PART ONE: CIA’s (?) MS-13:
Northern Va. gang members charged with human trafficking
http://www.loudountimes.com/news/article/northern_va._gang_members_charged_with_human_trafficking543
Thursday, Mar. 12, 2015 by Gregg MacDonald, FairfaxTimes.com| 1 comments | Email this story
Three individuals from Reston and a fourth man with no fixed address, all of whom police say are either members or associates of the MS-13 street gang, have been arrested under various charges including gang recruitment and human trafficking.
The Manassas City Police Department announced March 2 that Manassas City investigators, in conjunction with the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force, City of Manassas Park Police, Virginia State Police, Fairfax County Police, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, charged four suspects on Feb. 25 for their alleged involvement in a case regarding gang recruitment by the Mara Salvatrucha street gang, better known as MS-13.
Investigators said that the execution of two search warrants in Reston, as well as one on a suspect vehicle, yielded enough evidence to arrest the suspects and serve a total of 43 charges in all, with additional charges pending.
Police said the arrests concluded a nearly three-month-long investigation into an incident involving the assault of a 15-year-old Manassas girl by MS-13 members during a gang initiation ritual on Nov. 14.
The incident, which police said illustrated the typical movement of the gang’s activity throughout the region and prompted the collaboration of multiple agencies, was initially reported to Manassas City Police in December.
Included in the recent arrests was Iraheta Palacios, 30, of the 11900 block of Winterthur Lane in Reston.
Palacios, who police say also goes by the aliases of “Jose Angel” and “Little Crazy,” was charged with human trafficking; nine counts of gang participation; two counts of gang recruitment; three counts of conspiracy to cause a juvenile to assist in the distribution of marijuana; contributing to the delinquency of a minor; aiding illicit sexual intercourse; use of a vehicle to promote unlawful sexual intercourse; threatening force to encourage gang participation; and obstruction of justice.
Carlos Albert Hernandez Garcia, 20, of no fixed address, was also charged with human trafficking, as was an unnamed 17-year-old juvenile from Reston. The fourth suspect was another unnamed Reston juvenile, age 16. He was charged with gang participation and conspiracy to distribute marijuana.
The suspects are currently being held without bond in Fairfax County, where they await prosecution. No attorney information for the adult suspects is available in Fairfax County court records.
According to Det. Bill Woolf of the Fairfax County Police Department’s Human Trafficking Unit, human trafficking in northern Virginia has become big business for illegal street gangs.
Over the last year, Woolf said his unit has generated more than 160 leads, and identified more than 260 victims.
Nearly 20 percent of all the leads obtained by the unit were gang related, he said.
“We have noticed over the last few years that gang violence in Northern Virginia has gone down but the gang members are staying here,” Woolf said. “We asked ourselves why that might be, and what we found is that they have moved from violent crime to sex trafficking, an activity that for them offers higher profits and lower risk.”
According to Woolf, gangs target unsuspecting and typically insecure teenage girls as young as 13 or 14 who are seeking attention and affection.
“Most of these guys are very savvy in coercion and brainwashing,” he said. “They don’t want to use violence. Their means of power is to get these girls to fall in love with them because then they can get them to do anything they want.”
According to Woolf, many organized gangs treat teen sex trafficking like a legitimate business and run it with financial acumen, using established accounting principles that they apply to their newly adopted trade. “Many have done cost-benefit analyses and have found that the sex trafficking of minors often runs a lower risk for higher profit than pushing drugs,” he said.
Last year, Fairfax County launched a new website to inform the public about human trafficking and how to better identify potential victims.
The website, http://www.justaskva.org is a ,collaboration of the Fairfax County Police Department, Fairfax County Public Schools, the Fairfax County Commission for Women, Hidden Brook Communications, Fairfax Community Church, and other faith-based organizations. “The website is designed to heighten awareness in the community and provide a much-needed public recording mechanism,” Woolf said.
Contact the writer at gmacdonald@fairfaxtimes.com.
PART TWO: CIA’s FINDERS:
http://endritualabuse.org/evidence/satanism-and-ritual-abuse-archive/
Satanism and Ritual Abuse Archive
Disclaimer: The following archive is the work of Diana Napolis, M.A., who is copyright owner, and is solely responsible for its content. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Ellen Lacter, Ph.D.
Satanism and Ritual Abuse Archive
by Diana Napolis, M.A., Copyright 2000 and 2007
The following cases describe legal proceedings held in Juvenile, Family, Civil and Criminal Courts around the world where there have been allegations of Satanism or the use of Ritual to abuse others.
Any religion or organization can be used as a front to hide ritual abuse activity, including Christianity, Buddhism, Shamanism, Hinduism, Masonry, Mormonism, Pagan and Satanic religions; however, not all Satanists commit crimes and not all occultism is Satanism. It is imperative that investigators and professionals familiarize themselves with cross-cultural belief systems so as not to target any particular group.
This document will have regular updates; this present version is current as of July 10, 2007. It is recommended that this archive be used as a resource only and original documents be obtained from Lexis/Nexus or Westlaw with the assistance of an attorney. If the reader does not have access to legal searches, or if there are any updates to these cases, contact the author at:
6977 Navajo Rd. PMB 114, San Diego, California 92119-1503
Warning: Some of the following cases depict graphic, violent activity.
INTRODUCTION: In the 1980′s adults and children came forward around the world disclosing that they were victims/perpetrators of satanic ritual abuse [SRA] and/or were witness to satanic ritual murders. These claims were routinely dismissed by FBI’s Special Agent Ken Lanning and an organization called the False Memory Syndrome Foundation which came into existence in 1992 stating there were no case convictions or scientific evidence to prove that satanic ritual abuse existed. Claims such as this should not go unchallenged because therapists across the country have lost their licenses due to allegations that the memories of SRA victims are too “bizarre” to be believed and are to be attributed solely to “False Memory Syndrome.” It is apparent that these beliefs have been instigated by the FMSF because they are a political and legal advocacy group acting on behalf of accused perpetrators.
It has been documented that the FBI has been responsible for not only ruining case investigations in several instances but intimidating witnesses to recant their abuse. [See, Westpoint, Bonacci v. King, Finders case]. In the Finders case it appeared that the FBI had a conflict of interest because this organization was in their counter-intelligence files.
In regard to the scientific community’s opinion about the reality of satanic ritual abuse, it appears the Appellate Court in the State of Arkansas had the last word about this subject. According to Echols vs. State (1996):
“Echols next contends that Dr. Griffis should not have been allowed to testify that the murders had the ‘trappings of occultism’ because there was no testimony that the field of satanism or occultism is generally accepted in the scientific community. The trial court did not allow the evidence to prove that satanism or occultism is generally accepted in the scientific community. Rather, the trial court admitted the evidence as proof of the motive for committing the murders.”
Entire families have been implicated in the ritual abuse of children which proves the fact that generational Satanism exists. See the following legal cases: Parker (1995), Figured/Hill (1994), and Gallup (1991). Perpetrators have been found to be professionals who work in law enforcement, the military or daycare, and Christian fronts have been used in some instances as a means of hiding the satanic motivation of the perpetrators. See Cannaday (1994), Wright (1992), Gallup (1991), and Orr (1984). In several cases the perpetrators have confessed to the satanic element of the crime or participation in prior satanic offenses. See Helms (2006), Cala (2003), Smith (2003), Delaney (2002), Morris (2001), South (2000), Page (2000), T. Kokoraleis (1999), Bonacci (1999), Brooks (1996), Hughes (1996), Penick (1995), Alvarado (1995), Ingram (1992), Rogers (1992), and Fryman (1988).
The FMSF and those affiliated with this organization have been using the Appellate courts to overturn cases convictions involving ritual abuse themes. The Appellate court cases in this archive are valuable because most Opinions have affirmed that Satanism was the motivation for the crime and the introduction of that evidence has been routinely found to be probative and not prejudicial. The author has chosen to describe the satanic element of the crime only rather than every point of law that was appealed. This level of documentation is important because, if published, the rulings of these courts can be cited as case law. The majority of the appellate cases cited in this archive are published opinions.
In addition to court documents this archive also references news articles that document the ritual elements of the crime which include perpetrator confessions, cannibalism, murder, mutilation in the context of Satanism, and there is ample evidence to prove the existence of cult groups who sacrifice their victims as an offering to Satan. This proves beyond doubt that unusual occult belief systems exist and the bizarre acts committed by these individuals are not only not unusual, they are commonplace.
In some cases involving multiple defendants the legal histories have been combined in the title of the case and are separated by semicolons, but in other instances the histories are described separately.
This archive begins with a First Amendment case, filed on behalf of a prisoner in the late 1980s, regarding his use of the Satanic Bible [written by Anton La Vey of the Church of Satan] and other accouterments of Satanism.
August 24, 1989, CHARLES MCCORKLE v. W. E. JOHNSON, WARDEN, JOSEPH KOLB, CHAPLAIN, FREDDIE V. SMITH, COMMISSIONER, UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS, ELEVENTH CIRCUIT, 881 F.2d 993, Denial of Satanic Material Affirmed
Overview: Appellate court documents state that Charles McCorkle, a state prisoner confined in the Holman facility in Alabama, filed a complaint, seeking redress for the deprivation of his first amendment rights to freely exercise his chosen religion — Satanism. The prison officials denied his request to access certain Satanic books and articles, including the Satanic Bible, the Satanic Book of Rituals, and a Satanic medallion because they posed security threats and were directly contrary to the goals of the Institution.
The court wrote: “The prohibition on Satanic materials such as those requested by the plaintiff is justified by the defendant’s concern for institutional security and order. It is an informed and measured response to the violence inherent in Satan worship and to the potential disorder that it might cause within the prison.”
Testimony was given at an evidentiary hearing where the plaintiff, McCorkle, recounted two of the rituals espoused by the Satanic Book of Rituals. The fertility ritual included the sacrifice of a female virgin, preferably a Christian. The initiation ritual called for wrist slashing, blood drinking, and the consumption of human flesh — usually fingers. The candles preferred by the plaintiff and other Satanists “are not made of wax or paraffin, instead they are made from the fat of unbaptized infants.” The plaintiff had been observed drawing his own blood, by slicing his wrists, and had asked other inmates for their blood. One inmate was “highly irritated when the plaintiff requested that he donate a vial of blood for use in the worship of Satan.”
The warden testified that upon review of the Satanic Bible, he concluded that persons following its teaching would murder, rape, or rob at will without regard for moral or legal consequences. He thought the prisoner’s safety would be at risk if other inmates knew of the contents of the Satanic Bible. Anton Szandor LaVey was quoted in a chapter from the Book of Satan, stating that “right and wrong had been inverted too long,” and he challenged readers to “rebel against the laws of man and God.” He declared that hatred of one’s enemies was of utmost importance and revenge should be a top priority.
The court noted that there were several Satanic sects represented at Holman Prison who did not need these specific books to practice their religion and that plaintiff’s right to freely worship Satan could be exercised only at significant cost to guards, other prisoners, and society in general. Accordingly, he denied plaintiff’s requests.
In State v. Freeman, 559 P.2d 152 (1976) it was the opinion of the expert witness that revenge was the motivation for the murder that the defendant was being tried for, and noted that the defendant had underlined certain passages in the Satanic Bible addressing vengeance and revenge. He stated… that the language, “not only sanctioned revenge, but required it.”
In Childs v. Duckworth, 705 F.2d 915 (1983) the plaintiff Donald Childs, an alleged member of the “Satanic Church,” brought a Civil rights claim, requesting permission for various Satanic items, including the Satanic Bible, which the appellate court denied. Childs confessed to having sacrificed cats and pigeons and casting spells to retaliate against others. The Warden and Director both stated that Satanism was not recognized as a religion by that Institution. The Court stated the authorities had legitimate reason for denying inmates request and it did not deprive him of his Constitutional rights.
In Doty v. Lewis, 995 F. Supp. 1081 (1998) the court ruled that a ban on high security prisoners possession of candles, incense, Baphomet tapestry, and Satanic religious tracts, which advocated retaliation, sacrifices, spells and racial separation, did not impinge on plaintiff Doty’s free exercise rights, given rational reasons related to prison security for banning materials, and despite the prisoner’s sincere belief in the Satanic religion. Materials requested were not essential to practice his religious tenets, and there was a rational connection between restrictions of these materials and prison security concerns.
The inmate had thirty-one disciplinary actions reflecting an escalation of violence and aggression each year, and he was trying to engage other prisoners in violent behavior. It was thought that the Satanic Bible in the hands of this particular prisoner would endanger the security of the prison.
The appellate court stated the Satanic Bible presented a serious threat to the safety and security of the prison, that the book condoned human sacrifice and the book’s philosophies were blatantly “vicious,” “selfish,” and “brutal.” The book “advocated hurting someone, who in the opinion of the Satanists, deserved to be harmed and destroyed.” The plaintiff Doty admitted that he had engaged in “sacrificing cows.”
In Burton v. Frank, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9603, the prisoner’s request for the Satanic Bible was denied because the prison had shown that inmates possession of the Satanic Bible posed a threat to the prison’s legitimate interest in maintaining security and promoting rehabilitation. Passages from the Satanic Bible book were quoted:
“The only time a Satanist would perform a human sacrifice would be if it were to serve a two-fold purpose: that being to release the magician’s wrath in the throwing of a curse, and more important, to dispose of a totally obnoxious and deserving individual.”
At least one Satanist inmate engaged in a ritual in which an effigy was tortured and “murdered.” The appellate court stated that the Satanic Bible outlined procedures for destroying enemies through the use of effigies.
The prison’s position was that the Satanic Bible promoted “violent and illegal” behavior, and that “manipulation, disregard for laws and authority, self-indulgence and revenge” were inconsistent with criminal rehabilitation. The court also noted that other Satanists in this particular prison kept a notebook, called the “Book of Shadows,” which was filled with murderous language.
Note: The Church of Satan claims they have never been associated with any criminal activity. However, that is incorrect. Followers of Anton La Vey have routinely requested the Satanic Bible while in prison, and in the majority of cases their requests have been denied. As of 7/4/07 a Lexis Nexus search revealed more than 30 appellate decisions in which the Satanic Bible was mentioned. In Maine vs. Waterhouse (1986) the appellate court quoted passages from the Satanic Bible to prove and uphold the satanic motivation for the crime. In Adoption of Quentin (1997), the appellate court noted the perpetrator had read the Satanic Bible.
[The source of cattle mutilations has remained unsolved in the United States which makes the admission of the sacrifice of a cow in Doty vs. Lewis a point of interest.] See “Mutilated Bull: No Blood, No Clues”; Gallup Independent, May 5, 2007; “The Truth is Out There,” The Gallup Independent, May 5, 2007]
January 6, 2006, STATE OF IDAHO v. THOMAS WENDELL HELMS, COURT OF APPEALS OF IDAHO, 137 P.3d 466, 2006 Ida App. LEXIS 3, Sentencing for Battery of a Correctional Officer Modified
Overview: Appellant documents state that defendant Thomas Helms was serving time in the Idaho Maximum Security Institution for grand theft, possession of a dangerous weapon by an inmate, and battery with intent to murder. He had a self-inflicted wound on his arm which had required stitches and needed to be moved to another cell. When officers attempted to move him he threw toilet water on them which then required tests to insure that the guards had not contracted HIV or Hepatitis. Helms was charged with battery on a correctional officer and received the maximum prison sentence after a jury trial, a sentence which this appellant court reduced.
Defendant Helms had a history of disruptive behavior and had been placed in increasingly restrictive confinements. He was self-mutilating, destroyed property, exposed himself, and threw feces and urine. Helms had told investigators about “feats” of murder and cannibalism during a brief period of his life when he was not incarcerated, although it was not clear to the majority opinion whether these were actual crimes.
The Dissenting Judge thought a stronger sentence should have been imposed and remarked that the majority opinion minimized Helms’ behavior. He was in favor of Helms never being released and cited the following evidence as reason why he should be kept in confinement:
As a youth Helms had sexually violated a young girl and his younger brother. He was designated a sexual predator shortly thereafter. His parole officer stated Helms had no conscience. Helms slashed the throat of one inmate and planned to murder another one. After the attack Helms told officers that if they had not stopped him, he planned to eviscerate the victim, pull out his internal organs, and eat some of them.
Helms repeatedly displayed a fascination with homicide, cannibalism, and idolized Charlie Manson. In the year 2000, Helms told investigators that in 1994 he had been involved in the murder of a female African-American prostitute and subsequently ate her heart after assisting in cutting up her body to pieces. He also confessed to another murder at that time. When asked about the truth of these statements in the year 2003, Helms again affirmed that these statements were true, that he was part of a satanic cult at that time, and he had engaged in murder and cannibalism.
Based on this evidence, the Dissenting Judge thought Helms would always remain a danger to society.
May 26, 2005, THE PEOPLE v. RICHARD JOHN VIEIRA, SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA, 25 Cal. Rptr. 3d 337, Death Sentence Affirmed on Three Counts; Remand to Trial Court and Reversal of the Death Sentence for one count
Overview: Appellate documents state a jury convicted Richard John Vieira of Stanislaus County of four counts of murder and conspiracy which took place in 1990. Vieira and his co-defendants, David Beck and Gerald Cruz, all lived in a camp where Gerald Cruz served as the leader. Cruz instigated the murders of four individuals from a rival group.
Defendant’s sister testified that she lived with Cruz in 1987-1988, at which time Cruz led others in the study of the occult and the performance of supposedly occult rituals that included candles, robes and chanting. Cruz told Young that “to sacrifice your first newborn was the greatest thing you could ever do and that it was ‘for the satisfaction of Satan.’”
The defense solicited testimony regarding defendant’s cult membership and his incapacity to form the requisite criminal intent. Testimony evidenced that Vieira was a “slave” to other members of the group. Family members testified defendant often appeared to have been “beat up” with black eyes, fat lips and slashes on his arm. According to defendant’s diary he had been electroshocked and beat up by members of the group.
A cult expert testified that Cruz directed a cult which had occult and satanic underpinnings, they engaged in various rituals, and defendant was under Mind Control at the time of the crime. Cruz directed the members of the group to read and study the books of Alistair Crowley of whom Cruz believed himself to be the reincarnation. There were also reports that the defendants were part of a Nazi or White Supremacist organization. The court ultimately rejected the defense’s argument that the crimes were committed under duress.
The dissenting Judge wrote that he would have reversed the death penalty and acknowledged that at the time of the murders the defendant was a submissive member of a satanic cult led by Gerald Cruz.
“In this case, the evidence shows that defendant acted under the substantial domination of cult leader Gerald Cruz, who controlled every aspect of defendant’s life and threatened to kill anyone who did not follow his orders. Absent the pernicious influence of a satanic cult leader, it is doubtful that defendant would have committed murder.”
The dissent thought that the defendant was under Mind Control at the time of the crime and noted that the expert explained how cults use isolation, sleep deprivation, punishment, and occult ritual to dominate and control the minds of their members.
March 18, 2005, TRACE ROYAL DUNCAN v. STATE OF ALABAMA, COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF ALABAMA, 925 So.2d 245, 2005 Ala. Crim. App. Lexis 78, Affirmed in Part, Remanded with Instructions; 827 So. 2d 838, 2005 Ala Crim App. LEXIS 116, Court of Appeal Reversed the Death Penalty
Overview: Appellate documents and news articles state four teenagers, Trace Royal Duncan, 17, Cary Dale Grayson, 19, Kenny Loggins, 17, and Louis Mangione, 16, kidnapped and murdered hitchhiker, Vicki De Blieux, 37, who was traveling to her mother’s home in Tennessee. The defendants picked her up and promised to take her to her mother’s but instead took her to a wooded area. After she spurned their sexual advances, they kicked and stomped her and threw her over a cliff. Carey Grayson told Louis Mangione that he was going to “sacrifice the bitch.” Three defendants then returned to the scene and proceeded to mutilate, cannibalize part of her body, and remove all of her fingers, both to thwart identification, and to keep as souvenirs. The defendants were arrested after Louis Mangione began showing Ms. De Blieux’s fingers to friends. Kenneth Loggins and Carey Dale Grayson were sentenced to death. Louis Christopher Mangione and Trace Royal Ducan received a sentence of life imprisonment.
The medical examiner found that every bone in the victim’s face was fractured at least once, her skull was broken open with most of the brain separated from it. Large lacerations were found on the back of her head along with extensive bruising on the head, her left and right ribs were fractured, there were at least 180 stab wounds all over her body, two incised wounds were found in her chest and abdomen, her left lung was removed by a knife, there was bleeding of the tongue, and all her fingers and thumbs had been removed. The medical examiner could not be certain what wounds were inflicted before and after death.
The satanic element of the crime was documented in Trace Royal Duncan’s appeal and several news articles. Duncan’s trial counsel stated that his co-defendants were Satanists and that Mr. Duncan “kicked the victim a few times in the head,” and the other co-defendants “returned to the victim’s body to mutilate it, stabbing it over 180 times, removing organs and eating them and removing fingers to thwart identification and to keep as souvenirs…” Counsel was able to interject his theory that two co-defendants were Satanists who instigated the murder, committed most of the acts against the victim, and threatened to kill the appellant if he told what happened. He attempted to portray co-defendant Grayson as the older instigator and leader who was a Satanist wanting to sacrifice the victim to Satan. In closing arguments the defense stated that the co-defendants could have committed the murder as a satanic ritual.
The legal history of this case is as follows:
Trace Royal Duncan: 925 So. 2d 245, 2005 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 78; 827 So. 2d 839, 1999 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 224; 673 So. 2d 838, 1995 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 350
Carey Dale Grayson: 954 So. 2d 1141, 2005 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 2676; 824 So. 2d 844, 2002 Ala. LEXIS 13; 824 So. 2d 844, 2001 Ala. LEXIS 167; 824 So. 2d 804, 1999 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 261; 665 So. 2d 986, 1995 Ala. Crim. Appl. LEXIS 71
Kenneth Loggins: 771 So. 2d 1093, 2000 Ala. LEXIS 217; 910 So. 2d 146, 2005 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 57; 771 So. 2d 1070, 1999 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 52
Louis Christopher Mangione: 740 So. 2d 444, 1998 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 133; 796 So. 2d. 446, 1999 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 2553
News articles report that co-defendant Dale Grayson told newspaper reporters that it was Trace Duncan who stabbed the woman, hacked open her chest and pulled out an organ from her body. The police were told that Grayson was a Satanist who drank the blood of his victim. See “Murder Suspect Claims he’s no Satanist,” Birmingham News, April 29, 1994; “Grayson Says Friends Carved Woman’s Body,” Birmingham News, May 5, 1994; “Trial Will Begin for Man Accused in Woman’s Sport Killing,” Birmingham News, October 29, 1995.
October 21, 2003, ANGLESEY, NORTH WALES, MATHEW HARDMAN, Appealing Conviction for Murder
Overview: News reports state a teenager found guilty of murdering his elderly neighbor and drinking her blood in a vampire ritual was attempting to challenge his conviction. He was jailed in 2002 for a minimum of 12 years following his trial. The jury was told the art student killed 90 year old Mabel Leyshon and removed her heart in a satanic-style ritual in November 2001. His first bid to appeal was rejected by the Court of Appeal in early 2003. See “Vampire Killer to Challenge Conviction,” Press Association, October 21, 2003.
September 11, 2003, BRASILIA, BRAZIL, Cesio Brandao aka Cesi Favio Caldas aka Sergio Brandao, Sentenced for Murder and Attempted Murder
Overview: News articles report that five influential members of Brazilian society went on trial in 2003 for the torture, castration, and murder of five children, aged eight to 13, whose sexual organs had been removed and used in rites of black magic between 1989 and 1993. Amailton Madeira Gomes, son of a businessman, Carlos Alberto Santos, policeman, and two doctors, Anisio Ferreira de Souza, and Cesio Brandao, aka Cesi Favio aka Sergio Brandao were charged with the crimes. The fifth defendant, 75-year-old Valentina Andrade, a fortune teller and leader of a UFO group called the Superior Universal Alignment, was tried for these crimes but was not convicted.
The five defendants, including Valentina Andrade, allegedly used their influence in efforts to stop the case from going to trial, intimidated victims, and destroyed evidence. The prosecution asked for the trial to be moved to another locale, Para State.
A total of 19 boys, aged eight to 14, were victimized. Five were mutilated and died, three escaped with horrible injuries, six escaped before they were harmed, and five have never been seen again. Some victims had their eyes gouged out, wrists slit, and sexual organs cut off. The two doctors were accused of selling the internal organs of the children and using their genitals in satanic rituals.
Two mutilated survivors, now adults, escaped from Brazil’s Amazon region where they had been tied to trees after being doped and castrated. They both identified Carlos Alberto Santos as the man who kidnapped them when they were nine and 10 years old.
Brazil’s Special Secretary for Human Rights said the trial had symbolic significance because of the influential professions of the defendants. The trial was seen as a test of Brazil’s ability to bring justice to isolated areas where it was suspected the legal system might be under the sway of powerful locals.
Carlos Albert Santos was sentenced to 35 years, Amailton Gomes was sentenced to 57 years, Anisio Ferreira de Souza was sentenced to 77 years, Cesio Brandao was sentenced to 56 years. See “Trial Opens on Ritualistic Murders of Brazilian Children,” Agence France Presse, August 29, 2003; “Two Sentenced in Mutilation Murder Case in Brazil,” Associated Press, August 30, 2003; “Satanic Sect Leader Denies Charges She tortured, Murdered Children in Brazil,” Agence France Presse, November 19, 2003. See http://www.religionnewsblog.com for articles: “Five on Trial for Child Ritual Murders,” August. 29, 2003; “Doctor Gets 56 for Brazil Sect Killings,” September 10, 2003; “Brazil Jails Occult Killers,” Aug. 31, 2003; “Brazil Court Finds 2 Guilty in Mutilation Killings,” August 30, 2003; “Doctor Gets 77 Years for Brazil Sect Killings,” Sept. 5, 2003.
August 9, 2003, CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA: KANAWHA COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT, Case No. 93-F45, Louis Kelley Sentenced to 15 years in prison for Sexual Assaults
Overview: News reports state that Louis Kelley, 37, was sentenced by the court to serve 15-30 years in prison for sexual assault and one to five years in prison for sexual abuse of a boy. Kelly, who also called himself Damien Prince, convinced the boy to participate in Satanic rituals and molested him numerous times. Kelly pleaded guilty in February 2003 to the two counts related to an incident on Halloween night in 1991. “Man to Serve 15 years for Sexual Assault of Boy during Ritual,” Associated Press, August 9, 2003.
June 19, 2003, MANASSAS, VIRGINIA, JUVENILE AND DOMESTIC COURT, PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Case No. JA020390-02-00, Russell John Smith Plea-Bargained to Four Counts of Rape and was Sentenced to 48 Years
Overview: News reports state that self-described Satanist Russell John Smith, 38, a former guard at the Prince William County jail and founder of a satanic worship group on the internet, plead guilty to four counts of rape. He claimed that most of the sex acts with a 12 year old girl were part of his Satanic rituals. Police who searched his home found numerous Satanic items, including robes, black candles, a goat’s skull, a pentagram and an altar. See “Virginia Fugitive Arrested in Oregon,” Associated Press, Sept. 4, 2002; “Self-described Satanist Sentenced to 48 years for Rape,” Associated Press, July 25, 2003; “Sentencing Delayed for Satanist who Raped Girl,” Associated Press, June 19, 2003; “Metro in Brief,” The Washington Post, July 28, 2003.
May 19, 2003, POWELL v. THE STATE, SUPREME COURT OF GEORGIA, 581 S.E. 2d 13, 2003 Ga. LEXIS 478, Conviction for Murder Affirmed
Overview: Appellate documents state that on May 22, 1998, Keith Powell, 44, who had been living with his parents, shot his unarmed father during a family dispute. Powell routinely carried a .45 caliber handgun in a holster on his person while in the home.
Mr. Powell claimed that the shooting was in self-defense and that he feared his father due to the abuse he suffered as a child. A friend of his testified to the “positive” relationship that existed between Powell and his father but stated that Powell had a lot of anger toward his mother, accusing her of abusing him in a ritualistic satanic manner.
Note: A psychologist opined that Powell had a delusional disorder, apparently due to the fact he spoke of being beaten, drugged and threatened, supposedly because of “gold” he had discovered at some point in his life.
This case has been included because a diagnosis of “delusional disorder” does not necessarily negate this defendant’s claim of alleged satanic ritual victimization by his mother.
January 31, 2003, ROANOKE, VIRGINIA, ROANOKE CITY CIRCUIT COURT, Case No. CR02000968-04, Terry Dale Duncan, Pleaded No Contest to Attempted Capital Murder
Overview: News reports state Terry Dale Duncan, 30, a self-styled Satanic high priest, pleaded no contest in an attempt to murder his one month old son. His child would have died if not for the intervention of a nurse and social worker after the child missed a doctor’s appointment. Duncan’s child had suffered fractures to a leg, a shinbone, both collarbones, and bruises covered his nose, forehead and eyes. The authorities also discovered a wound that appeared to be a cigarette burn at the back of his throat.
The father said he decided to “sacrifice” the child because he believed he was not the child’s father, so he tried to “disassemble” him. The father claimed he used to injure victims in this manner when he was affiliated with an Oklahoma based satanic cult. He told police that, “The majority of those States that we done the sacrifices, some of them were immediate sacrifices to where the heart was busted or the throat was enclosed to cause breathing to stop immediately and cause instant death, and then we disassembled the bodies.”
He confessed to many satanic murders but the police stated law enforcement in other communities did not respond to their request for information about any unsolved homicides. See “Father Pleads No Contest to Abusing Infant,” The Roanoke Times, January 31, 2003.
January 8, 2003, FORT WORTH, TEXAS, TARRANT COUNTY JUSTICE CENTER, Case No. 0822743, Joseph Frank Cala II, Conviction for Murder
Overview: News reports state Joseph Frank Cala II, 41, pleaded guilty to murder in the 2001 death of his 79 years old mother, Lydia M. Cala, after he “beat her to death, sliced her open, and ate some of her heart.” After a three-hour hearing, the District Judge chose the maximum of the 20-30 year sentence range contained in a plea agreement.
The victim’s daughter testified that she went to her mother’s house the evening of Oct. 15, 2001 after neighbors called and said windows had been shattered from inside the house. She was afraid to enter the residence due to fear of her brother, so she notified authorities. Officer Kevin Meador testified that when he looked through a bedroom window, he saw a naked, bloody man standing over what he learned later was a woman’s mutilated body. Another officer saw Cala eat what appeared to be an organ, according to police reports. Meador and other officers said they went inside and heard Joey Cala saying that he worshipped the devil. When officers took him into custody, he told them they had interrupted his “sacrifice.” The 76 pound woman, had a broken nose, teeth, collar bone, ribs and multiple bruises and cuts likely caused by fist or feet, the medical examiner said. After she died, “her chest and abdomen were cut open and some organs were removed,” the medical examiner testified. Part of her heart contained teeth marks and a piece was missing. See “Man Gets 30 Years for Killing, Cannibalizing Mother,” Associated Press, January 8, 2003.
March 13, 2002, MICHAEL DELANEY, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS GUARDIAN AD LITEM FOR BRYAN DELANEY, JASON DELANEY AND JUSTYN DELANEY v. CAROL CLIFTON, PH.D AND MARY ELLEN FARLEY, M.A., COURT OF APPEALS OF OREGON, 41 P.3d 1099, Dismissal of Lawsuit Against Therapist Affirmed
Overview: Appellate documents state patient’s former husband and her children sued professional counselor and clinical psychologists for professional malpractice and the husband, a third party to the therapeutic relationship, sued for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
As background, in 1993, Lee Ann, the wife of the appellant, began to attend lectures and read books about Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD, now called Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)), and Satanic cults. She began to suspect she had been a victim of satanic ritual abuse. Her husband, the plaintiff, also became convinced of the existence of the satanic cult, his own involvement, and the validity of the therapy she was receiving.
In therapy, Lee Ann described “alters” that surfaced in response to environmental cues and believed she participated in ceremonies in which people and animals were tortured. Lee Ann was referred to a specialist who also diagnosed her as MPD.
The plaintiff and Lee Ann divorced and the husband filed a claim for damages against the therapist, alleging that the diagnosis of MPD was considered “controversial and unreliable in the mental health profession” and the therapists damaged the relationship between he and his wife. The local court dismissed this claim because the husband was a third party to the therapeutic relationship and Lee Ann had no complaint about her treatment. The appellate court noted that the plaintiff called for the court to join a “national trend” of jurisdictions that, in the context of MPD generally and memory retrieval in particular, recognize negligence claims against therapists brought by persons outside the therapist-patient relationship.
The Appellate court wrote: “We are unconvinced that such a trend exists. More to the point, however, we would have to depart from settled Oregon tort jurisprudence to join the trend, if there were one. We decline to do so.”
Several other lawsuits have had successful outcomes for therapists after their clients have recanted their disclosures of satanic activity:
November 30, 2000, Jones v. Lurie, 32 S.W. 3d 737. After a trial, no negligence was found on the part of psychologist Lurie and they found her treatment was within the standard of care. The client had disclosed that her grandfather, father, and brother, had sexually abused her, and that her parents took her to satanic rituals where she was physically and sexually abused by other cult members. She claimed to remember murdering and cannibalizing babies and believed “Nazi mind-control” methods were utilized on her, although she later attributed these statements to her therapist. The client had been diagnosed by all of her psychiatrists and treating psychologists with Multiple Personality Disorder. A Dr. Johnstone, who was a witness for the client, testified that there was no such diagnosis as Multiple Personality Disorder and that others professionals who wrote about MPD were “quacks.” The court found that the client was mentally ill long before Lurie treated her and affirmed the judgment of the trial court that found no negligence on the part of the therapist.
November 1, 2000, Bloom v. Braun, et al. 739 N.E. 2d 925. After her mother recommended treatment with therapist/defendant Braun, who she was also seeing in therapy, the client came to believe that she had a diagnosis of MPD and was involved in satanic cult ritual abuse. The client alleged that the therapist “misrepresented” as fact that satanic ritual abuse was proven to exist, there was no objective evidence of such cults, and that since her mother had recovered memories of participating in such rituals, she was also a victim/participant in this activity. She claimed that her memories and the resultant Multiple Personality Disorder were actually caused by the therapy. The appellate court dismissed Bloom’s complaint based on her failure to satisfy the requirements of the legal disability exception to the statue of limitations.
August 22, 2000, Althaus v. Cohen, 2000 Pa. LEXIS 2017. After a jury awarded monetary damages to the client and her parents, the therapist appealed. The issue in this case was whether a therapist – after being referred by social services – who treats a child for alleged parental sexual abuse owes a duty of care to the child’s parents in a therapeutic setting where the child allegedly has been abused by the parents. The child had accused her parents of incest, murder, and leading a satanic cult. The appellate court found that the therapist did not owe a duty of care to the client’s parents and reversed the jury’s decision, resulting in the parents having to return the monetary award. However, this decision did not affect the nominal amount of money awarded to the child.
August 19, 1998, Green v. Charter Pines Hospital, Wallace, Timmons, et al., No. 96-CVS-5235. Lawyer R. Christopher Barden argued that his client Susan A. Green had been made to falsely believe she had been molested by her father and by satanic cult members. He also stated that therapies which claim to retrieve forgotten sexual abuse memories from deep inside the mind are based on “junk science.” The jury rejected these claims and found in favor of the psychologists and believed that the therapist’s therapeutic techniques were well within the standard of care during the time the therapeutic relationship occurred.
September 18, 1995, Stecks v. Young, 38 Cal. App. 4th 365. David and Nancy Stecks brought an action for libel, slander, and intentional infliction of emotional distress against psychologist Young after she made a report to Child Protective Services regarding the Steckses and others. Her client had alleged that these individuals engaged in child abuse and participated in cult activities such as human and animal sacrifice. The appellate court ruled because the therapist was a mandatory reporter, she had absolute immunity.
July 15, 1998, Charter Peachford Behavior Health System, et al. v. Kohout, 504 S.E. 2d 514, 1998 Ga. App. LEXIS 995. The appellate court reversed the judgment of the lower courts finding that therapists and hospital could be sued. The client, Kimberly Kohout, had claimed that she was “brainwashed” into creating “false memories” about being sexually and ritually abused by family members in Satanic cult ceremonies. Kohout admitted to having contacted the False Memory Syndrome Foundation about her “memories.” The court ruled that instead of using a “subjective standard” of the patient’s awareness of psychological harm, the court should use the objective one of when the patient reasonably should have known about it. The suit was dismissed due to the statute of limitations precluding a legitimate cause of action.
July 18, 2001, IN THE INTEREST OF S. C. P., A/K/A S. C. J, MINOR CHILD, M.C.P, MOTHER, COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA, 2001 Iowa App. LEXIS 442, Termination of Parental Rights Affirmed
Overview: Appellate documents state that the mother, Mary, was diagnosed with Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD, now called Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)), and other psychological disorders. Her child was a ward of the Juvenile Court and they wanted to terminate parental rights. There was domestic violence between her and the father of her child. The Courts concern was that “by November 1999 Mary was stating she had been the victim of Satanic ritualistic abuse.” She blamed her father for causing her mental illness. Mary’s therapist testified that she might be able to care for her child within one year. Her therapist stated she was working with the mother on her Dissociative Identity Disorder, helping her to map and contain her identity.
July 16, 2001, JEFFREY DEWAYNE CLARK v. MICHAEL O’DEA, UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS, SIXTH CIRCUIT, 257 F.3d 498, Conviction for First Degree Murder Affirmed
Overview: Appellate documents state a Kentucky jury convicted Jeffrey Clark and an accomplice of first-degree murder in 1995 for which he received a life sentence. Rhonda Sue Warford was stabbed multiple times and one stab wound pierced her brain stem. The medical examiner noted that an inverted cross was tattooed below her left clavicle, and that her injuries were caused by a sharp singled-edged instrument such as a knife. Both Keith Hardin and Jeffrey Clark were questioned about the crime and they were both indicted, jointly tried, and convicted for first degree murder.
Several witnesses testified about Clark and Hardin’s Satanic worship. Jeffrey Clark was also found to have an inverted tattoo on his shoulder. A witness claimed he took her to an area where he said a number of animal sacrifices had been made. Another witness testified that Clark always carried a knife with him and called it his “sacrificial knife,” and stated he had admitted to sacrificing an animal in front of a church. The victim’s sister testified, stating she too knew that Hardin was involved in satanic worship.
Defendant Clark contested the admittance of Satanism at his trial, claiming there was a lack of evidence to prove the murder was a ritualistic killing. The State claimed it introduced evidence of Satanism to supports its theory that the victim’s murder was motivated by the belief held by Clark and Hardin that they would gain “power” by killing her. Testimony had been solicited about satanic teachings and, according to a witness, certain worshippers could empower themselves by killing other living beings by performing a human sacrifice.
The appellate court stated this evidence was probative as to the motive for the killing.
April 12, 2001, SHARON LYNNE ARMSTRONG MORRIS v. JOEY FRANKLIN MORRIS, SUPREME COURT OF MISSISSIPPI, 783 So. 2d 681, Judgment of Custody Decision Affirmed
Overview: Appellate documents state the husband brought a divorce action against his wife (a nurse), and the court awarded him custody of their three children. The wife, Ms. Armstrong, filed an appeal. The husband alleged she subjected him to cruel and unusual treatment, in part, because she had homicidal thoughts of killing him and her mother. The record describes in detail mutual conflict between the parties. The mother had blackouts and would not know how to get home and would not recognize her husband and children. At times, she was suicidal.
The appellate court noted that her mental problems likely stemmed from her sexual abuse perpetrated by her grandfather from the ages of 8-12. The mother admitted to a history of Satanic cult involvement. Her involvement was reportedly at the insistence of her grandfather, and included “group sex, animal sacrifices, cannibalism and perhaps caused the death of at least one individual.” The court acknowledge that much of her emotional problems occurred because of this sexual abuse and because she was made to participate in satanic cult rituals as a child and raped as an adult. Consequently, the appellate court affirmed the decision of the local court.
October 24, 2000, FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA, BROWARD COUNTY COURT, Case No. 9900926-CF10A, Darrel Wayne Harris Convicted of Attempted Second Degree Murder
Overview: News reports state that Darrel Wayne Harris, a 17-year-old, was charged as an adult and was arraigned on an attempted first-degree murder charge in a stabbing attack that stemmed from a Satanic ritual, police said. Harris allegedly stabbed Robert Menendez four to six times in the throat and back with a carving knife after a ritual in which they cut their hands to let their blood mingle and chanted lines from a satanic book together. Menendez and Harris had been friends for about a year. Harris told him he had prepared a “special alter” (sic) for satanic ritual at the site, Menendez testified.
As they were chanting on April 21, they drew a pentagram in the dirt and Harris told Menendez to look down at the symbol. As Menendez looked down, Harris attacked him with the knife. “Somewhere along the line the culprit just started to hack him with the knife,” said Fort Lauderdale Detective Arturo Carbo. “The victim told us that the stabbing was not part of the ritual and he firmly believed he was going to die.” Harris and others left Menendez for dead but he managed to crawl to a nearby area and get help. There was evidence that Harris planned the attack. The victim was hospitalized for several days.
“Harris and Menendez were part of a network of 30 to 40 local young people who were involved in Satanic activities,” Carbo said. Menendez told police he and Harris, who have known each other for at least 18 months, hung out at local public libraries to use computers to access satanic Web sites and send e-mail to each other. The group used online nicknames such as Natas, which is Satan spelled backwards, Mindblower and Deathtrap.
On October 24, 2000, a jury convicted Darrel Wayne Harris for attempted second degree murder. The victim formally testified in court that he had “dabbled in the occult” and had read a book on Satanic ritual. He accompanied Harris out of curiosity. Harris took a butcher knife and book on satanic rituals out of his backpack. Using the knife, Harris cut his hand and Menendez’ hand and the two mixed their blood. Harris carved a pentagram in the ground and stood behind the cross-legged Menendez, telling him to stare at his hand and watch as the fingers disappeared and reappeared. Harris using the butcher knife, stabbed Menendez once in the neck, and three times in the back. See “Teen Charged as Adult in Stabbing that took place during Satanic Ritual,” Associated Press, May 28, 1999; “Satanic Ritual ends in Stabbing: Teen Charged with Attempted Murder,” Sun Sentinel, May 28, 1999; “Mom: Son Depressive Teen Charged with Stabbing in Satanic Ritual,” Sun Sentinel, May 29, 1999; “Teen Guilty in Occult Ritual Stabbing Garners Second-Degree Murder Verdict,” Oct. 25, 2000.
October 12, 2000, EDDIE LEE SEXTON vs. STATE OF FLORIDA, SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA, 775 So. 2d. 923, 2000 Fla. LEXIS 1993; 697 So. 2d. 833 (1997) Conviction and Death Sentence Affirmed
Overview: Appellant documents state that Eddie Sexton’s criminal trial was continued until August 1998 after the Appeals court in 1997 remanded the case back to the local court because testimony about the abuse of his children needlessly inflamed the jury. After the second trial, Eddie Lee Sexton was found guilty and sentenced to death again on Nov. 18, 1998. The Supreme Court of Florida affirmed the conviction and death sentence on October 12, 2000.
Eddie Sexton was convicted and sentenced to death for the participation in the murder of his son-in-law, Joel Good. Joel was murdered by Sexton’s 22 year old son, Willie, who strangled him to death under Sexton’s direction. Willie Sexton testified against his father in exchange for his guilty plea to second-degree murder.
The court noted Sexton moved to Florida in 1993 with his family and the victim to avoid arrest and prevent authorities in Ohio from removing his children from the home. His infant grandchild, who was the son of the victim and his daughter, died under suspicious circumstances.
Sexton objected to the testimony of 5 of his daughters, as cited in the appellate opinion that he: “beat them, conducted ‘marriage’ ceremonies with his daughters, had regular sex with them and fathered several of their children, encouraged his children to have sex with each other, made his sons compare their penis sizes and ridiculed them, practiced Satanism and engaged in other bizarre conduct, threatened his children if they discussed family matters with others, trained his children how to kill FBI agents, engaged in a standoff with police in Ohio shortly before coming to Florida, fled to Florida to prevent his children from being taken into custody, and directed the killing of his infant grandchild.”
The State’s proposed motive for the killing was that Sexton’s son-in-law knew Sexton was the father of his own “grandchildren.” The prosecution wanted prior bad acts admitted to show the control this man had over his children. The appeals court thought this testimony needlessly inflamed the jury and so ordered a new trial.
News reports state that during the second trial, his son, Willie Sexton, said his father convinced him he had Satanic powers and sexually abused him. He also stated that he was tied up to his bed at night when he was a child, and the father gave coins to the other children to call home if anyone spoke about the abuse.
Sherri Sexton, daughter of Eddie Lee Sexton, discussed séances held in the home. She told news reporters that her dead cat was placed on a table and “my dad had all of us go around the table holding hands. He was talking weird. He was saying he was Satan… He kept asking us to give our souls to him – to follow him to Satan.”
Eddie Lee Sexton had been “ordained” by mail order at one time and had filed incorporation papers for a “Calvary Church of God.” Mr. Sexton’s own father was a “Free Will Baptist Preacher.” See “Children Tell of Life of Incest, Violence,” Beacon Journal , February 6, 1994; “Court Revisits Murder Case, Son’s Fears,” St. Petersburg Times, September 2, 1998.
[Eddie Lee Sexton is the husband of Estella Sexton whose case is described next.]
March 9, 1998, STATE OF OHIO vs ESTELLA SEXTON, COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO, FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT, STARK COUNTY, 1998 Ohio App. LEXIS 1302; 1995 Ohio App. LEXIS 1413, Convictions for Complicity to Rape, Felonious Sexual Penetration, Gross Sexual Imposition, Complicity to Gross Sexual Imposition, and Child Endangerment Affirmed
Overview: Appellate documents state that in April 1992 Machelle, one of Estella Sexton’s daughters, alleged that their father, Eddie Sexton, was molesting the three oldest daughters. There were 12 children in the family. DHS took six of the children into custody, but three of the children were returned to the mother under an agreement that she would keep the children away from the father.
In December of 1992, Mrs. Sexton fled Ohio with the three children, and reunited with Mr. Sexton at a hotel in Kentucky. On January 14, 1994, appellant and Eddie Sexton were arrested in Hillsboro County, Florida. The three children were returned to the custody of DHS. While living in Jackson Township, and in a camper in Hillsboro County, Florida, appellant and her husband perpetrated acts of sexual, physical, and mental abuse against all of the children. While living in Jackson Township, Kim, Lana, and Machelle were forced to participate in a wedding ceremony with their father. During the ceremony, Eddie engaged in a French kiss with the girls. Appellant was present, and took pictures of the ceremony.
The Court writes: “In the camper in Florida, appellant and Eddie gave Kim and Chris little red pills and Nyquil to ingest every evening, despite the fact that neither had a cold. On one occasion, Kim did not ingest the medicine and saw appellant fondling Chris’ penis while he was asleep.”…The mother and father inflicted “shaving rituals” on the girls. While living in Jackson Township, Lana and Machelle were forced to experience a similar shaving ritual. Lana was taken to the master bedroom for the purpose of punishment. Once inside the room, appellant held Lana down, while Eddie shaved her entire body with a razor. “While shaving her, Eddie cut her leg, put the blood on her finger, and made her sign a paper, saying that she was selling her soul to the devil.” During the shaving, both appellant and Eddie Sexton fondled Machelle’s vaginal area.
Chris received beatings from both appellant and Eddie Sexton. He would beat Chris once or twice a week, while appellant guarded the door. The beatings would often leave bruises. Appellant and Mr. Sexton also punished Chris by having him stand against the wall for five to six hours, holding a penny against the wall with his nose. During this punishment, Chris was not permitted to go to the bathroom. At age twelve, Chris was forced to participate in weekend parties involving the family members in which he was given beer to drink.
According to Ohio vs. Estella Sexton, February 13, 1995, 1995 Ohio App. Lexis 1413, one of the children stated that family members were involved in satanic rituals, invoking spirits, and “baby thingies and things like that.” “We will hold hands … it mostly takes place after my grandmother died. They will bring her spirit back. Sometimes they bring devils back. They come out of the table and you see them floating around in the room … we all hold hands while it’s happening.” This testimony regarding Satanic ritual was found by the court to be relevant to the proceedings.
Note: On October 11, 2005, COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO, FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT, 2005 Ohio App. Lexis 5150, upheld the finding of the local court that Estella Sexton was a “Sexual Predator.”
September 30, 2000, MURFREESBORO, TENNESSEE, RUTHERFORD COUNTY JUDICIAL BUILDING, Case No. 48444, Alonzo South Pleaded Guilty to Three Counts of Aggravated Sexual Battery, Sentenced to 24 years in prison
Overview: News articles state that according to the plea agreement Alonzo South, 31, admitted that on at least three occasions over the last two years he participated in satanic rituals in which a nude girl under the age of 10 was sexually touched. Court records say the child, who was the daughter of a woman involved in the Satanic group, was raped in a home, the nearby woods, a shed, a pickup truck and a car. See, “Man gets 24 years for Satanic-ritual rape of 10-year-old girl,” The Tennessean, Sept. 30, 2000.
August 10, 2000, PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOS v. PATRICK PAGE, SUPREME COURT OF ILLINOIS, 737 N.E.2d 264, Death Sentence Affirmed
Overview: Appellate documents state that Patrick Page was convicted of three murders in approximately 1985-87. He confessed to committing these murders, along with other defendants, Kenneth Cherney and Gerald Feinberg. One victim was stabbed and set on fire. The second murder victim was also stabbed and a “fire was started over the grave with lighter fluid.” The third victim was stabbed, buried, and a sheet and rug were burned over his grave.
Defendant Page claimed that his trial counsel failed to include evidence regarding his involvement in a cult as a mitigating factor because it would explain to the jurors how he was associated with these murders, how others were more culpable, and how he came to be able to be involved in such acts. He claimed he needed to be in a hospital setting.
Defendant told one psychologist that he was engrossed in the study of black magic and that he and several friends, led by a 24 year old warlock, held services, conjured demons and cast spells. A prior police report quoted a witness stating that “there are people who believe Mr. Patrick Page is the Anti-christ, and that Page derived a power from the location where victim was buried” and indicated Page was a leader of a Satanic cult.” Another witness, and friend of Page, also stated Page derived “power” from certain locations and she “provided notes regarding defendant’s involvement in black magic, rituals and sacrifices.”
Defendant Page wrote in an affidavit that he was involved in certain practices from a young age and was still in fear of individuals who were involved and who may still be involved in these practices. Mr. Page’s father and brother submitted affidavits stating that when defendant was 16 year, he was involved in some kind of cult or devil worship. Another psychologist and physician stated that defendant was under the influence of a cult leader at the times he committed these murders. The Doctors described the mind-control techniques used by leaders of cults.
The court thought if this information had been submitted, far from being mitigating evidence, it would probably have served as aggravating evidence. “This evidence describes defendant’s involvement in devil worship and ritualistic sacrifices.” Defendant wanted his case remanded back to the local court so he could have Neurological Assessment and a cult-related Psycho Social Investigation. The court denied this request and upheld defendant’s death sentence.
April 1, 2000, WARSAW, POLAND, Tomasz Suszyna and Robert Krakowian Pleaded Guilty to Murder
Overview: News articles state Tomas Suszyna, 22, and Robert Krakowian, 19, plead guilty to a double murder and said the victims were an offering to Satan. The victims, a 19-year-old woman and a 17-year-old boy, were killed during a ritual Satanic mass in southern Poland, police said, after finding the cut up and burned bodies. The two victims were members of a sect that staged the Black mass in a disused bunker on the outskirts of the town of Ruda Slaska, but they did not know they were to die. Another teenage cult member who survived was taken to the hospital with multiple knife wounds. See “Teenage Cult Members Killed in Satanic Mass,” Agence France Presse; March 4, 1999 and “Polish Satanists Jailed for Ritual Double Murder,” Agence France Presse, April 1, 2000.
March 9, 2000, IN THE MATTER OF: SHAWN ELLIS, DEPENDENT MINOR CHILD, (FRANKLIN COUNTY CHILDREN SERVICES, COMPLAINANT-APPELLEE, CARLA RICHARDSON, RESPONDENT-APPELLANT) . IN THE MATTER OF: KIMBERLY DAVIS, DEPENDENT MINOR CHILD, (FRANKLIN COUNTY CHILDREN SERVICES, COMPLAINANT-APPELLEE, CARLA RICHARDSON, RESPONDENT-APPELLANT) COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO, TENTH APPELLATE DISTRICT, FRANKLIN COUNTY, 2000 Ohio App. LEXIS 849, Permanent Court Commitment of Children Affirmed
Overview: Appellate documents state in May 1995 allegations of abuse and neglect were filed against the mother, Carla Richardson, on behalf of her two children. She failed to protect the children from being sexually molested by a boarder in the home who was ultimately convicted of rape. After three and a half years of offering services and receiving treatment from six different counselors, the mother remained in denial about the abuse her children had suffered. None of the parents complied with the reunification plans for their children and the court stated Satanic occult practices were allegedly commonplace.
The court noted that after being in counseling for over three years, appellant continued to deny what happened to her children and claimed an inability to remember the abuse. “There was even testimony that appellant could not recall taking blood and hair from the children as part of satanic rituals.”
February 24, 2000, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, Motion Withdrawn to Hold State in Contempt of Court