Issue 87 – July 2009

S M A R T
(Stop Mind control And Ritual abuse Today)
P. O Box 1295, Easthampton, MA 01027-1295 USA E-mail: SMARTNEWS@aol.com
Home page: http://ritualabuse.us/

Issue 87 – July 2009

The purpose of this newsletter is to help stop secretive organizations and groups from abusing others and to help those who allege they have been abused by such organizations and groups. This newsletter is not a substitute for other ways of recovering from ritual abuse. Readers should use caution while reading this newsletter. If necessary, make sure other support systems are available during and after reading this newsletter.

Important: The resources mentioned in this newsletter are for educational value only. Reading the books cited may or may not help your recovery process, so use caution when reading any book or contacting any resource mentioned in this newsletter. Some may have a religious or other agenda that may be separate from your own recovery process. Others may have valuable information on the Masons and other organizations, but have triggers or be somewhat sympathetic to those organizations. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, the views expressed in this newsletter constitute expressions of opinion, and readers are cautioned to form their own opinions and draw their own conclusions by consulting a variety of sources, including this newsletter. Resources listed, quoted and individual articles, etc. and their writers do not necessarily support all or any of the views mentioned in this newsletter. Also, the views, facts and opinions mentioned in this newsletter are solely the opinions of the authors and are not necessarily the opinions of this newsletter or its editor.

Copyright 2009 – All rights reserved. No reproduction of any material without written permission from the editor and individual authors.

SMART wants to thank all those that have contributed resource information to the newsletter.

The 2009 Twelfth Annual Ritual Abuse, Secretive Organizations and Mind Control Conference – August 14-16, 2009 information is at http://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/ or available by writing the above address.

Resources and Information

Please note: Listing of these resources does not necessarily constitute our endorsement of them. They are for educational value only and some may be heavy for survivors to read. Some of the conferences listed may not necessarily be safe for all survivors. S.M.A.R.T. recommends always bringing a support person to all conferences. If you are a survivor of mind control and/or ritual abuse, S.M.A.R.T. recommends that you try to bring a support person that is familiar with mind control techniques. Some of the information in this newsletter came from ACHES-MC (Advocacy Committee for Human Experimentation Survivors – Mind Control) for unconsentually federally funded mind control as children or adults Canada contact Lynne Moss-Sharman, 230 Miles St. E. #3, Thunder Bay, Ont. P7C 1J6, lsharman@shaw.ca

Legal Information

describes crimes ‘Endemic’ rape and abuse of Irish children in Catholic care, inquiry finds – Beatings and humiliation by nuns and priests were common at institutions that held up to 30,000 children, Ryan report states – Henry McDonald, Ireland correspondent – guardian.co.uk, 5/20/09 Rape and sexual molestation were “endemic” in Irish Catholic church-run industrial schools and orphanages, a report revealed today. The nine-year investigation found that Catholic priests and nuns for decades terrorised thousands of boys and girls in the Irish Republic, while government inspectors failed to stop the chronic beatings, rape and humiliation. The high court judge Sean Ryan today unveiled the 2,600-page final report of Ireland’s commission into child abuse, which drew on testimony from thousands of former inmates and officials from more than 250 church-run institutions. Police were called to the news conference amid angry scenes as victims were prevented from attending. More than 30,000 children deemed to be petty thieves, truants or from dysfunctional families – a category that often included unmarried mothers – were sent to Ireland’s austere network of industrial schools, reformatories, orphanages and hostels from the 1930s until the last facilities shut in the 1990s….The report found that molestation and rape were “endemic” in boys’ facilities, chiefly run by the Christian Brothers order, and supervisors pursued policies that increased the danger. Girls supervised by orders of nuns, chiefly the Sisters of Mercy, suffered much less sexual abuse but instead endured frequent assaults and humiliation designed to make them feel worthless….The report concluded that when confronted with evidence of sex abuse, religious authorities responded by transferring offenders to another location, where in many instances they were free to abuse again. “There was evidence that such men took up teaching positions sometimes within days of receiving dispensations because of serious allegations or admissions of sexual abuse,” the report said. “The safety of children in general was not a consideration.” http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/20/irish-catholic-schools-child-abuse-claims

The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse http://www.childabusecommission.ie/index.html

Executive Summary – Conclusions – 1. Physical and emotional abuse and neglect were features of the institutions. Sexual abuse occurred in many of them, particularly boys’ institutions. Schools were run in a severe, regimented manner that imposed unreasonable and oppressive discipline on children and even on staff. http://www.childabusecommission.com/rpt/ExecSummary.php

Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse – Volume I – Volume V http://www.childabusecommission.com/rpt/

Abuse Tracker – http://www.bishop-accountability.org/AbuseTracker/

Mount Cashel abuse victim calls for public inquiry – Richard Foot, Canwest News Service 5/24/09 A survivor of Canada’s worst child abuse scandal is calling for a public inquiry into the horrors inflicted on boys at the Mount Cashel orphanage in Newfoundland, as well as other Christian Brothers institutions across the country….The St. John’s survivor, who lived at the now-defunct Mount Cashel orphanage during the 1950s, is a well-known Newfoundland professional and community volunteer who managed against all odds to build a life for himself, despite being savagely beaten and sexually abused as a boy. He is now one of 50 Mount Cashel survivors with civil suits still before the courts….Doe says the conditions and suffering described by the report out of Ireland read like a “mirror image” of his time in Mount Cashel….From 1989-1990, a Newfoundland royal commission, led by retired Ontario judge Samuel Hughes, did investigate the Mount Cashel scandal; however, its work was focused only on a police coverup of the abuses and on a select group of victims housed in the orphanage in the 1970s and 80s….Between 1996 and 2004, $27 million was paid by the Newfoundland government and the Christian Brothers in compensation to roughly 100 Mount Cashel victims. Another $8.5 million was paid over the same period, by the Catholic order and the government of Ontario, to survivors of Christian Brothers schools in Ontario.
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1626064

Early Alarm for Church on Abusers in the Clergy By Laurie Goodstein 4/2/2009 The founder of a Roman Catholic religious order that ran retreat centers for troubled priests warned American bishops in forceful letters dating back to 1952 that pedophiles should be removed from the priesthood because they could not be cured. The Rev. Gerald M. C. Fitzgerald, founder of the order, Servants of the Paraclete, delivered the same advice in person to Vatican officials in Rome in 1962 and to Pope Paul VI a year later, according to the letters, which were unsealed by a judge in the course of litigation against the church. The documents contradict the most consistent defense given by bishops about the sexual abuse scandal: that they were unaware until recently that offenders could not be rehabilitated and returned to the ministry. Father Fitzgerald, who died in 1969, even made a $5,000 down payment on a Caribbean island where he planned to build an isolated retreat to sequester priests who were sexual predators. His letters show he was driven by a desire to save the church from scandal, and to save laypeople from being victimized. He wrote to dozens of bishops, saying that he had learned through experience that most of the abusers were unrepentant, manipulative and dangerous. He called them “vipers.” “We are amazed,” Father Fitzgerald wrote to a bishop in 1957, “to find how often a man who would be behind bars if he were not a priest is entrusted with the cura animarum,” meaning, the care of souls. His collected letters and his story were reported this week by The National Catholic Reporter, an independent weekly. Father Fitzgerald’s papers were unsealed by a judge in New Mexico in 2007 and are now becoming public in litigation, although some letters were public before now, said Helen Zukin, a lawyer with Kiesel, Boucher & Larson, a firm in Los Angeles. The letters were authenticated in depositions with Father Fitzgerald’s successors….Bishop Cupich said of Father Fitzgerald, “His views, by and large, were considered bizarre with regard to not treating people medically, but only spiritually, and also segregating a whole population with sexual problems on a deserted island.”….At one point, he resolved not to accept pedophiles at his center, saying in a letter to the archbishop of New Mexico in 1957, “These men, Your Excellency, are devils, and the wrath of God is upon them, and if I were a bishop I would tremble when I failed to report them to Rome for involuntary layization.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/us/03church.html

Polygamy Survivor Carolyn Jessop By Andrea Sachs 10/24/07 Polygamy was the norm in Carolyn Jessop’s life. After all, her own father had three wives by the time she was in fourth grade. Her family was part of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), a radical offshoot of the Mormon Church. But Jessop’s own experience in the cult was so disturbing that she ran away with her eight children four years ago. Last month, the FLDS was in the news when its leader, Warren Jeffs, was found guilty of being an accessory to rape for forcing a 14-year-old girl in the group to marry her 19-year-old cousin. Jessop, 38, tells her extraordinary story in a riveting new book, Escape (Broadway). TIME’s Andrea Sachs spoke with Jessop from her home in a suburb of Salt Lake City.

TIME: You were 18 when you were told you were going to be the fourth wife of Merril Jessop, a 50-year-old leader of the FLDS. How did you feel?

Carolyn Jessop: I was shocked. I was devastated. I really wasn’t expecting that I’d be getting married. I didn’t want to get married. I really had my heart set on going to college. The biggest concern I had with it was that once you’re married, your husband really does own you….

You describe physical abuse and beatings. How widespread was that?

It was a big part of the culture. Dominance and control. It was all to maintain the work of God. If it was done in the name of God, then you didn’t question it. It was just a fundamental part of life. I think that in the community people did have their limits when it came to physical violence of what was okay and what was not okay. And so there were cases of extreme violence in families and people viewed that as not being okay. But a man was believed to have the spirit of God and he could get divine revelation from God that pertained to his family. If he had a revelation that in order to get a wife in line physical violence [was required], then he was within his right to use whatever means he needed to have control of his family. Mostly it pertained to children. It was frowned upon for a man to beat his wife, but they did it all the time.
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1675126,00.html

Attorneys: CPS overruled efforts to end rights for some FLDS parents By Paul A. Anthony (Contact) 4/12/09 Two attorneys tasked with managing the labyrinthine FLDS child-custody case severed their ties with the state after being overruled in their efforts to terminate the parental rights of Warren Jeffs and other residents of the polygamous YFZ Ranch, the Standard-Times has learned. Charles G. Childress and Jeff Schmidt in separate interviews described frustration with the state’s Child Protective Services agency that led both men to leave the case – Childress, a consultant with CPS from Austin, doing so voluntarily, while Schmidt, a staff attorney from Corpus Christi, was removed and later resigned from the agency. “It had already been established my opinion was not wanted,” Childress said. “I won’t lend my name and legal reputation pursuing a legal strategy I adamantly oppose.” The attorneys worked together during the summer and fall, after a pair of state appellate courts ordered CPS to return the hundreds of children it had removed last April from members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. As the state’s investigation continued, both men said they saw evidence to warrant filing motions seeking termination of parental rights on a number of cases – at least 10 and perhaps more, the attorneys said. Instead, they said, they were overruled by leaders of the Department of Family and Protective Services, which runs the agency. “They wanted to hear the direction I thought the cases ought to go,” Schmidt said, and when he told them he would seek termination on several cases, “they basically told me I was relieved of my duties.” CPS had every right to remove attorneys who did not agree with the methods it chose to implement, said CPS spokesman Patrick Crimmins, because “the role of the attorney is to represent the client’s position.” Likewise, Crimmins said, the attorneys’ position was not supported by the CPS caseworkers involved with the families. http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2009/apr/12/attorneys-cps-overruled-efforts-to-end-rights/

Germany breaks up child porn ring 4/16/09 Police in Germany have said they have broken up a child pornography network suspected of involving around 9,000 people in more than 90 countries. Officers in the Baden-Wuerttemberg said obscene images were being sent over the internet to countries in Europe, as well as the US, Canada and New Zealand. The footage included “images of the most serious sexual abuse”, they added. In raids across Germany, 500 computers and 43,000 storage devices were seized, and a number of people were arrested. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8003129.stm

‘Forgotten children’ share secret shame By Tracy Vedder 5/11/09 They were the forgotten children. Five- and six-year old girls and boys – sent to a remote boarding school and left to the terrible mercy of their caretakers. For the first time publicly, some of those children – now adults – are telling their stories of sexual abuse at the hands of their Jesuit teachers. They’re telling those stories because they believe dozens of other victims out there still need help. St. Mary’s Mission School sits empty and abandoned now. Today St. Mary’s Mission School, in the hills above Omak, sits desolate, abandoned, in a poor corner of the Colville Indian Reservation. The classrooms – long empty. The boys’ and girls’ dormitories – locked up tight. There’s little evidence today of the torturous childhoods many spent here. Patti Webb was just 6 years old in 1962 when she was taken to St. Mary’s. Alone and scared, the daughter of an alcoholic – absent mother, Webb says the sexual molestation started right away…. Sixteen Colville tribal members – 15 women and one man – who were at St. Mary’s in the early ’60s to early ’70s have come forward telling similar stories….Webb and the other 15 tribal members settled with the Oregon Province of the Jesuits for $4.8 million. The province covers all of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. But Webb and Allison believe there are dozens of other victims from St. Mary’s Mission – now scattered across the Northwest – who have never come forward. And since the Jesuits have declared bankruptcy, those victims will only have a limited time to file a claim….Settling sexual abuse claims has already cost the Jesuits of the five Northwest states a bundle, over $55 million for more than 200 victims – most from Alaska. The Jesuits believe there could be another 200 victims with claims out there – so they’ve decided bankruptcy is the only way to make sure all the victims get a fair shot at what money they have left. http://www.komonews.com/news/local/44680982.html

Record settlement for victim of pedophile priest By Donald McArthur, The Windsor Star 5/7/09 A victim of pedophile priest Charles Sylvestre has secured a record-setting settlement from the London diocese of the Roman Catholic Church, just days before her civil lawsuit was to proceed to trial. Lou Ann Soontiens, who endured five years of abuse as a girl and underwent a forced abortion, will share her story and announce details of the historic settlement Friday in London….Sylvestre was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty in 2006 to sexually assaulting 47 girls over 40 years in Windsor, Chatham, Pain Court, Sarnia and London. Publicity surrounding his case prompted more victims to come forward. Sylvestre died in Kingston Penitentiary in January 2007, less than four months into his sentence….In particular, Talach (of Ledroit Beckett in London) said evidence suggested Sylvestre was moved from Hamilton to Windsor in the early 1950s after complaints were made against him in Hamilton. “He should have never been in Windsor, he should have never been in London, he should have never been in Sarnia, he should have never been in Chatham, he should never have been in Pain Court,” said Talach. “All those victims in those cities could have been avoided.” http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Record+settlement+victim+pedophile+priest/1574063/story.html

Brown orders inquiry into child slaves passed through Heathrow care home 5/6/09 Jenny Booth – Gordon Brown today promised an investigation after it emerged that a children’s home near Heathrow airport has been used as a clearing house by traffickers who have sold dozens of Chinese youngsters into slavery, prostitution or the drugs trade. The Prime Minister told the Commons that the Government would investigate a practice which he condemned as “completely unacceptable and inhumane”. The news emerged in a leaked document from the UK Border Agency, obtained by The Guardian newspaper, that said that at least 77 Chinese children have gone missing from the care home run by the London borough of Hillingdon since March 2006….The document said the missing children were victims of an international trafficking network with agents based in countries including China, Brazil, Japan, Malaysia and Kenya. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6233651.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=2015164

Scottish paedophile ring found guilty of more than 50 charges Severin Carrell, Scotland correspondent guardian.co.uk, 5/7/09 A ring of eight paedophiles, including a former welfare campaigner for young gay men, were today convicted of child abuse and producing indecent images of children. The men, from across central Scotland, were found guilty by a jury in Edinburgh of more than 50 charges, ranging from abusing infants from three months old to conspiracy and holding more than 125,000 images of child pornography. Two of the leaders of the gang, the biggest paedophile network uncovered in Scotland, were convicted of raping and abusing the young children of close friends while they were babysitting, and sharing images of the abuse….A further 7,000 images were found, together with emails clearly showing that other children were at serious risk. Lothian and Borders detectives launched Operation Algebra, and were given warrants by courts in the United States to obtain email records from Microsoft. Expert witnesses were able to identify one digital camera used to record the abuse from the photographs….Milligan had 78,000 images in his possession….Webber, Boath and Milligan were found guilty of conspiring to participate in the sexual abuse of children along with Strachan and Rennie. Campbell was cleared of conspiracy. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/may/07/scottish-paedophile-ring-guilty-child-abuse

Child trafficking in Britain up by 50%, says study – Robert Booth – The Guardian, 4/25/09 – The rate of recorded child trafficking in Britain has increased by almost 50% in two years, according to figures released yesterday by the Home Office’s child exploitation and online protection centre (Ceop). In all, 325 children from 52 countries have been identified by government agencies in the latest survey – from March 2007 to February 2008 – as potential victims of trafficking, with many brought into the UK for activities including prostitution, illegal labour, forced marriage and illegal adoption. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/25/child-trafficking-in-britain-survey

Mind Control and Experimentation

Journal of Child and Youth Care – ISSN 0840-982X – SPECIAL ISSUE 1990 – CONTENTS
A Case of Multiple Life-Threatening Illnesses Related to Early Ritual Abuse
Rennet Wong and Jock McKeen
Ritual Child Abuse: A Survey of Symptoms and Allegations
Pamela S. Hudson
Satanic Ritual Abuse: A Cause of Multiple Personality Disorder
George A. Fraser
Differentiating Between Ritual Assault and Sexual Abuse
Louise M. Edwards
The Choice – Gerry Fewster
http://www.cyc-net.org/Journals/jcycSpecial1990.html
(This website may have a virus, use updated virus protection if visiting.)

Sexual Abuse in Day Care: A National Study – Executive Summary – March 1988 – Finklehor, Williams, Burns, Kalinowski “The study identified 270 “cases” of sexual abuse in day care meaning 270 facilities where substantiated abuse had occurred involving a total of 1639 victimized children….This yielded an estimate of 500 to 550 reported and substantiated cases and 2500 victims for the three-year period. Although this is a large number, it must be put in the context of 229,000 day care facilities nationwide service seven million children….allegations of ritual abuse (“the invocation of religious, magical or supernatural symbols of activities”) occurred in 13% of the cases.” The authors divided these cases into “true cult-based ritual,” “pseudo-ritualism” with a primary goal of sexual gratification and ritual being used to intimidate the children from disclosing and “psychopathological ritualism” the activities being “primarily the expression of an individuals obsessional or delusional system.” http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/1c/82/61.pdfinklehor_1988.pdf

Archaeological Investigations of the McMartin Preschool Site by E. Gary Stickel, Ph.D. This is the final report, written by Dr. E. Gary Stickel, describing his findings at the McMartin preschool site in Manhattan Beach, California. http://www.scribd.com/doc/10252626/Archaeological-Investigations-of-the-McMartin-Preschool-Site-by-E-Gary-Stickel-PhD

describes crimes – Reporter’s Notebook: 6 Months of California Case By Robert Lindsey Published: February 13, 1985 “Prosecutors say they intend to present as witnesses 41 former pupils of the school, almost all of whom, physicians testified at the hearing, showed physical evidence of having been sexually abused. The second of the children to testify at the hearing, a 10-year-old boy who attended the McMartin Preschool almost five years ago, has now been on the witness stand for nine days, including eight days under intense cross examination by defense lawyers who have been trying to find inconsistencies in his story. So far, often under rapid-fire questioning that might wither some adult witnesses, the child has stuck to his story with only minor contradictions. He described being sodomized or otherwise sexually molested by all seven of the defendants and asserted that children had been made to pose for pornographic pictures. The 10-year-old boy repeated under cross examination an account of how he and other children were taken to a church where he said adults wearing masks and black robes danced and moaned while Mr. Buckey went to the altar and killed pet rabbits, turtles and birds and threatened to kill the children’s parents the same way if the children told of the alleged abuse.” http://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/13/us/reporter-s-notebook-6-months-of-california-case.html

describes crimes – Boy, 7, Is Witness in California Child Abuse Case by Robert Lindsey January 23, 1985 A 7-year- old boy testified today that he had played ”naked games” at the Virginia McMartin Preschool near here and that in at least one of the games teachers at the school had touched his genital organs….Prosecutors have asserted that more than 100 children were abused at the school in the past decade. All the defendants have denied the charges, which date from 1978….After pointing out his former teachers in the courtroom, the boy said he had played ”naked games” at the school. Describing a game called ”Cowboys and Indians” under questioning by Glenn Stevens, a deputy district attorney, the boy said the children playing the game were taken into a room. ”They’d put us in jail; they’d touch us in jail,” he said. ”How did the teachers touch you?” Mr. Stevens asked. ”In the penis,” the boy replied….While Mr. Stevens appeared satisfied with the answers regarding the first game the child mentioned, he was less successful when questioning the child about two other games, called ”the Alligator Game” and ”Naked Movie Star.” In both games, the boy said, children were asked by other children to remove their clothes, but he seemed to draw a blank whenever he was asked to give details. ”I don’t remember,” the boy said repeatedly. The first grade pupil also testified that Mr. Buckey had cut the ears off rabbits and injured other pets in front of the children and had threatened to harm their parents if they told anyone about the alleged sexual molestation. http://www.nytimes.com/1985/01/23/us/boy-7-is-witness-in-california-child-abuse-case.html

describes crimes of abuse Satanism Linked To Scores of U.S. Child Abuse Cases Edward W. Lempinen. San Francisco Chronicle 11/5/87 p. A1 – Satanism and cult rituals have been linked to scores of child-molestation cases nationwide in the past five years, including dozens in California. Children as young as 2 and 3 years old have come forward with harrowing tales of drinking blood, animal sacrifices and sexual abuse as part of rituals, according to law enforcement investigators, child abuse experts and parents. Others have even talked of cannibalism and ritual sacrifice of children. After hearing similar tales over and over from people across the country, many investigators and child abuse experts now have come to believe in the unbelievable….In San Francisco, police confirmed last week that they are investigating reports by a 3-year-old girl who claimed that she was taken from a day-care center at the Presidio Army base and driven to a home where she was molested by two men in costumes….No arrests have been made. Investigators and parents have declined to give details of the cases of at least 58 children who attended the Presidio Child Development Center, fearing that they might jeopardize the prosecution of a former day-care worker. But in other cases across the nation, experts say there is striking evidence of ritualized sexual abuse that recurs in case after case: — At West Point, N.Y., Army families have pressed an investigation into widespread child abuse at a military day-care center in 1983 and 1984….But an increasingly influential group of legal, psychological and medical experts say they are beginning to amass considerable testimony and circumstantial evidence of cult and Satanic abuse nationwide – and dating back four generations or more. Sandi Gallant, an intelligence officer with the San Francisco police and one of the nation’s most influential experts on cults, cautions that many cases are proving unfounded. But she says that there have been 60 to 70 “solid” cases of ritual sexual abuse in the past few years nationwide. She and others have heard hundreds of children and adult – people who have never met and who live a continent apart – tell stories that are fundamentally the same. “Independently, the victims are describing incredibly similar circumstances,” said Catherine Gould, a clinical psychologist in the Los Angeles district of Encino who has counseled dozens of children who claim they were molested in rituals. http://ezproxy.sfpl.org/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=65772423&Fmt=3&clientId=3266&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Conspiracy Of Silence on the Franklin case – “Conspiracy of Silence, a documentary listed for viewing in TV Guide Magazine was to be aired on the Discovery Channel, on May 3, 1994. This documentary exposed a network of religious leaders and Washington politicians who allegedly flew children to Washington D.C. for sex orgies.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggxiBWv4xYE
also at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ37lFha8Uo&feature=related

Cult and ritual abuse: Its history, anthropology, and recent discovery in contemporary America, (rev.ed.). Noblitt, James Randall; Perskin, Pamela Sue Westport, CT, US: Praeger Publishers/Greenwood Publishing Group. (2000). xvii, 269 pp. Abstract – A personal but also scholarly journey into the clandestine and confusing world of ritual abuse, this book provides unique insights into the catastrophic experiences of ritual abuse survivors and their efforts to find healing through psychological treatment. This revised edition provides contemporary revelations about cults in existence today and also new therapies developed since the first edition was published in 1995. The special legal dilemmas, survival problems and day-to-day life experiences of these survivors are examined in a scholarly but sensitive manner. The book presents the idea that ritual abuse is an age-old phenomenon found in many cultures throughout the world. That ritual abuse causes a variety of specific psychiatric symptoms is noted. Special attention is given to the diagnosis dissociative identity disorder that is frequently found among ritual abuse survivors. Suggestions are offered for effectively dealing with the various social and legal problems that result from this severe form of abuse. New diagnoses–cult and ritual trauma disorder–are proposed for this newly identified problem. http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=search.displayRecord&uid=2000-05295-000

Cult and Ritual Abuse: Sadism Not Sophism A review of Cult and Ritual Abuse: Its History, Anthropology, and Recent Discovery in Contemporary America (Rev. ed.) by James Randall Noblitt and Pamela Sue Perskin Westport, CT: Praeger/Greenwood, 2000. 269 pp. ISBN 0-275-96665-8. $24.95 paperback Reviewed by John Schmuttermaier The authors provide a comprehensive and well-documented account of the two forms of ritualized abused: ritual abuse and satanic ritual abuse…. At first, Noblitt was incredulous and did not take his patients seriously. What finally convinced him were the “comparable reports from other patients” (p. xiv) who were exhibiting the “same cluster of psychiatric symptoms” (p. xiv). Discussions with his colleagues revealed that they also had patients reporting similar stories of abuse (p. xiv). Collectively, these factors changed his mind…. The second theme concerns an attempt to validate the existence of ritualized abuse rather than simply satanic ritual abuse. To do this, the authors provide empirical evidence and explanation (Chapters 6-13). The evidence and explanation takes the form of a comprehensive review of the literature that supports the existence of ritual abuse…. This book provides the reader with a rigorous and interesting account of a contentious issue. http://psycnet.apa.org/critiques/46/6/615.html

Fran’s Day Care Case – Randy Noblitt, PhD http://ritualabuse.us/ritualabuse/articles/frans-day-care/

describes crimes – International Council on Cultism and Ritual Trauma, has articles on
What is the International Council on Cultism and Ritual Trauma?
Satanic Ritual Abuse: The Evidence Surfaces
Book Reviews
When Good People Do Nothing
Recognizing and Classifying Programming
A Response to Oprah Bickel and the Public Broadcasting System
Little Rascals Update and Commentary
Review of The Satanism Scare
Coming Full Circle
http://web.archive.org/web/20000818154537/home.flash.net/~riders99/main.html

Black, D. M. (Autumn 1995). “Treating Survivors of Satanist Abuse edited by Valerie Sinason”. British Journal of Psychotherapy 12 (1): 119-131. Most of the book is written by therapists who have lived through a very real trauma themselves: that of slowly coming to believe that the appalling stories they are hearing may be literally true. Some therapists have further paralleled their patients’ experience by meeting disbelief or dismissiveness in their professional colleagues. Far from an overeagerness to accept these stories, virtually every contributor describes initial extreme reluctance to believe them, only gradually overborne by the weight of the evidence….we also meet the courage and devotion of many impressive therapists, who have persevered and very often won through, and we are also, very practically, given a great deal of helpful and directly useful information: what to do and who to turn to if we think we may be faced with these issues. This book is not fun, but it is admirable and necessary. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119961579/abstract

Riley, E.A. (1992). “Breaking the circle of satanic ritual abuse: Recognizing and recovering from the hidden trauma.”. Journal of Traumatic Stress 6 (3). Those of us who work with satanic ritual abuse (SRA) are grateful for any treatment oriented materials on the subject. There is so little available and a majority of those most experienced fail to speak frankly and openly for a variety of reasons. In this instance, since the author (not his real name) is both a survivor and a mental health professional, the expectations of insightful revelations are perhaps greater than they should be. He interviews a number of clinicians and quotes them liberally as to their own experience with SRA survivors. As a result, embedded throughout, are little gems of clinical technique and activity….In summary, the book is worth owning and is available in paperback from CompCare Publishers, 2415 Annapolis Lane, Minneapolis, Minn. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/112447634/abstract

Psychiatry and the CIA – Victims of Mind Control (Hardcover) by Harvey Weinstein “Dr Weinstein chronicles how he spent eight years fighting to help obtain justice for his father, who, along with eight other Canadians, was suing the CIA for negligence in its sponsorship of Dr Ewen Cameron’s mind control experiments. That programme included lengthy periods of multiple electroshocks, hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD, prolonged sensory deprivation, forced sleep, induced insulin comas, and psychic driving – an attempt to alter behaviour by forcing patients to listen to taped messages over and over again. In his book, Dr Weinstein describes his feelings of horror and helplessness while watching his father’s health and personality be destroyed as he underwent Cameron’s experimental protocol. “Psychiatry and the CIA: Victims of Mind Control” is Harvey Weinstein’s personal account of the events at the Allan Memorial Institute. A chronicle of a medical scandal of horrific proportions, this book is also a story of government misconduct, deceit, and cover-ups. Dr Weinstein further raises questions about the vulnerability of contemporary medicine to the abuse of patients in the context of repeated episodes of ethical transgressions during this century. (American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.; Revised edition (October 1990) ISBN-10: 0880483636) http://www.amazon.com/Psychiatry-CIA-Victims-Mind-Control/dp/0880483636

U.S. Government-Sponsored Mind Control and Tulane links include : Wolf Interview, Wolf Testimony, Scheflin Validation, Scheflin Credentials, Tulane Experiments http://tulanelink.com/mind/tulane_role_04a.htm

Journal Articles

Therapy for adults molested as children by John Briere “It is my clinical impression, supported by a growing body of research, that many (although not all) survivor reports of previously unavailable abuse memories represent actual occurrences. To the extent that this is true, there exists a certain unpleasant irony: By negating true accounts of sexual abuse, our culture may be accomplishing exactly what it discounts in the survivor: “Repressing” or wishing away things that are too painful to tolerate in conscious awareness.” p. 48 – Springer Publishing Company, 1996 ISBN 082615641X, 9780826156419, 256 pages http://books.google.com/books?id=tyz0GlsdxiUC
books by John Briere – http://www.johnbriere.com/books.htm

What hysteria? A systematic study of newspaper coverage of accused child molesters – Ross E. Cheit – Child Abuse & Neglect 27 (2003) 607-623 Results: Most defendants (56.1%) were not mentioned in the newspaper. Factors associated with a greater chance of coverage include: cases involving first-degree charges, cases with multiple counts, cases involving additional violence or multiple victims, and cases resulting in long prison sentences. The data indicate that the press exaggerates “stranger danger,” while intra-familial cases are underreported. Newspaper accounts also minimize the extent to which guilty defendants avoid prison. Conclusions: Generalizing about the nature of child molestation cases in criminal court on the basis of newspaper coverage is inappropriate. The coverage is less extensive than often claimed, and it is skewed in ways that are typical of the mass media….Conclusions – The findings in this study dispute many popular claims about “media hysteria” over child sexual abuse. Based on a comprehensive analysis of all those charged with this crime in Rhode Island in 1 year, it is clear that the coverage was generally limited and often nonexistent. More than half the people charged with child molestation never had their name in the newspaper. Only a handful of those covered received anything more than a few stories, and much of that in brief “fillers” (under 200 words). The lack of support for the “hysteria” position is all the more significant because most of the coverage in this study was in 1993. That is the year that Jenkins (1996) called “the peak of media concern” about pedophile priests. Newsweek had a cover story in 1993 about the so-called “hysteria” about child sexual abuse (Shapiro, 1993). This study suggests that the hysteria narrative does not have comprehensive empirical support in the real world. Like an urban legend, this narrative is continually told and accepted without appropriate skepticism.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V7N-48NC1DN-8&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=65202c87aab1224ac207d3df874938d1

Sheriff says there’s more child abuse going on than community knows about 4/13/09 OLEAN – According to national surveys, one in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused by their 18th birthday. Cattaraugus County Sheriff Dennis John….He said he soon learned that most children try to hide abuse. “The number of children that disclose abuse is actually very small,” he said. “There’s so much of it going on that we’re just not aware of.” He said the greatest risk to children doesn’t come from strangers but from family and friends. Research has shown that in more than 90 percent of sexual abuse cases, the child and the child’s parents or caregivers know and trust the abuser….Sheriff John remembers one case in Cattaraugus County where a father had been sexually abusing his daughter for more than four years. The girl eventually told authorities what was happening. “What convinced her to finally make a disclosure to us was he was beginning to abuse her younger sister,” Sheriff John said. “And the first thing she said to us was, `I don’t want my father to go to jail.’ She still had some compassion for her father even though he had been abusing her.” http://www.oleantimesherald.com/articles/2009/04/14/news/doc49e389e1d59be424238748.txt

Memory and abuse: remembering and healing the effects of trauma By Charles L. Whitfield, Christine Courtois Published by HCI, 1995 ISBN 1558743200, 9781558743205 “Remembering what happened in any traumatic experience is basic and crucial to healing. For over 100 years the memory of abuse survivors has been questioned and challenged by all sorts of people, ranging from perpetrators to family members.” http://books.google.com/books?id=z1LW3u1e04YC
Quote from the book : “Since at least 95 percent of child molesters initially deny their abusive behaviors, how can untrained lay people like Pamela Freyd and her staff “document” a real or “unreal” case of “FMS,” as appears to be the case with most of their communications, which usually occur over the telephone or by letter? (p. 76)

NY must give child sex abuse victims more time by Richard B. Gartner 4/22/09….The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about one in five American children is sexually abused. So in a classroom of 25 children, five will be victimized before adulthood….Common aftereffects of childhood sexual trauma include anxiety, depression, drug and alcohol addiction, prostitution, truancy, poor grades and even suicide….Abusers also keep their victims quiet with threats of harm against the children or their families. They may be told they will be taken from their homes and put in foster care or even prison if they tell. So they desperately try to forget what happened. Research confirms the capacity of the human brain to stop conscious recall of traumatic information. In war veterans, Holocaust survivors and even crime victims, the brains’ ability to protect itself by blocking unwanted memories is well-documented. These memories can later be validly recalled, and false claims of childhood sexual abuse are exceedingly rare – and are often detectable…. The statute of limitations for sexual abuse – five years after age 18 – is woefully inadequate….it makes sense to create a one-year window in which victims can charge predators and any organizations that demonstrably shielded them, as the bill sponsored by Assemb. Margaret Markey (D-Maspeth) does….The statute of limitations must be lengthened until victims are old enough to face their abusers and the institutions shielding them. These men and women were abused as children by sexual predators, and then again by institutions that countenanced crimes. New York State must not re-victimize them by continuing to protect predators and institutions. http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-opgar2312679312apr22,0,5749848.story

The Myth of Epidemic False Allegations of Sexual Abuse in Divorce Cases by Merrilyn McDonald (note: abstract summaries and web page addresses are not from the article)
CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IS A COMMON EXPERIENCE. A more recent national survey found that 27 percent of women and 16 percent of men reported sexual abuse as a child. David Finkelhor, Gerald Hotaling, I.A. Lewis & Christine Smith, “Sexual Abuse in a National Survey of Adult Men and Women: Prevalence, Characteristics, and Risk Factors,” Child Abuse and Neglect: The International Journal, v14 n1 p19-28 1990. Abstract: The national survey of over 2500 adult men and women found a reported history of childhood sexual abuse of 27 percent in women and 16 percent in men. Correlates of higher rates of abuse (e.g., growing up in unhappy families) are reported for both men and women. http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ406942&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ406942 The rates of 27 percent of women and 16 percent of men are considered to be solid, accurate rates by most researchers.

ALLEGATIONS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN DIVORCE CASES ARE INFREQUENT. An excellent study on the incidence of sexual abuse in divorce was done by Thoennes and Tjaden of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Research Unit in Denver, with funding from the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. Data was gathered from domestic relations court staff in eight jurisdictions, during a six-month period. Staff in these jurisdictions completed a questionnaire each time there was an allegation of sexual abuse in a custody or visitation dispute. More than 9,000 families in these areas had custody or visitation disputes. Of these 9,000 families, less than 2 percent had allegations of sexual abuse. (Nancy Thoennes & Patricia G. Tjaden, “The Extent, Nature, and Validity of Sexual Abuse Allegations in Custody/Divorce Disputes,” Child Abuse and Neglect: The International Journal, v14 n2 p151-63 (1990). “A study of over 9,000 custody/visitation dispute cases found that sexual abuse allegations occurred in 2 percent of contested cases. Such cases involve a variety of accused and accusing parties and are no less likely to be “unfounded” than other sexual abuse reports.”
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ411724&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ411724
David P. H. Jones & J. Melbourne McGraw, “Reliable and Fictitious Accounts of Sexual Abuse to Children,” Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Vol. 2, No. 1, 27-45 (March 1987). “The various categories of reports of child sexual abuse were examined in Phase 1 of a two-part study. In this first phase, all the reports (N = 576) of child sexual abuse made to the Denver Department of Social Services were categorized. Most reports were reliable accounts (70%), but a small proportion appeared to be fictitious (8%)” http://jiv.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/2/1/27

Why Do Kids Recant?….The fact that a child recants does not mean that abuse never happened. It often means that pressure has been applied to the child and the child submitted. A child may also recant when he feels he is not being believed. Naturally reluctant to talk about abuse, a child may become silent or recant if those interviewing him seem skeptical of his disclosure. (Published in the Spring 1998 issue of Court Review) http://www.omsys.com/mmcd/courtrev.htm

JENNIFER J. FREYD, PH.D., author of “Betrayal Trauma: The Logic of Forgetting Childhood Abuse.” “Despite this documentation for both traumatic amnesia and essentially accurate delayed recall, memory science is often presented as if it supports the view that traumatic amnesia is very unlikely or perhaps impossible and that a great many, perhaps a majority, maybe even all, recovered memories of abuse are false….Yet no research supports such an implication…and a great deal of research supports the premise that forgetting sexual abuse is fairly common and that recovered memories are sometimes essentially true.” (p. 107)
Science in the Memory Debate – Ethics & Behavior, Volume 8, Issue 2 June 1998 , pages 101 – 113 http://www.fmsf.com/ethics.shtml
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a784402310~db

False memory syndrome proponents tactics – False memory syndrome proponents have done the following to try and ensure that only their point of view is in the public view. Harassing debate opponents, misrepresenting the data in the field and controlling the media. http://ritualabuse.us/research/memory-fms/false-memory-syndrome-proponents-tactics/

JENNIFER A. HOULT in 1988, filed a civil suit against her father – a member of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation – (J. Hoult v. D.P. Hoult), whom she alleged had sexually abused her throughout her childhood. In 1993, this case was unanimously decided in her favor, and she was awarded monetary damages. However, Hoult has seen the facts of her case twisted and misreported in the media and by FMS proponents. She writes: “Since 1995, I have become aware of the parallel between the intimidation and silencing in the microcosm of the abusive family and in the macrocosm of a society that is ill at ease in dealing with the abuse of children. During my childhood my father protected himself from being held accountable by threatening me into silence. I believe that published documents demonstrate how some members and supporters of false memory groups publish false statements that defame and intimidate victims of proven violence and their supporters. Such altered accounts are used to discredit others in court and in the press.” — Silencing the Victim: The Politics of Discrediting Child Abuse Survivors, p. 125. http://www.fmsf.com/ethics.shtml
Abstract: As a victim of child abuse who proved my claims in a landmark civil suit, there have been many attempts to silence and discredit me. This article provides an overview of my court case and its effects. Silencing the Victim: The Politics of Discrediting Child Abuse Survivors – Ethics & Behavior, Volume 8, Issue 2 June 1998 , pages 125 – 140
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a784402312~db

83,000 cases of child abuse reported in Texas in 2008 By Sandra Cason, News Messenger 4/28/09 National Center for Victims of Crime statistics show that a child was reported as abused or neglected every 34.9 seconds during 2008. In Texas last year, there were more than 83,000 separate allegations of abuse or neglect confirmed by Child Protective Services (CPS), a division of Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS)….The national estimate of children who received an investigation or assessment has declined from 3.6 million during 2006 to 3.5 million during 2007….Nationwide statistics for 2007 from 50 states indicate that the rate of children who were subjects of a screened-in referral (a report) and who subsequently received an investigation or assessment was 47.2 per 1,000 children. Individual state rates ranged from 8.4 to 127.4 per 1,000 children….The youngest children had the highest rate of victimization and accounted for the largest percentage of victims: children from birth to 3 years of age accounted for 30 percent of child victims….Of the victims who were sexually abused, 35.2 percent were in the age group 12-15 years, 23.8 percent were in the age group 8-11 years, and 23.3 percent were in the age group 4-7 years….The direct cost of child abuse and neglect in the United States totals more than $33 billion annually – a figure which includes law enforcement, judicial system, child welfare, and health care costs. When factoring in indirect costs, such as special education, mental health care, juvenile delinquency, lost productivity, and adult criminality, the figure rises to more than $103 billion annually. Victims of child abuse constituted 19 percent of the recipients of crime victim compensation in 2006. http://www.marshallnewsmessenger.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/08/042809_web_childabuse.html

False attribution of suggestibility to explain recovered memory of childhood sexual abuse following extended amnesia – Frank Leavitt – Child Abuse & Neglect Volume 21, Issue 3, March 1997, Pages 265-272 Abstract: Suggestibility is central to arguments proffered by critics of recovered memory of childhood sexual abuse who believe that memories involving amnesia are false creations of treatment. The present study represents the first direct investigation of suggestibility among patients who report recovered memory. Suggestibility was measured in 44 patients who recovered memories and in a 31 patient comparison group without a history of sexual trauma using the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale. Results indicated that patients who recover memories were remarkably less suggestible than the clinical field has been led to believe by advocates of false memory. As a group, they scored low on suggestibility. Recovered Memory patients yielded to suggested prompts an average of 6.7 times per case. This compares to an average of 10.6 in the Psychiatric comparison group. Paradoxically, patients without a history of sex abuse were more at risk for altering memory to suggestive prompts. These findings appreciably challenge advocated theories of suggested memory. doi:10.1016/S0145-2134(96)00171-8
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V7N-3SWV6NV-7&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=bae98194eeabcbfb8a5dcaa602d5cc0b

What research paradigms have cognitive psychologists used to study “False memory,” and what are the implications of these choices? Kathy Pezdek and Shirley Lama – Conscious Cogn 16:2-17. March 2007 PMID 16157490 Abstract – This research examines the methodologies employed by cognitive psychologists to study “false memory,” and assesses if these methodologies are likely to facilitate scientific progress or perhaps constrain the conclusions reached. A PsycINFO search of the empirical publications in cognitive psychology was conducted through January, 2004, using the subject heading, “false memory.” The search produced 198 articles. Although there is an apparent false memory research bandwagon in cognitive psychology, with increasing numbers of studies published on this topic over the past decade, few researchers (only 13.1% of the articles) have studied false memory as the term was originally intended-to specifically refer to planting memory for an entirely new event that was never experienced in an individual’s lifetime. Cognitive psychologists interested in conducting research relevant to assessing the authenticity of memories for child sexual abuse should consider the generalizability of their research to the planting of entirely new events in memory.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WD0-4H39727-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=130f378beb717591ae8e40a7ef295eaf

A Review of Childhood Abuse, Health, and Pain-Related Problems: The Role of Psychiatric Disorders and Current Life Stress – Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, Volume 10, Issue 2 April 2009 , pages 170 – 188 Authors: Natalie Sachs-Ericsson ; Kiara Cromer; Annya Hernandez; Kathleen Kendall-Tackett Abstract: The current article reviews recent research demonstrating the relationship between childhood physical and sexual abuse and adult health problems. Adult survivors of childhood abuse have more health problems and more painful symptoms. We have found that psychiatric disorders account for some, but not all, of these symptoms, and that current life stress doubles the effect of childhood abuse on health problems. Possible etiologic factors in survivors’ health problems include abuse-related alterations in brain functioning that can increase vulnerability to stress and decrease immune function. Adult survivors are also more likely to participate in risky behaviors that undermine health or to have cognitions and beliefs that amplify health problems. Psychiatric disorders, although not the primary cause of difficulties, do have a role in exacerbating health and pain-related problems. We conclude by outlining treatment recommendations for abuse survivors in health care settings. http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a910032849~db=all~order=page

Child abuse marks genes, affects ability to cope: Study – Margaret Munro , Canwest News Service 2/22/09 Child abuse can indelibly mark and alter genes in its young victims leaving them less able to cope with stress later in life, according to new Canadian research. A Montreal team has discovered large numbers of “chemical marks,” which inhibit a key mechanism for dealing with stress, in the brains of young men who were physically or sexually abused as children and later committed suicide. “It’s almost as if there is an imprint left,” says Michael Meaney at McGill University, who heads the team that has already toppled many long-held views of how early experience impacts behaviour and genes. Their new study, published Sunday in Nature Neuroscience, is seen as the most convincing evidence yet that childhood abuse permanently modifies genes….Abuse is believed to be prevalent with as many as 10 to 15 per cent of children physically or sexually abused, says Meaney. “It’s tragic,” he says….Working with brain tissues from the Quebec Suicide Brain Bank, the researchers looked at the DNA of the 12 men who committed suicide and had been abused in childhood, 12 men who died of suicide and were not abused, and 12 men who died accidentally. The looked for differences in chemical marks on a gene involved in stress response. Such marks are laid down early in life and are thought to be a sensitive to one’s environment. They punctuate DNA and program it to express genes at the appropriate time and place. The researchers found that the men who had been abused as children had substantially more chemical marks, or flags, along the glucocorticoid receptor gene involved in the brain’s stress response. The marks, which are “methyl groups” containing carbon and hydrogen, were three to four times more common on the genes of the abused men. “It’s quite significant,” says Meaney. They have also shown excess marks impact the functioning of the gene, reducing the amount of protein produced in the brain’s stress response pathway. This would have hampered the men’s ability to cope with stress, and could have contributed to their suicides, says Meaney. http://www2.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=1317549

“The Search for Satan”: Fourteen Years Later By Lynn Crook, M.Ed. In my initial review of PBS Frontline’s “The Search for Satan” for Treating Abuse Today I reported some of the problems I had discovered in this documentary: (1) In several clips, producer Bikel flashed a quick shot of a document and narrowed the camera focus to one statement. Using the pause button, I was able to read the rest of the document. There I learned that Mary Shanley was not, as the producers claimed, “having a normal life and doing normal things” before her hospitalization in Houston. (2) The film contained a surprising number of recreated scenes which were not labeled as such. (3) A supposedly direct quote from FBI agent Ken Lanning had been edited. (4) A call to the State of Illinois revealed that Shanley had not been “listed with the State of Illinois as a child abuser,” nor had her teaching certificate been listed as “restrictive.” (5) I did some research and found the producers failed to mention that Shanley had been hospitalized at four different hospitals and received a diagnosis of “mixed personalities.”

The Search for Satan – Fourteen Years Later

Former patient can’t attribute false memories to therapy By Mark Smith – Staff Houston Chronicle 10/09/98 Former psychiatric patient Mary Shanley testified Thursday that Spring Shadows Glen therapists had suggested general themes involving cult abuse but that she could not attribute any specific false memories to her therapy….Shanley testified that before arriving at Spring Shadows Glen she had come to believe she had been a satanic-cult priestess since childhood – the fifth successive generation in her family. She said she feared the cult might hurt her son. http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1998_3088693

The Legend of Robert Halsey – Cheit, Ross E.- Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, v9 n3-4 p37-52 2001 Abstract: A brief narrative description of the journal article, document, or resource. Examines the criminal conviction of Robert Halsey for sexually abusing two young boys on his school-van route near Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Based on a comprehensive examination of the trial transcript, suggests that the credulous acceptance of the “false conviction” legend about Robert Halsey provides a case study in the techniques and tactics used to minimize and deny sexual abuse. http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ672707&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ672707

False-conviction chic in the Berkshires – Robert Halsey was convicted in 1993 of sexually abusing two boys on his school van route in Lanesboro, Mass. There was a mountain of evidence against him, and he was sentenced to two consecutive life terms. Now a growing movement is trying to suggest that Halsey was unjustly convicted. A country that cherishes the presumption of innocence still needs to learn something about the presumption of guilt. There is a dark side to the growing movement on behalf of persons falsely convicted by the criminal justice system: phony false-conviction claims. There is just such a phony claim currently brewing in the Berkshires….As long-time residents of the Berkshires will remember, Robert Halsey was convicted in 1993 of sexually abusing two boys on his school van route in Lanesboro, Mass. There was a mountain of evidence against him. The two boys…had clear medical signs of the abuse. Their disclosures were extremely detailed and they were written up well before the boys were involved in any repeat interviews, therapy sessions or other measures which are commonly cited as sources of “child suggestibility.”….Various parts of the boys’ testimony were corroborated by three other children, two of whom had moved to Florida nine months before Halsey was arrested.
http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/2002-03/02-009.html

The Legend of Robert Halsey: A cautionary tale about the dangers of “false-conviction chic”
http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Taubman_Center/Manning/

Junk Skepticism and Recovered Memory: A Reply to Piper – Ross E. Cheit – Ethics and Behavior,9(4) 295-318 (1999)”Piper purports to challenge the facts in seven cases. As detailed later in virtually every instance his argument is undocumented and inaccurate.” http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Taubman_Center/Recovmem/pdf/piper.pdf

Ross Cheit Response to Critics (Replies to Piper and McNally) http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Taubman_Center/Recovmem/critics.html

This project began as a letter to PBS which objected to false statements made by Ms. Ofra Bikel, producer of the program “Divided Memories.” That letter described how an undergraduate Research Assistant at Brown University found half a dozen corroborated cases of recovered memory in just a few hours of electronic database searching, disproving Ms. Bikel’s claim to the contrary (Cheit, 1995). PBS did not defend Ms. Bikel’s claim that “she could not find any” corroborated cases of recovered memory in her allegedly extensive search. http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Taubman_Center/Recovmem/purpose.html

“True” and “False” Child Sexual Abuse Memories and Casey’s Phenomenological View of Remembering – Joanne M. Hall, Lori L. Kondora – American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 48, No. 10, 1339-1359 (2005) DOI: 10.1177/0002764205277012 This analysis provides a historical context for the debate about”true” and “false” childhood sexual abuse memories; discusses selected literature about conventional understandings of memory and their relevance to this debate; presents an integrative, phenomenological approach to memory in the recovery and rehabilitation of women child sexual abuse survivors; and uses the insights gained to draw conclusions about the authenticity of delayed childhood sexual abuse memories. Edward Casey’s phenomenological concepts of reminding, reminiscing, recognition, body memory, place memory, and commemoration are used to illuminate the complexity of traumatic memories and recovery and rehabilitation needs of the survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
http://abs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/48/10/1339
Article excerpts: The notion of false accusation is often raised in cases where physical evidence is not available and a period of time has passed or when there has been a delay in recall of the events by a survivor of child sexual abuse. This is not to imply that false memories are not possible. This article outlines how rare they must be, however, based on historical factors and a phenomenological analysis of memory itself….During periods of increased visibility of sexual abuse of children, society tends to deny it because its existence fractures cultural values about family (Summit, 1988). From a historical perspective, the current controversy about the truth or falsehood of childhood sexual abuse memories is one in a series of societal repudiations of the existence and extent of childhood sexual abuse, especially incest (Herman, 1992; Olafson, Corwin, & Summit, 1993; van der Kolk et al., 1996). In the majority of publicized discussions of false memory syndrome, it is the delayed memories of women that are being challenged, suggesting that at the heart of this controversy, there are also gender conflicts. Specifically, this controversy reinforces an image of women as not to be trusted or believed….Most scientists investigating traumatic memory doubt that memories of abuse could be planted. In fact, childhood sexual abuse survivors would rather not believe that they had been so betrayed and violated by a trusted adult. Recent research shows many false negatives and few false positives in terms of memories of abuse (Hardt & Rutter, 2004). Furthermore, caregivers who work closely with traumatized individuals battle the temptation to suppress survivors’ stories of abuse because such material tends to exhaust their own sense of efficacy, creativity, and hope (Herman, 1992). Research shows that 64% of adult women childhood sexual abuse survivors had some degree of amnesia regarding the trauma; but in the majority of cases, corroboration was available to verify that abuse had occurred (Herman & Schatzow, 1987). Of 129 women with recorded histories of childhood sexual abuse, 38% did not recall the abuse that had been clearly verified and documented decades earlier. This lack of recall was especially likely among those abused at younger ages and among those whose perpetrators were known by them at the time of the abuse (L.Williams, 1994). In fact, a body of empirical evidence indicates that it is common for abused children to reach adulthood without conscious awareness of the trauma (Briere, 1992; Herman, 1992; Schetky, 1990; van der Kolk et al., 1996). http://abs.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/48/10/1339?ijkey=ciZjJlFifgYIY&keytype=ref&siteid=spabs

describes abuse Multiple personality disorder: `Creating personas was my way of coping with abuse’ After years of abuse by her father, Alice Jamieson developed multiple personality disorder. She tells how trauma has shaped her life – 5/11/09 When Alice Jamieson was 24 she was told that she had multiple personality disorder, or dissociative identity disorder (DID), a condition that is associated with abuse in childhood. At one point she had about 15 alternative personalities, many of them children with specific memories of the abuse that she suffered, largely at the hands of her father, although at times he sanctioned the involvement of other adults, too. DID is an elaborate defence mechanism that enables victims of abuse to cope with what has happened to them. If a bad experience is dealt with by a separate person, then good experiences – perhaps with the same adult to whom attachment is imperative – can be preserved. Alice’s book, Today I’m Alice, is a compelling account of the strategies she has used to survive more than two decades of grotesque sexual, physical and emotional harm….It is estimated that nine out of ten abused children remain silent about their damaged past, even as adults….Throughout her childhood, adolescence and young adulthood he raped her hundreds of times. “There was no perversion my father didn’t inflict on me,” she writes….In 1999 she did eventually report the abuse to the police, who investigated – but her father, who denies the allegations, was not prosecuted, largely because Alice’s mental health was poor at the time. The abuse has, however, been validated by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, which carried out a two-and-a-half-year investigation and awarded her more than £400,000. She also has a letter from her local police force confirming its belief that she has told the truth….”Today I’m Alice,” by Alice Jamieson, is published by Sidgwick & Jackson http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/article6250768.ece

Psychological Impact Of Child Abuse ScienceDaily 5/24/09 – According to a new Mayo Clinic study, a history of child abuse significantly impacts the wide range of challenges facing depressed inpatients. Included are an increase in suicide attempts, prevalence of substance use disorder, and a higher incidence rate of personality disorder. Additionally, these victims also had an earlier onset of mental illness and an increase in psychiatric hospitalizations for psychiatric issues. The study was presented at the American Psychiatric Association 2009 Annual Meeting in San Francisco…. Although the findings of the Mayo study do not confirm causality, the information stresses the importance of more aggressive approaches from the public health perspective to prevent child abuse. “A history of child abuse makes most psychiatric illnesses worse,” according to Magdalena Romanowicz, M.D., lead author of the study. “We found that it significantly impacts the wide range of characteristics of depressed inpatients including increased risk of suicide attempt, substance abuse, as well as earlier onset of mental illness and more psychiatric hospitalizations. This new information serves as a reminder of the importance of child abuse prevention from a public health perspective.” http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090521112831.htm

Childhood Abuse, Avatar Choices, and Other Risk Factors Associated With Internet-Initiated Victimization of Adolescent Girls – Jennie G. Noll, PhD, Chad E. Shenk, PhD, Jaclyn E. Barnes, MA and Frank W. Putnam, MD RESULTS. Forty percent of the sample reported experiencing online sexual advances, and 26% reported meeting someone offline who they first met online. Abused girls were significantly more likely to have experienced online sexual advances and to have met someone offline. Having been abused and choosing a provocative avatar were significantly and independently associated with online sexual advances, which were, in turn, associated with offline encounters. CONCLUSIONS.A history of childhood abuse may increase Internet-initiated victimization vulnerability. Parents should be aware of the ways in which their adolescents are presenting themselves online. Making adolescent girls and their parents aware that provocative online self-presentations may have implications for sexual solicitation might help to ward off sexual advances and might help prevent Internet-initiated victimizations. Practitioners should consider standard inquiry into Internet and media usage an aspect of comprehensive care. PEDIATRICS Vol. 123 No. 6 June 2009, pp. e1078-e1083 (doi:10.1542/peds.2008-2983)
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/123/6/e1078

Childhood Abuse Associated With Onset Of Psychosis In Women – ScienceDaily (Apr. 5, 2009) — Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London have published new research which indicates that women with severe mental illness are more likely to have been abused in childhood that the general population. But the same association has not been found in men….Those in the first group had experienced psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations or delusions and received treatment for depression, mania or schizophrenia. Those in the second group had no mental health problems, and acted as a control sample. Both groups were asked whether they experienced physical or sexual abuse during their childhood. Women with psychosis were twice as likely to report either physical or sexual abuse compared to healthy women. But no such association was found in men. The researchers suggest that one explanation for this is that girls are more likely to ‘internalise’ difficulties than boys. In other words, girls who are abused may distance themselves from other people, and become overly suspicious of other people’s behaviour. This may put them at greater risk of psychotic symptoms in the future, such as paranoid delusions. In contrast, boys may be more likely to ‘act out’ following physical abuse and potentially be at greater risk for antisocial behaviour. The lead author on this paper, Helen Fisher, Researcher in Psychosis at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s said: “These findings do not mean that if a child is abused they will develop psychosis; but women with such disorders are more likely to reveal a background which included childhood abuse. Journal reference: Fisher et al. Gender differences in the association between childhood abuse and psychosis. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 2009; 194 (4): 319 DOI: 10.1192/bjp.bp.107.047985 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090331201524.htm

June 7, 2009 · Filed Under Newsletter 2009 - Issues 84 - 89