- When evil visited Orkney: Untold story of ritual child abuse allegations on the island
- Orkney, Ayrshire, Cleveland ... will the authorities ever learn about child sexual abuse cases?
- At the 88th Academy Awards, "Spotlight," the film about the Boston Globe's investigation into priest abuse, won for best picture.
- 'Spotlight' how the Boston Globe covered church sex scandal
- Traumatic memory: memory disturbances and dissociative amnesia
- 110 Corroborated Cases of Recovered Memory
When evil visited Orkney: Untold story of ritual child abuse allegations on the island
February 27th, 2016 Jean Rafferty
TWENTY-FIVE years ago today, on February 27, 1991, a fleet of cars set off in convoy from Kirkwall on the Orkney mainland. It was barely light as they drove across the Churchill Barriers to the island of South Ronaldsay – they wanted to be sure that the children they were going to collect were still at home. From the outcry they incurred later, you’d have thought they were kidnappers holding families to ransom, not police and social workers trying to protect children from one of the most vicious forms of child abuse humans have yet devised – satanic ritual abuse (SRA).
Many people reading this will snort in derision – hasn’t SRA long been discredited? It’s just daft social workers without the wit to know when kids are being over-imaginative? Isn’t it?
A cardinal has fallen, the Catholic Church’s schools and institutions have been revealed as riddled with cruelty and perversion, and family entertainers have been exposed as paedophiles and rapists – and yet we doubt that this form of sexual abuse, which has existed for thousands of years, is still with us.
I first got involved in investigating SRA more than 20 years ago. Before Orkney there was a group of travelling families in Ayrshire whose children started talking about family abuse. One said he and his brothers had been filmed touching adults’ “wuggies and bums”. They were taken into care and there were endless court processes examining the evidence.
A few years earlier there was a kind of consensus among social workers that children didn’t lie about stuff like that. And at first no-one doubted the Ayrshire children. Forensic evidence backed up many of the things they said. One described his aunt crawling up his body and extracting two of his back teeth with a pair of big long scissors. A doctor from Glasgow Children’s Dental Hospital confirmed that the outer enamel of his teeth had come out in a neat, clean break that was “highly unusual” and could have been caused by using an instrument.
But five years after the initial charges had been made the parents were granted leave to petition for nobile officium, the ultimate appeal in Scots law. Evidence which had been accepted for five years was suddenly thrown into question. A new sheriff said the child who’d started the whole process off was a devious, manipulative little boy and should be sent back home – despite admitting that “it is possible that this has been a case of child abuse”....
Such strange behaviour proves nothing, of course, though the fact there was so much of it in children from different accused families might surely have given the authorities pause for thought. Instead, Sheriff David Kelbie sent the children home without testing the evidence in court. This decision was criticised by the Law Society of Scotland and by Lord Clyde in his inquiry into the case, but that fact has been ignored for 25 years, to the extent that even as respected a news outlet as the BBC can report that the parents in Orkney were innocent. Innocent till proven guilty? Yes, but innocent beyond the shadow of a doubt? That, the Orkney parents can never claim....
EVEN those who deny the existence of international satanist networks can hardly pretend that satanist abuse never happens – in 2002 Manuela and Daniel Ruda were convicted by a German court of killing Frank Haagen, carving a pentagram into his stomach and drinking his blood. In 2011 Colin Batley was convicted of leading a satanist cult in the west Wales town of Kidwelly. Among other things he committed 11 separate rapes, three indecent assaults, six counts of buggery and four counts of possessing indecent images of a child.
Over and over again satanist abuse has been proved to exist, so why does so much energy go into denying it?....
I say no too. No to pretending that families always provide ideal homes. No to abusing victims twice, the second time by refusing to believe them. I say no to depriving children of support, to making professionals unable to protect children properly. No to covering up the darker aspects of human nature till we’re absolutely forced to acknowledge them. Do we always have to wait till people are dead before we’re brave enough to expose them?....
http://www.thenational.scot/comment/when-evil-visited-orkney-untold-story-of-ritual-child-abuse-allegations-on-the-island.14286
Orkney, Ayrshire, Cleveland ... will the authorities ever learn about child sexual abuse cases?
March 1st, 2016 Sarah Nelson
WHY do notorious child sexual abuse cases from decades ago remain important? And why should establishing the truth about them still matter?
Those questions were brought into sharp focus by Jean Rafferty’s powerful, outspoken piece in The National on the Orkney and Ayrshire sexual abuse cases, and on the censorship of open discussion about them (When evil visited Orkney, February 27). It was published on the 25th anniversary of the day nine children, from four middle-class families, were taken into care on South Ronaldsay, Orkney, in 1991. This happened after children from a large, disadvantaged family spoke of an organised sex abuse ring there.
Just like the eight Ayrshire children removed into care in 1990, they were returned home: in Ayrshire, after a judge reversed an earlier judge’s decision, and in Orkney by a sheriff before the evidence was even tested. It never has been tested. In both cases, allegations included sadistic ritual and occult practices against children, allegations much-ridiculed ever since.
The cases remain important, and I believe the evidence now needs to be reassessed, for at least three reasons. First, a stream of shocking failures to protect children from sexual abuse, in the Churches, in care homes, in private home cellars, through sexual exploitation gangs, by media celebrities and the powerful, has recently been exposed and continues to be. This has increased Government and public concern for abused children and commitment to protect them; and has made society less inclined to dismiss forms of abuse they previously found unbelievable.
Secondly, like Rafferty I and others have over 25 years tried to publicise suggestive evidence that children were indeed in danger. Particularly over the Orkney case, we have tried to correct untruths – in print, on the BBC, in documentaries and online – and point up the flaws in the endlessly recycled and invented theories by supporters of accused adults, who allege it was just “satanic panic”. We were repeatedly unsuccessful.
The time is surely overdue to end a silencing and misrepresentation which sees, for example, not a single neutral, factual report of either case anywhere publicly available on the internet. By publishing Rafferty’s article, The National has stood out for its courage and independence.
Thirdly – and I believe most important – the verdicts and the myth-making after these cases have for decades negatively influenced public attitudes, professional child protection behaviour, and child protection law....
Was there suggestive, alarming evidence of organised sexual abuse? Yes, in both Orkney and Ayrshire. And if the assumed outcomes of the Orkney or Ayrshire cases are incorrect, then the future lessons drawn from them – like caution and timidity against sexual abuse, deference and apology to articulate adults – need revising too....
http://www.thenational.scot/comment/orkney-ayrshire-cleveland-will-the-authorities-ever-learn-about-child-sexual-abuse-cases.14438
Oscars 2016 updates: All the backstage madness you didn't see and inside the Vanity Fair after party
At the 88th Academy Awards, "Spotlight," the film about the Boston Globe's investigation into priest abuse, won for best picture. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-oscars-2016-live-updates-88th-academy-awards-20160228-htmlstory.html
Radiant 'Spotlight' illuminates how the Boston Globe covered church sex scandal
This is the saga of how the Boston Globe won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for uncovering not only decades of sexual abuse by Catholic priests but also systematic maneuvers by the church's Boston archdiocese to shield the more than 70 perpetrators. "Spotlight" is mightily impressive not only because of the importance of the story it tells but also because of how much effort and skill went into bringing it to the screen in the best possible way.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-spotlight-review-20151106-column.html
Traumatic memory: memory disturbances and dissociative amnesia
The following articles provide compelling scientific evidence in support of the phenomena of dissociation and recovered memory. Included are cases involving survivors of childhood abuse, survivors of the Holocaust, and war veterans.
http://blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/scholarly-resources/traumatic-memory/
110 Corroborated Cases of Recovered Memory
http://blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/case-archive/
Corroborated Cases of Recovered Memory
http://blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/tag/corroborated-cases/
Child and Ritual Abuse Research https://ritualabuse.us
Monday, February 29, 2016
When evil visited Orkney: Untold story of ritual child abuse allegations on the island, Orkney, Ayrshire, Cleveland will the authorities ever learn about child sexual abuse cases?, "Spotlight," film about Boston Globe's investigation into priest abuse won best picture, Traumatic memory: memory disturbances and dissociative amnesia, 110 Corroborated Cases of Recovered Memory
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Justice Scalia spent his last hours with members of secretive society, BBC missed opportunities to stop Jimmy Savile, Gadsden toddler 'ritual' killing trial, Paid Family Leave Reduced Number Of Child Abuse Cases In California
- Justice Scalia spent his last hours with members of this secretive society of elite hunters
- BBC missed opportunities to stop sexual predator Jimmy Savile, inquiry finds
- BBC faulted for its handling of sexual predator Jimmy Savile
- Testimony begins in Gadsden toddler 'ritual' killing trial
- Stopping Child Abuse: Paid Family Leave Reduced The Number Of Child Abuse Cases In California
Justice Scalia spent his last hours with members of this secretive society of elite hunters
By Amy Brittain and Sari Horwitz February 24
When Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died 12 days ago at a West Texas ranch, he was among high-ranking members of an exclusive fraternity for hunters called the International Order of St. Hubertus, an Austrian society that dates back to the 1600s.
After Scalia’s death Feb. 13, the names of the 35 other guests at the remote resort, along with details about Scalia’s connection to the hunters, have remained largely unknown. A review of public records shows that some of the men who were with Scalia at the ranch are connected through the International Order of St. Hubertus, whose members gathered at least once before at the same ranch for a celebratory weekend.
Members of the worldwide, male-only society wear dark-green robes emblazoned with a large cross and the motto “Deum Diligite Animalia Diligentes,” which means “Honoring God by honoring His creatures,” according to the group’s website. Some hold titles, such as Grand Master, Prior and Knight Grand Officer. The Order’s name is in honor of Hubert, the patron saint of hunters and fishermen....
The society’s U.S. chapter launched in 1966 at the famous Bohemian Club in San Francisco, which is associated with the all-male Bohemian Grove — one of the most well-known secret societies in the country.
In 2010, Poindexter hosted a group of 53 members of the Houston chapter of the International Order of St. Hubertus at the Cibolo Creek Ranch, according to a Houston society publication. A number of members from Mexico were also part of the ranch festivities that included “three days of organized shoots and ‘gala’ lunches and dinners....
From Houston, Scalia and Foster chartered a plane without the marshals to the Cibolo Creek Ranch airstrip. In a statement after Scalia died, the U.S. Marshals Service said that Scalia had declined a security detail while at the ranch....
Law enforcement officials told The Post that they had no knowledge of the International Order of St. Hubertus or its connection to Poindexter and ranch guests. The officials said the FBI had declined to investigate Scalia’s death when they were told by the marshals that he died from natural causes. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/justice-scalia-spent-his-last-hours-with-members-of-this-secretive-society-of-elite-hunters/2016/02/24/1d77af38-db20-11e5-891a-4ed04f4213e8_story.html
BBC missed opportunities to stop sexual predator Jimmy Savile, inquiry finds
Thursday February 25, 2016
An inquiry clears the BBC of wrongdoing but points out serious failings in its handling of Jimmy Savile, a celebrated TV presenter revealed to have been one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders.
An investigation into the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal cleared the BBC of wrongdoing Thursday, even as it painted a damning portrait of an institution where employees were afraid to raise even serious concerns about sexual misconduct for fear of upsetting celebrity talent or making the corporation look bad.
Savile, a BBC television presenter and popular charity figure who died in October 2011, is believed to be one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders, often targeting minors.
The review initiated by the BBC blamed the institution's internal culture for being behind the failure to sound the alarm on Savile's predatory activity. It was only after Savile's death that the extent of his crimes became clear — touching off a national shock wave of rage and introspection about how best to deal with sexual abuse charges, particularly involving the famous.
“Celebrities were treated with kid gloves and were virtually untouchable,” said Janet Smith, a former Court of Appeal judge who conducted the inquiry, describing a BBC culture of not wanting to “rock the boat.”...
Smith's review said the Savile abuse incidents dated all the way back to 1959. She identified 72 victims of Savile, both male and female — and one was only 8 years old.
But girls who raised concerns about Savile were treated as a “nuisance.” In one case in 1969, a girl who was molested on the “Top of the Pops” program while standing next to Savile on the podium was “ejected from the building.”
The inquiry also concluded that another BBC star, sports presenter Stuart Hall, 86, also used his celebrity to shield his activities, often plying his victims with alcohol.
The Hall investigation was carried out by another former Court of Appeal judge, Linda Dobbs, because Smith had a conflict of interest. Dobbs found 21 victims of Hall, who was jailed in 2013 after pleading guilty to multiple charges of indecent assault.... http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-britain-bbc-jimmy-savile-20160225-story.html
BBC faulted for its handling of sexual predator Jimmy Savile
Thursday February 25, 2016
An inquiry clears the BBC of wrongdoing but points out serious failings in its handling of Jimmy Savile, a celebrated TV presenter revealed to have been one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders. http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-bbc-jimmy-savile-video-20160225-embeddedvideo.html
Testimony begins in Gadsden toddler 'ritual' killing trial
William Thornton February 25, 2016
Etowah County prosecutors today told jurors that the body of a 20-month-old girl, hacked to death, was found in 2013 in a duffel bag cast among trash in a field next to a dead dog.
Today saw the beginning of testimony in the trial of Stephon Lindsay, 38, accused of killing his daughter, Maliyah Tashay Lindsay, almost three years ago in what some family members termed a "ritual" killing.
Gadsden police discovered the body of Maliyah Lindsay in a wooded area at the dead end of Plainview Street in Gadsden on March 12, 2013 after Stephon Lindsay was arrested in connection with the child's disappearance.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Marcus Reid said testimony would show Stephon killed Maliyah in accordance with his religious beliefs, using a long knife while the child's mother was sick following giving birth a few weeks before....
Stephon would occasionally read and write in a dark green binder that he called his Bible, she said. He had a passion for horror, zombie and martial arts movies, she said, and would occasionally run outside into the rain to "do the stuff they do in the movies." He collected knives and swords, she said, but also had a sense of humor and helped cook and clean and care for Maliyah.... http://www.al.com/news/anniston-gadsden/index.ssf/2016/02/testimony_begins_in_gadsden_to.html
Stopping Child Abuse: Paid Family Leave Reduced The Number Of Child Abuse Cases In California
Feb 25, 2016 By Justin Caba
In 2004, California introduced its Paid Family Leave (PFL) program, which allows for up to six weeks of paid leave for the birth of a newborn or to take care of a sick family member in a 12-month period. Despite there being proven benefits to having paid family leave, a number of other states have not followed suit. A recent study published in the journal Injury Prevention aimed to compare to the impact of the PFL program in California to states that have not enacted any parental leave laws.
Researchers from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gathered data on the number of children hospitalized from deliberately inflicted head injuries between 1995 and 2011 in California. They compared this data to that from seven other states without any paid leave policies: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin.
Admission rates for abusive head injuries dropped significantly among children under the age of 2 following the PFL enactment. When researchers incorporated influential factors, like unemployment rates and low education levels, the PFL program led to a drop of 5.1 admissions per 100,000 children under the age of 1. The policy also led to a 2.8 per 100,000 drop in admissions among children under 2.... http://www.medicaldaily.com/paid-family-leave-stopping-child-abuse-375161
- BBC missed opportunities to stop sexual predator Jimmy Savile, inquiry finds
- BBC faulted for its handling of sexual predator Jimmy Savile
- Testimony begins in Gadsden toddler 'ritual' killing trial
- Stopping Child Abuse: Paid Family Leave Reduced The Number Of Child Abuse Cases In California
Justice Scalia spent his last hours with members of this secretive society of elite hunters
By Amy Brittain and Sari Horwitz February 24
When Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died 12 days ago at a West Texas ranch, he was among high-ranking members of an exclusive fraternity for hunters called the International Order of St. Hubertus, an Austrian society that dates back to the 1600s.
After Scalia’s death Feb. 13, the names of the 35 other guests at the remote resort, along with details about Scalia’s connection to the hunters, have remained largely unknown. A review of public records shows that some of the men who were with Scalia at the ranch are connected through the International Order of St. Hubertus, whose members gathered at least once before at the same ranch for a celebratory weekend.
Members of the worldwide, male-only society wear dark-green robes emblazoned with a large cross and the motto “Deum Diligite Animalia Diligentes,” which means “Honoring God by honoring His creatures,” according to the group’s website. Some hold titles, such as Grand Master, Prior and Knight Grand Officer. The Order’s name is in honor of Hubert, the patron saint of hunters and fishermen....
The society’s U.S. chapter launched in 1966 at the famous Bohemian Club in San Francisco, which is associated with the all-male Bohemian Grove — one of the most well-known secret societies in the country.
In 2010, Poindexter hosted a group of 53 members of the Houston chapter of the International Order of St. Hubertus at the Cibolo Creek Ranch, according to a Houston society publication. A number of members from Mexico were also part of the ranch festivities that included “three days of organized shoots and ‘gala’ lunches and dinners....
From Houston, Scalia and Foster chartered a plane without the marshals to the Cibolo Creek Ranch airstrip. In a statement after Scalia died, the U.S. Marshals Service said that Scalia had declined a security detail while at the ranch....
Law enforcement officials told The Post that they had no knowledge of the International Order of St. Hubertus or its connection to Poindexter and ranch guests. The officials said the FBI had declined to investigate Scalia’s death when they were told by the marshals that he died from natural causes. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/justice-scalia-spent-his-last-hours-with-members-of-this-secretive-society-of-elite-hunters/2016/02/24/1d77af38-db20-11e5-891a-4ed04f4213e8_story.html
BBC missed opportunities to stop sexual predator Jimmy Savile, inquiry finds
Thursday February 25, 2016
An inquiry clears the BBC of wrongdoing but points out serious failings in its handling of Jimmy Savile, a celebrated TV presenter revealed to have been one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders.
An investigation into the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal cleared the BBC of wrongdoing Thursday, even as it painted a damning portrait of an institution where employees were afraid to raise even serious concerns about sexual misconduct for fear of upsetting celebrity talent or making the corporation look bad.
Savile, a BBC television presenter and popular charity figure who died in October 2011, is believed to be one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders, often targeting minors.
The review initiated by the BBC blamed the institution's internal culture for being behind the failure to sound the alarm on Savile's predatory activity. It was only after Savile's death that the extent of his crimes became clear — touching off a national shock wave of rage and introspection about how best to deal with sexual abuse charges, particularly involving the famous.
“Celebrities were treated with kid gloves and were virtually untouchable,” said Janet Smith, a former Court of Appeal judge who conducted the inquiry, describing a BBC culture of not wanting to “rock the boat.”...
Smith's review said the Savile abuse incidents dated all the way back to 1959. She identified 72 victims of Savile, both male and female — and one was only 8 years old.
But girls who raised concerns about Savile were treated as a “nuisance.” In one case in 1969, a girl who was molested on the “Top of the Pops” program while standing next to Savile on the podium was “ejected from the building.”
The inquiry also concluded that another BBC star, sports presenter Stuart Hall, 86, also used his celebrity to shield his activities, often plying his victims with alcohol.
The Hall investigation was carried out by another former Court of Appeal judge, Linda Dobbs, because Smith had a conflict of interest. Dobbs found 21 victims of Hall, who was jailed in 2013 after pleading guilty to multiple charges of indecent assault.... http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-britain-bbc-jimmy-savile-20160225-story.html
BBC faulted for its handling of sexual predator Jimmy Savile
Thursday February 25, 2016
An inquiry clears the BBC of wrongdoing but points out serious failings in its handling of Jimmy Savile, a celebrated TV presenter revealed to have been one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders. http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-bbc-jimmy-savile-video-20160225-embeddedvideo.html
Testimony begins in Gadsden toddler 'ritual' killing trial
William Thornton February 25, 2016
Etowah County prosecutors today told jurors that the body of a 20-month-old girl, hacked to death, was found in 2013 in a duffel bag cast among trash in a field next to a dead dog.
Today saw the beginning of testimony in the trial of Stephon Lindsay, 38, accused of killing his daughter, Maliyah Tashay Lindsay, almost three years ago in what some family members termed a "ritual" killing.
Gadsden police discovered the body of Maliyah Lindsay in a wooded area at the dead end of Plainview Street in Gadsden on March 12, 2013 after Stephon Lindsay was arrested in connection with the child's disappearance.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Marcus Reid said testimony would show Stephon killed Maliyah in accordance with his religious beliefs, using a long knife while the child's mother was sick following giving birth a few weeks before....
Stephon would occasionally read and write in a dark green binder that he called his Bible, she said. He had a passion for horror, zombie and martial arts movies, she said, and would occasionally run outside into the rain to "do the stuff they do in the movies." He collected knives and swords, she said, but also had a sense of humor and helped cook and clean and care for Maliyah.... http://www.al.com/news/anniston-gadsden/index.ssf/2016/02/testimony_begins_in_gadsden_to.html
Stopping Child Abuse: Paid Family Leave Reduced The Number Of Child Abuse Cases In California
Feb 25, 2016 By Justin Caba
In 2004, California introduced its Paid Family Leave (PFL) program, which allows for up to six weeks of paid leave for the birth of a newborn or to take care of a sick family member in a 12-month period. Despite there being proven benefits to having paid family leave, a number of other states have not followed suit. A recent study published in the journal Injury Prevention aimed to compare to the impact of the PFL program in California to states that have not enacted any parental leave laws.
Researchers from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gathered data on the number of children hospitalized from deliberately inflicted head injuries between 1995 and 2011 in California. They compared this data to that from seven other states without any paid leave policies: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin.
Admission rates for abusive head injuries dropped significantly among children under the age of 2 following the PFL enactment. When researchers incorporated influential factors, like unemployment rates and low education levels, the PFL program led to a drop of 5.1 admissions per 100,000 children under the age of 1. The policy also led to a 2.8 per 100,000 drop in admissions among children under 2.... http://www.medicaldaily.com/paid-family-leave-stopping-child-abuse-375161
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Deepcut soldier 'ordered to have sex with another squaddie before she died' inquest hears, Rotherham child abuse trial: four men and two women found guilty, Former Ballarat Bishop Ronald Mulkearns apologises for his handling of abuse allegations
- Deepcut soldier 'ordered to have sex with another squaddie before she died' inquest hears
- Was girl soldier's death covered up because she was raped on orders of Army top brass?
- Rotherham child abuse trial: four men and two women found guilty
- Child abuse royal commission: Former Ballarat Bishop Ronald Mulkearns apologises for his handling of abuse allegations
Deepcut soldier 'ordered to have sex with another squaddie before she died' inquest hears
A TEENAGED female soldier was ordered to have sex with another squaddie the night before she died, an inquest heard.
By Peter Henn Wed, Feb 24, 2016
Private Cheryl James, 18, was found with a fatal bullet wound in Deepcut barracks, Surrey, in November 1995.
She was one of four recruits to die at the army training camp over the space of seven years.
Fellow soldier Mark Beards told Woking Coroner's Court that she had confided in him about the order and he had been "destroyed" by "carrying the guilt" of her death for 20 years.
But under cross-examination he was accused of being "a liar and a fantasist".
He was also accused of assuming that Pte James was referring to sex the night before her death when she never used the word.
He told the inquest he bumped into Pte James at around 11.10pm and she told him she had been ordered by Sergeant Andrew Gavaghan to go into a room with Pte Ian Atkinson - known as Aki - to have sex.
He said: "I asked her what she was doing there and she said she had to meet Aki. I asked her why she had to meet Aki and she explained to me she had to go into the room with him.
"I asked her, 'What do you mean?'. She said 'I've got to do it'....
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/647229/Deepcut-soldier-Cheryl-James-inquest-ordered-to-have-sex
Was girl soldier's death covered up because she was raped on orders of Army top brass?
THE death of a teenage soldier at a notorious army barracks where three other youngsters also died may have been covered up by the establishment because she was raped on the orders of her officers, it was claimed today.
By Nick Gutteridge Mon, Jan 25, 2016
Police and army officials have conspired to keep the truth about the supposed suicide of 18-year-old Cheryl James from ever coming to light according to her family, who have fought a 20-year battle for justice.
But new evidence has now emerged suggesting that the young Private may have been ordered to sleep with a male colleague in the hours before her death by bullying officers who were "pimping out" female recruits at the infamous Deepcut barracks in Surrey.
The latest claims will rock the military and police establishment, both of whom have repeatedly insisted that her death was a suicide, even suggesting she may have killed herself because of complications with her love life....
But serious questions began to be asked several years later when it emerged that four young recruits had all died at the same barracks within a short space of time.
Detectives came under serious pressure to reopen their investigation after 17-year-old James Collinson was also found at the Deepcut base with a fatal gunshot wound in March 2002.
The calls became a clamour when it then emerged that there had been two more deaths at the notorious barracks - home to the Royal Logistics Corps - in the space of just seven years.
Private Sean Benton, 20, died a few months before Pte James, while 17-year-old Geoff Gray died in September 2001.
Surrey Police, which has been savagely criticised over its bungled investigations of the deaths, was then forced to admit that it had received almost 60 allegations of bullying and sexual assaults at the base in 1995 alone.
Her family are hoping that the truth will finally come out after a High Court judge quashed the verdict of her original inquest, with a fresh inquiry set to get under way next week.
And in a bombshell development a pre-inquest hearing held earlier this month was told how the young recruit, from Llangollen on the Welsh borders, had been subjected to "vile treatment", sexual exploitation by senior ranks and may have been "sexually coerced or raped" the night before she was found dead....
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/637700/Deepcut-deaths-Private-Cheryl-James-inquest-claims-rape-army-officers
Rotherham child abuse trial: four men and two women found guilty
Gang including three brothers, led by Arshid Hussain, targeted 15 girls, one as young as 11
Lisa O'Carroll and Josh Halliday Wednesday 24 February 2016
Six men and women were found guilty of offences relating to the sexual exploitation of teenage girls in Rotherham, as it emerged that the conduct of more than 50 officers from South Yorkshire who had dealt with the victims is now under investigation.
A gang of three brothers, their uncle and two women were found guilty of 55 serious offences, some of which lay undetected for almost 20 years. They targeted 15 vulnerable girls, one as young as 11, and subjected them to brutal and degrading acts between 1987 and 2003 including rape, forced prostitution, indecent assault and false imprisonment.
Allegations by victims that those found guilty – Arshid, Basharat and Bannaras Hussain, their uncle Qurban Ali and their associates Karen MacGregor and Shelley Davies – were able to commit crimes for so long with apparent impunity are now the focus of two separate investigations into the police.
It can now be reported that the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has launched 55 separate investigations into how South Yorkshire police dealt with victims, in one of the biggest inquiries into potential neglect of duty and corruption in recent policing history.
The police watchdog said that 46 misconduct notices had already been served on 26 officers, and warned the figure could increase. It is understood that more than 50 officers are being investigated. Complaints cover “a range of allegations from a failure to act on reported child sexual exploitation to corruption by police officers,” it said....
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/feb/24/child-sex-abuse-rotherham-guilty-gang-hussain
Child abuse royal commission: Former Ballarat Bishop Ronald Mulkearns apologises for his handling of abuse allegations
By Margaret Paul and staff 2/25/16
Former Catholic bishop Ronald Mulkearns has told a royal commission he is not sure if he knew child abuse was a crime during his time in charge of the Ballarat diocese, but he knew it was wrong.
The former bishop made his much-anticipated appearance at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse via videolink from the nursing home in which he now lives.
Until now Bishop Mulkearns had been excused from giving evidence because he was too sick.
Asked if he referred paedophile Gerald Ridsdale for help because he knew he was abusing children, he said yes.
Bishop Mulkearns told the hearing he never asked priests directly if they were abusers but instead got reports from psychologists.
He conceded the only reason he sent priests off for treatment was because he believed they had been offending.
"I didn't really know what to do or how to do it," he said.
He apologised on Thursday for the way he handled complaints of abuse in his diocese....
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-25/royal-commission-former-ballarat-bishop-ronald-mulkearns-appears/7198260
- Was girl soldier's death covered up because she was raped on orders of Army top brass?
- Rotherham child abuse trial: four men and two women found guilty
- Child abuse royal commission: Former Ballarat Bishop Ronald Mulkearns apologises for his handling of abuse allegations
Deepcut soldier 'ordered to have sex with another squaddie before she died' inquest hears
A TEENAGED female soldier was ordered to have sex with another squaddie the night before she died, an inquest heard.
By Peter Henn Wed, Feb 24, 2016
Private Cheryl James, 18, was found with a fatal bullet wound in Deepcut barracks, Surrey, in November 1995.
She was one of four recruits to die at the army training camp over the space of seven years.
Fellow soldier Mark Beards told Woking Coroner's Court that she had confided in him about the order and he had been "destroyed" by "carrying the guilt" of her death for 20 years.
But under cross-examination he was accused of being "a liar and a fantasist".
He was also accused of assuming that Pte James was referring to sex the night before her death when she never used the word.
He told the inquest he bumped into Pte James at around 11.10pm and she told him she had been ordered by Sergeant Andrew Gavaghan to go into a room with Pte Ian Atkinson - known as Aki - to have sex.
He said: "I asked her what she was doing there and she said she had to meet Aki. I asked her why she had to meet Aki and she explained to me she had to go into the room with him.
"I asked her, 'What do you mean?'. She said 'I've got to do it'....
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/647229/Deepcut-soldier-Cheryl-James-inquest-ordered-to-have-sex
Was girl soldier's death covered up because she was raped on orders of Army top brass?
THE death of a teenage soldier at a notorious army barracks where three other youngsters also died may have been covered up by the establishment because she was raped on the orders of her officers, it was claimed today.
By Nick Gutteridge Mon, Jan 25, 2016
Police and army officials have conspired to keep the truth about the supposed suicide of 18-year-old Cheryl James from ever coming to light according to her family, who have fought a 20-year battle for justice.
But new evidence has now emerged suggesting that the young Private may have been ordered to sleep with a male colleague in the hours before her death by bullying officers who were "pimping out" female recruits at the infamous Deepcut barracks in Surrey.
The latest claims will rock the military and police establishment, both of whom have repeatedly insisted that her death was a suicide, even suggesting she may have killed herself because of complications with her love life....
But serious questions began to be asked several years later when it emerged that four young recruits had all died at the same barracks within a short space of time.
Detectives came under serious pressure to reopen their investigation after 17-year-old James Collinson was also found at the Deepcut base with a fatal gunshot wound in March 2002.
The calls became a clamour when it then emerged that there had been two more deaths at the notorious barracks - home to the Royal Logistics Corps - in the space of just seven years.
Private Sean Benton, 20, died a few months before Pte James, while 17-year-old Geoff Gray died in September 2001.
Surrey Police, which has been savagely criticised over its bungled investigations of the deaths, was then forced to admit that it had received almost 60 allegations of bullying and sexual assaults at the base in 1995 alone.
Her family are hoping that the truth will finally come out after a High Court judge quashed the verdict of her original inquest, with a fresh inquiry set to get under way next week.
And in a bombshell development a pre-inquest hearing held earlier this month was told how the young recruit, from Llangollen on the Welsh borders, had been subjected to "vile treatment", sexual exploitation by senior ranks and may have been "sexually coerced or raped" the night before she was found dead....
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/637700/Deepcut-deaths-Private-Cheryl-James-inquest-claims-rape-army-officers
Rotherham child abuse trial: four men and two women found guilty
Gang including three brothers, led by Arshid Hussain, targeted 15 girls, one as young as 11
Lisa O'Carroll and Josh Halliday Wednesday 24 February 2016
Six men and women were found guilty of offences relating to the sexual exploitation of teenage girls in Rotherham, as it emerged that the conduct of more than 50 officers from South Yorkshire who had dealt with the victims is now under investigation.
A gang of three brothers, their uncle and two women were found guilty of 55 serious offences, some of which lay undetected for almost 20 years. They targeted 15 vulnerable girls, one as young as 11, and subjected them to brutal and degrading acts between 1987 and 2003 including rape, forced prostitution, indecent assault and false imprisonment.
Allegations by victims that those found guilty – Arshid, Basharat and Bannaras Hussain, their uncle Qurban Ali and their associates Karen MacGregor and Shelley Davies – were able to commit crimes for so long with apparent impunity are now the focus of two separate investigations into the police.
It can now be reported that the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has launched 55 separate investigations into how South Yorkshire police dealt with victims, in one of the biggest inquiries into potential neglect of duty and corruption in recent policing history.
The police watchdog said that 46 misconduct notices had already been served on 26 officers, and warned the figure could increase. It is understood that more than 50 officers are being investigated. Complaints cover “a range of allegations from a failure to act on reported child sexual exploitation to corruption by police officers,” it said....
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/feb/24/child-sex-abuse-rotherham-guilty-gang-hussain
Child abuse royal commission: Former Ballarat Bishop Ronald Mulkearns apologises for his handling of abuse allegations
By Margaret Paul and staff 2/25/16
Former Catholic bishop Ronald Mulkearns has told a royal commission he is not sure if he knew child abuse was a crime during his time in charge of the Ballarat diocese, but he knew it was wrong.
The former bishop made his much-anticipated appearance at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse via videolink from the nursing home in which he now lives.
Until now Bishop Mulkearns had been excused from giving evidence because he was too sick.
Asked if he referred paedophile Gerald Ridsdale for help because he knew he was abusing children, he said yes.
Bishop Mulkearns told the hearing he never asked priests directly if they were abusers but instead got reports from psychologists.
He conceded the only reason he sent priests off for treatment was because he believed they had been offending.
"I didn't really know what to do or how to do it," he said.
He apologised on Thursday for the way he handled complaints of abuse in his diocese....
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-25/royal-commission-former-ballarat-bishop-ronald-mulkearns-appears/7198260
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Cardinal George Pell denies allegations of abuse after reports of Victoria Police investigation, 'Slave' who 'stabbed his master to death in self defence' took part in devil-worshipping ceremonies
- Cardinal George Pell denies allegations of abuse after reports of Victoria Police investigation
- Cardinal George Pell won’t be asked about Victoria Police inquiry
- 'Slave' who 'stabbed his master to death in self defence' took part in devil-worshipping ceremonies
Cardinal George Pell denies allegations of abuse after reports of Victoria Police investigation
2/19/2016
Cardinal George Pell has vehemently denied allegations of abuse, in a statement issued in the wake of media reports that he is being investigated by Victoria Police.
In response to a Herald Sun report that a Victoria Police taskforce was investigating abuse allegations against him, Australia's most high-profile Catholic said the allegations were "undetailed" and had not been raised with him.
A statement from the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney also said allegations of abuse that were raised 15 years ago were "without foundation and utterly false"....
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-19/cardinal-george-pell-denies-allegations-vic-police-investigation/7185830
Cardinal George Pell won’t be asked about Victoria Police inquiry
The Australian February 24, 2016
Cardinal George Pell is not expected to be questioned by a royal commission over allegations being investigated by police that he was involved in the sexual abuse of boys over several decades.
The publication of the allegations on Friday night provoked a storm of reaction. The cardinal, who vehemently denies the claims, called for a public inquiry into the “maliciously timed” leak, allegedly by Victoria Police.
Cardinal Pell, Australia’s most senior Catholic and who now manages the Vatican’s finances, is due to give evidence to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse next week. But several legal and church sources said they did not expect him to be questioned directly by the commission’s lawyers over the alleged abuse.
The commission’s Letters Patent, signed by the Governor-General and which establish the confines of its work, say it “is not required … to inquire … into a particular matter” that is subject to another criminal investigation....
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/in-depth/royal-commission/cardinal-george-pell-wont-be-asked-about-victoria-police-inquiry/news-story/201368aa6690692ec55f026091072948
describes violence
'Slave' who 'stabbed his master to death in self defence' took part in devil-worshipping ceremonies where his 'dominating' partner would slice his forehead as 16th century church choir music played
A slave who stabbed his master to death says he acted in self defence
Henry Rose, 59, pleaded not guilty to murdering his partner Drew Dax, 44
Mr Dax was stabbed multiple times in their Caulfield North home in 2011
He had a knife in his hands but police allege Mr Rose planted it there
Police documents reveal the two had been involved in a violent relationship
Mr Dax was charged with assault after slicing Mr Rose in devil worship ritual
By Belinda Grant Geary For Daily Mail Australia 23 February 2016
A 'slave' who claims he killed his 'master' in self-defence was stabbed and sliced by his dominating partner during a ritualistic devil worshipping ceremony.
Henry Rose, 59, pleaded not guilty to murdering his controlling partner Drew Dax, formerly known as Andrew Barratt, during an appearance at the Melbourne Supreme Court on Monday.
Mr Dax, 44, was found with a knife in his hand after being stabbed multiple times with two different blades in the couple's Caulfield North home on January 11, 2015.
The court has heard that the two had been involved in a string of violent confrontations during their 28 year relationship - one so serious that the 44-year-old master had been charged with assault, the Age reported....
Police were called to the couple's apartment in Elwood, south of Melbourne's CBD, in 1989 after Mr Dax entered a trance-like state and demanded Mr Rose kneel before him.
According to reports, Mr Dax, who was playing the role of Satan, used a kitchen knife to slice his slave's forehead and stab him in the hand as dramatic 16th century church music played.
Mr Dax was charged with assault and placed on an 18 month community based order, despite Mr Rose insisting that he wanted to withdraw his complaint....
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3460138/Slave-facing-Melbourne-Supreme-court-murder-master-took-devil-worshipping-ceremonies-dominating-partner-slice-forehead-16th-century-church-choir-music-played.html
- Cardinal George Pell won’t be asked about Victoria Police inquiry
- 'Slave' who 'stabbed his master to death in self defence' took part in devil-worshipping ceremonies
Cardinal George Pell denies allegations of abuse after reports of Victoria Police investigation
2/19/2016
Cardinal George Pell has vehemently denied allegations of abuse, in a statement issued in the wake of media reports that he is being investigated by Victoria Police.
In response to a Herald Sun report that a Victoria Police taskforce was investigating abuse allegations against him, Australia's most high-profile Catholic said the allegations were "undetailed" and had not been raised with him.
A statement from the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney also said allegations of abuse that were raised 15 years ago were "without foundation and utterly false"....
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-19/cardinal-george-pell-denies-allegations-vic-police-investigation/7185830
Cardinal George Pell won’t be asked about Victoria Police inquiry
The Australian February 24, 2016
Cardinal George Pell is not expected to be questioned by a royal commission over allegations being investigated by police that he was involved in the sexual abuse of boys over several decades.
The publication of the allegations on Friday night provoked a storm of reaction. The cardinal, who vehemently denies the claims, called for a public inquiry into the “maliciously timed” leak, allegedly by Victoria Police.
Cardinal Pell, Australia’s most senior Catholic and who now manages the Vatican’s finances, is due to give evidence to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse next week. But several legal and church sources said they did not expect him to be questioned directly by the commission’s lawyers over the alleged abuse.
The commission’s Letters Patent, signed by the Governor-General and which establish the confines of its work, say it “is not required … to inquire … into a particular matter” that is subject to another criminal investigation....
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/in-depth/royal-commission/cardinal-george-pell-wont-be-asked-about-victoria-police-inquiry/news-story/201368aa6690692ec55f026091072948
describes violence
'Slave' who 'stabbed his master to death in self defence' took part in devil-worshipping ceremonies where his 'dominating' partner would slice his forehead as 16th century church choir music played
A slave who stabbed his master to death says he acted in self defence
Henry Rose, 59, pleaded not guilty to murdering his partner Drew Dax, 44
Mr Dax was stabbed multiple times in their Caulfield North home in 2011
He had a knife in his hands but police allege Mr Rose planted it there
Police documents reveal the two had been involved in a violent relationship
Mr Dax was charged with assault after slicing Mr Rose in devil worship ritual
By Belinda Grant Geary For Daily Mail Australia 23 February 2016
A 'slave' who claims he killed his 'master' in self-defence was stabbed and sliced by his dominating partner during a ritualistic devil worshipping ceremony.
Henry Rose, 59, pleaded not guilty to murdering his controlling partner Drew Dax, formerly known as Andrew Barratt, during an appearance at the Melbourne Supreme Court on Monday.
Mr Dax, 44, was found with a knife in his hand after being stabbed multiple times with two different blades in the couple's Caulfield North home on January 11, 2015.
The court has heard that the two had been involved in a string of violent confrontations during their 28 year relationship - one so serious that the 44-year-old master had been charged with assault, the Age reported....
Police were called to the couple's apartment in Elwood, south of Melbourne's CBD, in 1989 after Mr Dax entered a trance-like state and demanded Mr Rose kneel before him.
According to reports, Mr Dax, who was playing the role of Satan, used a kitchen knife to slice his slave's forehead and stab him in the hand as dramatic 16th century church music played.
Mr Dax was charged with assault and placed on an 18 month community based order, despite Mr Rose insisting that he wanted to withdraw his complaint....
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3460138/Slave-facing-Melbourne-Supreme-court-murder-master-took-devil-worshipping-ceremonies-dominating-partner-slice-forehead-16th-century-church-choir-music-played.html
Monday, February 22, 2016
Bill Cosby's wife deposed in defamation lawsuit, Christian leader Bill Gothard sexual assault accusations, Mexican warlord El Chayo turned a cartel into cult
- Bill Cosby's Wife, Camille, Deposed In Defamation Lawsuit
- Two women share accounts of forced labor and sexual abuse by prominent Christian leader Bill Gothard
- Bill Gothard, Christian counseling ministry leader with ties to TLC's Duggar family, target of sexual assault lawsuit by 10 women
- The Narco Who Died Twice - How a Mexican gangster turned a cartel into a cult - Nazario Moreno Gonzalez—also known as El Chayo
Bill Cosby's Wife, Camille, Deposed In Defamation Lawsuit
February 22, 2016 Merrit Kennedy
Camille Cosby, the wife of comedian Bill Cosby, has been deposed at a Springfield, Mass., hotel.
Seven women brought a defamation lawsuit against her husband, to whom she's been married for more than 50 years.
NPR's Arun Rath reports that Monday's deposition, which happened under tight security, comes after a legal fight:
"Bill Cosby's legal team filed a series of motions to prevent his wife, Camille, from being called to testify, but late Sunday the federal court in Springfield, Mass., rejected the last, emergency appeal.
"The plaintiffs in the civil lawsuit claim they were defamed by statements issued by Bill Cosby's representatives, with his approval.
"Those statements denied Cosby had sexually assaulted the women, and called their reliability into question.
"Cosby is also facing criminal charges in Pennsylvania for an alleged sexual assault there in 2004. Last month, his lawyers filed a motion to dismiss those charges.
"More than 50 women have come forward to accuse Bill Cosby of sexual assault."
No details have emerged about what Camille Cosby said during her deposition....
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/02/22/467706193/bill-cosbys-wife-camille-deposed-in-defamation-lawsuit
EXCLUSIVE: Two women share shocking accounts of forced labor and sexual abuse by prominent Christian leader Bill Gothard
BY Laura Bult NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Friday, February 19, 2016
Two women who are accusing an influential Christian preacher with ties to the Duggar family of sexual assault spoke out for the first time Thursday about their hellish years of forced labor and abuse in the cult-like organization.
Joy Simmons and Jennifer Spurlock are two of the many men and women who have made the horrifying accusations against Bill Gothard, who ran Institute in Basic Life Principles, saying they were deprived of an education, forced to work and were groped by the Christian leader.
“To have your education ripped from you and to have your childhood ripped from you, it’s extremely difficult. It’s just evil,” Spurlock, who spent three years as a minor at one of Gothard’s training centers, told the Daily News.
Gothard retired in 2014 as president from the IBLP after running the organization for 40 years when the sexual assault allegations first came to light....
The women’s shocking allegations describe a disturbing culture within the organization in which Gothard would take troubled young men and women under his wing at the IBLP and then target them as victims of sexual abuse, rape and free labor for the bizarre organization.
IBLP board members are also listed as defendants in the lawsuit because of their role in covering the abuse, the more than 200-page complaint reads....
Another of the new plaintiffs, a man named Daniel Dorsett, said he witnessed Gothard sexually abuse more than 150 girls between 1994 and 1996 when he worked as a personal driver for him....
Gothard has denied all of the allegations against him through his attorney, who called the women’s stories “defamatory.”....
The lawsuit seeks to get compensation of $50,000 for each plaintiff from IBLP and Gothard for unpaid labor, as well as to pay for counseling for the victims.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/women-detail-sex-abuse-allegations-bill-gothard-article-1.2536758
Bill Gothard, Christian counseling ministry leader with ties to TLC's Duggar family, target of sexual assault lawsuit by 10 women BY Laura Bult NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Thursday, January 7, 2016
Bill Gothard is the founder of the Institute in Basic Life Principles who stepped down last year amid sexual harassment allegations.
Ten women filed a bombshell lawsuit Wednesday alleging decades of sexual assault and rape by the longtime leader of Christian homeschooling ministry, Bill Gothard, who preaches modesty among women and has ties to Republican politicians and the reality TV Duggar family.
The lawsuit is the latest development after numerous women who sought counseling at Gothard’s Institute of Basic Life Principles, a prominent religious homeschooling ministry, came forward accusing the magnetic leader of sexual abuse, some of whom were minors at the time
The 81-year-old unmarried former president of the IBLP resigned from the ministry in 2014 after more than 30 women said they had been molested by him, according to the Washington Post, which first reported the story.
The lawsuit filed in an Illinois circuit court includes allegations that range from sexual harassment, inappropriate touching and hand-holding, molestation and rape, according to the complaint provided to the Daily News by the lawyers representing the women at the Texas Gibbs Law Firm.
The accounts, some of which were posted on a blog called Recovering Grace, come from the types of vulnerable women who would come to IBLP's training centers seeking bible study and counseling, many of them victims of incest by their fathers or older family members, or who had been sold into human trafficking....
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/twn-women-filed-sexual-assault-lawsuit-bill-gothard-article-1.2488543
The Narco Who Died Twice
How a Mexican gangster turned a cartel into a cult Ioan Grillo Feb 4, 2016
Nazario Moreno Gonzalez—also known as El Chayo, or El Mas Loco, the Maddest One—first died in December 2010. Mexican federal police claimed they killed Nazario, one of Mexico’s most brutal criminal warlords, during a ferocious battle involving 2,000 federal officers and about 500 gangsters. But his henchmen carried his corpse away.
A grave appeared with his name on it. (Apparently, police didn’t want to dig it up and check.) The president at the time, Felipe Calderon, trumpeted the crime lord’s demise as a grand victory in his war on the drug cartels. But after Nazario’s supposed death, his followers began venerating him like a saint, and statuettes and shrines appeared. Even more bizarrely, people reported seeing his ghost wandering around his home state of Michoacan dressed all in white. Under the leadership of this phantom saint, Nazario’s criminal organization, which took the name Knights Templar after the legendary warrior monks of the Middle Ages, became more powerful than ever....
The story of Nazario’s rise from impoverished child laborer to gangster saint, and his ultimate downfall, is a story about the shifting dynamics of Mexico’s drug war. Nazario cultivated a narco holy image, a mix of Latin America’s popular Catholicism with the bling of the drug trade. He hailed from a tight-knit community in a valley blighted by poverty, criminality, and beliefs in the supernatural. These features all helped mold the narco saint and his legend; in the end, his rule was so brutal it ultimately unleashed Mexico’s largest vigilante movement to take him down....
The memoir also details the influence the Mexican cult comic El Kaliman had on him. The adventures of the superhero Kaliman, he writes, provided him with a refuge from his violent reality; in the comic, Kaliman is a mysterious crusader who dresses all in white and whose special powers include levitation and telepathy. Nazario also believed that he had psychic powers. Later, he would claim to control people’s minds....
The government lost the ability to be the arbitrator that could control organized crime. Instead, gangsters disputed power themselves under strength of arms. Amid this bloodshed, the mobsters turned from traffickers into warlords. And rather than the police ordering gangsters about, gangsters fought over who could control police forces.
This fighting caused homicides to shoot up at some of the most alarming rates in the Americas. The number of killings by cartels or the security forces assigned to fight them would surge from about 1,500 in 2004 to 6,800 in 2008 to almost 17,000 in 2011. The ensuing conflict became known in Spanish as la narcoguerra, and in English as Mexico’s drug war....
Nazario’s tract Pensamientos, or “Thoughts,” which he distributed to his followers from late 2006 after gaining control of the Hot Land, reflects the quasi-religious character of his rule. Some phrases sound like the evangelical preachers he followed. “I ask God for strength and he gives me challenges that make me strong; I ask him for wisdom and he gives me problems to resolve,” reads one entry. Nazario also spread his message in evangelical temples and drug rehab centers he funded....
The first action the ghostly Nazario took was to rename his mob the Knights Templar after the Jerusalem-based crusaders who fought for Christendom between 1119 and 1312. The gunslingers became Templars, sacred soldiers. The red Templar cross became an identifiable graphic in safe houses and on guns, a brand symbol. The Maddest One even made up a coat of arms and introduced a pocket-sized book of codes, listing 53 commandments the Knights had to obey.
The Templar concept also allowed the Maddest One to expand his religious-warrior fantasy. He introduced ceremonies with the crusader theme, in which gangsters dressed up like knights to initiate new members or promote operatives....
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/02/nazario-moreno-knights-templar/459756/
- Two women share accounts of forced labor and sexual abuse by prominent Christian leader Bill Gothard
- Bill Gothard, Christian counseling ministry leader with ties to TLC's Duggar family, target of sexual assault lawsuit by 10 women
- The Narco Who Died Twice - How a Mexican gangster turned a cartel into a cult - Nazario Moreno Gonzalez—also known as El Chayo
Bill Cosby's Wife, Camille, Deposed In Defamation Lawsuit
February 22, 2016 Merrit Kennedy
Camille Cosby, the wife of comedian Bill Cosby, has been deposed at a Springfield, Mass., hotel.
Seven women brought a defamation lawsuit against her husband, to whom she's been married for more than 50 years.
NPR's Arun Rath reports that Monday's deposition, which happened under tight security, comes after a legal fight:
"Bill Cosby's legal team filed a series of motions to prevent his wife, Camille, from being called to testify, but late Sunday the federal court in Springfield, Mass., rejected the last, emergency appeal.
"The plaintiffs in the civil lawsuit claim they were defamed by statements issued by Bill Cosby's representatives, with his approval.
"Those statements denied Cosby had sexually assaulted the women, and called their reliability into question.
"Cosby is also facing criminal charges in Pennsylvania for an alleged sexual assault there in 2004. Last month, his lawyers filed a motion to dismiss those charges.
"More than 50 women have come forward to accuse Bill Cosby of sexual assault."
No details have emerged about what Camille Cosby said during her deposition....
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/02/22/467706193/bill-cosbys-wife-camille-deposed-in-defamation-lawsuit
EXCLUSIVE: Two women share shocking accounts of forced labor and sexual abuse by prominent Christian leader Bill Gothard
BY Laura Bult NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Friday, February 19, 2016
Two women who are accusing an influential Christian preacher with ties to the Duggar family of sexual assault spoke out for the first time Thursday about their hellish years of forced labor and abuse in the cult-like organization.
Joy Simmons and Jennifer Spurlock are two of the many men and women who have made the horrifying accusations against Bill Gothard, who ran Institute in Basic Life Principles, saying they were deprived of an education, forced to work and were groped by the Christian leader.
“To have your education ripped from you and to have your childhood ripped from you, it’s extremely difficult. It’s just evil,” Spurlock, who spent three years as a minor at one of Gothard’s training centers, told the Daily News.
Gothard retired in 2014 as president from the IBLP after running the organization for 40 years when the sexual assault allegations first came to light....
The women’s shocking allegations describe a disturbing culture within the organization in which Gothard would take troubled young men and women under his wing at the IBLP and then target them as victims of sexual abuse, rape and free labor for the bizarre organization.
IBLP board members are also listed as defendants in the lawsuit because of their role in covering the abuse, the more than 200-page complaint reads....
Another of the new plaintiffs, a man named Daniel Dorsett, said he witnessed Gothard sexually abuse more than 150 girls between 1994 and 1996 when he worked as a personal driver for him....
Gothard has denied all of the allegations against him through his attorney, who called the women’s stories “defamatory.”....
The lawsuit seeks to get compensation of $50,000 for each plaintiff from IBLP and Gothard for unpaid labor, as well as to pay for counseling for the victims.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/women-detail-sex-abuse-allegations-bill-gothard-article-1.2536758
Bill Gothard, Christian counseling ministry leader with ties to TLC's Duggar family, target of sexual assault lawsuit by 10 women BY Laura Bult NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Thursday, January 7, 2016
Bill Gothard is the founder of the Institute in Basic Life Principles who stepped down last year amid sexual harassment allegations.
Ten women filed a bombshell lawsuit Wednesday alleging decades of sexual assault and rape by the longtime leader of Christian homeschooling ministry, Bill Gothard, who preaches modesty among women and has ties to Republican politicians and the reality TV Duggar family.
The lawsuit is the latest development after numerous women who sought counseling at Gothard’s Institute of Basic Life Principles, a prominent religious homeschooling ministry, came forward accusing the magnetic leader of sexual abuse, some of whom were minors at the time
The 81-year-old unmarried former president of the IBLP resigned from the ministry in 2014 after more than 30 women said they had been molested by him, according to the Washington Post, which first reported the story.
The lawsuit filed in an Illinois circuit court includes allegations that range from sexual harassment, inappropriate touching and hand-holding, molestation and rape, according to the complaint provided to the Daily News by the lawyers representing the women at the Texas Gibbs Law Firm.
The accounts, some of which were posted on a blog called Recovering Grace, come from the types of vulnerable women who would come to IBLP's training centers seeking bible study and counseling, many of them victims of incest by their fathers or older family members, or who had been sold into human trafficking....
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/twn-women-filed-sexual-assault-lawsuit-bill-gothard-article-1.2488543
The Narco Who Died Twice
How a Mexican gangster turned a cartel into a cult Ioan Grillo Feb 4, 2016
Nazario Moreno Gonzalez—also known as El Chayo, or El Mas Loco, the Maddest One—first died in December 2010. Mexican federal police claimed they killed Nazario, one of Mexico’s most brutal criminal warlords, during a ferocious battle involving 2,000 federal officers and about 500 gangsters. But his henchmen carried his corpse away.
A grave appeared with his name on it. (Apparently, police didn’t want to dig it up and check.) The president at the time, Felipe Calderon, trumpeted the crime lord’s demise as a grand victory in his war on the drug cartels. But after Nazario’s supposed death, his followers began venerating him like a saint, and statuettes and shrines appeared. Even more bizarrely, people reported seeing his ghost wandering around his home state of Michoacan dressed all in white. Under the leadership of this phantom saint, Nazario’s criminal organization, which took the name Knights Templar after the legendary warrior monks of the Middle Ages, became more powerful than ever....
The story of Nazario’s rise from impoverished child laborer to gangster saint, and his ultimate downfall, is a story about the shifting dynamics of Mexico’s drug war. Nazario cultivated a narco holy image, a mix of Latin America’s popular Catholicism with the bling of the drug trade. He hailed from a tight-knit community in a valley blighted by poverty, criminality, and beliefs in the supernatural. These features all helped mold the narco saint and his legend; in the end, his rule was so brutal it ultimately unleashed Mexico’s largest vigilante movement to take him down....
The memoir also details the influence the Mexican cult comic El Kaliman had on him. The adventures of the superhero Kaliman, he writes, provided him with a refuge from his violent reality; in the comic, Kaliman is a mysterious crusader who dresses all in white and whose special powers include levitation and telepathy. Nazario also believed that he had psychic powers. Later, he would claim to control people’s minds....
The government lost the ability to be the arbitrator that could control organized crime. Instead, gangsters disputed power themselves under strength of arms. Amid this bloodshed, the mobsters turned from traffickers into warlords. And rather than the police ordering gangsters about, gangsters fought over who could control police forces.
This fighting caused homicides to shoot up at some of the most alarming rates in the Americas. The number of killings by cartels or the security forces assigned to fight them would surge from about 1,500 in 2004 to 6,800 in 2008 to almost 17,000 in 2011. The ensuing conflict became known in Spanish as la narcoguerra, and in English as Mexico’s drug war....
Nazario’s tract Pensamientos, or “Thoughts,” which he distributed to his followers from late 2006 after gaining control of the Hot Land, reflects the quasi-religious character of his rule. Some phrases sound like the evangelical preachers he followed. “I ask God for strength and he gives me challenges that make me strong; I ask him for wisdom and he gives me problems to resolve,” reads one entry. Nazario also spread his message in evangelical temples and drug rehab centers he funded....
The first action the ghostly Nazario took was to rename his mob the Knights Templar after the Jerusalem-based crusaders who fought for Christendom between 1119 and 1312. The gunslingers became Templars, sacred soldiers. The red Templar cross became an identifiable graphic in safe houses and on guns, a brand symbol. The Maddest One even made up a coat of arms and introduced a pocket-sized book of codes, listing 53 commandments the Knights had to obey.
The Templar concept also allowed the Maddest One to expand his religious-warrior fantasy. He introduced ceremonies with the crusader theme, in which gangsters dressed up like knights to initiate new members or promote operatives....
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/02/nazario-moreno-knights-templar/459756/
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Paedophiles use secret Facebook groups to swap images, King child abuse probe
Paedophiles use secret Facebook groups to swap images
By Angus Crawford BBC News 12 February 2016
Paedophiles are using secret groups on Facebook to post and swap obscene images of children, the BBC has found.
Settings on the social network mean the groups are invisible to most users and only members can see the content.
Children's Commissioner for England Anne Longfield said Facebook was not doing enough to police the groups and protect children.
Facebook's head of public policy told the BBC he was committed to removing "content that shouldn't be there".
A BBC investigation found a number of secret groups, created by and run for men with a sexual interest in children, including one being administered by a convicted paedophile who was still on the sex offenders' register.
The groups have names that give a clear indication of their content and contain pornographic and highly suggestive images, many purporting to be of children. They also have sexually explicit comments posted by users....
The Internet Watch Foundation creates a list of web pages with child sexual abuse content and any found to be on Facebook groups are taken down automatically, Facebook says.
Any other material reported to the social network as inappropriate goes through an internal review procedure to check if it is in breach of its community standards.
Facebook says it removes content that includes "solicitation of sexual material, any sexual content involving minors, threats to share intimate images and offers of sexual services"....
She said: "I was horrified. Thinking that these innocent snapshots of my (then) 11-year-old daughter had become the subject of vile comments and disgusting exchanges between members of these groups was really upsetting.
"But equally upsetting is the fact that Facebook allows these secret groups to exist, unmonitored and unchecked, making them rife for abuse by paedophiles.
"There must be a duty of care to users to make sure that paedophiles can't hide on these secret groups, stealing and sharing images of children they find online."
Children's Commissioner for England Anne Longfield said: "I'm shocked those don't breach community standards, any parent or indeed child looking at those would know that they were not acceptable."
She said she did not believe Facebook was doing enough to protect children.... http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35521068
Fourth man arrested in Jonathan King child abuse probe
By Ben Mitchell 18/02/2016
A fourth man has been arrested as part of an investigation into allegations of historical child sex offences involving former music mogul Jonathan King.
The 74-year-old was held by Surrey Police, which is looking into claims linked to the Walton Hop Disco in Walton-on-Thames.
King and two other men were arrested in September concerning the allegations of offences committed against boys under the age of 16.
The investigation, called Operation Ravine, was launched in late 2014 to look into child sex crimes linked to the Walton Hop Disco, following a review by Merseyside Police into a previous Surrey Police investigation that was entitled Operation Arundel and which was launched in 2000.
King, a former chart-topping star and TV producer, worked on BBC shows including No Limits and The Great British Song Contest. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/fourth-man-arrested-in-jonathan-king-child-abuse-probe-34463498.html
By Angus Crawford BBC News 12 February 2016
Paedophiles are using secret groups on Facebook to post and swap obscene images of children, the BBC has found.
Settings on the social network mean the groups are invisible to most users and only members can see the content.
Children's Commissioner for England Anne Longfield said Facebook was not doing enough to police the groups and protect children.
Facebook's head of public policy told the BBC he was committed to removing "content that shouldn't be there".
A BBC investigation found a number of secret groups, created by and run for men with a sexual interest in children, including one being administered by a convicted paedophile who was still on the sex offenders' register.
The groups have names that give a clear indication of their content and contain pornographic and highly suggestive images, many purporting to be of children. They also have sexually explicit comments posted by users....
The Internet Watch Foundation creates a list of web pages with child sexual abuse content and any found to be on Facebook groups are taken down automatically, Facebook says.
Any other material reported to the social network as inappropriate goes through an internal review procedure to check if it is in breach of its community standards.
Facebook says it removes content that includes "solicitation of sexual material, any sexual content involving minors, threats to share intimate images and offers of sexual services"....
She said: "I was horrified. Thinking that these innocent snapshots of my (then) 11-year-old daughter had become the subject of vile comments and disgusting exchanges between members of these groups was really upsetting.
"But equally upsetting is the fact that Facebook allows these secret groups to exist, unmonitored and unchecked, making them rife for abuse by paedophiles.
"There must be a duty of care to users to make sure that paedophiles can't hide on these secret groups, stealing and sharing images of children they find online."
Children's Commissioner for England Anne Longfield said: "I'm shocked those don't breach community standards, any parent or indeed child looking at those would know that they were not acceptable."
She said she did not believe Facebook was doing enough to protect children.... http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35521068
Fourth man arrested in Jonathan King child abuse probe
By Ben Mitchell 18/02/2016
A fourth man has been arrested as part of an investigation into allegations of historical child sex offences involving former music mogul Jonathan King.
The 74-year-old was held by Surrey Police, which is looking into claims linked to the Walton Hop Disco in Walton-on-Thames.
King and two other men were arrested in September concerning the allegations of offences committed against boys under the age of 16.
The investigation, called Operation Ravine, was launched in late 2014 to look into child sex crimes linked to the Walton Hop Disco, following a review by Merseyside Police into a previous Surrey Police investigation that was entitled Operation Arundel and which was launched in 2000.
King, a former chart-topping star and TV producer, worked on BBC shows including No Limits and The Great British Song Contest. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/fourth-man-arrested-in-jonathan-king-child-abuse-probe-34463498.html
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Inside the Investigation into Child Sexual Abuse at Sovereign Grace Ministries
Inside the Investigation into Child Sexual Abuse at Sovereign Grace Ministries
Elizabeth Dias Feb. 16, 2016
How one reporter investigated child sex abuse at a major evangelical church
The February issue of Washingtonian Magazine featured an exposé of long-buried sexual abuse of children in a prominent evangelical church network, Sovereign Grace Ministries. Freelance journalist Tiffany Stanley, a 2015 National Magazine Award finalist, spent 10 months uncovering reports of child rape and molestation in Sovereign Grace churches over the last three decades, particularly at the then-flagship Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Her investigation, “The Sex Scandal that Devastated a Suburban Megachurch,” chronicles the inside story of crimes against children in D.C.-area Sovereign Grace churches, explores how church leaders including founder C.J. Mahaney did and did not respond, and recounts how victims’ mothers joined forces to seek justice.
Unlike the hierarchical Catholic Church, evangelical churches often function independently. But their influence is widespread—as Stanley points out, Wayne Grudem, an evangelical theologian at Phoenix Seminary, once described Sovereign Grace Ministries “as an example of the way churches ought to work....
In response to the Washingtonian investigation, executive director of Sovereign Grace Churches Mark Prater pointed TIME to a lengthy statement he made in 2014 denying that Sovereign Grace leaders “conspired to cover up” sexual abuse. “Yes, we have been the target of misinformed critique in both the secular and Christian media, and more will likely come,” he stated. “I pray that God gives us all grace to respond wisely and biblically. But regardless of the public discourse, we are strongly committed to ensuring a safe environment for the children in our churches....
(Tiffany Stanley) The Catholic Church has been taken to task over abuse for decades now. Evangelical ministries are now facing their own abuse crises. In the media, we’re hearing more about these stories. Some of these allegations confront abuse that is decades old. From just the past year, I’m thinking of reports about Josh Duggar of 19 Kids and Counting and Bill Gothard, a Christian homeschooling advocate. I’m also thinking about Buzzfeed’s recent story on Jesus People USA and Kiera Feldman’s 2012 investigation of abuse in a Tulsa megachurch. (Of course, other religions are not immune from sexual abuse scandals either.)
The sad reality is that sexual abuse is widespread everywhere, not just in religious communities. The statistics I saw were one-in-four girls and one-in-six boys will be sexually abused before the age of 18. The experts I spoke to didn’t say these statistics are worse in evangelical churches, but they did say that abusers could prey on trusting religious communities, which give them access to children. That’s why churches need policies in place to protect children and handle abuse when it happens. That means reporting suspected abuse to authorities immediately, instead of handling it internally. Abuse is a sin, but it’s also a serious crime....
http://time.com/4226444/child-sex-abuse-evangelical-church/
Elizabeth Dias Feb. 16, 2016
How one reporter investigated child sex abuse at a major evangelical church
The February issue of Washingtonian Magazine featured an exposé of long-buried sexual abuse of children in a prominent evangelical church network, Sovereign Grace Ministries. Freelance journalist Tiffany Stanley, a 2015 National Magazine Award finalist, spent 10 months uncovering reports of child rape and molestation in Sovereign Grace churches over the last three decades, particularly at the then-flagship Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Her investigation, “The Sex Scandal that Devastated a Suburban Megachurch,” chronicles the inside story of crimes against children in D.C.-area Sovereign Grace churches, explores how church leaders including founder C.J. Mahaney did and did not respond, and recounts how victims’ mothers joined forces to seek justice.
Unlike the hierarchical Catholic Church, evangelical churches often function independently. But their influence is widespread—as Stanley points out, Wayne Grudem, an evangelical theologian at Phoenix Seminary, once described Sovereign Grace Ministries “as an example of the way churches ought to work....
In response to the Washingtonian investigation, executive director of Sovereign Grace Churches Mark Prater pointed TIME to a lengthy statement he made in 2014 denying that Sovereign Grace leaders “conspired to cover up” sexual abuse. “Yes, we have been the target of misinformed critique in both the secular and Christian media, and more will likely come,” he stated. “I pray that God gives us all grace to respond wisely and biblically. But regardless of the public discourse, we are strongly committed to ensuring a safe environment for the children in our churches....
(Tiffany Stanley) The Catholic Church has been taken to task over abuse for decades now. Evangelical ministries are now facing their own abuse crises. In the media, we’re hearing more about these stories. Some of these allegations confront abuse that is decades old. From just the past year, I’m thinking of reports about Josh Duggar of 19 Kids and Counting and Bill Gothard, a Christian homeschooling advocate. I’m also thinking about Buzzfeed’s recent story on Jesus People USA and Kiera Feldman’s 2012 investigation of abuse in a Tulsa megachurch. (Of course, other religions are not immune from sexual abuse scandals either.)
The sad reality is that sexual abuse is widespread everywhere, not just in religious communities. The statistics I saw were one-in-four girls and one-in-six boys will be sexually abused before the age of 18. The experts I spoke to didn’t say these statistics are worse in evangelical churches, but they did say that abusers could prey on trusting religious communities, which give them access to children. That’s why churches need policies in place to protect children and handle abuse when it happens. That means reporting suspected abuse to authorities immediately, instead of handling it internally. Abuse is a sin, but it’s also a serious crime....
http://time.com/4226444/child-sex-abuse-evangelical-church/
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Pope’s efforts to stop church child abuse appear to unravel, Vatican riven by internal battle over handling of child abuse claims
Pope’s efforts to stop church child abuse appear to unravel
Will Carless, GlobalPost February 15, 2016
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — A member of a commission set up by Pope Francis to advise him on child abuse says the group is a “token body” exercising in “smoke and mirrors” that won’t help children stay safe from abusive priests.
Peter Saunders, the commission member, is now on a leave of absence as he considers whether to continue with an effort he says he has lost faith in.
Meanwhile, new Catholic bishops are still being taught they’re not obliged to report cases of child abuse by priests to the police.
The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which Francis set up with much fanfare in 2014, was supposed to issue guidelines for the Vatican on how to deal with child abuse. But the body was never consulted about the training for new bishops on exactly that topic.
These are just some of the signs that Francis’ reform efforts, and his pledge to clean up the Catholic Church’s most damaging crisis, seem to be unraveling before they’ve even really gotten started.
The problems come as Pope Francis pays a visit to Latin America, a region where, as GlobalPost has reported, the church is accused of reassigning and protecting many alleged predator priests. Among the latest scandals in the region, Chileans are outraged that the pope appointed a bishop accused of shielding the country's most despised pedophile priest from investigation....
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/02/15/popes-efforts-stop-church-child-abuse-appear-unravel/80394122/
Vatican riven by internal battle over handling of child abuse claims
Rift comes amid signs that special commission created by Pope Francis to handle issue is being sidelined by senior church officials in Rome
Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome Tuesday 16 February 2016
A battle is being waged within the Vatican over how senior clergy ought to handle accusations of sexual abuse amid signs that a special commission created by Pope Francis to handle the issue is being sidelined by senior church officials in Rome.
The rift was exposed after a report in the Guardian about a training course that was offered to new bishops last year in which a controversial French monsignor instructed them that it was “not necessarily” their duty to report accusations of abuse to law enforcement authorities if local laws did not require it.
That stance was rejected this week by Pope Francis’s point man on abuse issues, Boston cardinal Seán O’Malley, who heads a special pontifical commission to protect minors.
“We, the president and the members of the commission, wish to affirm that our obligations under civil law must certainly be followed, but even beyond these civil requirements, we all have a moral and ethical responsibility to report suspected abuse to the civil authorities who are charged with protecting our society,” he said in a statement on Monday.
O’Malley also said that the special commission was committed to “extensive education efforts” within local churches since its founding two years ago, and that its members had reiterated their “willingness to provide this material at courses offered in Rome”, including at the training courses for new bishops and the offices of the Roman Curia, or bureaucracy.
But it is clear that these offers have not been accepted....
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/16/vatican-riven-by-internal-battle-over-handling-of-child-abuse-claims
Will Carless, GlobalPost February 15, 2016
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — A member of a commission set up by Pope Francis to advise him on child abuse says the group is a “token body” exercising in “smoke and mirrors” that won’t help children stay safe from abusive priests.
Peter Saunders, the commission member, is now on a leave of absence as he considers whether to continue with an effort he says he has lost faith in.
Meanwhile, new Catholic bishops are still being taught they’re not obliged to report cases of child abuse by priests to the police.
The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which Francis set up with much fanfare in 2014, was supposed to issue guidelines for the Vatican on how to deal with child abuse. But the body was never consulted about the training for new bishops on exactly that topic.
These are just some of the signs that Francis’ reform efforts, and his pledge to clean up the Catholic Church’s most damaging crisis, seem to be unraveling before they’ve even really gotten started.
The problems come as Pope Francis pays a visit to Latin America, a region where, as GlobalPost has reported, the church is accused of reassigning and protecting many alleged predator priests. Among the latest scandals in the region, Chileans are outraged that the pope appointed a bishop accused of shielding the country's most despised pedophile priest from investigation....
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/02/15/popes-efforts-stop-church-child-abuse-appear-unravel/80394122/
Vatican riven by internal battle over handling of child abuse claims
Rift comes amid signs that special commission created by Pope Francis to handle issue is being sidelined by senior church officials in Rome
Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome Tuesday 16 February 2016
A battle is being waged within the Vatican over how senior clergy ought to handle accusations of sexual abuse amid signs that a special commission created by Pope Francis to handle the issue is being sidelined by senior church officials in Rome.
The rift was exposed after a report in the Guardian about a training course that was offered to new bishops last year in which a controversial French monsignor instructed them that it was “not necessarily” their duty to report accusations of abuse to law enforcement authorities if local laws did not require it.
That stance was rejected this week by Pope Francis’s point man on abuse issues, Boston cardinal Seán O’Malley, who heads a special pontifical commission to protect minors.
“We, the president and the members of the commission, wish to affirm that our obligations under civil law must certainly be followed, but even beyond these civil requirements, we all have a moral and ethical responsibility to report suspected abuse to the civil authorities who are charged with protecting our society,” he said in a statement on Monday.
O’Malley also said that the special commission was committed to “extensive education efforts” within local churches since its founding two years ago, and that its members had reiterated their “willingness to provide this material at courses offered in Rome”, including at the training courses for new bishops and the offices of the Roman Curia, or bureaucracy.
But it is clear that these offers have not been accepted....
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/16/vatican-riven-by-internal-battle-over-handling-of-child-abuse-claims
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Former children's TV show host is linked to child abuse case, Study Links Child Abuse, Neglect to Earlier Onset of Bipolar Disorder
Former children's TV show host is linked to child abuse case
By Associated Press February 11, 2016
A California judge has determined that a man recently arrested in a San Diego suburb is a fugitive wanted in a 1979 child sexual abuse investigation in Louisiana, where he was a children's TV show host known as “Mr. Wonder.”
A San Diego County Superior Court judge ruled Thursday after a brief identity hearing.
Authorities say Frank John Selas III assumed a new identity in the San Diego area, where he often invited children to his house to swim and was a Cub Scout leader. He was arrested in January.
The ruling sets the stage for extradition proceedings to begin.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-childrens-tv-show-host-child-abuse-20160211-story.html
Study Links Child Abuse, Neglect to Earlier Onset of Bipolar Disorder HealthDay Feb. 11, 2016 By Robert Preidt
THURSDAY, Feb. 11, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- People with bipolar disorder who have a history of being abused or neglected as children may have more severe symptoms and a higher risk of suicide, new research suggests.
"Our findings have important implications for clinical practice, as they suggest that a history of childhood maltreatment could be used as an early indicator of high risk for poor outcomes among individuals with bipolar disorder," said study author Jessica Agnew-Blais, a postdoctoral researcher at King's College London in England.
"This information could be valuable for identifying patients with bipolar disorder who may benefit from greater support and treatment," she said in a college news release.
The researchers reviewed 30 studies. While they only found an association, rather than a cause-and-effect link, they said bipolar patients who suffered from neglect or physical, sexual or emotional abuse as children were more likely to have more severe manic, depressive and psychotic symptoms compared to those who weren't abused.
People with bipolar disorder who were abused as children also had a higher risk of anxiety disorders and substance and alcohol abuse disorders, the research showed.
Those abused as children developed bipolar symptoms more than four years earlier, the study found. They also were nearly four times more likely to have post-traumatic stress disorder. And they were nearly twice as likely to attempt suicide as those who weren't mistreated during childhood, the researchers said.... The study was published Feb. 9 in The Lancet Psychiatry.
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2016-02-11/study-links-child-abuse-neglect-to-earlier-onset-of-bipolar-disorder
By Associated Press February 11, 2016
A California judge has determined that a man recently arrested in a San Diego suburb is a fugitive wanted in a 1979 child sexual abuse investigation in Louisiana, where he was a children's TV show host known as “Mr. Wonder.”
A San Diego County Superior Court judge ruled Thursday after a brief identity hearing.
Authorities say Frank John Selas III assumed a new identity in the San Diego area, where he often invited children to his house to swim and was a Cub Scout leader. He was arrested in January.
The ruling sets the stage for extradition proceedings to begin.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-childrens-tv-show-host-child-abuse-20160211-story.html
Study Links Child Abuse, Neglect to Earlier Onset of Bipolar Disorder HealthDay Feb. 11, 2016 By Robert Preidt
THURSDAY, Feb. 11, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- People with bipolar disorder who have a history of being abused or neglected as children may have more severe symptoms and a higher risk of suicide, new research suggests.
"Our findings have important implications for clinical practice, as they suggest that a history of childhood maltreatment could be used as an early indicator of high risk for poor outcomes among individuals with bipolar disorder," said study author Jessica Agnew-Blais, a postdoctoral researcher at King's College London in England.
"This information could be valuable for identifying patients with bipolar disorder who may benefit from greater support and treatment," she said in a college news release.
The researchers reviewed 30 studies. While they only found an association, rather than a cause-and-effect link, they said bipolar patients who suffered from neglect or physical, sexual or emotional abuse as children were more likely to have more severe manic, depressive and psychotic symptoms compared to those who weren't abused.
People with bipolar disorder who were abused as children also had a higher risk of anxiety disorders and substance and alcohol abuse disorders, the research showed.
Those abused as children developed bipolar symptoms more than four years earlier, the study found. They also were nearly four times more likely to have post-traumatic stress disorder. And they were nearly twice as likely to attempt suicide as those who weren't mistreated during childhood, the researchers said.... The study was published Feb. 9 in The Lancet Psychiatry.
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2016-02-11/study-links-child-abuse-neglect-to-earlier-onset-of-bipolar-disorder
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Catholic bishops not obliged to report clerical child abuse, Vatican says, Beyond clergy: Ex-Boy Scouts tap Minn. law to press sex abuse claims
Catholic bishops not obliged to report clerical child abuse, Vatican says
Vatican guide says ‘not necessarily’ bishop’s duty to report suspects to police despite Pope Francis’s vows to redress Catholic church’s legacy of child abuse
Cardinal Bernard Law, who was forced to resign over sexual abuse scandals in his Boston archdiocese, where 150 priests were accused of molesting children.
Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome
Wednesday 10 February 2016
The Catholic church is telling newly appointed bishops that it is “not necessarily” their duty to report accusations of clerical child abuse and that only victims or their families should make the decision to report abuse to police.
A document that spells out how senior clergy members ought to deal with allegations of abuse, which was recently released by the Vatican, emphasised that, though they must be aware of local laws, bishops’ only duty was to address such allegations internally.
According to the state of civil laws of each country where reporting is obligatory, it is not necessarily the duty of the bishop to report suspects to authorities, the police or state prosecutors in the moment when they are made aware of crimes or sinful deeds, the training document states.
The training guidelines were written by a controversial French monsignor and psychotherapist, Tony Anatrella, who serves as a consultant to the Pontifical Council for the Family. The Vatican released the guidelines – which are part of a broader training programme for newly named bishops at a press conference earlier this month and is now seeking feedback.
Details of the Catholic church’s policy were first reported in a column by a veteran Vatican journalist, John Allen, associate editor of the Catholic news site, Cruxnow.com.
Allen noted that a special commission created by Pope Francis, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, had appeared to play no role in the training programme, even though it is supposed to be developing “best practices” to prevent and deal with clerical abuse.
Indeed, a church official familiar with the commission on abuse said it was the committee’s position that reporting abuse to civil authorities was a “moral obligation, whether the civil law requires it or not”. The official said the committee would be involved in future training efforts....
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/10/catholic-bishops-not-obliged-report-clerical-child-abuse-vatican-says
Beyond clergy: Ex-Boy Scouts tap Minn. law to press sex abuse claims
Todd Melby Feb 10, 2016
Jim McDonough is suing the Boy Scouts of America and its North Star Council claiming he was sexually abused by his scoutmaster....
Many stories like McDonough's have come to light in the nearly three years since the Legislature passed the Minnesota Child Victims Act. Most have been focused on the hundreds of claims made against priests accused of sexually abusing children.
But the law, which extends the statute of limitations for older abuse claims, wasn't written to respond exclusively to clergy abuse. And the Catholic Church hasn't been the only target of lawsuits aimed at shedding light on a hidden past. Boy Scout organizations are also grappling with accusations of child molestation.
McDonough decided to use the law to sue the Boy Scouts of America and one of its local affiliates, the Northern Star Council. At least 16 lawsuits are pending in Minnesota against the Boy Scouts, including McDonough's civil action. Most target the Northern Star Council. Three other lawsuits list another council as a defendant. At least 12 additional suits are expected to be filed before the law's May 25 deadline....
McDonough's suit seeks at least $50,000 from the Scouts. The Northern Star Council, which represent troops in 21 Minnesota counties and four counties in western Wisconsin, declined to talk about abuse suits filed by McDonough and others....
One of McDonough's lawyers, Peter Janci, won a $19.9 million verdict against the Boy Scouts in 2010 in Portland, Ore. Janci says that when it comes to sexual abuse against children, the Boy Scouts have some things in common with the Roman Catholic Church.
"They both involve organizations that really believe in their mission. At times, that has led to them to make decisions where they put reputation of the organization above safety and health of individuals," he said.
In the case of the Boy Scouts of America, that included the creation of what it called "ineligible volunteer" files, Janci said. When the Scouts learned that a volunteer had sexually molested or raped a child, it often created a file so it could bar that person from volunteering in another city or state.
Between 1955 and 1984, the Boy Scouts of America created 1,300 of these files. A judge ordered those files released, with some information redacted, after the Portland trial.
A small percentage of the "ineligible volunteer" files were atheists or homosexuals. The Scouts barred gay men and lesbians from the organization until just recently. But the vast majority of files focused on sexual molestation. They became known as the "Perversion Files."
The Boy Scouts has been keeping secret tabs on suspected abusers since the 1920s, but it didn't routinely report those people to police. The organization began requiring "mandatory reporting of suspected abuse" in 2011....
http://www.mprnews.org/story/2016/02/10/ex-boy-scouts-tap-minnesota-sex-abuse-law
Vatican guide says ‘not necessarily’ bishop’s duty to report suspects to police despite Pope Francis’s vows to redress Catholic church’s legacy of child abuse
Cardinal Bernard Law, who was forced to resign over sexual abuse scandals in his Boston archdiocese, where 150 priests were accused of molesting children.
Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome
Wednesday 10 February 2016
The Catholic church is telling newly appointed bishops that it is “not necessarily” their duty to report accusations of clerical child abuse and that only victims or their families should make the decision to report abuse to police.
A document that spells out how senior clergy members ought to deal with allegations of abuse, which was recently released by the Vatican, emphasised that, though they must be aware of local laws, bishops’ only duty was to address such allegations internally.
According to the state of civil laws of each country where reporting is obligatory, it is not necessarily the duty of the bishop to report suspects to authorities, the police or state prosecutors in the moment when they are made aware of crimes or sinful deeds, the training document states.
The training guidelines were written by a controversial French monsignor and psychotherapist, Tony Anatrella, who serves as a consultant to the Pontifical Council for the Family. The Vatican released the guidelines – which are part of a broader training programme for newly named bishops at a press conference earlier this month and is now seeking feedback.
Details of the Catholic church’s policy were first reported in a column by a veteran Vatican journalist, John Allen, associate editor of the Catholic news site, Cruxnow.com.
Allen noted that a special commission created by Pope Francis, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, had appeared to play no role in the training programme, even though it is supposed to be developing “best practices” to prevent and deal with clerical abuse.
Indeed, a church official familiar with the commission on abuse said it was the committee’s position that reporting abuse to civil authorities was a “moral obligation, whether the civil law requires it or not”. The official said the committee would be involved in future training efforts....
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/10/catholic-bishops-not-obliged-report-clerical-child-abuse-vatican-says
Beyond clergy: Ex-Boy Scouts tap Minn. law to press sex abuse claims
Todd Melby Feb 10, 2016
Jim McDonough is suing the Boy Scouts of America and its North Star Council claiming he was sexually abused by his scoutmaster....
Many stories like McDonough's have come to light in the nearly three years since the Legislature passed the Minnesota Child Victims Act. Most have been focused on the hundreds of claims made against priests accused of sexually abusing children.
But the law, which extends the statute of limitations for older abuse claims, wasn't written to respond exclusively to clergy abuse. And the Catholic Church hasn't been the only target of lawsuits aimed at shedding light on a hidden past. Boy Scout organizations are also grappling with accusations of child molestation.
McDonough decided to use the law to sue the Boy Scouts of America and one of its local affiliates, the Northern Star Council. At least 16 lawsuits are pending in Minnesota against the Boy Scouts, including McDonough's civil action. Most target the Northern Star Council. Three other lawsuits list another council as a defendant. At least 12 additional suits are expected to be filed before the law's May 25 deadline....
McDonough's suit seeks at least $50,000 from the Scouts. The Northern Star Council, which represent troops in 21 Minnesota counties and four counties in western Wisconsin, declined to talk about abuse suits filed by McDonough and others....
One of McDonough's lawyers, Peter Janci, won a $19.9 million verdict against the Boy Scouts in 2010 in Portland, Ore. Janci says that when it comes to sexual abuse against children, the Boy Scouts have some things in common with the Roman Catholic Church.
"They both involve organizations that really believe in their mission. At times, that has led to them to make decisions where they put reputation of the organization above safety and health of individuals," he said.
In the case of the Boy Scouts of America, that included the creation of what it called "ineligible volunteer" files, Janci said. When the Scouts learned that a volunteer had sexually molested or raped a child, it often created a file so it could bar that person from volunteering in another city or state.
Between 1955 and 1984, the Boy Scouts of America created 1,300 of these files. A judge ordered those files released, with some information redacted, after the Portland trial.
A small percentage of the "ineligible volunteer" files were atheists or homosexuals. The Scouts barred gay men and lesbians from the organization until just recently. But the vast majority of files focused on sexual molestation. They became known as the "Perversion Files."
The Boy Scouts has been keeping secret tabs on suspected abusers since the 1920s, but it didn't routinely report those people to police. The organization began requiring "mandatory reporting of suspected abuse" in 2011....
http://www.mprnews.org/story/2016/02/10/ex-boy-scouts-tap-minnesota-sex-abuse-law
Common Forms of Misinformation and Tactics of Disinformation about Psychotherapy for Trauma Originating in Ritual Abuse and Mind Control By Ellen Lacter, Ph.D.
Common Forms of Misinformation and Tactics of Disinformation about Psychotherapy for Trauma Originating in Ritual Abuse and Mind Control
By Ellen Lacter, Ph.D., December 18, 2012.
Please note: This article and page is strictly the opinion of the article author and not necessarily the opinion of this website. All accusations are alleged. This article was copied with permission from http://endritualabuse.org/activism/misinfo/
This page on my website seeks to expose a number of common forms of misinformation and tactics of disinformation about psychotherapy for trauma originating in ritual abuse and mind control. Disinformation is distinguished from misinformation in that it is intentionally fraudulent.
Misinformation and disinformation about ritual abuse and mind control trauma and psychotherapy to treat such trauma appear in both paper and electronic media, but are particularly abundant on the Internet on websites of individuals and organizations, bookseller reviews, blogs, newsletters, online encyclopedias, social networking sites, and e-group listservs.
Disclaimer: This page neither cites, quotes, names, nor alludes to any specific paper or electronic articles or statements by individual. Any similarity between examples of misinformation or disinformation used herein and actual articles or other statements is purely coincidental.
The following are common forms of misinformation and tactics of disinformation concerning the treatment of trauma originating in ritual abuse and mind control:
1. Allegations of Malpractice Can Be Circulated Unopposed
When allegations of malpractice are made or when lawsuits are brought against psychotherapists or institutions for (a) inducing or implanting false memories of ritual abuse or mind control in clients, (b) inducing or implanting false memories of ritual abuse by family members that then alienated clients from these family members, (c) inaccurate reporting of ritual abuse to child abuse or law enforcement authorities, or (d) the suicide of a client based in therapists treating the client’s psychological problems as originating in a history of ritual abuse or mind control, etc., inaccurate, exaggerated, or malicious information about these therapists and institutions can be circulated unopposed.
This is because treating therapists and institutions cannot legally or ethically reveal anything related to a client’s psychotherapy as it is protected by confidentiality and psychotherapist-patient privilege.
Therapists and institutions are further restricted in cases involved in litigation because:
a) their attorneys usually advise against any discussion of the matter
b) their malpractice carriers often prohibit any discussion
c) in some cases, judges’ gag orders may prohibit discussion
b) their malpractice carriers often prohibit any discussion
c) in some cases, judges’ gag orders may prohibit discussion
2. Misrepresentation of Psychotherapists’ Credentials, Professional Qualifications, and Personal Characteristics
Non-professionals who oppose that ritual abuse and mind control exist can readily, usually without consequence, publicly misrepresent the credentials, professional education, qualifications, and experience of psychotherapists who provide educational materials about ritual abuse and mind control or who treat trauma originating in ritual abuse or mind control.
Non-professionals can also exaggerate or fabricate their own credentials, professional education, qualifications, and experience, generally without consequence.
In contrast, credentialed psychotherapists are ethically and legally required to be accurate in how they represent their credentials, qualifications, etc., and can suffer grave consequences for misrepresenting these. The upshot of these conflicting standards is that psychotherapists treating trauma for ritual abuse and mind control can be misrepresented as having non-credible qualifications while their opponents can misrepresent themselves with exaggerated credentials.
Non-professionals can also misrepresent the personal characteristics, religious beliefs, and appearance, of these therapists, can name-call and otherwise mock them, and can attribute false agendas to them, such as assigning religious motives to secular therapists working with ritual abuse or mind control survivors.
For example, there is little to prevent someone from claiming on his or her own website that a psychotherapist is a fundamentalist Christian zealot at war with Satan, when that therapist might be an atheist, Jew, Buddhist, etc., who places no stock in the existence of Satan. But such a claim, when spoken as if it is fact, accomplishes its intended purpose of maligning that therapist.
3. Exploitation of the Constraints on Communication by Credentialed Psychotherapists
Psychotherapists are legally and ethically mandated to maintain high professional standards of scientific caution, integrity, honesty, and respectful treatment of other people. Non-therapists are free of such strict mandates. This creates an uneven playing field.
Non-professionals can make unsupported claims and put forth disinformation about research on ritual abuse or mind control and about therapy for ritual abuse or mind control trauma that therapists cannot refute without substantial basis for their assertions, such as citing published research addressing each specific issue, a very tall order.
Non-professionals can also misrepresent the therapy approaches of specific therapists, build false arguments about their therapy practices, and employ sarcasm, ridicule, provocation, ad hominem attacks, fear-mongering, hate-mongering, and all assortment of verbal manipulation, that psychotherapists can only respond to with great reserve and caution.
So, therapists who seek to respond to such accusations and manipulations can appear relatively powerless and passive, as they are corralled into dodging verbal abuse, rather than having any hope of engaging in any reasonable or productive discourse.
And if they do not respond, which is often the most judicious option, the faulty assumption can be made that they are defeated.
4. Stacking the Deck: Omission of Information Contrary to the Position that Ritual Abuse and Mind Control Exist
Psychotherapists are obligated to be scientific and objective about what they report. They cannot ethically present one side of a matter, knowingly omitting or failing to review the literature or legal evidence on the other side. This standard does not exist for non-professionals.
Therefore, non-professionals can, usually without consequence, stack the deck in their Internet publications about ritual abuse to portray it as non-existent, disregarding the legal and psychological evidence of its existence (see next section on Straw Man Arguments).
5. Straw Man Arguments
When substantial evidence of ritual abuse is provided, such as criminal convictions for ritual abuse (see endnotes 1 and 2), criminal convictions for crimes with ritual abuse components (see endnotes 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8), and research on ritual abuse (see endnote 9), individuals who oppose that ritual abuse and mind control exist often respond by shifting the focus to exaggerated or caricatured representations of ritual abuse, e.g., “This fails to prove the existence of large-scale, hierarchical, international, multi-generational, baby-breeding, baby-sacrificing, satanic cults,” when no such claims were put forward. This grouping of words carries a tone of sarcasm and derision even when limited to the written word.
There are a great many faults with such caricatures. I believe, as do many of my colleagues who also treat clients with ritual abuse or mind control trauma, that ritually abusive groups have a multitude of agendas, including a variety of spiritual agendas, of which Satanism is only one.
And it is my impression that therapists who treat clients with ritual abuse or mind control trauma believe that there are many different levels of organization and scale among abusers who employ ritualistically abusive practices, including:
(a) small-scale ritual abuse, confined to an individual abuser or nuclear or extended family
(b) localized abusive cults larger than one extended family
(c) localized groups that coordinate their abuse and other criminal activity with other localized groups for specific purposes, such as facilitation of the production and distribution of filmed child sexual abuse and torture and to unite for specific abusive rituals
(d) localized groups that interface with abusers in other regions with some level of hierarchical organization
(e) groups that interface internationally in organized criminal efforts, e.g., to enable distribution of filmed child sexual abuse and torture in other countries where, if these films were confiscated, victims would be less able to be identified by law enforcement
(b) localized abusive cults larger than one extended family
(c) localized groups that coordinate their abuse and other criminal activity with other localized groups for specific purposes, such as facilitation of the production and distribution of filmed child sexual abuse and torture and to unite for specific abusive rituals
(d) localized groups that interface with abusers in other regions with some level of hierarchical organization
(e) groups that interface internationally in organized criminal efforts, e.g., to enable distribution of filmed child sexual abuse and torture in other countries where, if these films were confiscated, victims would be less able to be identified by law enforcement
There is ample evidence of widespread organized crime among purveyors of filmed child sexual abuse and torture (for a recent case, see endnote 10). Why would anyone wish to discount that some of these criminals might employ ritualistic torture, terror-tactics, and practices to further their ends? For example, there is ample evidence of the Mexican drug trade’s use of ritual sacrifice to attempt to shield itself from law enforcement (endnote 11).
It is true that there is a paucity of criminal convictions specific to ritual abuse relative to other crimes. But this has many causes, including the following:
(a) The victims are generally terrified
and usually have extreme posttraumatic stress disorder and dissociative
disorders, which reduces their ability to disclose their crimes and
diminish their credibility as witnesses.
(b) Even when there is substantial evidence of ritual practices within crimes, that evidence is generally omitted from criminal charges as, in most states and countries, there are no laws on the books specifically prohibiting ritual abuse, and,
(c) When prosecutors have alleged ritual practices in legal actions in the past. defense attorneys have often used straw man tactics to muddy the waters with allegations of religious persecution or agenda, so prosecutors have since generally not introduced such material.
(b) Even when there is substantial evidence of ritual practices within crimes, that evidence is generally omitted from criminal charges as, in most states and countries, there are no laws on the books specifically prohibiting ritual abuse, and,
(c) When prosecutors have alleged ritual practices in legal actions in the past. defense attorneys have often used straw man tactics to muddy the waters with allegations of religious persecution or agenda, so prosecutors have since generally not introduced such material.
Given these considerations, it is a logical fallacy to claim that a relatively low conviction rate proves that ritual abuse and mind control do not exist, or that organized ritual abuse does not exist, especially when we consider proven cases of organized child abuse and cover-up, such as the well-publicized cover-up of child abuse within the Catholic church and the well-documented cover-up of a pedophile network in The Franklin Scandal: A Story of Powerbrokers, Child Abuse & Betrayal (Bryant, 2009).
6. Use of Ridicule and Emotionally-loaded Language to Discredit the Issue of Ritual Abuse and Psychotherapists Treating Related Trauma
Opponents of the position that ritual abuse exists frequently use phrases such as “baby-breeding, baby-sacrificing cult,” “satanic panic,” and “bizarre rituals” to refer to reports and claims made about ritual abuse by therapists, educators and researchers.
Through the devices of alliteration, rhyme, buzz words, sarcasm, and ridicule, and conjuring up excessively repulsive imagery, such phrases inflame, cause people to recoil in disdain and disbelief, and the capacity to critically evaluate the possibility of the phenomenon goes out the window.
Psychotherapists generally use objective language when reporting the atrocities described by their clients, such as:
(a) “Survivor A reported being impregnated in a ritual.”
(b) “Survivor B reported that her abusers induced early labor to have a fetus to ritually sacrifice.”
(c) “Survivor C reported that a homeless man was abducted by her abuser group and sacrificed.”
(b) “Survivor B reported that her abusers induced early labor to have a fetus to ritually sacrifice.”
(c) “Survivor C reported that a homeless man was abducted by her abuser group and sacrificed.”
Such examples are often accompanied by explanations for the normal questions that arise, such as, “Survivor C reported that a mortician with a crematorium was a member of the abuser group.” This kind of descriptive language is a far cry from the phrasing used by people who employ straw man tactics.
Researchers on ritual abuse and mind control use even more cautious and scientific language to describe their findings, as required by their professional ethical codes, and as exemplified in this excerpt from a book chapter (Lacter & Lehman, 2008) co-authored by this writer: http://ritualabuse.us/ritualabuse/studies/ritual-abuse-diagnosis-research-2/.
7. Misrepresentation of Psychotherapists as Witch-hunters, Satan-hunters, Zealots, and Religious Crusaders
Psychotherapists who publicly state that they treat trauma for ritual abuse or mind control or who educate on the subject are often depicted as religious zealots hunting down witches or Satan himself, are charged with fostering moral panic, urban legends, and mass hysteria, and are accused of trying to find histories of ritual abuse and mind control in all of their psychotherapy clients. These kinds of misrepresentations are so ubiquitous on the Internet that they can easily be mistaken as fact.
It is my experience that psychotherapists who treat clients reporting such trauma are generally very cautious about what they say about ritual abuse or mind control and that many psychotherapists who previously publicly shared their opinions that these forms of abuse exist are now silent on these issues.
This is largely because of the effective use of the kinds of disinformation tactics described on this webpage to ridicule such beliefs, to slander therapists who profess them, and to sway public opinion, etc., and the sharp rise in lawsuits against psychotherapists alleging induction or implantation of false memories of abuse in the 1990s.
Of the many therapists I know who have treated clients with ritual abuse or mind control trauma, all of these therapists, including pastoral counselors and Christian therapists, deeply hope that their clients have never suffered these devastating kinds of abuse. These forms of abuse leave clients with stores of pain that are hard for most people to imagine, and that emotionally grieve anyone who bears witness to accounts of them, including therapists.
Victims and survivors of these atrocities are also among the most challenging clients to treat, because they are often highly suicidal, terrified, may still be suffering the abuse, require more crisis intervention and out-of-therapy contact than other clients, often have little or no funding for therapy, and usually require long-term treatment.
Yet, the hope that clients did not suffer these abuses does not justify a clinical failure to correctly assess and treat trauma originating in ritual abuse or mind control, no matter how harshly therapists may be criticized for this. The costs of such errors include:
(a) lack of treatment for this trauma,
causing people to believe themselves defiled and evil at their core
rather than understanding that these feelings and beliefs originated in
their ritual abuse and mind control
(b) reinforcement of victims’ fears that they are hopelessly crazy and untreatable
(c) mis-diagnosis, often for Schizophrenia or Delusional Disorder, that often leads to incorrect and excessive use of medications and possible long-term hospitalization or involuntary hospital commitment
(b) reinforcement of victims’ fears that they are hopelessly crazy and untreatable
(c) mis-diagnosis, often for Schizophrenia or Delusional Disorder, that often leads to incorrect and excessive use of medications and possible long-term hospitalization or involuntary hospital commitment
8. Misrepresentation of Psychotherapists as Inducing or Implanting False Memories of Child Abuse and “False Memory Syndrome”
On the Internet, it is relatively effortless to portray psychotherapy as the primary source of clients’ memories of child abuse with absolutely no scientific basis.
It is also common to designate specific therapists, especially those who state that they treat clients with trauma originating in ritual abuse or mind control, as “recovered memory therapists” who are then alleged to chase down memories of child abuse in their clients, to thereby induce or implant false memories of abuse, and to thus cause their clients to suffer “False Memory Syndrome.”
It is well-documented that “False Memory Syndrome” is a pseudo-psychiatric disorder contrived by the False Memory Syndrome Foundation (FMSF), an organization widely known to have been “formed to provide legal and emotional support to those accused of sexual abuse” (Murphy, 1997, p. 57). It is possible that most of the misinformation and disinformation circulating about child abuse, ritual abuse, mind control, dissociative disorders (see below, #10: Misrepresentation of Psychotherapists as Inducing Dissociative Identity Disorder), and recovered memories of child abuse originate in the efforts of the FMSF and its affiliates.
Evidence of misrepresentation of information by the FMSF is documented in the book, Misinformation Concerning Child Sexual Abuse and Adult Survivors (Whitfield, Silberg, & Fink, 2002).
“Recovered memory therapy” is as contrived a concept as “False Memory Syndrome.” Psychotherapy has the goal of helping clients to deal with whatever psychological issues are troubling them, not of searching for memories of abuse.
Of course, there are cases of therapists prematurely jumping to conclusions that a client may have been abused and even of suggesting this to a client, including findings of malpractice in this regard in lawsuits and by professional licensing boards. But it is a dishonest to tar all therapists with the same brush and to represent such errors as common practice.
In an unusual case of a psychotherapist defending herself against claims of irresponsibility in this regard, in 1992, psychologist Neomi Mattis sued University of Utah psychology professor David Raskin for defamation after he criticized Dr. Mattis, co-leader of a Utah task force on ritual abuse at the time, and other therapists who treat patients with purportedly recovered memories of child-sexual abuse in his speech to the False Memory Syndrome Foundation in Provo, Utah. The Deseret Times of Salt Lake City, Utah, (See endnote 12) states:
He said those practitioners ‘do not know the scientific literature’ and ‘have no reality orientation.’ Raskin said Mattis lacked the credentials to be a graduate student, let alone a professor in the school’s psychology department.
In April, 1995, the defamation suit was settled for an undisclosed amount of money.
Misrepresentations about psychotherapy and memory for abuse ignore the vast body of literature substantiating that:
(a) trauma memories recovered in therapy
represent a small proportion of total recovered memory reports (Elliott,
1997; Wilsnack, Wonderlich, Kristjanson, Vogeltanz-Holm, &
Wilsnack, 2002)
(b) recovered memories of abuse are often accurate (Dalenberg, 1996)
(c) memory for verified abuse is often forgotten or dissociated (Williams, 1994)
(b) recovered memories of abuse are often accurate (Dalenberg, 1996)
(c) memory for verified abuse is often forgotten or dissociated (Williams, 1994)
Accurate information on the issue of recovered memory can be found at: The Recovered Memory Project: http://blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/.
9. Misrepresentation of Research to Minimize the Effects of Child Abuse and to Represent the Traumatic Effects as the Result of the Reactions of Psychotherapists and Other Adults
It is hard to believe that anyone would seek to misrepresent and minimize the damaging effects of child abuse and to blame psychotherapists for victims feeling traumatized, but this is just the case in Susan Clancy’s 2010 book, The Trauma Myth: The Truth About the Sexual Abuse of Children– and its Aftermath.
In this book, Clancy uses circular reasoning to misrepresent child sexual abuse as non-traumatic when it occurs and to posit that it is adult interpretations, especially those of psychotherapists, that cause people to experience their child sexual abuse as traumatic.
Clancy’s book is based in part on an article she co-authored with Richard J. McNally, titled, “Who Needs Repression? Normal Memory Processes Can Explain ‘Forgetting’ of Childhood Sexual Abuse,” published in The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice (2005/2006).
In this study, Clancy asked 27 adults who reported sexual abuse as children to rate their levels of trauma at the time of their abuse on a 10-point scale, with #10 to indicate “extremely traumatic” and #1 to indicate “not traumatic at all.” The average rating was 7.5.
Any logical person would consider 7.5 on a 10-point scale to be quite high. Yet Susan Clancy concludes that their child sexual abuse “experiences were unpleasant, distressing, or confusing, but not traumatic (e.g., terrifying) at the time they occurred” (p. 70).
This is clearly a misrepresentation of her own data. Clancy justifies this conclusion by limiting her definition of “trauma” to abuse that was “overwhelmingly terrifying or perceived as life threatening” (p. 67). Then she determined that only two of her subjects perceived that level of threat, and parenthetically dismissed one of these subjects’ reports as “bizarre” and “questionable” (p. 68). Then, she discounted all lesser levels of distress as nontraumatic, essentially re-rating them all as #1 on her 10-point trauma scale.
It is academically dishonest to ask these 27 adults to rate their levels of trauma and to then ignore this data.
Clancy considered the following reports of two of her subjects as lacking in trauma: “I went from confused to bewildered to scared . . . it culminated in me feeling somewhat angry and betrayed,” and “I didn’t think of it as sex, I just thought of it as disgusting . . .”
To further make her case, she wrote that two men
…while reporting that the [rape] was painful, did not describe it as traumatic [apparently relying on her definition of trauma as: “overwhelmingly terrifying or perceived as life threatening”]. In the words of one of the victims, “He would always say if you love me you’ll do it. It hurt, and after a while I knew it was wrong, but not at the beginning.” The other victim of penetration reported, “I didn’t like it– I knew it was wrong– but it was better than having to go back to DYS [Department of Youth Services custody].”
So, Clancy dismisses painful rape of a child as nontraumatic simply because the victims did not describe the abuse as “overwhelmingly terrifying or perceived as life threatening”.
Clancy also dismissed as nontraumatic all other painful emotional states described by her 27 subjects, including:
(a) “definitely feeling dirty.”
(b) “I couldn’t breathe.”
(c) “I was shocked at what was happening, and I think I was afraid, there was a lot of weirdness, insecurity, a lot of anger.”
(d) “I thought it was my fault.”
(b) “I couldn’t breathe.”
(c) “I was shocked at what was happening, and I think I was afraid, there was a lot of weirdness, insecurity, a lot of anger.”
(d) “I thought it was my fault.”
Clancy categorizes all such psychological reactions as, “unpleasant, distressing, or confusing, but not traumatic.”
Clancy acknowledges that: “All of our subjects (1) had either symptoms or diagnoses of PTSD [posttraumatic stress disorder] and (2) reported negative life effects from the abuse” (p. 71). Yet, this does not influence Clancy to consider that they might have suffered trauma at the time of their abuse.
Instead, she states that since child sexual abuse is, “not necessarily traumatic at the time it occurs,” “it may be the retrospective interpretation of the event, rather than the event itself, that mediates its subsequent impact” (p. 72). In her words, the later PTSD is the result of, “an understandable tendency to project our adult fears, repulsion, and horror onto child victims.”
Thus, Clancy argues that it is adults, especially therapists, who cause the trauma in sexual abuse victims, ignoring the reports of her own subjects of contemporaneous fear, repulsion, and horror. And then she titles her book, “The Trauma Myth”, categorically painting sexual abuse as nontraumatic with one sweeping brush stroke.
Clancy has no objective basis to dismiss as a myth her subjects’ experiences of having been traumatized by their sexual abuse, simply because their reports did not meet her overly-restrictive criteria of overwhelming terror or having feared for their lives.
Clancy’s book also oddly neglects to adequately incorporate the vast body of psychological research documenting the myriad short-term damaging effects of sexual abuse on children. It is standard for psychologists to first conduct an unbiased review of the literature on a subject and to include that review in our books and papers. Clancy failed to conduct such a review. Instead, she selectively cites only a few studies that support her position. This approach exposes that Clancy has a biased agenda rather than an objective of honestly representing the work in the field. This raises questions of potential bias in her research methods, her interviews of victims, and her interpretation of her results.
As a psychologist for 24 years, I have treated hundreds of abused children and adults abused as children. Cases of children experiencing only “confusion” (her thesis) during the time period of their abuse are very rare. In most cases, abused children and adults abused as children report that during the time in which they were abused, in addition to confusion of various types, they experienced a combination of many of the following:
(a) Physical pain, in some cases extreme
(b) Disgust for the sexual acts, abuser genitalia and emissions
(c) Terror in cases of extreme force, restraint, or restriction of the child’s breathing, gagging, etc.
(d) Terror based in threats to self, loved one, pets, etc., to ensure compliance and/or to prevent disclosure
(e) Fear based in the abuser over-riding their attempts to escape, ignoring their pleas for the abuser to stop, etc.
(f) Fear, shame, and guilt, based in an awareness that private parts should be covered and not bothered (molested), and an awareness that the abuser was making great efforts to hide the abuse, to keep it secret, and to ensure that they kept it secret, causing the child to understand that these acts were harmful and morally wrong, as in hitting someone, stealing, lying, etc.
(g) Betrayal and hurt in cases of abuse by loved ones, based in an awareness that the abuser was engaging them in harmful and immoral acts, and in many cases, that family members were allowing the abuse to continue
(h) Guilt and shame for not escaping or physically fighting off the abuser (The truth is that children usually understand in the moment that they will be overpowered or assaulted for resisting.)
(i) Feeling like an “accomplice” based in receiving gifts and special privileges from the abuser. Clancy portrays these “gifts” as “benefits” that the child derives from sexual abuse. This equates child victims with prostitutes who trade money and goods for sex. But, children cannot enter “contracts” to be sexually exploited. Sexual abuse is imposed on children against their will and with little or no knowledge of the meaning of sexuality. Abusers then use gifts and favors to further manipulate and entrap children.
(j) Anxiety-producing sexual arousal during the abuse, in cases in which the abuser took precautions to prevent or minimize the perception of pain
(k) Residual sexual feelings and responses that caused great anxiety, crying, tantrums, pleas to caregivers to, “Make it [the sexual response] stop,” etc.
(l) Rage at the abuser for inflicting the above
m) Social, behavioral, and cognitive (including academic) problems driven by the above
(n) Physical damage, including damage to internal organs, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, and in some cases, death
(b) Disgust for the sexual acts, abuser genitalia and emissions
(c) Terror in cases of extreme force, restraint, or restriction of the child’s breathing, gagging, etc.
(d) Terror based in threats to self, loved one, pets, etc., to ensure compliance and/or to prevent disclosure
(e) Fear based in the abuser over-riding their attempts to escape, ignoring their pleas for the abuser to stop, etc.
(f) Fear, shame, and guilt, based in an awareness that private parts should be covered and not bothered (molested), and an awareness that the abuser was making great efforts to hide the abuse, to keep it secret, and to ensure that they kept it secret, causing the child to understand that these acts were harmful and morally wrong, as in hitting someone, stealing, lying, etc.
(g) Betrayal and hurt in cases of abuse by loved ones, based in an awareness that the abuser was engaging them in harmful and immoral acts, and in many cases, that family members were allowing the abuse to continue
(h) Guilt and shame for not escaping or physically fighting off the abuser (The truth is that children usually understand in the moment that they will be overpowered or assaulted for resisting.)
(i) Feeling like an “accomplice” based in receiving gifts and special privileges from the abuser. Clancy portrays these “gifts” as “benefits” that the child derives from sexual abuse. This equates child victims with prostitutes who trade money and goods for sex. But, children cannot enter “contracts” to be sexually exploited. Sexual abuse is imposed on children against their will and with little or no knowledge of the meaning of sexuality. Abusers then use gifts and favors to further manipulate and entrap children.
(j) Anxiety-producing sexual arousal during the abuse, in cases in which the abuser took precautions to prevent or minimize the perception of pain
(k) Residual sexual feelings and responses that caused great anxiety, crying, tantrums, pleas to caregivers to, “Make it [the sexual response] stop,” etc.
(l) Rage at the abuser for inflicting the above
m) Social, behavioral, and cognitive (including academic) problems driven by the above
(n) Physical damage, including damage to internal organs, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, and in some cases, death
In addition, when children first disclose their abuse, the supportive caregivers in their life typically are devastated to have discovered the true basis for their children’s recent psychological and physical problems, such as separation anxiety, nightmares and night terrors, frequent crying, assorted fears, defiance, temper tantrums, academic problems, urinary and bowel “accidents,” etc. All of these are clear indicators that the sexual abuse was damaging to the child prior to his or her disclosure of the abuse.
I do not discount the rare cases of children feeling only “confused” during the period of their sexual abuse. However, this reaction usually occurs only in cases that do not involve pain, coercion, and threats, that involve more “mild” sexual acts, that are very short-term, and in younger children.
It is significant to note that Susan Clancy is a member of the International Committee of Social, Psychiatric, Psychological, Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, and Neurological Scientists, a group that submitted an amicus brief in on behalf of Roman Catholic priest Paul M. Shanley in his appeal of his 2005 conviction of child sexual abuse. Shanley’s sexual assault convictions were upheld on appeal in January, 2010.
It is also important to note that the McNally-Clancy article was published in the journal, “The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice,” which claims to be peer-reviewed and endorsed by, The Commission for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health (CSMMH). Scott Lilienfeld is founder and editor of this journal and of the CSMMH. Many of the coordinating committee and fellows of the CSMMH have a long history of affiliation with the False Memory Syndrome Foundation and of advocating on behalf of accused sex abuse offenders in legal actions. These fellows include Elizabeth Loftus, Paul McHugh, and Harrison Pope. I believe it is necessary to question the degree of scientific objectivity of the peer-review process of this article by Clancy and McNally.
10. Misrepresentation of Psychotherapists as Inducing Dissociative Identity Disorder
Similar to misrepresenting child sexual abuse as non-traumatic, the Internet is replete with assertions that Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is not an actual psychiatric disorder based in histories of child abuse and other psychological trauma (e.g., significant loss, medical trauma), but is primarily an artifact of psychotherapy or specific therapists inducing its formation, suggestible individuals being exposed to material about child abuse or the concept of DID, and/or fantasy-proneness in particular individuals.
These assertions ignore the abundance of research that substantiates that DID is a valid, vs. rare or factitious, psychiatric disorder usually based in childhood trauma, although this documentation is readily available (see endnote 13).
Why would parties that oppose that ritual abuse and mind control exist be so motivated to misrepresent DID as a non-disorder?
Psychotherapists commonly diagnose DID in clients who report histories of ritual abuse and mind control. And these clients commonly report that their abusers used torture, hypnosis and conditioning to intentionally induce their psyches to form dissociated self-states that their abusers could then exploit for nefarious purposes. For a full treatise on this thesis, see my chapter, “Torture-based mind control: Psychological mechanisms and psychotherapeutic approaches to overcoming mind control” in the book, Ritual Abuse and Mind Control: the Manipulation of Attachment Needs (2011).
We also have a historical record of manipulation of amnestic and dissociative states for purposes of mind control to serve espionage and military purposes. The declassified documents of Cold War MKULTRA program of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) expose a program that included experiments conducted by psychiatrists to create amnesia, new dissociated identities, new memories, and responses to hypnotic access codes (again, see Lacter, 2011).
Colin Ross, in his book, Bluebird: Deliberate Creation of Multiple Personality by Psychiatrists (2000), cites a May 13, 1968, article in the Providence Evening Bulletin, that states that George Estabrooks, who is described as a former consultant for the FBI and CIA, is quoted to have stated, “the key to creating an effective spy or assassin rests in splitting a man’s personality, or creating multipersonality” (Ross, 2000, p. 162). Multiple Personality Disorder is precursor designation for what we now call Dissociative Identity Disorder.
It is important to note that The False Memory Syndrome Foundation and its affiliates have a long history of representing DID as a pseudo-psychiatric disorder and as an artifact of psychotherapy.
In the context of this history, it is significant to note the following citation related to funding by the United States Office of Naval Research (citation provided by Colin Ross, 2000):
On December 11, 1996, in a posting on the internet list WITCHNT@MITVAMA.MIT.EDU, Dr. Peter Freyd, husband of the Executive Director of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation, wrote:
“Since we all want to be open about any money we might have received from military-related sources, let me confess. I, too must go on record. Starting in 1988, I’ve been getting a lot of money from the U.S. Office of Naval Research.” (p. 154)
Colin Ross (2000) succinctly helps us to connect the dots between disinformation on DID and the United States CIA Cold War mind control projects:
“If clinical multiple personality is buried and forgotten, then the Manchurian Candidate Programs will be safe from public scrutiny.” ( p. 141)
11. Use of Aliases to Inflate Statistics
Individuals can use as many aliases as they wish on many websites, e.g., sites that permit book reviews, to artificially inflate the number of people who appear to support their positions, to vote multiple times to endorse particular comments, etc.
12. Blitzkrieg Tactics
Opponents of the position that ritual abuse and mind control exist can readily lodge voluminous, repetitious, and vehement accusations on the Internet against psychotherapists who provide therapy or education for ritual abuse or mind control trauma. These attacks sometimes amount to harassment.
Psychotherapists, researchers, and educators cannot feasibly respond to this kind of barrage of accusations and still have time to fulfill their professional functions. This strategy also carries psychological costs, including personal stress, professional humiliation, as well as potentially frightening the clients of the therapists being attacked, and steering potential clients away from these therapists, objectives that may be part of the aim of some accusers.
There is often no venue to respond to accusations on the website where the accusations are lodged. And if a venue to respond is available, attempts to engage in rational discourse with people who use Blitzkrieg tactics are likely to be futile.
In Conclusion
As we consider these common forms of misinformation and tactics of disinformation used to discredit psychotherapy for trauma originating in ritual abuse and mind control, we are obliged to ask: Who would be motivated to launch such a vehement and deceitful attack against these therapists? Who stands to lose if these therapists do this work?
If the bulk of these attacks came from clients who claimed that their therapists induced or implanted false memories in them, we might find an answer to our question. But, this does not seem to be the case.
Instead, these attacks appear to usually come from parties who do not disclose the basis of their interest in this issue, and from organizations, and members and affiliates of such organizations, that directly advocate for people accused of crimes against children and from organizations that appear to share that agenda if one scratches just beneath the surface.
Such organizations include:
(a) The False Memory Syndrome Foundation
“formed to provide legal and emotional support to those accused of
sexual abuse” (Murphy, 1997)
(b) The National Center for Reason and
Justice, that states that it “supports people who are falsely accused or
convicted of crimes against children” (see: http://ncrj.org/ and its resources listed here: http://ncrj.org/resources/bibliography/)
(c) The International Committee of
Social, Psychiatric, Psychological, Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, and
Neurological Scientists, which submitted an amicus brief on behalf of
Roman Catholic priest Paul M. Shanley in his appeal of his conviction of
child sexual abuse (Shanley’s sexual assault convictions were upheld on
appeal)
(d) The National Association for Consumer
Protection in Mental Health Practices, that states that it was “founded
in 1994, due to the alarming number of False Memory cases” (see: http://www.hermanohme.com)
(e) http://www.hermanohme.com/),The
Commission for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health (the sister
organization of “d” (above) which has the stated goal to “call for the
reform of the mental health system, restricting it to those mental
health treatments proven reasonably safe and effective by reliable
scientific methods” (the last two organizations share a website here: http://www.hermanohme.com/)
Therefore, the Internet serves as something of an unregulated court of public opinion, where, to a large degree, allegedly falsely accused perpetrators of child abuse and their advocates and alleged victims of child abuse and their therapists and advocates, argue about:
(a) whether child abuse is in itself traumatic
(b) the existence of ritual abuse and mind control
(c) the validity of recovered memories of abuse
(d) the validity of dissociative disorders, especially DID
(e) the practice of psychotherapy in relation to all of the above
(b) the existence of ritual abuse and mind control
(c) the validity of recovered memories of abuse
(d) the validity of dissociative disorders, especially DID
(e) the practice of psychotherapy in relation to all of the above
All of this occurs with no rules of order, no penalties for perjury, and an uneven playing field that causes psychotherapists and psychology researchers to have to pull their punches.
I believe that this fight is being waged, in great part, to prevent child abuse survivors, especially survivors of ritual abuse and mind control, from receiving the help and support that they need to heal from their abuse, from receiving any sense of validation about their abuse, from recalling any dissociated parts of their abuse, from reporting their abusers to the authorities, from suing their abusers, from activism against child abuse, ritual abuse, and mind control, and in some cases, from even breaking away from their abusers.
It is my opinion that most victims of ritual abuse and mind control need the support of another person to recover from these kinds of abuse. This is normally a psychotherapist. It may also include clergy, friends, significant others, and other survivors. For some survivor-therapists, it is a colleague. But rarely can a survivor of these abuses bear to process this trauma alone. It is usually too painful, frightening, and disorienting to face without an external anchor for support.
Psychotherapy may be the most common and effective means of breaking the bonds of ritual abuse and mind control. I believe this is a large basis for the war being waged against it.
Furthermore, it is a lot less vulgar and cruel to attack therapists of victims and survivors than to attack the victims directly. For example, legal defenses for those accused of child abuse focus on painting the therapist of the child or adult as inducing or implanting “false memories” of abuse rather than painting the alleged victim as a liar.
It follows that psychotherapists receive the brunt of the attacks in the battle to discredit the realities of ritual abuse and mind control, as a group, and often as individuals.
It is my pleasure to expose these forms of misinformation and tactics of disinformation about ritual abuse and mind control trauma and about psychotherapy to treat such trauma.
I do so on the 25th anniversary of the death of my father, a man of great ethics and integrity, who taught me to stand up for the oppressed and to fight fairly.
Endnotes:
1. In 2011, Colin Batley was convicted of for leading a “satanic” sex cult in of West Wales, UK (see: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/mar/09/paedophile-satanic-cult-batley-kidwelly and: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/mar/11/sex-cult-leader-colin-batley-sentenced).
2. In 2006, Gerald Robinson was convicted for the murder of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl in Ohio, USA. Significant evidence suggests the murder may have been a ritual sacrifice (see: http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/abbott/071203, for a chapter from, Sin, Shame, and Secrets: The Murder of a Nun, the Conviction of a Priest, and Cover-up in the Catholic Church,” by David Yonke, 2006, http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2006/05/12/Priest-found-guilty-cleric-gets-15-years-to-life-in-nun-s-murder.html, and http://www.toledoblade.com/Police-Fire/2004/04/27/Area-authorities-no-strangers-to-cult-ritual-probes.html).
3. In December, 2012, in Cornwall, England, Peter Petrauske and Jack Kemp were convicted of carrying out ritualistic sex abuse on young girls. (See:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/dec/14/cornish-white-witches-guilty-ritual-abuse
and: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/nov/28/witches-sex-abuse-allegations-children-court).
4. In April 2005, Pastor Louis D. Lamonica of the Hosanna Church in Louisiana, USA, walked into the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office and allegedly confessed to abusing children and animals in a Satanic ritual, although he later recanted his confession (see: http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/4626/LA/US/). Austin “Trey” Bernard, III, of the same church confessed to ritual elements within his abuse of children to FBI Special Agents Lisa Marie Freitas and Joseph Edwards (see: http://wallsofsilence.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=196) Both men were convicted of child rape, Bernard in 2007 and Lamonica 2008 (http://www.hammondstar.com/articles/2007/12/03/top_stories/9453.txt). Also see: http://religiouschildabuse.blogspot.com/2008/10/ex-pastor-gets-concurrent-life-terms-in.html,
http://www.hammondstar.com/articles/2007/12/18/top_stories/9455.txt, and
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2007/11_12/2007_12_04_KATC_FirstCharged.htm)
5. In June, 1993, in London, a man aged 67, his daughter, aged 29, and his two sons- in-law, aged 41 and 31, were imprisoned for between 18 months and life for the sexual abuse of seven children of the same extended family over an eleven-year period (see: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/four-people-in-one-family-are-jailed-for-child-sex-1494769.html)
The 10-year-old daughter of the 41-year-old man “described being taken late at night by her father and others to a ‘devil church’ where she was stripped, tied up, had knives held in front of her face and was abused by adults in black cloaks and balaclavas” (see:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/girl-10-tells-of-sexual-abuse-in-devil-church-child-accuses-relatives-in-video-shown-to-jury-1490468.html and http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/girl-was-abused-in-churchyard-1490250.html)
6. In 1991, in Perth, Australia, Scott Brian Gozenton was convicted on 22 charges of indecent assault and dealing and of evil intent. The head of Western Australia’s child sex abuse unit, Detective-Sergeant Roger Smart, said the conviction demonstrated a link between organized child sex abuse and devil worship (see: http://ra-watch.livejournal.com/4950.html)
7. In 1982, following guilty pleas to a series of serious sexual offences against young children, Malcolm and Susan Smith, and Albert and Carole Hickman, of Telford, England, were jailed, Malcolm Smith for 14 years, Albert Hickman for ten years, Carole Hickman for five years, and Susan Smith for two years. The ritualistic and satanic elements of their crimes are discussed briefly here: rituals. http://usminc.org/crime3.html and by Tim Tate in Treating Survivors of Satanist Abuse, edited by Valerie Sinason (1994) on page 191.
8. A conviction list of cases with elements of ritual abuse was archived in 1997 by Michael Newton of Believe the Children. (See: http://ra-info.org/for-researchers/bibliographies/conviction-list-ritual-child-abuse/cases-that-have-resulted-in-convictions/) There have been significant developments in some of these cases since this was published. E.g., in 1994, Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelley of West Memphis, Tennessee, USA, were convicted in the cult murders of three boys, but in 2011, they were released from prison on an Alford plea (see: http://www.nowpublic.com/world/west-memphis-three-freed-alford-plea-public-hearing-live-stream-2827425.html)
In an Alford plea, “the criminal defendant does not admit the act, but admits that the prosecution could likely prove the charge” (definition from: http://definitions.uslegal.com/a/alford-plea/)
9. A good deal of the research about ritual abuse is summarized in an article by Randy Noblitt, PhD.: “An Empirical Look at the Ritual Abuse Controversy,” by (See: http://ritualabuse.us/ritualabuse/articles/an-empirical-look-at-the-ritual-abuse-controversy-randy-noblitt-phd/).
10. A news piece of 12/8/2012 in the National Post (nationalpost.com), documents an international ring engaged in distribution of filmed child sexual abuse: “Spain arrests 28 people suspected of links to Toronto-based child porn ring,” states, “The investigation began when Interpol told Spanish police in April about a network headquartered in Toronto, dedicated to the sale of child pornography videos. Spain’s Interior Ministry said Saturday that the videos were created by abusing minors in Ukraine, Romania and Germany” (see: http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/12/08/spain-arrests-28-people-suspected-of-links-to-toronto-based-child-porn-ring/).
11. See: Buried Secrets: A True Story of Drug Running, Black Magic, and Human Sacrifice (1991), by Edward Humes, and Cauldron of Blood: The Matamoros Cult Killings (1989), by Jim Schutze.
12. See: “Defamation Case Settled for an Undisclosed Sum,” April 23, 1995, in The Deseret Times of Salt Lake City, Utah:
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/417014/DEFAMATION-CASE-SETTLED-FOR-AN-UNDISCLOSED-SUM.html?pg=all
13. Accurate information on DID can be found in the Guidelines for Treating Dissociative Identity Disorder in Adults, Third Revision (2011) of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (see: http://www.isst-d.org/jtd/GUIDELINES_REVISED2011.pdf) and in this 2012 comprehensive review by Dalenberg et al.: Evaluation of the Evidence for the Trauma and Fantasy Models of Dissociation (see: http://goo.gl/RERhc; click the box that says “view” to the right, then scroll down)
References:
Bryant, N. (2009). The Franklin scandal: A story of Powerbrokers, Child Abuse & Betrayal. TrineDay.
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Ross, C. A. (2000). Bluebird: Deliberate creation of Multiple Personality by Psychiatrists.
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Wilsnack, S. C., Wonderlich, S. A., Kristjanson, A. F., Vogeltanz-Holm, N. D., & Wilsnack, H. W. (2002). Self-reports of forgetting and remembering childhood sexual abuse in a nationally representative sample of US women. Child Abuse & Neglect, 26, 139–147. doi:10.1016/S0145-2134(01)00313-1
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