|
A | The significance may be that Amy was touched by Jane (stepsister) and was touched and further abused by father. |
Q | What about Little Pat? |
A | Little Pat as an imaginary figure may be carrying out the same kind of victimizing abuse that Amy had been subjected to by other people. |
Q | Now that's pretty contorted reasoning isn't it doctor? |
A | Not at all. |
Q | Now isn't the moist straightforward explanation simply the scientifically established fact of interviewer bias and influence? |
A | No. |
Some professed experts in sex abuse believe that there are groups of people who systematically abuse children in day care settings. They believe that young preschool children are systematically and ritualistically abused on a daily, mass basis in day care centers around the country. The evidence for this abuse comes from the stories the children tell to the investigators after repeated sessions of questioning. The lack of physical evidence corroborating the children's statements as well as the implausibility of the actions alleged are characteristic of these cases. Most major metropolitan centers have established so-called mass molestation task forces to deal with this perceived problem.
A review of the witchcraft cases sheds some light on
historical antecedents for the current mass-molestation cases. Remember that the
existence of witchcraft was an established fact for the general society at the
time of the persecutions. To even suggest that witchcraft did not exist was
tantamount to heresy. Remember also that children were thought to be especially
choice victims for witches. In the villages surrounding Mora, Switzerland
beginning in the year 1669, a witch panic occurred which supposedly uncovered
the systematic seduction of young children to the ways of the Devil. Young
children were believed to have been taken from their homes at night by witches.
The witches carried the children,. dressed in red or blue, on goats, sticks, or
sleeping men. They flew through windows, the devil previously having removed the
glass "so they had room to go." They assembled at a place called
"Blocula," a beautiful meadow, in which they engaged in seven specific
acts:
1. | Denial of God, by cutting the finger and writing in the Devil's book. |
2. | Baptism by the Devil. |
3. | An oath of fidelity to the Devil in which the witches threw filings of clocks into water and recited "as these filings of the clock do never return from the clock from which they are taken, so may my soul never return to heaven." |
4. | A Banquet of broth with colewarts and bacon, oatmeal, bread, butter cheese, and milk. |
5. | Dancing ending with fighting one another. |
6. | Music and sexual intercourse. |
7. | The building of a stone house to preserve the witches at the Day of Judgment. However, the walls kept falling down (Robbins, 1960, p. 350). |
Most striking to the investigators was the consistency of the
stories told by the children from one location to the next down to the exact
rituals engaged in. How could a child from one village produce the same accounts
as a child from another? Even though questioned separately their stories agreed
in every particular (Mather, 1692, p.135-139). There being no other
available explanation, the conclusion was that the
children were telling the truth.
... the SUFFERING CHILDREN, were first Examined; and tho' they were questioned ONE by ONE apart, yet their DECLARATIONS ALL AGREED. THE WITCHES Accus'd in these Declarations, were then Examined; and tho' at first they obstinately DENIED, yet at length man of them ingeniously CONFESSED the Truth of what the children said; owning with Tears, the DEVIL, whom they called Locyta, had STOPT their MOUTHS; but he being now GONE from them, they could No Longer Conceal the business. The things by them ACKNOWLEDGED, most wonderfully Agreed with what other Witches, in other places had confessed (Mather, 1692, p. 136).
As a result of these investigations, 300 children were
determined to have been seduced to the Devil and 85 people were burnt
(including 15 children) after first being forced to confess the truth of the
children's accusations (Robbins, 1960, p. 348-350).
Because the therapists and investigators in mass molestation
cases assume that mass molestation occurs, it logically follows that other
victims exist. They therefore question the children with this belief system in place, and
produce statements from the children which concur. The new "victims"
are then interrogated and when they produce statements which are consistent with
abuse allegations they are used to further validate the belief in mass
molestation and the cycle continues. Among the many
examples which could be used are the verbatim transcripts
of the initial interrogations in the McMartin Preschool case in California.
For example:
Q | Do you think, do maybe — I'll tell you what. Maybe you could show me with this, with this doll (putting hand on two anatomical dolls, one naked, one dressed) how the kids danced for the naked movie star. |
A | They didn't really dance. It was just like, a song. |
Q | Well, what did they do when they sang the song? |
A | They just, went around singing the song. |
Q | They just went around and sang the song? |
A | (Nods head up and down.) |
Q | And they didn't take their clothes off? |
A | (Shakes head negative.) |
Q | I heard that, I heard from, several kids, that they took their clothes off. I think that (classmate's name) told me that. I know that (second classmate's name) told me. I know that (third classmate's name) told me. (Fourth classmate's name) and (fifth classmate's name) all told me that. That's kind of a hard secret, it's kind of a yucky secret to talk, of — but, maybe, we could see if we could find — |
A | Not that I remember. |
Q | — another puppet. This is my favorite puppet right here. (Reaching, picking up and putting on the bird puppet.) |
A | I get to be that puppet. |
Q | You wanna be this puppet? Okay. Then I get to be Detective Dog. |
A | (Makes a sound.) |
Q | Okay, let's see if we can figure this. Let's see. |
A | (Grabs the dog puppet's nose that the interviewer is wearing, using bird puppet's beak.) |
Q | Yeah. Let's be friends. Let's (unintelligible). I know that we're gonna figure this out — all this stuff out right now. Okay, when that tricky part about touching the kids was going on, could you (reaching for marker from can on the table, handing it to girl) could take a pointer in your mouth and point, on the, on the doll over here, on either one of these dolls, where, where the kids were touched? Could you do that? |
A | I don't know. |
Q | I know that the kids were touched. Let's see if we can figure that out. |
A | I don't know. |
Q | You don't know where they were touched? |
A | Huh-uh. (Slight of head, negative.) |
Q | (Unintelligible.) Well, I (unintelligible) some of the kids told me that they were touched sometimes. They said that it was, it kinda sometimes it kinda hurt. And sometimes it felt pretty good. Do you remember that touching game that went on? |
A | No. |
Q | Okay, let me see if we can try something else and — |
A | Weeeeee. (Spinning the bird puppet on right hand above her head.) |
Q | Come on bird, get down here and help us out here. |
A | No. |
Q | (Girl's name) is having a hard time talking. I don't wanna hear any more "no's." No, no, Detective Dog and we're gonna figure this out. |
A | No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. (To musical cadence, spinning bird puppet over head.) |
Q | Do you wanna not play with the puppets? Would you rather talk to me directly? Is that easier for ya? |
A | No. |
Q | Okay. How can I help you? |
A | (Makes sound.) gosh. |
Q | (Girl's name), look at me! (Putting puppeted hand on bird puppet.) How can I help you get rid of those yucky secrets? How can we help you to tell them, so they can go away and not bother you any more? What would be the best way that we could help you do that? I don't think the puppets are working really well. And I think that you're real scared to tell. And I understand why you're scared. 'Cause I heard all about the threats and all the tricks that he tried to make the kids be scared so they wouldn't talk. Those were all tricks, they were lies. They weren't true. None of those things happened to anybody. And none of that stuff that happened at school were the kids' fault. That was all the it, Ray's fault, it wasn't the kids' fault. And I know the kids are scared to talk about it, but I need you to tell me. How can I help you get rid of those yucky secrets? What's the best way for me to help you do that? |
A | (Looks upward with pointer dangling from mouth.) (Cody, 1989, p.28). |
Witchcraft was thought to be a group activity and it was
believed that witches were organized in groups or "covens." The
investigators put great effort into discovering additional members of a witches
group. In Europe, the preferred method was interrogation followed, if
unsuccessful, with torture. It must be remembered that the investigators were
absolutely convinced in the reality of witchcraft and the use of torture
did not seem incongruous. Since they were dealing with a real witch and since
real witches are members of a group then the failure or refusal of the witch to
name others only meant that the person was being obstinate. I suppose you could
say that the alleged witch was "in denial." Therefore when torture
revealed the names of new witches they were only extracting information which
was known to exist in the first place. Within itself, the logic is sound.
When
the new witches subsequently confess, the process becomes self-validating and
the cycle of victimization continues.
Unique in the history of the witch purges is a letter smuggled out of jail by 55-year-old Burgomaster Johannes Junius to his daughter, Veronica, in the year 1628. He had undergone two interrogation sessions without torture. Two days later "the aforesaid Junius was again exhorted to confess, but again confessed nothing. Whereupon since he would confess nothing, he was put to the torture":
And then came also — God in highest Heaven have mercy — the executioner and put the thumbscrews on me, both hands bound together, so that the blood spurted from the nails and everywhere, so that for four weeks I could not use my hands, as you can see from my writing.
Thereafter they stripped me, bound my hands behind me, and drew me up on the ladder. Then I thought heaven and earth were at an end. Eight times did they draw me up and let me fall again, so that I suffered terrible agony. I said to Dr. Braun, "God forgive you for thus misusing and innocent and honorable man." He replied, "You are a knave."
And this happened on Friday, June 30, and with God's help I had to bear the torture. When at last the executioner led me back to the cell, he said to me, "Sir, I beg you, for God's sake, confess something, whether it be true or not. Invent something, for you cannot endure the torture which you will be put to; and, even if you bear it all, yet you will not escape, not even if you were an earl, but one torture will follow another until you say you are a witch. Not before that," he said, "will they let you go, as you may see by all their trials for one is just like another. ..."
Then I had to tell what people I had seen at the sabbat. I said I had not recognized them. "You old knave, I must put the torturer at your throat. Say — was not the chancellor there?" So I said Yes. "Who besides?" I had nor recognized anybody. So he said: "Take one street after another. Begin at the market, go out on one street and back on the next." I had to name several persons there. Then came the long street. I knew nobody. Had to name eight persons there. Then the Zinkenwort — one person more. Then over the upper bridge to the Georgthor, on both sides. Knew nobody again. Did I know anybody in the castle — whoever it might be, I should speak without fear. And thus continuously they asked me on all the streets, though I could not and would not say more. So they gave me to the torturer, told him to strip me, shave me all over, and put me to the torture. "The rascal knows one on the market place, is with him daily, and yet won't name him." By this they meant Burgomaster Dietrneyer: so I had to name him too. Then I had to tell what crimes I committed. I said nothing. "Hoist the knave up!" So I said that I was to kill my children, but I had killed a horse instead. It did not help. I had also taken a sacred wafer and had buried it. When I said this, they left me in peace. Now my dearest child, here you have all my acts and confession, for which I must die. And it is all sheer lies and inventions, so help me God. For all this I was forced to say through dread of torture beyond what I had already endured. For they never cease the torture till one confesses something; be he ever so pious, he must be a witch. Nobody escapes, though he were an earl. If God sends no means of bringing the truth to light, our whole kindred will be burned. God in heaven knows that I know not the slightest thing. I die innocent and as a martyr. Dear child, keep this letter secret, so that people do not find it, else I shall be tortured most piteously and the jailers will be beheaded. ... Dear child, pay this man a thaler. ... I have taken several days to write this — my hands are crippled. l am in a sad plight. Good night, for your father Johannes Junius will never see you more (Robbins, 1960, pp. 12-13).
In their unholy Sabbats, the witches were supposed to kill and eat newborn and unbaptized children (Parrinder, 1963). This theme of ritualistic murder, mutilation, and cannibalism is recurrent throughout human history. At various times, different groups have been singled out for accusation. The early Christians were reputed to engage in these practices. At other times, Germans, Gypsies, Catholics, and Jews (as recently as the Hitler era) were accused of practicing child and human sacrifice. Today, accused child molesters have been added to this list.
Aside from the settings, the stories have not changed in any essential form in hundreds of years (Hicks, 1990). The most disturbing fact is that in spite of repeated investigations, there is a complete absence of evidence corroborating the existence of these cults or the alleged activities of human sacrifice, cannibalism, sex and death orgies. Putman (1991) points out that despite hundreds of investigations in the United States by local police departments and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there has never been a single documented case of satanic murder, human sacrifice, or cannibalism. Similarly, the police in Holland and England, despite intensive investigations, have failed to find any evidence substantiating allegations of satanic ritualistic abuse.
The best evidence for the existence of these activities is said to be the similarity of the reports of the alleged victims even though separated by time and space. In the same manner, the similarity of the stories is also the best evidence for the belief that earthlings are abducted, examined, and then returned by aliens piloting UFOs. Further evidence for the existence of satanic ritualistic abuse is contained in the so-called behavioral characteristics of those who are said to have been so abused. These include sleep disturbances, enuresis, sexualized behaviors, swearing, aggression, isolation and anxiety. As Putman (1991) notes, these behaviors are in no way distinguishable from the effects of many types of stress and trauma in children and in no way constitute the specification of a unique satanic ritualistic abuse syndrome. Nevertheless, the diagnosis is often made on the basis of such behaviors without input from the accused.
The similarity of the stories told by the alleged victims and the belief in these stories as evidence presents a naive and simplistic view of the contamination of information. The fallacy in this idea lies in the belief that individuals must be in direct contact with each other in order to share common information. Study of the patterns of rumor spread has demonstrated that rumors, urban legends, and other folk tales can be rapidly disseminated throughout our society and are shared in common by large numbers of people who have never directly met each other. The child abuse community is particularly susceptible to such a rumor process since there are multiple, interconnected communication and education networks shared by therapists and patients (Putman, 1991). As anthropologist Sherrill Mulhern points out:
When one concentrates the research focus on discovering the specific ways in which therapists come to "believe" the reality of satanic/ritual abuse one immediately uncovers a remarkable myth-making network of therapists, patients and investigators blending together specific idiosyncratic data into one a-temporal analytic grid. I say this because, when one examines specific adult survivor stories, it becomes immediately apparent that initially patients were not saying the same things but came to say similar things over time (reported by Hicks, (1990, p. 383).
The dark days of the witchcraft prosecutions show disturbing parallels with what is happening today. In many cases substitution of the words "child abuse" for "witchcraft" leaves the reader unable to distinguish between the 15th and 20th centuries. The willingness to make any leap of logic no matter how contorted or absurd in order to maintain a position is the hallmark of the fanatic. Perhaps the most disturbing recent development is that we have now come full circle. Some who believe in modern satanic, ritualistic abuse assert that the witchcraft prosecutions were founded in fact and claim historical antecedents for present alleged practitioners of the black arts. They believe that groups of related persons have practiced witchcraft and handed the beliefs from parent to child for generations.
Those who persecuted witches in Salem and elsewhere were as
intelligent as we. Human evolution has made no significant progress in the
development of our mental abilities in a scant few hundred years. How can people
continue to make the same errors time after time? Why is ignorance such a burden
for us? Is there really no limit to our capacity for self-delusion?
The fundamental problem is that some child abuse
professionals cannot understand how a child can talk about things that never
happened. How, they ask, can a child talk about abuse if it never occurred?
Because they cannot explain how this could happen, they assert that it cannot be
explained. Therefore the stories told by the children must be true.
This position assumes a limit to human knowledge, that we
have reached the apex of our understanding. Just because something cannot be
explained now does not mean that it cannot be explained. History is
replete with examples of phenomena which could not be explained in the past and
were therefore attributed to the supernatural or bizarre and which upon the
gathering of additional knowledge became explainable in normal terms. The recent
research into the effects of leading questions, modeling, suggestibility,
behavior modification, and adult social influence upon children is disturbing
and indicative of just how easy it is to get children to talk about things that
never happened. The history of human thought teaches that if you have a choice
between the supernatural, bizarre, or unbelievable on the one hand and human
error and ignorance on the other, no one has ever gone broke by betting on human
shortcoming.
In my argument to a judge that accompanied a motion to
terminate treatment where the child was encouraged in play therapy to act out
scenarios of satanic and occult practices, child murder, mutilation, and
cannibalism, I said:
It now seems we have come full circle and after a lapse of some three hundred years, an attorney is again charged with the responsibility of defending a person accused of satanic or occult activities. (The child) relates stories of being bound, mutilation, murder, death, cannibalism, and sexual abuse. This is indeed a child who has been kidnapped, restrained, hurt, and tortured by the system). ... The longer the separation from her father continues, the worse she becomes. She is already taking substantial steps on the road toward insanity. Every link with her father is being severed one by one. Mr. (father's name) well knows that if he confesses to abuse and engages in a course of therapy calculated to cure him, he can obtain the release and return of his daughter. If he persists in his denial, he well knows that the persons involved will seek to terminate all of his parental rights and have his daughter adopted by another family, just as in Salem, Massachusetts, confession was considered to be the first step on the right road of redemption. Continued denial will only result in the most severe sanctions.
However, the real focus here is on the child. The longer she is separated, the worse she becomes. The worse she becomes, the more the so-called experts believe her conduct validates their initial opinion. In reality, the trauma of separation is destroying this young child.
(The child's) father is supposed to be the one who slays the dragons and chases away the monsters. His power to do so has been taken away. I, as his attorney, have no power to help her. Only you as the judge can do so. My client is begging you to help his daughter. Order an immediate cessation of this so-called therapy. Order that no one involved with (the child's) care be allowed to talk to her about sexual abuse, satanic abuse, or any other related topic. Order that both (father and daughter) be seen by an independent neutral therapist whose goal is to assess their relationship and functioning together as a family unit. Remove (the child) immediately from the foster home she has been placed in. She is surrounded only by persons who believe that she has been sexually and ritualistically abused by her father. Only those who share this belief are allowed to interact with her. Under such an environment, a child cannot help but inculcate these beliefs and be further harmed. Any temporary disturbance to (the child's) stability by her removal from her foster family will be offset by the safety and security of her new environment and mental health.
(The father) desires his daughter to live in the 20th Century, not the 15th. Thank you very much.
Burr, G. L. (1914). Narratives of the Witchcraft Cases 1648-1706 (). New
York: Barnes & Noble Books.
Cody, K. (1989, May 25). The McMartin question: A prescription for hysteria? Easy Reader, pp.1, 19-29.
E'Estrange Ewen, C. (1933). Witchcraft and Demonianism ()(). London: Heath
Cranton Limited.
Hicks, R. D. (1990). Police pursuit of satanic crime, Parts I & II. Skeptical Inquirer, 14, 276-286, 378-389.
Hope, R. (1960). The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology()()(). New York: Robbins, Crown Publishers.
Mather, C. (1692). Cotton Mather on Witchcraft(). Originally Published in Boston 1692, Republished by Bell Publishing Company, New York.
MacFarlane, A. (1970). Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England (). New York: Harper
and Row Publishers.
Parrinder, G. (1963). Witchcraft: European and Africa. London: Faber and Faber.
Putnam, F. W. (1991). The satanic ritual abuse controversy. Child Abuse & Neglect, 15, 175-179.
Seth, R. (1969). Children Against Witches()(). New York: Taplinger
Publishing Company.
Zachary M. Bravos
Law Offices Of Zachary M. Bravos
600 W. Roosevelt Rd., Ste. B1
Wheaton, IL 60187
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