street several times becos I no fit reach di target,” Desirrê tok.

Bank statements, wey BBC see show Desirrê transferring more dan $21,000 (£16,417) into Torres account for June and July 2022 alone. She tok say she force am to hand ova a higher figure in cash.

Prostitution dey illegal for Texas and Desirrê tok say Torres go threaten to report am to di police if she ever wan stop.

For September, friends and family of Desirrê and Letícia back for Brazil launch social media campaigns to find dem, afta dem become very concerned following months without contact.

By dis time, dem no fit recognise dem again. Dem don dye dia brunette hair to platinum blonde to match Torres own. Desirrê tok say at dis point, all her phone contacts dem don block am and she dey obey di influencer orders without question.

As di Instagram page @searchingDesirrê gain momentum, di story dominate news outlets for Brazil. Desirrê friends even dey worry say dem fit don murder am, and Letícia family put out desperate pleas for dia safe return home.

Ana, sake of say she don live wit Torres for 2019, say alarm bells begin dey ring for her head as soon as she see di news stories. She say she immediately guess say “[Torres] dey keep oda girls”.

Along wit oda former clients, Ana begin to contact as many law enforcement agencies as possible, including di FBI, so she go fit get di influencer arrested. Five months earlier, both she and Sol bin don report Torres to di US police - but dem tok say dem no dem take dem seriously.

For one video she record at di time for evidence, wey she share with BBC, Ana bin dey hala say, “dis pesin dey very dangerous and she don already threaten to kill me”.

Di media attention make Torres panic and she and di women travel more dan 2,000 miles (3,219 km) from Texas to Maine. For Instagram videos, Desirrê and Letícia deny say dem hold dem captive and demand say make pipo to stop to dey search for dem.

But recording, wey BBC News obtain, give insight into wetin really happun at dat time. By now, di US authorities don dey aware of di concerns about di women safety. Homeland security don tip off one police officer wey manage to FaceTime Torres to check on di women. But just befor e start, Torres bin dey talk for background of di video say:

“E fit start to dey ask questions. Guys, dem dey full of tricks. Na detective, dey veri careful. For God sake, I go kick you out if you say anytin. I go shout.”

For November 2022, police finally convince Torres and di two oda women to attend welfare check in person for Franklin County Sheriff Office for Maine.

Di detective wey question Torres, Desirrê and Letícia - Detective David Davol - tell BBC say im colleagues dey concerned, afta dem notice a number of red flags, including distrust of law enforcement, isolation and dia reluctance to speak witout Torres permission.

“Human traffickers no dey always be like in di movies, wia you get… a gang wey dey kidnap pipo. E dey more common with someone you trust.”

By December 2022, di two women don safely return to Brazil.

Det Davol tok say, for im experience, human trafficking dey on di rise. Im observation dey backed up by di UN, wey report say na one of di fastest growing crimes, generating an estimate of $150bn (£117bn) in profits in one year worldwide.

E believe say social media dey give am platform to thrive, e dey make am easier for traffickers to find and groom victims.

For April dis year, our team get rare court order to interview Torres for one Brazilian prison - di first media interview wit her since her arrest. At dat point, she bin still dey wait for di verdict of di trial against her relating to her treatment of Desirrê.

Smiling, Torres approach us in a calm and collected manner.

She dey adamant say she dey completely innocent, denying say any woman don ever live wit am or she ever force anyone to take part in sex work.

“Wen I dey see pipo wey dey testify, dem dey tok so many lies. So many lies dat at one point, I just dey laugh,” she tell us.

“Pipo dey tok say I be fake guru, but at di same time, dem dey tok say… ‘She be danger to society becos she fit change pipo mind wit her words.’”

Wen we confront am wit di evidence wey we don see, she become more hostile, accusing us of lying too.

“You choose to believe anytin wey you wan believe. I fit tell you say I be Jesus. And you fit see Jesus, or you fit see di devil, na like dat. Na your choice. e dey your mind.”

As she get up to return to her cell, she issue parting threat, claiming say we go soon find out if she get powers or not. She point give me, and say: “I no like her.”

BBC fit reveal say earlier dis month, dem sentence Torres to eight years in prison for subjecting Desirrê to human trafficking and slavery. Di Brazilian judge conclude say she lure di young woman to US for di purpose of sexual exploitation.

More dan 20 women don report being scammed or exploited by Torres - many of whom di BBC don follow tok and dem still dey undergo psychiatric therapy to recover from wetin dem say dem experience becos of her treatment of dem.

Torres lawyer tell di BBC she don appeal her conviction and say she maintain her innocence.

Investigation into di allegations from oda women dey on for Brazil.

Ana believe say oda victims go come forward, once dem read about Torres crimes. Dis na di first time Ana don tok publicly.

She tok say she want pipo to recognise say Torres actions na serious crime and no be some “Instagram drama”.

In di closing pages of her book Desirrê also reflect on her experiences.

“I neva fully recover yet, Dis na challenging year. Dem sexually exploit, enslave and imprison me.

“I hope say my story go serve as a warning.”