BRASILIA (Reuters) - Police are investigating accusations by over 200 women that a self-proclaimed Brazilian faith healer, who became a celebrity after appearing on a show hosted by Oprah Winfrey, sexually abused them while they were seeking spiritual guidance and treatment.

Prosecutors have requested the arrest of João Teixeira de Faria, known as “John of God”, from a court in Abadiania, a small town in central Brazil where he has his spiritual center, a law enforcement source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

Since the first accusation was aired on television on Friday, 258 women - some of them foreigners - have come forward accusing Faria of abuses, according to the prosecutors’ office for the state of Goias where Abadiania is located.

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