publication of Michelle Remembers by Dr. Lawrence Pazder and Michelle Smith, a new type of occult crime was postulated: ritualistic abuse. In the book, Michelle and her psychiatrist recount how in the course of her continued therapeutic sessions as an adult, she remembered involvement in a Satanic cult in Vancouver, British Columbia when she was five years old. Her account tells how her mother was forced to surrender her for sexual Satanic rituals and how she was forced to participate for an extended period of time during which the group unsuccessfully tried to convert her. Soon thereafter, similar stories began to appear, linking for the first time, traditional accounts of specifically Satanic involvement to ongoing physical, sexual, emotional and spiritual child abuse. The result was the emergence of a particularly heinous type of crime which generally became known as ritualistic abuse or, more specifically, as ritualistic child abuse. The alleged perpetrators of such abuse are most often the Cult Satanists.

In the broadest sense, ritualistic abuse of children, adolescents, and adults involves repeated physical, sexual, psychological and /or spiritual abuse which utilizes rituals. Perhaps the most comprehensive description of ritual abuse is that of the Los Angeles Commission on Women's Ritual Abuse Task Force:

"Ritual abuse rarely consists of a single episode. It usually involves abuse over an extended period of time. The physical abuse is severe, sometimes including torture and killing. The sexual abuse is unusually painful, sadistic, and humiliating, intended as a means of gaining dominance over the victim. The psychological abuse is devastating and involves the use of ritual/ indoctrination, which includes mind control techniques and mind altering drugs, and ritual/intimidation which conveys to the victim a profound terror of the cult members and of the evil spirits they believe the cult members can command. Both during and after the abuse, most victims are in a state of terror, mind control, and dissociation in which disclosure is exceedingly difficult." (Los Angeles Commission on Women, 1989.)

Currently, there is probably no more divisive issue within the criminal justice community than that of ritualistic abuse.

While no one disputes the existence or increase of ritualistic abuse, few agree about several other aspects: the extent of ritualistic crime committed specifically by Cult Satanists; the motivations of perpetrators; and the veracity of the victims who claim to have survived ritualistic abuse at the hands of Cult Satanists. Because of the current preeminence of ritualistic abuse in the criminal justice community, each of these major controversies are discussed in the subsequent series of Occult Debates:

The Occult Debate: Issue #4-Perpetrators of Ritualistic Abuse: Actions of True Believers or True Criminals?

The Occult Debate: Issue #5- The Extent of Ritualistic Abuse: National Conspiracy or National Hysteria?

The Occult Debate: Issue #6- Adult victims of Ritualistic Abuse: Survivors or Delusionaries?

The Occult Debate: Issue #7- Child victims of Ritualistic Abuse: Abused or Indoctrinated?

The Victims

Not surprisingly, even the victims of occult crime are subject to controversy. Such debate is hardly surprising in light of the fact that the types of occult crimes committed against people are also the subject of controversy. If the criminal justice community disagrees about the commission of suicide, kidnapping, sacrifice and ritual abuse crimes that are actually linked to occult crime, it is natural to disagree upon whether or not the victims of such crimes actually exist.

If we accept the belief that some number - be it large or small - of occult crime victims exist, then we are faced with a host of other issues: Who are the victims? If the victims survive the criminal action, what sort of symptoms will be evident?

And perhaps most importantly, are there well-trained therapists available to provide victims with assistance specifically designed to help them?

Who Are the Victims?

In general, occult crime victims fall into two categories: those who are actually killed or who kill themselves in the commission of an occult-related crime; and those that have survived the commission of ritualistic crimes. Those who do not survive are generally believed to be the victims of suicide and occult-related rituals requiring kidnapping and sacrifice.

Such crimes, as evidenced throughout this chapter, are most often attributed to Self-styled Satanists, Youth Subculture Satanists, and Cult Satanists and occasionally to practitioners of Santeria and Palo Mayombe. While no proof of any direct correlation currently exists, many law enforcers believe that the following types of people are more susceptible to suicide, kidnapping and sacrificial victimization:

Suicide: Adolescents who have histories of family, school, and/or drug problems and who begin to dabble in occult, specifically Satanic, belief systems.

Kidnapping and sacrifice: Juvenile runaways; children and adolescents of families that do not have the income for a lengthy private investigation needed to find them; adults who have few friends or employment that may take them out of normal contact with family and friends; people who fit a common or average description of many other people.

Law enforcers also believe the following types of persons are more susceptible to ritualistic abuse:

Ritualistic abuse. Children who are born into or are acquired by families with an occult-centered belief system; children who attend out-of-home day care and