legislation and local ordinances are beginning to challenge current laws. Consider the following:

* In California, the laws summarized in the accompanying box are increasingly being targeted for court challenges when animal sacrifices are uncovered. As Field investigator Eric Sakach of the Humane Society of the United States' West Coast Regional Office recently remarked, "In some cases of animal mutilation or sacrifice we would actively pursue litigation under the existing laws...such as the sacrifice of a stolen animal." (Sakach interview, August 9, 1989.)

* In Los Angeles, the Board of Animal Regulation has announced its possible adoption of the Model Animal Slaughter/Animal Sacrifice Ordinance authored by The Humane Society of the United States, as explained in the accompanying box on California laws.

* In Hialeah, Florida, as noted in Legal Case study #1, the nation's first test of whether sacrificial killing for religious reasons violates the First Amendment is being battled in the federal courts.

Extortion

Although group practice of extortion is not a known activity of any occult group, individual practitioners of some occult belief systems have used their religious involvement as a tool to extort money and information. These true criminals are perfect examples of the predatory ritualist who uses his or her religion as a means to obtain economic or other personal gain.

While individual practitioners of any occult group discussed in this study could be extortionists, the act of extorting has been directly attributed to some members of the Santeria community. Detective Pat Metoyer provided an example of spiritually motivated extortion from his Los Angeles City jurisdiction. During a recent investigation, a follower of Santeria asked a local santero to help punish her husband.

To do so, the santero asked for a lock of her hair to help him identify her power. After the spell was cast, the santero asked for his reward; the client gave him $25, but the santero then demanded $500. In an extortion attempt, the santero began sending her single strands of hair along with threats unless the full payment was received. (Metoyer interview, May 5, 1989.) Similar extortion attempts have been noticed in Miami, but investigators there note such crimes are especially difficult to prosecute because the victims will not come forward. More often than not, the victims do not perceive themselves as victims. Indeed, they trust the santero and believe their economic sacrifices are being used to protect them. (Paulhus interview, August 16, 1989.)

The Crimes of Debate

Currently, at least four other crimes have been linked to the occult by some criminal justice professionals: suicide; kidnapping; murder and human sacrifice; and ritualistic abuse.

But others disagree with such alleged linkages. Alleged is a key word because although many law enforcement officials believe these crimes are occurring and some people who have left occult groups claim they are common, very little physical evidence exists to substantiate such claims.

The debate is especially complex because the vast majority of law enforcers do not deny the occurrence of such crimes nor do they deny that individual spiritual, predatory and/or psychopathic ritualists have actually committed such crimes.

Where the debate begins is whether or not such activity is widespread and required by an occult group in relation to its spiritual identity. In other words, are they the actions of true believers who work within organized groups that exist to perpetuate criminal activity linked to their belief system; or are they the actions of individual "crazies" who grasp onto the occult identity to rationalize criminal involvement?

Suicide

Occult-related suicide appears to be the primary domain of Youth Subculture Satanists who are often true believers, but sometimes dabblers. Indeed, Satanic-related teenage suicide is a major concern among many criminal justice practitioners and therapists interviewed for this research. Juvenile Officer Tim Boyle explained why he is so worried, " With some victims, autopsies show there were no drug or alcohol residues. This is because Satanic beliefs have so overcome their lives, they don't need drugs anymore...Satanism glorifies death; it takes the fear of death away. So when kids are suicidal and involved in Satanism, they lose their fear of death and are sometimes more likely to take their own life." (Boyle interview, April 13, 1989.)

As an example, Officer Boyle cited a suicide that occurred in Montgomery County on November 12, 1988. Two girls, ages 12 and 13, killed themselves in a pact. Both had a history of emotional problems, drug involvement and an alleged interest in Satanism. The girls allegedly told several school friends they wanted to die so they could "meet Satan." Drugs apparently were not involved; other than a small amount of aspirin, no drugs were detected in either victim. Whether Satanism was the motivation remains unknown.

Kidnapping

Kidnapping people of all ages, but especially children, is thought to be a prevalent crime among some occult practitioners. Especially accused are Traditional/Cult Satanists who are said to kidnap victims needed for ritual sacrifice, self-styled juvenile Satanists whose dabbling has taken them "to the point of no return," and Mayomberos, whose rituals require a human skull, often with the brains still attached, to add to their nganga.

Perhaps the most infamous recent case of kidnapping was one allegedly perpetrated for the purposes of ritualistic sacrifice. In the April 1989 Matamoros case, a young American University of Texas student, Mark Kilroy, and several Mexican citizens were kidnapped and later ritualistically killed and