My Parents Gave Me to a Cult Leader at 15 (Hidden in the Woods with Newborn) episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 27, 2026 · 1H 30M

My Parents Gave Me to a Cult Leader at 15 (Hidden in the Woods with Newborn)

from Cults to Consciousness

It started when Maria’s mother was kidnapped and taken to Canada before somehow convincing her parents to give marital consent. Maria would end up being one of 11 children who were moved over and over from different Amish and Mennonite settlements. Maria’s father was a wannabe cult leader and stirred up trouble wherever he went. Homemade preaching tapes sent out to the world would attract predators into Maria’s home. One of them being a Russian man named Sergey, a cult leader himself. At 15, Maria’s parents willingly gave her to Sergey to marry off to another man. At 16 she was alone, hidden in a swampy woodland without electricity or running water, struggling to survive with a newborn.  Click here to watch on YoutubeWatch our follow up LIVE with MariaFind Maria on Social Media!Substack:  https://myworldprism.substack.com/IG: https://www.instagram.com/myworld_prismSubscribe to our C2C "CLIPS" Channel!Support C2C - Any donations are welcome and appreciated to support the making of this podcast.Find our FULL (uncensored) merch store here!Patreon https://www.patreon.com/cultstoconsciousnessVenmo @sheliseannFind us on Social media!Instagram @cultstoconsciousness Host Instagram @sheliseann Co Producer / Host @jonathan.rosales_ TikTok @cults.to.consciousness Twitter @cultstocon **Disclaimer: This podcast provides a platform for guests to share their personal experiences and opinions. The views expressed are solely those of the guest and do not necessarily reflect the views of the hosts or producers. Any allegations discussed are unverified and represent personal accounts only. All individuals mentioned are presumed innocent unless proven otherwise. The podcast assumes no legal responsibility for statements made by guests.**See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Feb 27, 2026

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My Parents Gave Me to a Cult Leader at 15 (Hidden in the Woods with Newborn)

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