1992 FBI Report --Satanic Ritual Abuse
INTRODUCTION
Since 1981 I have been assigned to the Behavioral Science Unit at the FBI
Academy in Quantico, Virginia, and have specialized in studying all
aspects of the sexual victimization of children. The FBI Behavioral
Science Unit provides assistance to criminal justice professionals in the
United States and foreign countries. It attempts to develop practical
applications of the behavioral sciences to the criminal justice system. As
a result of training and research conducted by the Unit and its successes
in analyzing violent crime, many professionals contact the Behavioral
Science Unit for assistance and guidance in dealing with violent crime,
especially those cases considered different, unusual, or bizarre. This
service is provided at no cost and is not limited to crimes under the
investigative jurisdiction of the FBI.
In 1983 and 1984, when I first began to hear stories of what sounded like
satanic or occult activity in connection with allegations of sexual
victimization of children (allegations that have come to be referred to
most often as "ritual" child abuse,) I tended to believe them.
I had been dealing with bizarre, deviant behavior for many years and had
long since realized that almost anything is possible. Just when you think
that you have heard it all, along comes another strange case.
The idea that there are a few cunning, secretive individuals in positions
of power somewhere in this country regularly killing a few people as part
of some satanic ritual or ceremony and getting away with it is certainly
within the realm of possibility. But the number of alleged cases began to
grow and grow. We now have hundreds of victims alleging that thousands of
offenders are abusing and even murdering tens of thousands of people as part
of organized satanic cults, and there is little or no corroborative evidence.
The very reason many "experts" cite for believing these allegations
(i.e. many victims, who never met each other, reporting the same events,) is
the primary reason I began to question at least some aspects of these
allegations.
I have devoted more than seven years part-time, and eleven years
full-time, of my professional life to researching, training, and
consulting in the area of the sexual victimization of children. The issues
of child sexual abuse and exploitation are a big part of my professional
life's work. I have no reason to deny their existence or nature. In fact I
have done everything I can to make people more aware of the problem. Some
have even blamed me for helping to create the hysteria that has led to
these bizarre allegations. I can accept no outside income and am paid the
same salary by the FBI whether or not children are abused and exploited -
and whether the number is one or one million. As someone deeply concerned
about and professionally committed to the issue, I did not lightly
question the allegations of hundreds of victims child sexual abuse and
exploitation.
In response to accusations by a few that I am a "satanist" who has
infiltrated the FBI to facilitate cover-up, how does anyone (or should
anyone have to) disprove such allegations? Although reluctant to dignify
such absurd accusations with a reply, all I can say to those who have made
such allegations that they are wrong and to those who heard such
allegations is to carefully consider the source.
The reason I have taken the position I have is not because I support or
believe in "satanism," but because I sincerely believe that my
approach is the proper and most effective investigative strategy. I believe
that my approach is in the best interest of victims of child sexual abuse.
It would have been easy to sit back, as many have, and say nothing publicly
about this controversy. I have spoken out and published on this issue
because I am concerned about the credibility of the child sexual abuse
issue and outraged that, in some cases, individuals are getting away with
molesting children because we can't prove they are satanic devil
worshippers who engage in brainwashing, human sacrifice, and cannibalism
as part of a large conspiracy.
There are many valid perspectives from which to assess and evaluate victim
allegations of sex abuse and exploitation. Parents may choose to believe
simply because their children make the claims. The level of proof
necessary may be minimal because the consequences of believing are within
the family. One parent correctly told me, "I believe what my child needs
me to believe."
Therapists may choose to believe simply because their professional
assessment is that their patient believes the victimization and describes
it so vividly. The level of proof necessary may be no more than
therapeutic evaluation because the consequences are between therapist and
patient. No independent corroboration may be required.
A social worker must have more real, tangible evidence of abuse in order
to take protective action and initiate legal proceedings. The level of
proof necessary must be higher because the consequences (denial of
visitation, foster care) are greater.
The law enforcement officer deals with the criminal justice system. The
levels of proof necessary are reasonable suspicion, probable cause, and
beyond a reasonable doubt because the consequences (criminal
investigation, search and seizure, arrest, incarceration) are so great.
This discussion will focus primarily on the criminal justice system and
the law enforcement perspective. The level of proof necessary for taking
action on allegations of criminal acts must be more than simply the victim
alleged it and it is possible. This in no way denies the validity and
importance of the parental, therapeutic, social welfare, or any other
perspective of these allegations.
When, however, therapists and other professionals begin to conduct
training, publish articles, and communicate through the media, the
consequences become greater, and therefore the level of proof must be
greater. The amount of corroboration necessary to act upon allegations of
abuse is dependent upon the consequences of such action. We need to be
concerned about the distribution and publication of unsubstantiated
allegations of bizarre sexual abuse. Information needs to be disseminated
to encourage communication and research about the phenomena. The risks,
however, of intervenor and victim "contagion" and public hysteria
are potential negative aspects of such dissemination. Because of the highly
emotional and religious nature of this topic, there is a greater
possibility that the spreading of information will result in a kind of
self- fulfilling prophesy.
If such extreme allegations are going to be disseminated to the general
public, they must be presented in the context of being assessed and
evaluated, at least, from the professional perspective of the disseminator
and, at best, also from the professional perspective of relevant others.
This is what I will attempt to do in this discussion. The assessment and
evaluation of such allegations are areas where law enforcement, mental
health, and other professionals (anthropologists, folklorists,
sociologists, historians, engineers, surgeons, etc.) may be of some
assistance to each other in validating these cases individually and in
general.
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
In order to attempt to deal with extreme allegations of what constitute
child sex rings, it is important to have an historical perspective of
society's attitudes about child sexual abuse. I will provide a brief
synopsis of recent attitudes in the United States here, but those desiring
more detailed information about such societal attitudes, particularly in
other cultures and in the more distant past, should refer to Florence
Rush's book
_The Best Kept Secret: Sexual Abuse of Children_ (1980) and
Sander J. Breiner's book
_Slaughter of the Innocents_ (1990.)
Society's attitude about child sexual abuse and exploitation can be summed
up in one word: denial. Most people do not want to hear about
it and would prefer to pretend that child sexual victimization just does not
occur. Today, however, it is difficult to pretend that it does not happen.
Stories and reports about child sexual victimization are daily
occurrences.
It is important for professionals dealing with child sexual abuse to
recognize and learn to manage this denial of a serious problem.
Professionals must overcome the denial and encourage society to deal with,
report, and prevent sexual victimization of children.
Some professionals, however, in their zeal to make American society more
aware of this victimization, tend to exaggerate the problem. Presentations
and literature with poorly documented or misleading claims about one in
three children being sexually molested, the $5 billion child pornography
industry, child slavery rings, and 50,000 stranger-abducted children are
not uncommon. The problem is bad enough; it is not necessary to exaggerate
it. Professionals should cite reputable and scientific studies and note
the sources of information. If they do not, when the exaggerations and
distortions are discovered, their credibility and the credibility of the
issue are lost.
"STRANGER DANGER."
During the 1950s and 1960s the primary focus in the literature and
discussions on sexual abuse of children was on "stranger danger" -
the dirty old man in the wrinkled raincoat. If one could not deny the
existence of child sexual abuse, one described victimization in simplistic
terms of good and evil. The "stranger danger" approach to preventing
child sexual abuse is clear-cut. We immediately know who the good guys and bad
guys are and what they look like.
The FBI distributed a poster that epitomized this attitude. It showed a
man, with his hat pulled down, hiding behind a tree with a bag of candy in
his hands. He was waiting for a sweet little girl walking home from school
alone. At the top it read: "Boys and Girls, color the page, memorize the
rules." At the bottom it read: "For your protection, remember to
turn down gifts from strangers, and refuse rides offered by strangers."
The poster clearly contrasts the evil of the offender with the goodness of
the child victim.
The myth of the child molester as the dirty old man in the wrinkled
raincoat is now being reevaluated, based on what we now know about the
kinds of people who victimize children. The fact is a child molester can
look like anyone else and even be someone we know and like.
There is another myth that is still with us and is far less likely to be
discussed. This is the myth of the child victim as a completely innocent
little girl walking down the street minding her own business. It may be
more important to dispel this myth than the myth of the evil offender,
especially when talking about the sexual exploitation of children and
child sex rings. Child victims can be boys as well as girls, and not all
victims are little "angels."
Society seems to have a problem dealing with any sexual abuse case in
which the offender is not completely "bad" or the victim is not
completely "good." Child victims who, for example, simply behave
like human beings and respond to the attention and affection of offenders
by voluntarily and repeatedly returning to the offender's home are troubling.
It confuses us to see the victims in child pornography giggling or laughing.
At professional conferences on child sexual abuse, child prostitution is
almost never discussed. It is the form of sexual victimization of children
most unlike the stereotype of the innocent girl victim. Child prostitutes,
by definition, participate in and often initiate their victimization.
Furthermore child prostitutes and the participants in child sex rings are
frequently boys. One therapist recently told me that a researcher's data
on child molestation were misleading because many of the child victims in
question were child prostitutes. This implies that child prostitutes are
not "real" child victims. In a survey by the
_Los Angeles Times_,
only 37 percent of those responding thought that child prostitution
constituted child sexual abuse (Timnik, 1985.) Whether or not it seems
fair, when adults and children have sex, the child is always the victim.
INTRAFAMILIAL CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
During the 1970s, primarily as a result of the women's movement, society
began to learn more about the sexual victimization of children. We began
to realize that most children are sexually molested by someone they know
who is usually a relative - a father, step-father, uncle, grandfather,
older brother, or even a female relative. Some mitigate the difficulty of
accepting this by adopting the view that only members of socio-economic
groups other than theirs engage in such behavior.
It quickly became apparent that warnings about not taking gifts from
strangers were not good enough to prevent child sexual abuse.
Consequently, we began to develop prevention programs based on more
complex concepts, such as good touching and bad touching. the "yucky"
feeling, and the child's right to say no. These are not the kinds of
things you can easily and effectively communicate in fifty minutes to
hundreds of kids packed into a school auditorium. These are very difficult
issues, and programs must he carefully developed and evaluated.
In the late 1970s child sexual abuse became almost synonymous with incest,
and incest meant father-daughter sexual relations. Therefore, the focus of
child sexual abuse intervention became father-daughter incest. Even today,
the vast majority of training materials, articles, and books on this topic
refer to child sexual abuse only in terms of intrafamilial father-daughter
incest.
Incest is, in fact, sexual relations between individuals of any age too
closely related to marry. It need not necessarily involve an adult and a
child, and it goes beyond child sexual abuse. But more importantly child
sexual abuse goes beyond father-daughter incest. Intrafamilial incest
between an adult and child may be the most common form of child sexual
abuse, but it is not the only form.
The progress of the 1970s in recognizing that child sexual abuse was not
simply a result of "stranger danger" was an important breakthrough
in dealing with society's denial. The battle, however, is not over. The
persistent voice of society luring us back to the more simple concept of
"stranger danger" may never go away. It is the voice of denial.
RETURN TO "STRANGER DANGER."
In the early 1980s the issue of missing children rose to prominence and
was focused primarily on the stranger abduction of little children.
Runaways, throwaways, noncustodial abductions, nonfamily abductions of
teenagers - all major problems within the missing children's issue - were
almost forgotten. People no longer wanted to hear about good touching and
bad touching and the child's right to say "no." They wanted to
be told, in thirty minutes or less, how they could protect their children
from abduction by strangers. We were back to the horrible but simple and
clear-cut concept of "stranger danger."
In the emotional zeal over the problem of missing children, isolated
horror stories and distorted numbers were sometimes used. The American
public was led to believe that most of the missing children had been
kidnapped by pedophiles - a new term for child molesters. The media,
profiteers, and well-intentioned zealots all played big roles in this hype
and hysteria over missing children.
THE ACQUAINTANCE MOLESTER
Only recently has society begun to deal openly with a critical piece in
the puzzle of child sexual abuse - acquaintance molestation. This seems to
be the most difficult aspect of the problem for us to face. People seem
more willing to accept a father or stepfather, particularly one from
another socio-economic group, as a child molester than a parish priest, a
next-door neighbor, a police officer, a pediatrician, an FBI agent, or a
Scout leader. The acquaintance molester, by definition, is one of us.
These kinds of molesters have always existed, but our society has not been
willing to accept that fact.
Sadly, one of the main reasons that the criminal justice system and the
public were forced to confront the problem of acquaintance molestation was
the preponderance of lawsuits arising from the negligence of many
institutions.
One of the unfortunate outcomes of society's preference for the "stranger
danger" concept is what I call "say no, yell, and tell" guilt.
This is the result of prevention programs that tell potential child victims to
avoid sexual abuse by saying no, yelling, and telling. This might work with
the stranger hiding behind a tree. Adolescent boys seduced by a Scout leader
or children who actively participate in their victimization often feel
guilty and blame themselves because they did not do what they were
"supposed" to do. They may feel a need to describe their
victimization in more socially acceptable but sometimes inaccurate ways that
relieve them of this guilt.
While American society has become increasingly more aware of the problem
of the acquaintance molester and related problems such as child
pornography, the voice calling us back to "stranger danger" still
persists.
SATANISM: A NEW FORM OF "STRANGER DANGER."
In today's version of "stranger danger," it is the satanic devil
worshipers who are snatching and victimizing the children. Many who warned
us in the early 1980s about pedophiles snatching fifty thousand kids a
year now contend they were wrong only about who was doing the kidnapping,
not about the number abducted. This is again the desire for the simple and
clear-cut explanation for a complex problem.
For those who know anything about criminology, one of the oldest theories
of crime is demonology: The devil makes you do it. This makes it even
easier to deal with the child molester who is the "pillar of the
community." It is not his fault; it is not our fault. There is no
way we could have known; the devil made him do it. This explanation has
tremendous appeal because, like "stranger danger," it presents
the clear-cut, black-and-white struggle between good and evil as the
explanation for child abduction, exploitation, and abuse.
In regard to satanic "ritual" abuse, today we may not be where
we were with incest in the 1960s, but where we were with missing children
in the early 1980s. The best data now available (the 1990
_National Incidence Studies on Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway
Children in America_) estimate the number of stereotypical child
abductions at between 200 and 300 a year, and the number of stranger
abduction homicides of children at between 43 and 147 a year. Approximately
half of the abducted children are teenagers. Today's facts are
significantly different from yesterday's perceptions, and those who
exaggerated the problem, however well-intentioned, have lost credibility
and damaged the reality of the problem.
LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING
The belief that there is a connection between satanism and crime is
certainly not new. As previously stated, one of the oldest theories
concerning the causes of crime is demonology. Fear of satanic or occult
activity has peaked from time to time throughout history. Concern in the
late 1970s focused primarily on "unexplained" deaths and
mutilations of animals, and in recent years has focused on child sexual
abuse and the alleged human sacrifice of missing children. In 1999 it
will probably focus on the impending "end of the world."
Today satanism and a wide variety of other terms are used interchangeably
in reference to certain crimes. This discussion will analyze the nature of
"satanic, occult, ritualistic" crime primarily as it pertains to
the abuse of children and focus on appropriate law enforcement
responses to it. Recently a flood of law enforcement seminars and
conferences have dealt with satanic and ritualistic crime. These training
conferences have various titles, such as "Occult in Crime,"
"Satanic Cults," 'Ritualistic Crime Seminar," "Satanic
Influences in Homicide," "Occult Crimes, Satanism and Teen
Suicide," and "Ritualistic Abuse of Children."
The typical conference runs from one to three days, and many of them
include the same presenters and instructors. A wide variety of topics are
usually discussed during this training either as individual presentations
by different instructors or grouped together by one or more instructors.
Typical topics covered include the following:
During the conferences, these nine areas are linked together through the
liberal use of the word "satanism" and some common symbolism
(pentagrams, 666, demons, etc.) The implication often is that all are part
of a continuum of behavior, a single problem or some common conspiracy. The
distinctions among the different areas are blurred even if occasionally a
presenter tries to make them. The information presented is a mixture of
fact, theory, opinion, fantasy, and paranoia, and because some of it can
be proven or corroborated (symbols on rock albums, graffiti on walls,
desecration of cemeteries, vandalism, etc.,) the implication is that it is
all true and documented. Material produced by religious organizations,
photocopies and slides of newspaper articles, and videotapes of tabloid
television programs are used to supplement the training and are presented
as "evidence" of the existence and nature of the problem.
All of this is complicated by the fact that almost any discussion of
satanism and the occult is interpreted in the light of the religious
beliefs of those in the audience. Faith, not logic and reason, governs the
religious beliefs of most people. As a result, some normally skeptical law
enforcement officers accept the information disseminated at these
conferences without critically evaluating it or questioning the sources.
Officers who do not normally depend on church groups for law enforcement
criminal intelligence, who know that media accounts of their own cases are
notoriously inaccurate, and who scoff at and joke about tabloid television
accounts of bizarre behavior suddenly embrace such material when presented
in the context of satanic activity. Individuals not in law enforcement
seem even more likely to do so. Other disciplines, especially therapists,
have also conducted training conferences on the characteristics and
identification of "ritual" child abuse. Nothing said at such
conferences will change the religious beliefs of those in attendance. Such
conferences illustrate the highly emotional nature of and the ambiguity and
wide variety of terms involved in this issue.
DEFINITIONS
The words "satanic," "occult," and "ritual"
are often used interchangeably. It is difficult to define "satanism"
precisely. No attempt will be made to do so here. However, it is important
to realize that, for some people, any religious belief system other than
their own is "satanic." The Ayatollah Khomeini and Saddam Hussein
referred to the United States as the "Great Satan." In the British
Parliament a Protestant leader called the Pope the Antichrist. In a book
titled
_Prepare For War_
(1987,) Rebecca Brown, M.D. has a chapter entitled
"Is Roman Catholicism Witchcraft?" Dr. Brown also lists among the
"doorways" to satanic power and/or demon infestation the
following: fortune tellers, horoscopes, fraternity oaths, vegetarianism,
yoga, self-hypnosis, relaxation tapes, acupuncture, biofeedback, fantasy
role-playing games, adultery, homosexuality, pornography, judo, karate, and
rock music. Dr. Brown states that rock music "was a carefully
masterminded plan by none other than Satan himself" (p. 84.) The
ideas expressed in this book may seem extreme and even humorous. This book,
however, has been recommended as a serious reference in law enforcement
training material on this topic. In books, lectures, handout material,
and conversations, I have heard all of the following referred to as satanism:
At law enforcement training conferences, it is witchcraft, santeria,
paganism, and the occult that are most often referred to as forms of
satanism. It may be a matter of definition, but these things are not
necessarily the same as traditional satanism. The worship of lunar
goddesses and nature and the practice of fertility rituals are not
satanism. Santeria is a combination of 17th century Roman Catholicism and
African paganism.
Occult means simply "hidden." All unreported or unsolved crimes
might be regarded as occult, but in this context the term refers to the
action or influence of supernatural powers, some secret knowledge of them,
or an interest in paranormal phenomena, and does not imply satanism, evil,
wrongdoing, or crime. Indeed, historically, the principal crimes deserving
of consideration as "occult crimes" are the frauds perpetrated by
faith healers, fortune tellers and "psychics" who for a fee claim
cures, arrange visitations with dead loved ones, and commit other financial
crimes against the gullible.
Many individuals define satanism from a totally Christian perspective,
using this word to describe the power of evil in the world. With this
definition, any crimes, especially those which are particularly bizarre,
repulsive, or cruel, can be viewed as satanic in nature. Yet it is just as
difficult to precisely define satanism as it is to precisely define
Christianity or any complex spiritual belief system.
WHAT IS RITUAL?
The biggest confusion is over the word "ritual." During training
conferences on this topic, ritual almost always comes to mean
"satanic" or at least "spiritual." "Ritual"
can refer to a prescribed religious ceremony, but in its broader meaning
refers to any customarily-repeated act or series of acts. The need to repeat
these acts can be cultural, sexual, or psychological as well as spiritual.
Cultural rituals could include such things as what a family eats on
Thanksgiving Day, or when and how presents are opened at Christmas. The
initiation ceremonies of fraternities, sororities, gangs, and other social
clubs are other examples of cultural rituals.
Since 1972 I have lectured about sexual ritual, which is nothing more than
repeatedly engaging in an act or series of acts in a certain manner
because of a sexual need. In order to become aroused and/or
gratified, a person must engage in the act in a certain way. This sexual
ritual can include such things as the physical characteristics, age, or
gender of the victim, the particular sequence of acts, the bringing or taking
of specific objects, and the use of certain words or phrases. This is more
than the concept of M.O. (Method of Operation) known to most police
officers. M.O. is something done by an offender because it works. Sexual
ritual is something done by an offender because of a need. Deviant acts,
such as urinating on, defecating on, or even eviscerating a victim, are
far more likely to be the result of sexual ritual than religious or
"satanic" ritual.
From a criminal investigative perspective, two other forms of ritualism
must be recognized. The
_Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders_
(DSM-III-R) (APA, 1987) defines "Obsessive- Compulsive
Disorder" as "repetitive, purposeful, and intentional behaviors
that are performed in response to an obsession, or according to certain
rules or in a stereotyped fashion" (p. 247.) Such compulsive behavior
frequently involves rituals. Although such behavior usually involves
noncriminal activity such as excessive hand washing or checking that doors
are locked, occasionally compulsive ritualism can be part of criminal
activity.
Certain gamblers or firesetters, for example, are thought by some
authorities to be motivated in part through such compulsions. Ritual can
also stem from psychotic hallucinations and delusions. A crime can be
committed in a precise manner because a voice told the offender to do it
that way or because a divine mission required it.
To make this more confusing, cultural, religious, sexual, and
psychological ritual can overlap. Some psychotic people are preoccupied
with religious delusions and hear the voice of God or Satan telling them
to do things of a religious nature. Offenders who feel little, if any,
guilt over their crimes may need little justification for their antisocial
behavior. As human beings, however, they may have fears, concerns, and
anxiety over getting away with their criminal acts. It is difficult to
pray to God for success in doing things that are against His Commandments.
A negative spiritual belief system may fulfill their human need for
assistance from and belief in a greater power or to deal with their
superstitions. Compulsive ritualism (e.g., excessive cleanliness or fear
of disease) can be introduced into sexual behavior. Even many
"normal" people have a need for order and predictability and
therefore may engage in family or work rituals. Under stress or in times
of change, this need for order and ritual may increase.
Ritual crime may fulfill the cultural, spiritual, sexual, and
psychological needs of an offender. Crimes may be ritualistically
motivated or may have ritualistic elements. The ritual behavior may also
fulfill basic criminal needs to manipulate victims, get rid of rivals,
send a message to enemies, and intimidate co-conspirators. The leaders of
a group may want to play upon the beliefs and superstitions of those
around them and try to convince accomplices and enemies that they, the
leaders, have special or "supernatural" powers.
The important point for the criminal investigator is to realize that most
ritualistic criminal behavior is not motivated simply by satanic or any
religious ceremonies. At some conferences, presenters have attempted to
make an issue of distinguishing between "ritual,"
"ritualized," and "ritualistic" abuse of children.
These subtle distinctions, however, seem to be of no significant value
to the criminal investigator.
WHAT IS "RITUAL" CHILD ABUSE?
I cannot define "ritual child abuse" precisely and prefer not to
use the term. I am frequently forced to use it (as throughout this discussion)
so that people will have some idea what I am discussing. Use of the term,
however, is confusing, misleading, and counterproductive. The newer term
"satanic ritual abuse" (abbreviated "SRA") is even worse.
Certain observations, however, are important for investigative understanding.
Most people today use the term to refer to abuse of children that is part
of some evil spiritual belief system, which almost by definition must be
satanic.
Dr. Lawrence Pazder, coauthor of
_Michelle Remembers_, defines
"ritualized abuse of children" as "repeated physical,
emotional, mental, and spiritual assaults combined with a systematic use
of symbols and secret ceremonies designed to turn a child against itself,
family, society, and God" (presentation, Richmond, Va., May 7,1987.)
He also states that "the sexual assault has ritualistic meaning and
is not for sexual gratification."
This definition may have value for academics, sociologists, and
therapists, but it creates potential problems for law enforcement. Certain
acts engaged in with children (i.e. kissing, touching, appearing naked,
etc.) may be criminal if performed for sexual gratification. If the
ritualistic acts were in fact performed for spiritual indoctrination,
potential prosecution can be jeopardized, particularly if the acts can be
defended as constitutionally protected religious expression. The
mutilation of a baby's genitals for sadistic sexual pleasure is a crime.
The circumcision of a baby's genitals for religious reasons is most likely
not a crime. The intent of the acts is important for criminal
prosecution.
Not all spiritually motivated ritualistic activity is satanic. Santeria,
witchcraft, voodoo, and most religious cults are not satanism. In fact,
most spiritually- or religiously-based abuse of children has nothing to do
with satanism. Most child abuse that could be termed "ritualistic"
by various definitions is more likely to be physical and psychological rather
than sexual in nature. If a distinction needs to be made between satanic
and nonsatanic child abuse, the indicators for that distinction must be
related to specific satanic symbols, artifacts, or doctrine rather than
the mere presence of any ritualistic element.
Not all such ritualistic activity with a child is a crime. Almost all
parents with religious beliefs indoctrinate their children into that
belief system. Is male circumcision for religious reasons child abuse? Is
the religious circumcision of females child abuse? Does having a child
kneel on a hard floor reciting the rosary constitute child abuse? Does
having a child chant a satanic prayer or attend a black mass constitute
child abuse? Does a religious belief in corporal punishment constitute
child abuse? Does group care of children in a commune or cult constitute
child abuse? Does the fact that any acts in question were performed with
parental permission affect the nature of the crime? Many ritualistic acts,
whether satanic or not, are simply not crimes. To open the Pandora's box
of labeling child abuse as "ritualistic" simply because it
involves a spiritual belief system means to apply the definition to all
acts by all spiritual belief systems. The day may come when many in the
forefront of concern about ritual abuse will regret they opened the box.
When a victim describes and investigation corroborates what sounds like
ritualistic activity, several possibilities must be considered. The
ritualistic activity may be part of the excessive religiosity of mentally
disturbed, even psychotic offenders. It may be a misunderstood part of
sexual ritual. The ritualistic activity may be incidental to any real
abuse. The offender may be involved in ritualistic activity with a child
and also may be abusing a child, but one may have little or nothing to do
with the other.
The offender may be deliberately engaging in ritualistic activity with a
child as part of child abuse and exploitation. The motivation, however,
may be not to indoctrinate the child into a belief system, but to lower
the inhibitions of, control, manipulate, and/or confuse the child. In all
the turmoil over this issue, it would be very effective strategy for any
child molester deliberately to introduce ritualistic elements into his
crime in order to confuse the child and therefore the criminal justice
system. This would, however, make the activity M.O. and not ritual.
The ritualistic activity and the child abuse may be integral parts of some
spiritual belief system. In that case the greatest risk is to the children
of the practitioners. But this is true of all cults and religions, not
just satanic cults. A high potential of abuse exists for any children
raised in a group isolated from the mainstream of society, especially if
the group has a charismatic leader whose orders are unquestioned and
blindly obeyed by the members. Sex, money, and power are often the main
motivations of the leaders of such cults.
WHAT MAKES A CRIME SATANIC, OCCULT, OR RITUALISTIC?
Some would answer that it is the offender's spiritual beliefs or
membership in a cult or church. If that is the criterion, why not label
the crimes committed by Protestants, Catholics, and Jews in the same way?
Are the atrocities of Jim Jones in Guyana Christian crimes?
Some would answer that it is the presence of certain symbols in the
possession or home of the perpetrator. What does it mean then to find a
crucifix, Bible, or rosary in the possession or home of a bank robber,
embezzler, child molester, or murderer? If different criminals possess the
same symbols, are they necessarily part of one big conspiracy?
Others would answer that it is the presence of certain symbols such as
pentagrams, inverted crosses, and 666 at the crime scene. What does it
mean then to find a cross spray painted on a wall or carved into the body
of a victim? What does it mean for a perpetrator, as in one recent case
profiled by my Unit, to leave a Bible tied to his murder victim? What
about the possibility that an offender deliberately left such symbols to
make it look like a "satanic" crime?
Some would argue that it is the bizarreness or cruelness of the crime:
body mutilation, amputation, drinking of blood, eating of flesh, use of
urine or feces. Does this mean that all individuals involved in lust
murder, sadism, vampirism, cannibalism, urophilia, and coprophilia are
satanists or occult practitioners? What does this say about the bizarre
crimes of psychotic killers such as Ed Gein or Richard Trenton Chase, both
of whom mutilated their victims as part of their psychotic delusions? Can
a crime that is not sexually deviant, bizarre, or exceptionally violent be
satanic? Can white collar crime be satanic?
A few might even answer that it is the fact that the crime was committed
on a date with satanic or occult significance (Halloween, May Eve, etc.)
or the fact that the perpetrator claims that Satan told him to commit the
crime. What does this mean for crimes committed on Thanksgiving or
Christmas? What does this say about crimes committed by perpetrators who
claim that God or Jesus told them to do it? One note of interest is the
fact that in handout and reference material I have collected, the number
of dates with satanic or occult significance ranges from 8 to 110.
This is compounded by the fact that it is sometimes stated that satanists
can celebrate these holidays on several days on either side of the official
date or that the birthdays of practitioners can also be holidays. The
exact names and exact dates of the holidays and the meaning of symbols
listed may also vary depending on who prepared the material. The handout
material is often distributed without identifying the author or
documenting the original source of the information. It is then frequently
photocopied by attendees and passed on to other police officers with no
one really knowing its validity or origin.
Most, however, would probably answer that what makes a crime satanic,
occult, or ritualistic is the motivation for the crime. It is a crime that
is spiritually motivated by a religious belief system. How then do we
label the following true crimes?
Some people would argue that the Christians who committed the above crimes
misunderstood and distorted their religion while satanists who commit
crimes are following theirs. But who decides what constitutes a
misinterpretation of a religious belief system? The individuals who
committed the above-described crimes, however misguided, believed that
they were following their religion as they understood it. Religion was and
is used to justify such social behavior as the Crusades, the Inquisition,
Apartheid, segregation, and recent violence in Northern Ireland, India,
Lebanon and Nigeria.
Who decides exactly what "satanists" believe? In this country, we
cannot even agree on what Christians believe. At many law enforcement
conferences The
_Satanic Bible_ is used for this, and it is often contrasted
or compared with the Judeo-Christian Bible. The
_Satanic Bible_ is, in
essence, a short paperback book written by one man, Anton LaVey, in 1969.
To compare it to a book written by multiple authors over a period of
thousands of years is ridiculous, even ignoring the possibility of Divine
revelation in the Bible. What satanists believe certainly isn't limited to
other people's interpretation of a few books. More importantly it is
subject to some degree of interpretation by individual believers just as
Christianity is. Many admitted "satanists" claim they do not even
believe in God, the devil, or any supreme deity. The criminal behavior of
one person claiming belief in a religion does not necessarily imply guilt
or blame to others sharing that belief. In addition, simply claiming
membership in a religion does not necessarily make you a member.
The fact is that far more crime and child abuse has been committed by
zealots in the name of God, Jesus, Mohammed, and other mainstream religion
than has ever been committed in the name of Satan. Many people, including
myself, don't like that statement, but the truth of it is undeniable.
Although defining a crime as satanic, occult, or ritualistic would
probably involve a combination of the criteria set forth above, I have
been unable to clearly define such a crime. Each potential definition
presents a different set of problems when measured against an objective,
rational, and constitutional perspective. In a crime with multiple
subjects, each offender may have a different motivation for the same
crime. Whose motivation determines the label for the crime? It is
difficult to count or track something you cannot even define.
I have discovered, however, that the facts of so-called "satanic
crimes" are often significantly different from what is described at
training conferences or in the media. The actual involvement of satanism
or the occult in these cases usually turns out to be secondary,
insignificant, or nonexistent. Occult or ritual crime surveys done by
the states of Michigan (1990) and Virginia (1991) have only confirmed
this "discovery." Some law enforcement officers, unable to find
serious "satanic" crime in their communities, assume they are
just lucky or vigilant and the serious problems must be in other
jurisdictions. The officers in the other jurisdictions, also unable find
it, assume the same.
MULTIDIMENSIONAL CHILD SEX RINGS
Sometime in early 1983 I was first contacted by a law enforcement agency
for guidance in what was then thought to be an unusual case. The exact
date of the contact is unknown because its significance was not recognized
at the time. In the months and years that followed, I received more and
more inquiries about "these kinds of cases." The requests for
assistance came (and continue to come) from all over the United States.
Many of the aspects of these cases varied, but there were also some
commonalties. Early on, however, one particularly difficult and potentially
significant issue began to emerge.
These cases involved and continue to involve unsubstantiated allegations
of bizarre activity that are difficult either to prove or disprove. Many
of the unsubstantiated allegations, however, do not seem to have occurred
or even seem to be possible. These cases seem to call into question the
credibility of victims of child sexual abuse and exploitation. These are
the most polarizing, frustrating, and baffling cases I have encountered in
more than 18 years of studying the criminal aspects of deviant sexual
behavior. I privately sought answers, but said nothing publicly about
those cases until 1985.
In October 1984 the problems in investigating and prosecuting one of these
cases in Jordan, Minnesota became publicly known. In February 1985, at the
FBI Academy, the FBI sponsored and I coordinated the first national
seminar held to study "these kinds of cases." Later in 1985, similar
conferences sponsored by other organizations were held in Washington,
D.C.; Sacramento, California; and Chicago, Illinois. These cases have also
been discussed at many recent regional and national conferences dealing
with the sexual victimization of children and Multiple Personality
Disorder. Few answers have come from these conferences. I continue to be
contacted on these cases on a regular basis. Inquiries have been received
from law enforcement officers, prosecutors, therapists, victims, families
of victims, and the media from all over the United States and now foreign
countries. I do not claim to understand completely all the dynamics of
these cases. I continue to keep an open mind and to search for answers to
the questions and solutions to the problems they pose. This discussion is
based on my analysis of the several hundred of "these kinds of cases" on
which I have consulted since 1983.
DYNAMICS OF CASES
What are "these kinds of cases?" They were and continue to be
difficult to define. They all involve allegations of what sounds like
child sexual abuse, but with a combination of some atypical dynamics.
These cases seem to have the following four dynamics in common: (1)
multiple young victims, (2) multiple offenders, (3) fear as the controlling
tactic, and (4) bizarre or ritualistic activity.
---- (1) MULTIPLE YOUNG VICTIMS
In almost all the cases the sexual abuse was alleged to have taken place
or at least begun when the victims were between the ages of birth and six.
This very young age may be an important key to understanding these cases.
In addition the victims all described multiple children being abused. The
numbers ranged from three or four to as many as several hundred victims.
---- (2) MULTIPLE OFFENDERS
In almost all the cases the victims reported numerous offenders. The
numbers ranged from two or three all the way up to dozens of offenders. In
one recent case the victims alleged 400-500 offenders were involved.
Interestingly many of the offenders (perhaps as many as 40-50 percent)
were reported to be females. The multiple offenders were often family
members and were described as being part of a cult, occult, or satanic
group.
---- (3) FEAR AS CONTROLLING TACTIC
Child molesters in general are able to maintain control and ensure the
secrecy of their victims in a variety of ways. These include attention and
affection, coercion, blackmail, embarrassment, threats, and violence. In
almost all of these cases I have studied, the victims described being
frightened and reported threats against themselves, their families, their
friends, and even their pets. They reported witnessing acts of violence
perpetrated to reinforce this fear. It is my belief that this fear and the
traumatic memory of the events may be another key to understanding many of
these cases.
---- (4) BIZARRE OR RITUALISTIC ACTIVITY
This is the most difficult dynamic of these cases to describe.
"Bizarre" is a relative term. Is the use of urine or feces
in sexual activity bizarre, or is it a well-documented aspect of sexual
deviancy, or is it part of established satanic rituals? As previously
discussed, the ritualistic aspect is even more difficult to define. How
do you distinguish acts performed in a precise manner to enhance or allow
sexual arousal from those acts that fulfill spiritual needs or comply with
"religious" ceremonies? Victims in these cases report ceremonies,
chanting, robes and costumes, drugs, use of urine and feces, animal
sacrifice, torture, abduction, mutilation, murder, and even cannibalism
and vampirism. All things considered, the word "bizarre" is
probably preferable to the word "ritual" to describe this
activity.
When I was contacted on these cases, it was very common for a prosecutor
or investigator to say that the alleged victims have been evaluated by an
"expert" who will stake his or her professional reputation on
the fact that the victims are telling the "truth." When asked
how many cases this expert had previously evaluated involving these four
dynamics, the answer was always the same: none! The experts usually had
only dealt with one-on-one intrafamilial sexual abuse cases. Recently an
even more disturbing trend has developed. More and more of the victims
have been identified or evaluated by experts who have been trained to
identify and specialize in satanic ritual abuse.
CHARACTERISTICS OF MULTIDIMENSIONAL CHILD SEX RINGS
As previously stated, a major problem in communicating, training, and
researching in this area is the term used to define "these kinds of
cases." Many refer to them as "ritual, ritualistic, or ritualized
abuse of children cases" or "satanic ritual abuse (SRA)
cases." Such words carry specialized meanings for many people and
might imply that all these cases are connected to occult or satanic
activity. If ritual abuse is not necessarily occult or satanic, but is
"merely" severe, repeated, prolonged abuse, why use a term
that, in the minds of so many, implies such specific motivation?
Others refer to these cases as "multioffender/multivictim cases."
The problem with this term is that most multiple offender and victim cases
do not involve the four dynamics discussed above.
For want of a better term, I have decided to refer to "these kinds of
cases" as "multidimensional child sex rings." Right now I
seem to be the only one using this term. I am, however, not sure if this
is truly a distinct kind of child sex ring case or just a case not properly
handled.
Following are the general characteristics of these multidimensional child
sex ring cases as contrasted with more common historical child sex ring
cases [see my monograph _Child Sex Rings: A
Behavioral Analysis] (1989) for a discussion of the characteristics of
historical child sex ring cases]. [NOTE: Monograph is available in
PDF format through the link given -- flr]
---- (1) FEMALE OFFENDERS
As many as 40-50 percent of the offenders in these cases are reported to
be women. This is in marked contrast to historical child sex rings in
which almost all the offenders are men.
---- (2) SITUATIONAL MOLESTERS
The offenders appear to be sexually interacting with the child victims for
reasons other than a true sexual preference for children. The children are
substitute victims, and the abusive activity may have little to do with
pedophilia [see my monograph _Child Molesters: A
Behavioral Analysis_ (1987) for a further explanation about types of
molesters]. [NOTE: The monograph is available in PDF format through
the link offered -- flr]
---- (3) MALE AND FEMALE VICTIMS
Both boys and girls appear to be targeted, but with an apparent preference
for girls. Almost all the adult survivors are female, but day care cases
frequently involve male as well as female victims. The most striking
characteristic of the victims, however, is their young age (generally
birth to six years old when the abuse began.)
---- (4) MULTIDIMENSIONAL MOTIVATION
Sexual gratification appears to be only part of the motivation for the
"sexual" activity. Many people today argue that the motivation
is "spiritual" - possibly part of an occult ceremony. It is
my opinion that the motivation may have more to do with anger, hostility,
rage and resentment carried out against weak and vulnerable victims. Much
of the ritualistic abuse of children may not be sexual in nature. Some of
the activity may, in fact, be physical abuse directed at sexually-significant
body parts (penis, anus, nipples.) This may also partially explain the
large percentage of female offenders. Physical abuse of children by
females is well- documented.
---- (5) PORNOGRAPHY AND PARAPHERNALIA
Although many of the victims of multidimensional child sex rings claim
that pictures and videotapes of the activity were made, no such visual
record has been found by law enforcement. In recent years, American law
enforcement has seized large amounts of child pornography portraying
children in a wide variety of sexual activity and perversions. None of it,
however, portrays the kind of bizarre and/or ritualistic activity
described by these victims. Perhaps these offenders use and store their
pornography and paraphernalia in ways different from preferential child
molesters (pedophiles.) This is an area needing additional research and
investigation.
---- (6) CONTROL THROUGH FEAR
Control through fear may be the overriding characteristic of these cases.
Control is maintained by frightening the children. A very young child
might not be able to understand the significance of much of the sexual
activity but certainly understands fear. The stories that the victims tell
may be their perceived versions of severe traumatic memories. They may be
the victims of a severely traumatized childhood in which being sexually
abused was just one of the many negative events affecting their lives.
SCENARIOS
Multidimensional child sex rings typically emerge from one of four
scenarios: (1) adult survivors, (2) day care cases, (3) family/isolated
neighborhood cases, and (4) custody/visitation disputes.
---- (1) ADULT SURVIVORS
In adult survivor cases, adults of almost any age - nearly always women -
are suffering the consequences of a variety of personal problems and
failures in their lives (e.g., promiscuity, eating disorders, drug and
alcohol abuse, failed relationships, self- mutilation, unemployment.) As a
result of some precipitating stress or crisis, they often seek therapy.
They are frequently hypnotized, intentionally or unintentionally, as part
of the therapy and are often diagnosed as suffering from Multiple
Personality Disorder. Gradually, during the therapy, the adults reveal
previously unrecalled memories of early childhood victimization that
includes multiple victims and offenders, fear as the controlling tactic,
and bizarre or ritualistic activity. Adult survivors may also claim that
"cues" from certain events in their recent life
"triggered" the previously repressed memories.
The multiple offenders are often described as members of a cult or satanic
group. Parents, family members, clergy, civic leaders, police officers (or
individuals wearing police uniforms,) and other prominent members of
society are frequently described as present at and participating in the
exploitation. The alleged bizarre activity often includes insertion of
foreign objects, witnessing mutilations, and sexual acts and murders being
filmed or photographed. The offenders may allegedly still be harassing or
threatening the victims. They report being particularly frightened on
certain dates and by certain situations. In several of these cases, women
(called "breeders") claim to have had babies that were turned over
for human sacrifice. This type of case is probably best typified by books
like
_Michelle Remembers_ (Smith & Pazder, 1980,) _Satan's Underground_
(Stratford, 1988,) and
_Satan's Children_ (Mayer, 1991.)
If and when therapists come to believe the patient or decide the law
requires it, the police or FBI are sometimes contacted to conduct an
investigation. The therapists may also fear for their safety because they
now know the "secret." The therapists will frequently tell law
enforcement that they will stake their professional reputation on the fact
that their patient is telling the truth. Some adult survivors go directly
to law enforcement. They may also go from place to place in an effort to
find therapists or investigators who will listen to and believe them. Their
ability to provide verifiable details varies and many were raised in
apparently religious homes. A few adult survivors are now reporting
participation in specific murders or child abductions that are known to
have taken place.
---- (2) DAY CARE CASES
In day care cases children currently or formerly attending a day care
center gradually describe their victimization at the center and at other
locations to which they were taken by the day care staff. The cases
include multiple victims and offenders, fear, and bizarre or ritualistic
activity, with a particularly high number of female offenders.
Descriptions of strange games, insertion of foreign objects, killing of
animals, photographing of activities, and wearing of costumes are common.
The accounts of the young children, however, do not seem to be quite as
"bizarre" as those of the adult survivors, with fewer accounts
of human sacrifice.
---- (3) FAMILY/ISOLATED NEIGHBORHOOD CASES
In family/isolated neighborhood cases, children describe their
victimization within their family or extended family. The group is often
defined by geographic boundary, such as a cul-de-sac, apartment building,
or isolated rural setting. Such accounts are most common in rural or
suburban communities with high concentrations of religiously conservative
people. The stories are similar to those told of the day care setting, but
with more male offenders. The basic dynamics remain the same, but victims
tend to be more than six years of age, and the scenario may also involve a
custody or visitation dispute.
---- (4) CUSTODY/VISITATION DISPUTE
In custody/visitation dispute cases, the allegations emanate from a
custody or visitation dispute over at least one child under the age of
seven. The four dynamics described above make these cases extremely
difficult to handle. When complicated by the strong emotions of this
scenario, the cases can be overwhelming. This is especially true if the
disclosing child victims have been taken into the "underground"
by a parent during the custody or visitation dispute. Some of these
parents or relatives may even provide authorities with diaries or tapes
of their interviews with the children. An accurate evaluation and
assessment of a young child held in isolation in this underground while
being "debriefed" by a parent or someone else is almost
impossible. However well-intentioned, these self-appointed investigators
severely damage any chance to validate these cases objectively.
WHY ARE VICTIMS ALLEGING THINGS THAT DO NOT SEEM TO BE TRUE?
Some of what the victims in these cases allege is physically impossible
(victim cut up and put back together, offender took the building apart and
then rebuilt it); some is possible but improbable (human sacrifice,
cannibalism, vampirism ); some is possible and probable (child
pornography, clever manipulation of victims); and some is corroborated
(medical evidence of vaginal or anal trauma, offender confessions.)
The most significant crimes being alleged that do not seem
to be true are the human sacrifice and cannibalism by organized satanic
cults. In none of the multidimensional child sex ring cases of which I
am aware have bodies of the murder victims been found - in spite of major
excavations where the abuse victims claim the bodies were located. The alleged
explanations for this include: the offenders moved the bodies after the
children left, the bodies were burned in portable high-temperature ovens,
the bodies were put in double- decker graves under legitimately buried
bodies, a mortician member of the cult disposed of the bodies in a
crematorium, the offenders ate the bodies, the offenders used corpses and
aborted fetuses, or the power of Satan caused the bodies to disappear.
Not only are no bodies found, but also, more importantly, there is no
physical evidence that a murder took place. Many of those not in law
enforcement do not understand that, while it is possible to get rid of a
body, it is even more difficult to get rid of the physical evidence that a
murder took place, especially a human sacrifice involving sex, blood, and
mutilation. Such activity would leave behind trace evidence that could be
found using modern crime scene processing techniques in spite of
extraordinary efforts to clean it up.
The victims of these human sacrifices and murders are alleged to be
abducted missing children, runaway and throwaway children, derelicts, and
the babies of breeder women. It is interesting to note that many of those
espousing these theories are using the long- since-discredited numbers and
rhetoric of the missing children hysteria in the early 1980s. Yet
"Stranger-Abduction Homicides of Children," a January 1989 _Juvenile
Justice Bulletin_, published by the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention of the U.S. Department of Justice, reports that
researchers now estimate that the number of children kidnapped and
murdered by nonfamily members is between 52 and 158 a year and that
adolescents 14 to 17 years old account for nearly two-thirds of these
victims. These figures are also consistent with the 1990 National Incident
Studies previously mentioned.
We live in a very violent society, and yet we have "only" about
23,000 murders a year. Those who accept these stories of mass human sacrifice
would have us believe that the satanists and other occult practitioners
are murdering more than twice as many people every year in this country as
all the other murderers combined.
In addition, in none of the cases of which I am aware has any evidence of
a well-organized satanic cult been found. Many of those who accept the
stories of organized ritual abuse of children and human sacrifice will
tell you that the best evidence they now have is the consistency of
stories from all over America. It sounds like a powerful argument. It is
interesting to note that, without having met each other, the hundreds of
people who claim to have been abducted by aliens from outer space also
tell stories and give descriptions of the aliens that are similar to each
other. This is not to imply that allegations of child abuse are in the
same category as allegations of abduction by aliens from outer space. It
is intended only to illustrate that individuals who never met each other
can sometimes describe similar events without necessarily having
experienced them.
The large number of people telling the same story is, in fact, the biggest
reason to doubt these stories. It is simply too difficult for that many
people to commit so many horrendous crimes as part of an organized
conspiracy. Two or three people murder a couple of children in a few
communities as part of a ritual, and nobody finds out? Possible. Thousands
of people do the same thing to tens of thousands of victims over many
years? Not likely. Hundreds of communities all over America are run by
mayors, police departments, and community leaders who are practicing
satanists and who regularly murder and eat people? Not likely.
In addition, these community leaders and high-ranking officials also
supposedly commit these complex crimes leaving no evidence, and at the
same time function as leaders and managers while heavily involved in using
illegal drugs. Probably the closest documented example of this type of
alleged activity in American history is the Ku Klux Klan, which ironically
used Christianity, not satanism, to rationalize its activity but which, as
might be expected, was eventually infiltrated by informants and betrayed
by its members.
As stated, initially I was inclined to believe the allegations of the
victims. But as the cases poured in and the months and years went by, I
became more concerned about the lack of physical evidence and
corroboration for many of the more serious allegations. With increasing
frequency I began to ask the question: "Why are victims alleging things
that do not seem to be true?" Many possible answers were
considered.
The first possible answer is obvious: clever offenders. The allegations
may not seem to be true but they are true. The criminal justice system
lacks the knowledge, skill, and motivation to get to the bottom of this
crime conspiracy. The perpetrators of this crime conspiracy are clever,
cunning individuals using sophisticated mind control and brainwashing
techniques to control their victims. Law enforcement does not know how to
investigate these cases.
It is technically possible that these allegations of an organized
conspiracy involving taking over day care centers, abduction, cannibalism,
murder, and human sacrifice might be true. But if they are true, they
constitute one of the greatest crime conspiracies in history.
Many people do not understand how difficult it is to commit a conspiracy
crime involving numerous co-conspirators. One clever and cunning
individual has a good chance of getting away with a well- planned
interpersonal crime. Bring one partner into the crime and the odds of
getting away with it drop considerably. The more people involved in the
crime, the harder it is to get away with it. Why? Human nature is the
answer. People get angry and jealous. They come to resent the fact that
another conspirator is getting "more" than they. They get in
trouble and want to make a deal for themselves by informing on others.
If a group of individuals degenerate to the point of engaging in human
sacrifice, murder, and cannibalism, that would most likely be the
beginning of the end for such a group. The odds are that someone in the
group would have a problem with such acts and be unable to maintain the
secret.
The appeal of the satanic conspiracy theory is twofold:
---- (1) First, it is a simple explanation for a complex problem. Nothing
is more simple than "the devil made them do it." If we do not
understand something, we make it the work of some supernatural force. During
the Middle Ages, serial killers were thought to be vampires and werewolves,
and child sexual abuse was the work of demons taking the form of parents
and clergy. Even today, especially for those raised to religiously believe
so, satanism offers an explanation as to why "good" people do bad
things. It may also help to "explain" unusual, bizarre, and
compulsive sexual urges and behavior.
---- (2) Second, the conspiracy theory is a popular one. We find it
difficult to believe that one bizarre individual could commit a crime we
find so offensive. Conspiracy theories about soldiers missing in action
(MIAs,) abductions by UFOs, Elvis Presley sightings, and the assassination
of prominent public figures are the focus of much attention in this
country. These conspiracy theories and allegations of ritual abuse have
the following in common: (1) self-proclaimed experts, (2) tabloid media
interest, (3) belief the government is involved in a coverup, and (4)
emotionally involved direct and indirect victim/witnesses.
On a recent television program commemorating the one hundredth anniversary
of Jack the Ripper, almost fifty percent of the viewing audience who
called the polling telephone numbers indicated that they thought the
murders were committed as part of a conspiracy involving the British Royal
Family. The five experts on the program, however, unanimously agreed the
crimes were the work of one disorganized but lucky individual who was
diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. In many ways, the murders of Jack
the Ripper are similar to those allegedly committed by satanists today.
If your child's molestation was perpetrated by a sophisticated satanic
cult, there is nothing you could have done to prevent it and therefore no
reason to feel any guilt. I have been present when parents who believe
their children were ritually abused at day care centers have told others
that the cults had sensors in the road, lookouts in the air, and informers
everywhere; therefore, the usually recommended advice of unannounced
visits to the day care center would be impossible.
ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS
Even if only part of an allegation is not true, what then is the answer
to the question "Why are victims alleging things that do not
seem to be true?" After consulting with psychiatrists,
psychologists, anthropologists, therapists, social workers, child sexual
abuse experts, and law enforcement investigators for more than eight years,
I can find no single, simple answer. The answer to the question seems to
be a complex set of dynamics that can be different in each case. In spite
of the fact that some skeptics keep looking for it, there does not appear
to be one answer to the question that fits every case. Each case is
different, and each case may involve a different combination of answers.
I have identified a series of possible alternative answers to this
question. The alternative answers also do not preclude the possibility
that clever offenders are sometimes involved. I will not attempt to
explain completely these alternative answers because I cannot. They are
presented simply as areas for consideration and evaluation by child sexual
abuse intervenors, for further elaboration by experts in these fields, and
for research by objective social scientists. The first step, however, in
finding the answers to this question is to admit the possibility that some
of what the victims describe may not have happened. Some child advocates
seem unwilling to do this.
PATHOLOGICAL DISTORTION
The first possible answer to why victims are alleging things that do not
seem to be true is pathological distortion. The
allegations may be errors in processing reality influenced by underlying
mental disorders such as dissociative disorders, borderline or histrionic
personality disorders, or psychosis. These distortions may be manifested
in false accounts of victimization in order to gain psychological benefits
such as attention and sympathy (factitious disorder.) When such individuals
repeatedly go from place to place or person to person making these false
reports of their own "victimization," it is called Munchausen
Syndrome.
When the repealed false reports concern the "victimization" of
their children or others linked to them, it is called
Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. I am amazed when some therapists state
that they believe the allegations because they cannot think of a reason
why the "victim," whose failures are now explained and excused
or who is now the center of attention at a conference or on a national
television program, would lie. If you can be forgiven for mutilating and
killing babies, you can be forgiven for anything.
Many "victims" may develop pseudomemories of their victimization
and eventually come to believe the events actually occurred. Noted forensic
psychiatrist Park E. Dietz (personal communication, Nov. 1991) states:
"Pseudomemories have been acquired through dreams (particularly if
one is encouraged to keep a journal or dream diary and to regard dream
content as 'clues' about the past or as snippets of history,)
substance-induced altered states of consciousness (alcohol or other
drugs,) group influence (particularly hearing vivid accounts of events
occurring to others with whom one identifies emotionally such as occurs
in incest survivor groups,) reading vivid accounts of events occurring
to others with whom one identifies emotionally, watching such accounts
in films or on television, and hypnosis. The most efficient means of
inducing pseudomemories is hypnosis.
"It is characteristic of pseudomemories that the recollections of
complex events (as opposed to a simple unit of information, such as a tag
number) are incomplete and without chronological sequence. Often the person
reports some uncertainty because the pseudomemories are experienced in a
manner they describe as 'hazy', 'fuzzy', or 'vague'. They are often
perplexed that they recall some details vividly but others dimly.
"Pseudomemories are not delusions. When first telling others of
pseudomemories, these individuals do not have the unshakable but
irrational conviction that deluded subjects have, but with social support
they often come to defend vigorously the truthfulness of the
pseudomemories.
"Pseudomemories are not fantasies, but may incorporate elements from
fantasies experienced in the past. Even where the events described are
implausible, listeners may believe them because they are reported with
such intense affect (i.e. with so much emotion attached to the story) that
the listener concludes that the events must have happened because no one
could 'fake' the emotional aspects of the retelling. It also occurs,
however, that persons report pseudomemories in such a matter-of-fact and
emotionless manner that mental health professionals conclude that the
person has 'dissociated' intellectual knowledge of the events from
emotional appreciation of their impact."
TRAUMATIC MEMORY
The second possible answer is traumatic memory. Fear and
severe trauma can cause victims to distort reality and confuse events.
This is a well-documented fact in cases involving individuals taken
hostage or in life-and-death situations. The distortions may be part
of an elaborate defense mechanism of the mind called "splitting" -
The victims create a clear-cut good-and-evil manifestation of their
complex victimization that is then psychologically more manageable.
Through the defense mechanism of dissociation, the victim may escape the
horrors of reality by inaccurately processing that reality. In a
dissociative state a young child who ordinarily would know the difference
might misinterpret a film or video as reality.
Another defense mechanism may tell the victim that it could have been
worse, and so his or her victimization was not so bad. They are not alone
in their victimization - other children were also abused. Their father who
abused them is no different from other prominent people in the community
they claim also abused them. Satanism may help to explain why their
outwardly good and religious parents did such terrible things to them in
the privacy of their home. Their religious training may convince them that
such unspeakable acts by supposedly "good" people must be the work
of the devil. The described human sacrifice may be symbolic of the
"death" of their childhood.
It may be that we should anticipate that individuals severely abused
as very young children by multiple offenders with
fear as the primary controlling tactic will distort and
embellish their victimization. Perhaps a horror-filled yet inaccurate
account of victimization is not only not a counterindication of abuse, but
is in fact a corroborative indicator of extreme physical, psychological,
and/or sexual abuse. I do not believe it is a coincidence nor the result
of deliberate planning by satanists that in almost all the cases of ritual
abuse that have come to my attention, the abuse is alleged to have begun
prior to the age of seven and perpetrated by multiple offenders.
It may well be that such abuse, at young age by multiple offenders, is
the most difficult to accurately recall with the specific and precise
detail needed by the criminal justice system, and the most likely to be
distorted and exaggerated when it is recalled. In her book
_Too Scared to Cry_ (1990,) child psychiatrist Lenore Terr, a leading
expert on psychic trauma in childhood, states "that a series of early
childhood shocks might not be fully and accurately 'reconstructed' from
the dreams and behaviors of the adult" (p. 5.)
NORMAL CHILDHOOD FEARS AND FANTASY
The third possible answer may be normal childhood fears and
fantasy. Most young children are afraid of ghosts and monsters.
Even as adults, many people feel uncomfortable, for example, about dangling
their arms over the side of their bed. They still remember the
"monster" under the bed from childhood. While young children may
rarely invent stories about sexual activity, they might describe their
victimization in terms of evil as they understand it. In church or at home,
children may be told of satanic activity as the source of evil. The
children may be "dumping" all their fears and worries unto an
attentive and encouraging listener.
Children do fantasize. Perhaps whatever causes a child to allege something
impossible (such as being cut up and put back together) is similar to what
causes a child to allege something possible but improbable (such as
witnessing another child being chopped up and eaten.)
MISPERCEPTION, CONFUSION, AND TRICKERY
Misperception, confusion, and trickery may be a fourth answer. Expecting
young children to give accurate accounts of sexual activity for which they
have little frame of reference is unreasonable. The Broadway play _Madame
Butterfly_ is the true story of a man who had a 15-year affair, including
the "birth" of a baby, with a "woman" who turns out to
have been a man all along. If a grown man does not know when he has had
vaginal intercourse with a woman, how can we expect young children not to
be confused?
Furthermore some clever offenders may deliberately introduce elements of
satanism and the occult into the sexual exploitation simply to confuse or
intimidate the victims. Simple magic and other techniques may be used to
trick the children. Drugs may also be deliberately used to confuse the
victims and distort their perceptions. Such acts would then be M.O., not
ritual.
As previously stated, the perceptions of young victims may also be
influenced by any trauma being experienced. This is the most popular
alternative explanation, and even the more zealous believers of ritual
abuse allegations use it, but only to explain obviously impossible events.
OVERZEALOUS INTERVENORS
Overzealous intervenors, causing intervenor contagion, may be
a fifth answer. These intervenors can include parents, family members, foster
parents, doctors, therapists, social workers, law enforcement officers,
prosecutors, and any combination thereof. Victims have been subtly as well
as overtly rewarded and bribed by usually well- meaning intervenors for
furnishing further details. In addition, some of what appears not to have
happened may have originated as a result of intervenors making assumptions
about or misinterpreting what the victims are saying. The intervenors then
repeat, and possibly embellish, these assumptions and misinterpretations,
and eventually the victims are "forced" to agree with or come to
accept this "official" version of what happened.
The judgment of intervenors may be affected by their zeal to uncover
child sexual abuse, satanic activity, or conspiracies. However
"well-intentioned," these overzealous intervenors must accept
varying degrees of responsibility for the unsuccessful prosecution of
those cases where criminal abuse did occur. This is the most controversial
and least popular of the alternative explanations.
URBAN LEGENDS
Allegations of and knowledge about ritualistic or satanic abuse may also
be spread through urban legends. In
_The Vanishing Hitchhiker_
(1981,) the first of his four books on the topic, Dr. Jan Harold Brunvand
defines urban legends as "realistic stories concerning recent events
(or alleged events) with an ironic or supernatural twist" (p. xi.) Dr.
Brunvand's books convincingly explain that just because individuals
throughout the country who never met each other tell the same story does
not mean that it is true.
Absurd urban legends about the corporate logos of Proctor and Gamble and
Liz Claiborne being satanic symbols persist in spite of all efforts to
refute them with reality. Some urban legends about child kidnappings and
other threats to citizens have even been disseminated unknowingly by
law enforcement agencies. Such legends have always existed, but today the
mass media aggressively participate in their rapid and more efficient
dissemination.
Many Americans mistakenly believe that tabloid television shows check
out and verify the details of their stories before pulling them on the
air. Mass hysteria may partially account for large numbers of victims
describing the same symptoms or experiences.
Training conferences for all the disciplines involved in child sexual
abuse may also play a role in the spread of this contagion. At one child
abuse conference I attended, an exhibitor was selling more than 50
different books dealing with satanism and the occult. By the end of the
conference, he had sold nearly all of them. At another national child
sexual abuse conference, I witnessed more than 100 attendees copying down
the widely disseminated 29 "Symptoms Characterizing Satanic Ritual
Abuse" in preschool-aged children. Is a four-year-old child's
"preoccupation with urine and feces" an indication of satanic
ritual abuse or part of normal development?
COMBINATION
Most multidimensional child sex ring cases probably involve a
combination of the answers previously set forth, as well as
other possible explanations unknown to me at this time. Obviously, cases
with adult survivors are more likely to involve some of these answers than
those with young children. Each case of sexual victimization must be
individually evaluated on its own merits without any preconceived
explanations. All the possibilities must be explored if for no other
reason than the fact that the defense attorneys for any accused subjects
will almost certainly do so.
Most people would agree that just because a victim tells you one detail
that turns out to be true, this does not mean that every detail is true.
But many people seem to believe that if you can disprove one part of a
victim's story, then the entire story is false. As previously stated, one
of my main concerns in these cases is that people are getting away with
sexually abusing children or committing other crimes because we cannot
prove that they are members of organized cults that murder and eat people.
I have discovered that the subject of multidimensional child sex rings is
a very emotional and polarizing issue. Everyone seems to demand that one
choose a side. On one side of the issue are those who say that nothing
really happened and it is all a big witch hunt led by overzealous fanatics
and incompetent "experts." The other side says, in essence, that
everything happened; victims never lie about child sexual abuse, and so it
must be true.
There is a middle ground. It is the job of the professional investigator
to listen to all the victims and conduct an appropriate investigation in an
effort to find out what happened, considering all possibilities. Not all
childhood trauma is abuse. Not all child abuse is a crime. The great
frustration of these cases is the fact that you are often convinced that
something traumatic happened to the victim, but do not know with any
degree of certainty exactly what happened, when it happened, or who did
it.
DO VICTIMS LIE ABOUT SEXUAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION?
The crucial central issue in the evaluation of a response to cases of
multidimensional child sex rings is the statement "Children never lie
about sexual abuse or exploitation. If they have details, it must have
happened." This statement, oversimplified by many, is the basic premise
upon which some believe the child sexual abuse and exploitation movement
is based. It is almost never questioned or debated at training
conferences. In fact, during the 1970s, there was a successful crusade to
eliminate laws requiring corroboration of child victim statements in child
sexual abuse cases. The best way to convict child molesters is to have the
child victims testify in court. If we believe them, the jury will believe
them. Any challenge to this basic premise was viewed as a threat to the
movement and a denial that the problem existed.
I believe that children rarely lie about sexual abuse or
exploitation, if a lie is defined as a statement deliberately and
maliciously intended to deceive. The problem is the oversimplification of
the statement. Just because a child is not lying does not necessarily mean
the child is telling the truth. I believe that in the majority of these
cases, the victims are not lying. They are telling you what they have come
to believe has happened to them. Furthermore the assumption that children
rarely lie about sexual abuse does not necessarily apply to everything a
child says during a sexual abuse investigation. Stories of mutilation,
murder, and cannibalism are not really about sexual abuse.
Children rarely lie about sexual abuse or exploitation, but they do
fantasize, furnish false information, furnish misleading information,
misperceive events, try to please adults, respond to leading questions,
and respond to rewards. Children are not adults in little bodies and do go
through developmental stages that must be evaluated and understood. In
many ways, however, children are no better and no worse than other victims
or witnesses of a crime. They should not be automatically believed, nor
should they be automatically disbelieved.
The second part of the statement - if children can supply details, the
crime must have happened - must also be carefully evaluated. The details
in question in most of the cases of multidimensional child sex rings have
little to do with sexual activity. Law enforcement and social workers must
do more than attempt to determine how a child could have known about the
sex acts. These cases involve determining how a victim could have known
about a wide variety of bizarre and ritualistic activity. Young children
may know little about specific sex acts, but they may know a lot about
monsters, torture, kidnapping, and murder.
Victims may supply details of sexual and other acts using information from
sources other than their own direct victimization. Such sources must be
evaluated carefully by the investigator of multidimensional child sex
rings.
PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE
The victim may have personal knowledge of the sexual or ritual acts, but
not as a result of the alleged victimization. The knowledge could have
come from viewing pornography, sex education, or occult material;
witnessing sexual or ritual activity in the home; or witnessing the sexual
abuse of others. It could also have come from having been sexually or
physically abused, but by other than the alleged offenders and in ways
other than the alleged offense.
OTHER CHILDREN OR VICTIMS
Young children today are socially interacting more often and at a younger
age than ever before. Many parents are unable to provide possibly simple
explanations for their children's stories because they were not with the
children when the events occurred. They do not even know what videotapes
their children may have seen, what games they may have played, or what
stories they may have been told or overheard. Children are being placed in
day care centers for eight, ten, or twelve hours a day starting as young
as six weeks of age. The children share experiences by playing house,
school, or doctor. Bodily functions such as urination and defecation are a
focus of attention for these young children. To a certain extent, each
child shares the experiences of all the other children.
The odds are fairly high that in any typical day care center there might
be some children who are victims of incest; victims of physical abuse;
victims of psychological abuse; children of cult members (even satanists);
children of sexually open parents; children of sexually indiscriminate
parents; children of parents obsessed with victimization; children of
parents obsessed with the evils of satanism; children without conscience;
children with a teenage brother or pregnant mother; children with heavy
metal music and literature in the home; children with bizarre toys, games,
comics, and magazines; children with a VCR and slasher films in their
home; children with access to dial-a-porn, party lines, or pornography; or
children victimized by a day care center staff member.
The possible effects of the interaction of such children prior to the
disclosure of the alleged abuse must be evaluated, Adult survivors may
obtain details from group therapy sessions, support networks, church
groups, or self-help groups. The willingness and ability of siblings to
corroborate adult survivor accounts of ritual abuse varies. Some will
support and partially corroborate the victim's allegations. Others will
vehemently deny them and support their accused parents or relatives.
MEDIA
The amount of sexually explicit, occult, anti-occult, or violence-
oriented material available to adults and even children in the modern
world is overwhelming. This includes movies, videotapes, television,
music, toys, and books. There are also documentaries on satanism,
witchcraft, and the occult that are available on videotape. Most of the
televangelists have videotapes on the topics that they are selling on
their programs.
The National Coalition on Television Violence News (1988) estimates that
12% of the movies produced in the United States can be classified as
satanic horror films. Cable television and the home VCR make all this
material readily available even to young children. Religious broadcasters
and almost all the television tabloid and magazine programs have done
shows on satanism and the occult. Heavy metal and black metal music, which
often has a satanic theme, is readily available and popular. In addition
to the much-debated fantasy role-playing games, there are numerous popular
toys on the market with an occult-oriented, bizarre, or violent theme.
Books on satanism and the occult, both fiction and nonfiction, are readily
available in most bookstores, especially Christian bookstores. Several
recent books specifically discuss the issue of ritual abuse of children.
Obviously, very young children do not read this material, but their
parents, relatives, and therapists might and then discuss it in front of
or with them. Much of the material intended to fight the problem actually
fuels the problem and damages effective prosecution.
SUGGESTIONS AND LEADING QUESTIONS
This problem is particularly important in cases stemming from
custody/visitation disputes involving at least one child under the age of
seven. It is my opinion that most suggestive, leading questioning of
children by intervenors is inadvertently done as part of a good-faith
effort to learn the truth. Not all intervenors are in equal positions to
potentially influence victim allegations. Parents and relatives especially
are in a position to subtly influence their young children to describe
their victimization in a certain way. Children may also overhear their
parents discussing the details of the case. Children often tell their
parents what they believe their parents want or need to hear.
Some children may be instinctively attempting to provide "therapy"
for their parents by telling them what seems to satisfy them and somehow
makes them feel better. In one case a father gave the police a tape
recording to "prove" that his child's statements were spontaneous
disclosures and not the result of leading, suggestive questions. The tape
recording indicated just the opposite. Why then did the father voluntarily
give it to the police? Probably because he truly believed that he was not
influencing his child's statements - but he was.
Therapists are probably in the best position to influence the allegations
of adult survivors. The accuracy and reliability of the accounts of adult
survivors who have been hypnotized during therapy is certainly open to
question. One nationally-known therapist personally told me that the
reason police cannot find out about satanic or ritualistic activity from
child victims is that they do not know how to ask leading questions.
Highly suggestive books and pictures portraying "satanic" activity
have been developed and marketed to therapists for use during evaluation and
treatment. Types and styles of verbal interaction useful in therapy may
create significant problems in a criminal investigation. It should be
noted, however, that when a therapist does a poor investigative interview
as part of a criminal investigation, that is the fault of the criminal
justice system that allowed it and not the therapist who did it.
The extremely sensitive, emotional, and religious nature of these cases
makes problems with leading questions more likely than in other kinds of
cases. Intervenors motivated by religious fervor and/or exaggerated
concerns about sexual abuse of children are more likely to lose their
objectivity.
MISPERCEPTION AND CONFUSION
In one case, a child's description of the apparently impossible act of
walking through a wall turned out to be the very possible act of walking
between the studs of an unfinished wall in a room under construction. In
another case, pennies in the anus turned out to be copper-foil-covered
suppositories. The children may describe what they believe happened. It is
not a lie, but neither is it an accurate account of what happened.
EDUCATION AND AWARENESS PROGRAMS
Some well-intentioned awareness programs designed to prevent child sex
abuse, alert professionals, or fight satanism may in fact be
unrealistically increasing the fears of professionals, children, and
parents and creating self-fulfilling prophesies. Some of what children and
their parents are telling intervenors may have been learned in or fueled
by such programs. Religious programs, books, and pamphlets that emphasize
the power and evil force of Satan may be adding to the problem. In fact
most of the day care centers in which ritualistic abuse is alleged to have
taken place are church- affiliated centers, and many of the adult
survivors alleging it come from apparently religious families.
LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSPECTIVE
The perspective with which one looks at satanic, occult, or ritualistic
crime is extremely important. As stated, sociologists, therapists,
religious leaders, parents, and just plain citizens each have their own
valid concerns and views about this issue. This discussion, however, deals
primarily with the law enforcement or criminal justice perspective.
When you combine an emotional issue such as the sexual abuse of children
with an even more emotional issue such as people's religious beliefs, it
is difficult to maintain objectivity and remember the law enforcement
perspective. Some police officers may even feel that all crime is caused
by evil, all evil is caused by Satan, and therefore, all crime is satanic
crime. This may be a valid religious perspective, but it is of no
relevance to the investigation of crime for purposes of prosecution.
Many of the police officers who lecture on satanic or occult crime do not
even investigate such cases. Their presentations are more a reflection of
their personal religious beliefs than documented investigative
information. They are absolutely entitled to their beliefs, but
introducing themselves as current or former police officers and then
speaking as religious advocates causes confusion. As difficult as it might
be, police officers must separate the religious and law enforcement
perspectives when they are lecturing or investigating in their official
capacities as law enforcement officers. Many law enforcement officers
begin their presentations by stating that they are not addressing or
judging anyone's religious beliefs, and then proceed to do exactly that.
Some police officers have resigned rather than curtail or limit their
involvement in this issue as ordered by their departments. Perhaps such
officers deserve credit for recognizing that they could no longer keep the
perspectives separate.
Law enforcement officers and all professionals in this field should avoid
the "paranoia" that has crept into this issue and into some of the
training conferences. Paranoid type belief systems are characterized by
the gradual development of intricate, complex, and elaborate systems of
thinking based on and often proceeding logically from misinterpretation of
actual events. Paranoia typically involves hypervigilance over the
perceived threat, the belief that danger is around every corner, and the
willingness to take up the challenge and do something about it. Another
very important aspect of this paranoia is the belief that those who do not
recognize the threat are evil and corrupt. In this extreme view, you are
either with them or against them. You are either part of the solution or
part of the problem.
Overzealousness and exaggeration motivated by the true religious fervor of
those involved is more acceptable than that motivated by ego or profit.
There are those who are deliberately distorting and hyping this issue for
personal notoriety and profit. Satanic and occult crime and ritual abuse
of children has become a growth industry. Speaking fees, books, video and
audio tapes, prevention material, television and radio appearances all
bring egoistic and financial rewards.
Bizarre crime and evil can occur without organized satanic activity. The
professional perspective requires that we distinguish between what we know
and what we're not sure of.
The facts are:
The unanswered questions are:
After all the hype and hysteria are put aside, the realization sets in
that most satanic/occult activity involves the commission of no
crimes, and that which does usually involves the commission of relatively
minor crimes such as trespassing, vandalism, cruelty to animals, or petty
thievery.
The law enforcement problems most often linked to satanic or occult
activity are:
Valid evidence shows some "connection" between satanism and the
occult and the first six problems (#a-f) set forth above. The
"connection" to the last three problems (#g-i) is far more
uncertain.
Even where there seems to be a "connection," the nature of the
connection needs to be explored. It is easy to blame involvement in satanism
and the occult for behaviors that have complex motivations. A teenager's
excessive involvement in satanism and the occult is usually a symptom of
a problem and not the cause of a problem. Blaming satanism for a teenager's
vandalism, theft, suicide, or even act of murder is like blaming a
criminal's offenses on his tattoos: Both are often signs of the same
rebelliousness and lack of self- esteem that contribute to the commission
of crimes.
The rock band Judas Priest was recently sued for allegedly inciting two
teenagers to suicide through subliminal messages in their recordings. In
1991 Anthony Pratkanis of the University of California at Santa Cruz, who
served as an expert witness for the defense, stated the boys in question
"lived troubled lives, lives of drug and alcohol abuse, run-ins with
the law... family violence, and chronic unemployment. What issues did the
trial and the subsequent mass media coverage emphasize? Certainly not the
need for drug treatment centers; there was no evaluation of the pros and
cons of America's juvenile justice system, no investigation of the
schools, no inquiry into how to prevent family violence, no discussion of
the effects of unemployment on a family. Instead our attention was
mesmerized by an attempt to count the number of subliminal demons that can
dance on the end of a record needle" (p.1.)
The law enforcement investigator must objectively evaluate the legal
significance of any criminal's spiritual beliefs. In most cases, including
those involving satanists, it will have little or no legal significance.
If a crime is committed as part of a spiritual belief system, it should
make no difference which belief system it is. The crime is the same
whether a child is abused or murdered as part of a Christian, Hare
Krishna, Moslem, or any other belief system. We generally don't label
crimes with the name of the perpetrator's religion. Why then are the
crimes of child molesters, rapists, sadists, and murderers who happen to
be involved in satanism and the occult labeled as satanic or occult
crimes? If criminals use a spiritual belief system to rationalize and
justify or to facilitate and enhance their criminal activity, should the
focus of law enforcement be on the belief system or on the criminal
activity?
Several documented murders have been committed by individuals involved in
one way or another in satanism or the occult. In some of these murders the
perpetrator has even introduced elements of the occult (e.g. satanic
symbols at the crime scene.) Does that automatically make these satanic
murders? It is my opinion that the answer is no. Ritualistic murders
committed by serial killers or sexual sadists are not necessarily satanic
or occult murders. Ritualistic murders committed by psychotic killers who
hear the voice of Satan are no more satanic murders than murders committed
by psychotic killers who hear the voice of Jesus are Christian murders.
Rather a satanic murder should be defined as one committed by two or more
individuals who rationally plan the crime and whose primary
motivation is to fulfill a prescribed satanic ritual calling for the murder.
By this definition I have been unable to identify even one documented satanic
murder in the United States. Although such murders may have and can occur,
they appear to be few in number. In addition the commission of such
killings would probably be the beginning of the end for such a group. It
is highly unlikely that they could continue to kill several people, every
year, year after year, and not be discovered.
A brief typology of satanic and occult practitioners is helpful in
evaluating what relationship, if any, such practices have to crimes under
investigation. The following typology is adapted from the investigative
experience of Officer Sandi Gallant of the San Francisco Police
Department, who began to study the criminal aspects of occult activity
long before it became popular. No typology is perfect, but I use this
typology because it is simple and offers investigative insights. Most
practitioners fall into one of three categories, any of which can be
practiced alone or in groups:
"YOUTH SUBCULTURE."
"Most teenagers involved in fantasy role-playing games, heavy metal
music, or satanism and the occult are going through a stage of adolescent
development and commit no significant crimes. The teenagers who have more
serious problems are usually those from dysfunctional families or those
who have poor communication within their families. These troubled
teenagers turn to satanism and the occult to overcome a sense of
alienation, to rebel, to obtain power, or to justify their antisocial
behavior.
For these teenagers it is the symbolism, not the spirituality,
that is more important. It is either the psychopathic or the oddball,
loner teenager who is most likely to get into serious trouble. Extreme
involvement in the occult is a symptom of a problem, not the cause. This
is not to deny, however, that satanism and the occult can be negative
influences for a troubled teenager. But to hysterically warn teenagers to
avoid this "mysterious, powerful and dangerous" thing called
satanism will drive more teenagers right to it. Some rebellious teenagers
will do whatever will most shock and outrage society in order to flaunt
their rejection of adult norms."
DABBLERS (SELF-STYLED)
"For these practitioners there is little or no spiritual motivation.
They may mix satanism, witchcraft, paganism, and any aspects of the occult
to suit their purposes. Symbols mean whatever they want them or believe them
to mean. Molesters, rapists, drug dealers, and murderers may dabble in the
occult and may even commit their crimes in a ceremonial or ritualistic
way. This category has the potential to be the most dangerous, and most of
the "satanic" killers fall into this category. Their involvement
in satanism and the occult is a symptom of a problem, and a rationalization
and justification of antisocial behavior. Satanic/occult practices (as
well as those of other spiritual belief systems) can also be used as a
mechanism to facilitate criminal objectives.
TRADITIONAL (ORTHODOX)
"These are the so-called true believers. They are often wary of
outsiders. Because of this and constitutional issues, such groups are
difficult for law enforcement to penetrate. Although there may be much
we don't know about these groups, as of now there is little or no hard
evidence that as a group they are involved in serious, organized criminal
activity. In addition, instead of being self- perpetuating master crime
conspirators, "true believers" probably have a similar problem
with their teenagers rebelling against their belief system. To some extent
even these Traditional satanists are self-stylized. They practice what
they have come to believe is "satanism." There is little or
no evidence of the much-discussed multigenerational satanists whose beliefs
and practices have supposedly been passed down through the centuries.
Many admitted adult satanists were in fact raised in conservative
Christian homes."
_Washington Post_ editor
Walt Harrington reported in a 1986 story on Anton LaVey and his Church
of Satan that "sociologists who have studied LaVey's church say
that its members often had serious childhood problems like alcoholic
parents or broken homes, or that they were traumatized by guilt-ridden
fundamentalist upbringings, turning to Satanism as a dramatic way to
purge their debilitating guilt." (p. 14.)
Some have claimed that the accounts of ritual abuse victims coincide with
historical records of what traditional or multigenerational satanists are
known to have practiced down through the ages. Jeffrey Burton Russell,
Professor of History at the University of California at Santa Barbara and
the author of numerous scholarly books on the devil and satanism, believes
that the universal consensus of modern historians on satanism is (personal
communication, Nov. 1991):
"(1) incidents of orgy, infanticide, cannibalism, and other such
conduct have occurred from the ancient world down to the present; (2) such
incidents were isolated and limited to local antisocial groups; (3) during
the period of Christian dominance in European culture, such groups were
associated with the Devil in the minds of the authorities; (4) in some
cases the sectaries believed that they were worshiping Satan; (5) no
organized cult of Satanists existed in the Christian period beyond
localities, and on no account was there ever any widespread Satanist
organization or conspiracy; (6) no reliable historical sources indicate
that such organizations existed; (7) the black mass appears only once in
the sources before the late nineteenth century."
Many police officers ask what to look for during the search of the scene
of suspected satanic activity. The answer is simple: Look for evidence of
a crime. A pentagram is no more criminally significant than a crucifix
unless it corroborates a crime or a criminal conspiracy. If a victim's
description of the location or the instruments of the crime includes a
pentagram, then the pentagram would be evidence. But the same would be
true if the description included a crucifix. In many cases of alleged
satanic ritual abuse, investigation can find evidence that the claimed
offenders are members only of mainstream churches and are often described
as very religious.
There is no way any one law enforcement officer can become knowledgeable
about all the symbols and rituals of every spiritual belief system that
might become part of a criminal investigation. The officer needs only to
be trained to recognize the possible investigative significance of such
signs, symbols, and rituals. Knowledgeable religious scholars, academics,
and other true experts in the community can be consulted if a more
detailed analysis is necessary.
Any analysis, however, may have only limited application, especially to
cases involving teenagers, dabblers, and other self-styled practitioners.
The fact is signs, symbols, and rituals can mean anything that
practitioners want them to mean and/or anything that observers interpret
them to mean.
The meaning of symbols can also change over time, place, and circumstance.
Is a swastika spray-painted on a wall an ancient symbol of prosperity and
good fortune, a recent symbol of Nazism and anti-Semitism, or a current
symbol of hate, paranoia, and adolescent defiance? The peace sign which in
the 1960s was a familiar antiwar symbol is now supposed to be a satanic
symbol. Some symbols and holidays become "satanic" only because
the antisatanists say they are. Then those who want to be
"satanists" adopt them, and now you have "proof" they
are satanic.
In spite of what is sometimes said or suggested at law enforcement
training conferences, police have no authority to seize any satanic or
occult paraphernalia they might see during a search. A legally- valid
reason must exist for doing so. It is not the job of law enforcement to
prevent satanists from engaging in noncriminal teaching, rituals, or other
activities.
INVESTIGATING MULTIDIMENSIONAL CHILD SEX RINGS
Multidimensional child sex rings can be among the most difficult,
frustrating, and complex cases that any law enforcement officer will ever
investigate. The investigation of allegations of recent activity from
multiple young children under the age of seven presents one set of
problems and must begin quickly, with interviews of all
potential victims being completed as soon as possible. The investigation of
allegations of activity ten or more years earlier from adult survivors
presents other problems and should proceed, unless victims are at
immediate risk, more deliberately, with gradually-increasing resources as
corroborated facts warrant.
In spite of any skepticism, allegations of ritual abuse should be
aggressively and thoroughly investigated. This investigation should
attempt to corroborate the allegations of ritual abuse. but should
simultaneously also attempt to identify alternative
explanations. The only debate is over how much investigation is enough.
Any law enforcement agency must be prepared to defend and justify its
actions when scrutinized by the public, the media, elected officials, or
the courts. This does not mean, however, that a law enforcement agency has
an obligation to prove that the alleged crimes did not occur. This is
almost always impossible to do and investigators should be alert for
and avoid this trap.
One major problem in the investigation of multidimensional child sex rings
is the dilemma of recognizing soon enough that you have one. Investigators
must be alert for cases with the potential for the four basic dynamics:
(a) multiple young victims, (b) multiple offenders, (c) fear as the
controlling tactic, and (d) bizarre or ritualistic activity. The following
techniques apply primarily to the investigation of such multidimensional
child sex rings:
MINIMIZE SATANIC/OCCULT ASPECT
There are those who claim that one of the major reasons more of these
cases have not been successfully prosecuted is that the satanic/occult
aspect has not been aggressively pursued. One state has even introduced
legislation creating added penalties when certain crimes are committed as
part of a ritual or ceremony. A few states have passed special ritual
crime laws. I strongly disagree with such an approach. It makes no
difference what spiritual belief system was used to enhance and facilitate
or rationalize and justify criminal behavior. It serves no purpose to
"prove" someone is a satanist. As a matter of fact, if it is
alleged that the subject committed certain criminal acts under the
influence of or in order to conjure up supernatural spirits or forces,
this may very well be the basis for an insanity or diminished capacity
defense, or may damage the intent aspect of a sexually motivated crime.
The defense may very well be more interested in all the "evidence of
satanic activity." Some of the satanic crime "experts" who
train law enforcement wind up working or testifying for the defense in
these cases.
It is best to focus on the crime and all the evidence to corroborate its
commission. Information about local satanic or occult activity is only of
value if it is based on specific law enforcement intelligence and not on
some vague, unsubstantiated generalities from religious groups. Cases are
not solved by decoding signs, symbols, and dates using undocumented
satanic crime "manuals." In one case a law enforcement agency
executing a search warrant seized only the satanic paraphernalia and left
behind the other evidence that would have corroborated victim statements.
Cases are solved by people- and behavior-oriented investigation. Evidence
of satanic or occult activity may help explain certain aspects of the case,
but even offenders who commit crimes in a spiritual context are usually
motivated by power, sex, and money.
KEEP INVESTIGATION AND RELIGIOUS BELIEFS SEPARATE
I believe that one of the biggest mistakes any investigator of these cases
can make is to attribute supernatural powers to the offenders. During an
investigation a good investigator may sometimes be able to use the beliefs
and superstitions of the offenders to his or her advantage. The reverse
happens if the investigator believes that the offenders possess
supernatural powers. Satanic/occult practitioners have no more power than
any other human beings. Law enforcement officers who believe that the
investigation of these cases puts them in conflict with the supernatural
forces of evil should probably not be assigned to them. The religious
beliefs of officers should provide spiritual strength and support for them
but should not affect the objectivity and professionalism of the
investigation.
It is easy to get caught up in these cases and begin to see
"satanism" everywhere. Oversensitization to this perceived
threat may cause an investigator to "see" satanism in a crime
when it really is not there (quasi-satanism.) Often the eye sees what
the mind perceives. It may also cause an investigator not to recognize
a staged crime scene deliberately seeded with "satanic clues"
in order to mislead the police (pseudo-satanism.) On rare occasions an
overzealous investigator or intervenor may even be tempted to plant
"evidence of satanism" in order to corroborate such allegations
and beliefs. Supervisors need to be alert for and monitor these reactions
in their investigators.
LISTEN TO THE VICTIMS
It is not the investigator's duty to believe the victims; it is his or her
job to listen and be an objective fact finder. Interviews of young
children should be done by investigators trained and experienced in such
interviews. Investigators must have direct access to the alleged victims
for interview purposes. Therapists for an adult survivor sometimes want to
act as intermediaries in their patient's interview. This should be avoided
if at all possible. Adult survivor interviews are often confusing
difficult and extremely time-consuming. The investigator must remember
however that almost anything is possible. Most important the investigator
must remember that there is much middle ground. Just because one event did
happen does not mean that all reported events happened, and just because
one event did not happen does not mean that all other events did not
happen. Do not become such a zealot that you believe it all nor such a
cynic that you believe nothing. Varying amounts and parts of the
allegation may be factual. Attempting to find evidence of what did happen
is the great challenge of these cases. All investigative
interaction with victims must be carefully and thoroughly documented.
ASSESS AND EVALUATE VICTIM STATEMENTS
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This is the part of the investigative process in child sexual
victimization cases that seems to have been lost. Is the victim describing
events and activities that are consistent with law enforcement documented
criminal behavior, or that are consistent with distorted media accounts
and erroneous public perceptions of criminal behavior? Investigators
should apply the "template of probability." Accounts of child sexual
victimization that are more like books, television, and movies (e.g. big
conspiracies, child sex slaves, organized pornography rings) and less like
documented cases should be viewed with skepticism but thoroughly
investigated. Consider and investigate all possible explanations of
events. It is the investigator's job, and the information learned will be
invaluable in counteracting the defense attorneys when they raise the
alternative explanations.
For example, an adult survivor's account of ritual victimization might be
explained by any one of at least four possibilities: First, the
allegations may be a fairly accurate account what actually happened.
Second, they may be deliberate lies (malingering,) told for the usual
reasons people lie (e.g. money, revenge, jealousy.) Third, they may be
deliberate lies (factitious disorder) told for atypical reasons (e.g.
attention, forgiveness.) Lies so motivated are less likely to be
recognized by the investigator and more likely to be rigidly maintained by
the liar unless and until confronted with irrefutable evidence to the
contrary. Fourth, the allegations may be a highly inaccurate account of
what actually happened, but the victim truly believes it (pseudomemory)
and therefore is not lying. A polygraph examination of such a victim would
be of limited value. Other explanations or combinations of these
explanations are also possible. Only thorough
investigation will point to the correct or most likely
explanation.
Investigators cannot rely on therapists or satanic crime experts as a
shortcut to the explanation. In one case, the "experts" confirmed
and validated the account of a female who claimed to be a 15-year- old
deaf-mute kidnapped and held for three years by a satanic cult and forced
to participate in bizarre rituals before recently escaping. Active
investigation, however, determined she was a 27- year-old woman who could
hear and speak, who had not been kidnapped by anyone, and who had a
lengthy history of mental problems and at least three other similar reports
of false victimization. Her "accurate" accounts of what the
"real satanists" do were simply the result of having read, while
in mental hospitals, the same books that the "experts" had. A
therapist may have important insights about whether an individual was
traumatized, but knowing the exact cause of that trauma is another matter.
There have been cases where investigation has discovered that individuals
diagnosed by therapists as suffering from Post-Vietnam Syndrome were
never in Vietnam or saw no combat.
Conversely, in another case, a law enforcement "expert" on
satanic crime told a therapist that a patient's accounts of satanic
murders in a rural Pacific Northwest town were probably true because
the community was a hotbed of such satanic activity. When the therapist
explained that there was almost no violent crime reported in the community,
the officer explained that that is how you know it is the satanists. If
you knew about the murders or found the bodies, it would not be satanists.
How do you argue with that kind of logic?
The first step in the assessment and evaluation of victim statements is to
determine the disclosure sequence, including how much time has elapsed
since disclosure was first made and the incident was reported to the
police or social services. The longer the delay, the bigger the potential
for problems. The next step is to determine the number and purpose of
all prior interviews of the victim concerning the allegations.
The more interviews conducted before the investigative interview, the larger
the potential for problems. Although there is nothing wrong with admitting
shortcomings and seeking help, law enforcement should never abdicate its
control over the investigative interview. When an investigative interview
is conducted by or with a social worker or therapist using a team
approach, law enforcement must direct the process. Problems can also be
created by interviews conducted by various intervenors after
the investigative interview(s.)
The investigator must closely and carefully evaluate events in the
victim's life before, during, and after the alleged abuse.
Events to be evaluated before the alleged abuse include:
Events to be evaluated during the alleged abuse include:
Events to be evaluated after the alleged abuse include:
EVALUATE CONTAGION
Consistent statements obtained from different multiple victims are powerful
pieces of corroborative evidence - that is as long as those statements were
not "contaminated." Investigation must carefully evaluate
both pre- and post-disclosure contagion, and both victim and intervenor
contagion. Are the different victim statements consistent because they
describe common experiences or events, or because they reflect
contamination or urban legends?
The sources of potential contagion are widespread. Victims can communicate
with each other both prior to and after their disclosures. Intervenors can
communicate with each other and with victims. The team or cell concepts of
investigation are attempts to deal with potential investigator contagion.
All the victims are not interviewed by the same individuals, and
interviewers do not necessarily share information directly with each
other. Teams report to a leader or supervisor who evaluates the
information and decides what other investigators need to know.
Documenting existing contagion and eliminating additional contagion are
crucial to the successful investigation and prosecution of these cases.
There is no way, however, to erase or undo contagion. The best you can
hope for is to identify and evaluate it and attempt to explain it. Mental
health professionals requested to evaluate suspected victims must be
carefully selected. Having a victim evaluated by one of the
self-proclaimed experts on satanic ritual abuse or by some other
overzealous intervenor may result in the credibility of that victim's
testimony being severely damaged.
In order to evaluate the contagion element, investigators must
meticulously and aggressively investigate these cases. The precise
disclosure sequence of the victim must be carefully identified and
documented. Investigators must verify through active investigation the
exact nature and content of each disclosure outcry or statement made by
the victim. Second-hand information about disclosure is not good enough.
Whenever possible, personal visits should be made to all locations of
alleged abuse and the victim's homes. Events prior to the alleged abuse
must be carefully evaluated. Investigators may have to view television
programs, films, and videotapes seen by the victims. It may be necessary
to conduct a background investigation and evaluation of everyone, both
professional and nonprofessional, who interviewed the victims about the
allegations prior to and after the investigative interview(s.)
Investigators must be familiar with the information about ritual abuse of
children being disseminated in magazines, books, television programs,
videotapes, and conferences. Every possible way that a victim could have
learned about the details of the abuse must be explored if for no other
reason than to eliminate them and counter the defense's arguments.
There may, however, be validity to these contagion factors. They may
explain some of the "unbelievable" aspects of the case and result
in the successful prosecution of the substance of the case.
Consistency of statements becomes more significant if contagion is
identified or disproved by independent investigation. The easier cases are
the ones where there is a single, identifiable source of contagion. Most
cases, however, seem to involve multiple contagion factors.
Munchausen Syndrome and
Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy are complex and controversial issues in
these cases. No attempt will be made to discuss them in detail, but they
are documented facts (Rosenberg, 1987.) Most of the literature about them
focuses on their manifestation in the medical setting as false or
self-inflicted illness or injury. They are also manifested in the
criminal justice setting as false or self-inflicted crime victimization.
If parents would poison their children to prove an illness, they might
sexually abuse their children to prove a crime. "Victims" have
been known to destroy property, manufacture evidence, and mutilate
themselves in order to convince others of their victimization.
The motivation is psychological gain (i.e. attention, forgiveness, etc.)
and not necessarily money, jealousy, or revenge. These are the unpopular,
but documented, realities of the world. Recognizing their existence does
not mean that child sexual abuse and sexual assault are not real and
serious problems.
ESTABLISH COMMUNICATION WITH PARENTS
The importance and difficulty of this technique in extrafamilial cases
involving young children cannot be overemphasized. An investigator must
maintain ongoing communication with the parents of victims in these abuse
cases. Not all parents react the same way to the alleged abuse of their
children. Some are very supportive and cooperative. Others overreact and
some even deny the victimization. Sometimes there is animosity and
mistrust among parents with different reactions. Once the parents lose
faith in the police or prosecutor and begin to interrogate their own
children and conduct their own investigation, the case may be lost
forever. Parents from one case communicate the results of their
"investigation" with each other, and some have even contacted
the parents in other cases. Such parental activity is an obvious source
of potential contamination.
Parents must be made to understand that their children's credibility will
be jeopardized when and if the information obtained turns out to be
unsubstantiated or false. To minimize this problem, within the limits of
the law and without jeopardizing investigative techniques, parents must be
told on a regular basis how the case is progressing. Parents can also be
assigned constructive things to do (e.g. lobbying for new legislation,
working on awareness and prevention programs) in order to channel their
energy, concern, and "guilt."
DEVELOP A CONTINGENCY PLAN
If a department waits until actually confronted with a case before a
response is developed, it may be too late. In cases involving ongoing
abuse of children, departments must respond quickly, and this requires
advanced planning. There are added problems for small- to medium-sized
departments with limited personnel and resources. Effective investigation
of these cases requires planning, identification of resources, and, in
many cases, mutual aid agreements between agencies. The U.S. Department of
Defense has conducted specialized training and has developed such a plan
for child sex ring cases involving military facilities and personnel. Once
a case is contaminated and out of control, I have little advice on how to
salvage what may once have been a prosecutable criminal violation. A few
of these cases have even been lost on appeal after a conviction because of
contamination problems.
MULTIDISCIPLINARY TASK FORCES
Sergeant Beth Dickinson, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, was the
chairperson of the Multi-Victim, Multi-Suspect Child Sexual Abuse
Subcommittee. Sergeant Dickinson states (personal communication, Nov.
1989):
"One of the biggest obstacles for investigators to overcome is the
reluctance of law enforcement administrators to commit sufficient
resources early on to an investigation that has the potential to be a
multidimensional child sex ring. It is important to get in and get on top
of the investigation in a timely manner - to get it investigated in a
timely manner in order to assess the risk to children and to avoid
hysteria, media sensationalism, and cross- contamination of information.
The team approach reduces stress on individual investigators, allowing for
peer support and minimizing feelings of being overwhelmed."
The team approach and working together does not mean, however, that each
discipline forgets its role and starts doing the other's job.
SUMMARY
The investigation of child sex rings can be difficult and time consuming.
The likelihood, however, of a great deal of corroborative evidence in a
multivictim/multioffender case increases the chances of a successful
prosecution if the crime occurred. Because there is still so much we do
not know or understand about the dynamics of multidimensional child sex
rings, investigative techniques are less certain. Each new case must be
carefully evaluated in order to improve investigative procedures.
Because mental health professionals seem to be unable to determine, with
any degree of certainty, the accuracy of victim statements in these cases,
law enforcement must proceed using the corroboration process. If some of
what the victim describes is accurate, some misperceived, some distorted,
and some contaminated, what is the jury supposed to believe? Until mental
health professionals can come up with better answers, the jury should be
asked to believe what the investigation can corroborate. Even
if only a portion of what these victims allege is factual, that may still
constitute significant criminal activity.
CONCLUSION
There are many possible alternative answers to the question of why victims
are alleging things that don't seem to be true. The first step in finding
those answers is to admit the possibility that some of what the victims
describe may not have happened. Some experts seem unwilling to even
consider this. Most of these victims are also probably not lying and have
come to believe that which they are alleging actually happened. There are
alternative explanations for why people who never met each other can tell
the same story.
I believe that there is a middle ground - a continuum of possible
activity. Some of what the victims allege may be true and accurate, some
may be misperceived or distorted, some may be screened or symbolic, and
some may be "contaminated" or false. The problem and challenge,
especially for law enforcement, is to determine which is which. This can
only be done through active investigation. I believe that the majority of
victims alleging "ritual" abuse are in fact victims of some form
of abuse or trauma. That abuse or trauma may or may not be criminal in
nature. After a lengthy discussion about various alternative explanations
and the continuum of possible activity, one mother told me that for the
first time since the victimization of her young son she felt a little
better. She had thought her only choices were that either her son was a
pathological liar or, on the other hand, she lived in a community
controlled by satanists.
Law enforcement has the obvious problem of attempting to determine what
actually happened for criminal justice purposes. Therapists, however,
might also be interested in what really happened in order to properly
evaluate and treat their patients. How and when to confront patients with
skepticism is a difficult and sensitive problem for therapists.
Any professional evaluating victims' allegations of "ritual" abuse
cannot ignore or routinely dismiss the lack of physical evidence (no bodies
or physical evidence left by violent murders); the difficulty in successfully
committing a large-scale conspiracy crime (the more people involved in any
crime conspiracy, the harder it is to get away with it); and human nature
(intragroup conflicts resulting in individual self-serving disclosures are
likely to occur in any group involved in organized kidnapping, baby
breeding, and human sacrifice.) If and when members of a destructive cult
commit murders, they are bound to make mistakes, leave evidence, and
eventually make admissions in order to brag about their crimes or to
reduce their legal liability. The discovery of the murders in Matamoros,
Mexico in 1989 and the results of the subsequent investigation are good
examples of these dynamics.
Overzealous intervenors must accept the fact that some of their
well-intentioned activity is contaminating and damaging the prosecutive
potential of the cases where criminal acts did occur. We must all (i.e.,
the media, churches, therapists, victim advocates, law enforcement, and
the general public) ask ourselves if we have created an environment where
victims are rewarded, listened to, comforted, and forgiven in direct
proportion to the severity of their abuse. Are we encouraging needy or
traumatized individuals to tell more and more outrageous tales of their
victimization? Are we making up for centuries of denial by now blindly
accepting any allegation of child abuse no matter how absurd or unlikely?
Are we increasing the likelihood that rebellious, antisocial, or
attention- seeking individuals will gravitate toward "satanism" by
publicizing it and overreacting to it? The overreaction to the problem can
be worse than the problem.
The amount of "ritual" child abuse going on in this country
depends on how you define the term. One documented example of what I
might call "ritual" child abuse was the horror chronicled in
the book
_A Death in White Bear Lake_ (Siegal, 1990.) The abuse in this
case, however, had little to do with anyone's spiritual belief system.
There are many children in the United States who, starting early in their
lives, are severely psychologically, physically, and sexually traumatized
by angry, sadistic parents or other adults. Such abuse, however, is not
perpetrated only or primarily by satanists. The statistical odds are that
such abusers are members of mainstream religions. If 99.9% of satanists
and 0.1% of Christians abuse children as part of their spiritual belief
system, that still means that the vast majority of children so abused were
abused by Christians.
Until hard evidence is obtained and corroborated, the public should not be
frightened into believing that babies are being bred and eaten, that
50,000 missing children are being murdered in human sacrifices, or that
satanists are taking over America's day care centers or institutions. No
one can prove with absolute certainty that such activity has
notoccurred. The burden of proof, however, as it would
be in a criminal prosecution, is on those who claim that it has occurred.
The explanation that the satanists are too organized and law enforcement
is too incompetent only goes so far in explaining the lack of evidence.
For at least eight years American law enforcement has been aggressively
investigating the allegations of victims of ritual abuse. There is little
or no evidence for the portion of their allegations that deals with
large-scale baby breeding, human sacrifice, and organized satanic
conspiracies. Now it is up to mental health professionals, not law
enforcement, to explain why victims are alleging things that don't seem to
have happened. Professionals in this field must accept the fact that there
is still much we do not know about the sexual victimization of children,
and that this area desperately needs study and research by rational,
objective social scientists.
If the guilty are to be successfully prosecuted, if the innocent are to be
exonerated, and if the victims are to be protected and treated, better
methods to evaluate and explain allegations of "ritual" child
abuse must be developed or identified. Until this is done, the controversy
will continue to cast a shadow over and fuel the backlash against the
validity and reality of child sexual abuse.
REFERENCES
SUGGESTED READING
[NOTE: Special thanks to Rick Ross
for providing The Skeptic Tank with a copy of this report. I've made some
corrections to the text which corrected incomplete words, and corrected
periods which should have been commas and other minor fixes. I also added
the links to the Amazon web site for the books mentioned in this essay, and
acquired the PDF documents "Child Sex Rings"
and "Child Molesters." Finally, I broke-up
lengthy sentences to make them easier to read - Fredric L. Rice, January,
2001]
Return to The Skeptic Tank's main Index page.
by Kenneth V. Lanning, Supervisory Special Agent
Behavioral Science Unit
National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime
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or any of the volunteer staff at the Organized Crime Civilian
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