In 2019, six survivors brought forward allegations of severe abuse, including coercion, assault, and sexual abuse, against Robert Spatz, also known as ‘Lama Kunzang,’ founder of the Tibetan Buddhist organization Ogyen Kunzang Chöling (OKC). Their reports followed Spatz’s 2020 conviction in Belgium for similar offenses committed against dozens of minors. Spatz, now 81, established OKC in 1972, exerting complete control over its operations across Belgium, Portugal, Spain, and France.

Spatz presided over Château de Soleils, an isolated retreat center near Castellane in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region. Here, numerous children, separated from their families, were subjected to intensive indoctrination and systemic abuse. Spatz, citing “health reasons,” avoided appearing in the Belgian court in Liège during his trial. He has since remained secluded in a luxury villa in Málaga, Spain, accompanied by a small circle of followers.

Judicial Action Requested

Journalist Elodie Emery reported in the French newspaper Le Monde on June 20, 2025, that earlier in the month, French judicial authorities officially requested assistance from Spain. This step might lead to Spatz receiving a local court summons or an arrest warrant. The survivors hope this could finally deliver justice, decades overdue.

Emery previously covered Spatz’s trial in Belgium, prominently featured in the 2022 Arte documentary, Abuse in Buddhism: The Law of Silence. The film highlighted testimonies from four of the twenty-three survivors who joined the Belgian case as civil parties.

Survivor Testimonies: Ritualized Abuse

Catarina de Lencastre (43) is one of these survivors. For the first time publicly revealing her identity, Catarina detailed her harrowing childhood experiences in Château de Soleils. Her parents, deeply influenced by Spatz, abandoned her at age four, convinced they had negative “karmic influence” on her spiritual development. Left under the care of Spatz’s appointed “educators,” Catarina endured confinement, beatings, starvation, and routine sexual assaults masked as bedtime rituals, which one perpetrator chillingly called his “round of kisses.” After eight traumatic years at Château de Soleils, she was transferred to another OKC facility in Portugal.

Raul Cerqueira, another survivor who spent twelve years at Château de Soleils starting at age five, described severe punishments such as public humiliation, brutal beatings—including a particularly symbolic punishment of “108 blows”—and forced isolation. Cerqueira recalls extended periods without food and being confined alone outdoors with minimal shelter, forced to sleep under just a sleeping bag and a tarpaulin.

Systemic Judicial Failures

Throughout nearly three decades, multiple French authorities—including education, child welfare, and judicial institutions—visited Château de Soleils but consistently failed to intervene effectively, despite clear signs of indoctrination and neglect. A contradictory 1996 social investigation praised the facility for providing “privileged teaching conditions,” dismissing signs of emotional and psychological distress, stating that “the absence of parents is well accepted” and that “no emotional shortcomings” were noted, despite clear indoctrination in achieving “nirvana.”

Similarly, despite a 1997 police raid following the suspicious death of an adult disciple denied medical care, no substantial action was taken against OKC at the time. A medical examination noted minors were slightly below normal growth curves but dismissed abuse, suggesting hereditary causes.

Tibetan Buddhist Authorities’ Role and Complexity

Robert Spatz enhanced his image of legitimacy through close associations with prominent Tibetan Buddhist figures such as the Dalai Lama, Matthieu Ricard, and Rabjam Rinpoche. Matthieu Ricard last visited Château de Soleils in 2019, on Rabjam Rinpoche’s instruction. Despite being made aware of Spatz’s abuses as early as 2010, Ricard initially failed to distance himself from OKC or report these abuses. It was only following persistent pressure from survivors after the 2022 Arte documentary that Ricard intervened, resulting in Rabjam Rinpoche officially severing ties with OKC in 2023.

Rabjam Rinpoche’s initial endorsement had significantly bolstered OKC’s perceived legitimacy, as did prior support from figures including the Dalai Lama and Pema Wangyal Rinpoche. Despite multiple alerts about abuses, their delayed responses or silence contributed to OKC maintaining a façade of being an innocuous Buddhist community, effectively enabling Spatz’s ongoing abuses. Notably, only Jigme Khyentse Rinpoche has clearly condemned Spatz’s abuses, albeit not publicly.

In 2023, following mounting criticism, the Central Tibetan Administration temporarily suspended its prior endorsement of OKC, awaiting outcomes from ongoing judicial investigations in France.

Current Legal Situation and New Charges

Although the Belgian court convicted Spatz in 2020, sentencing him to a mere five-year suspended sentence and awarding survivors €600,000 in damages, survivors view the verdict as inadequate. The sentence neither compelled Spatz to divest his properties nor interrupted his luxurious lifestyle in Spain  and much less did it stopped Spatz from perpetuating abuses.

Catarina de Lencastre, Raul Cerqueira, and four other survivors have now filed a new complaint in France, urging additional serious charges including “acts of torture and barbarism” and “human trafficking,” alongside existing accusations of rape and coercion. Their lawyers have emphasized the gravity of the situation, and Catarina has stated she will hold the French state accountable for gross negligence if Spatz avoids meaningful consequences yet again.

Broader Context

This case echoes wider concerns regarding abuse within some Tibetan Buddhist communities. Recently, Slovenia also requested judicial assistance from France concerning allegations against Ronan Chatellier (formerly known as Shenpen Rinpoche), another French-born Buddhist teacher accused of child abuse, highlighting systemic vulnerabilities and a troubling pattern within certain religious institutions.