LEESBURG, Fla. — Channel 9 is learning more about an alleged “cult-like” secret society operating within Leesburg High School involving both faculty and students.

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Records show it was started as some kind of religious group by two school employees and a few former students.

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Gabriel Fielder has requested a chance to resign in lieu of termination after a report was made to Leesburg police by a former student who said he was “a member of a secret society at Leesburg High School called the Elder Council.”

The student said it was a cult-like group led by Field. Others also referred to it as a cult to Channel 9.

State records show Fielder and a guidance counselor named Leonardo Finelli started a nonprofit group in 2019 named Elder Council, Inc.

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It’s described in part as setup for “not-for-profit missions and teaching activities for the greatest evangelical Christian church globally.”

Before Elder Council dissolved in February, it was registered at a 13-acre site in Marion County near Ocklawaha, the home of Fielder.

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VIDEO: Leesburg band director, counselor accused of operating ‘cult-like’ secret society within school Leesburg band director, counselor accused of operating ‘cult-like’ secret society within school

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