The Family (Anne Hamilton-Byrne)

An Australian cult led by Anne Hamilton-Byrne, who claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. The group acquired children through illegal adoptions and birth falsifications, raising them in isolation on a rural property called 'Uptop' in the Dandenong Ranges, Victoria. Children's hair was bleached blonde and they were given uniform names. Former members described severe physical abuse, starvation, and forced administration of LSD and psychiatric drugs as initiation rituals. A 1987 police operation rescued the children; Hamilton-Byrne fled to the United States and was not extradited until 1993.