I am a native English speaker. Here is a popular dictionary link: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cult
See especially definitions 3 and 4.
See especially definitions 3 and 4.
The article is certainly not using definitions 3 or 4, which simply don't make sense in the construction "sex cult". It's not worship of sex/worship through sex (definition 4), and it's not "a system of religious practices related to sex" (definition 3).