During the 1980s and 1990s, a moral panic about alleged satanic ritual abuse occurred, mainly in parts of the English-speaking world. This was propagated by certain psychotherapists, social workers, Christian fundamentalists, and law enforcement officials.
Some of the cases ended in prosecution and imprisonment; all but one of those imprisoned have been released. Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States have had several incidents of alleged satanic ritual abuse which received national and international news coverage. Other countries have also had isolated events in which abuse or murder took place with satanic ritual elements, including Argentina and Brazil.
Australia
Perth, Western Australia In 1991, police in Perth linked Scott Gozenton, a self-professed satanist, with organised child sexual abuse. His lawyer claimed 13 satanic covens existed in the area, holding bizarre orgies involving children, and that Gozenton had been followed and threatened by "coven" members throughout the court proceedings.
Central Coast, New South Wales
In 1999, two journalists from The Sun-Herald claimed to have seen evidence of the ritual abuse of children. They interviewed six mothers whose children had disclosed experiences of satanic ritual abuse and organised abuse in New South Wales. The children's disclosures were corroborating, although they had never met one another, and they had been able to draw representations of "satanic" ritual sites which were similar to ritual sites uncovered by police on the central coast of New South Wales.
One mother stated that her sons remembered being drugged and hypnotised. "He said they dressed in black robes and had eye and mouth pieces cut out," she said. "I know they're dangerous people. I have had warnings outside the house telling me to stop investigations. We're fearful for our lives. The boys never want me out of their sight."Miranda Wood and martin Chulov, Evil In The Woods, The Sun Herald, 8 August 1999, p. 7
Belgium
During the investigation of the Belgian serial killer Marc Dutroux, a number of women approached police claiming to be adult survivors of a network of sexual offenders. One witness described satanic ceremonies with a goal of disorienting new victims, causing them to doubt the reality of their memories and prevent disclosure.
Brazil
In the early 1990s, Superior Universal Alignment, an Argentinian-based international cult, was implicated in the ritualistic murders of several children.
A number of prominent citizens were arrested in relation to the murders, and it later emerged that they had paid the cult to conduct the murderous ceremonies. A search of cult members' homes turned up cult registers, guns, hooded cloaks, 100 videotapes of cult ceremonies, and satanist publications, including a 200-page book by cult leader Valentina de Andrade called God, the Great Farce. Brazilian authorities suggested that the cult was connected to satanic groups internationally.Todd Lewan, Satanic Cult Killings Spread Fear in Southern Brazil, The Associated Press, 26 October 1992
In 2003, five members of the Superior Universal Alignment cult in the Amazonian town of Altamira were convicted for the ritualistic murders of three children and the castration of two others. The victims were aged between eight and thirteen years, and they were kidnapped, tortured, or killed between 1989 and 1993. Their genitals were removed and used in satanic rituals by 75-year-old village clairvoyant Valentina de Andrade, the leader of the Superior Universal Alignment cult.Gamini, Gabriella, "Seer for trial in voodoo murders", The Times, 9 September 2003. De Andrade had previously been sought by police in Argentina and Uruguay prior to her arrest in Brazil on suspicion of involvement in other satanic ritual killings.The Cult Observer (American Family Foundation), Vol. 10 No. 5, 1993
Following the castration of victims, two doctors involved in the sect removed the victim's other organs for sale on the international black market. Other people sentenced in relation to the murders included a former police officer, a businessman, and the son of an influential landowner. The charges related to the murders of three young children and the attempted murder of another; however, victims' families say that there were at least nineteen other murdered children. The cult is based in Argentina and has branches in Holland.Doctor gets 56 years for Brazil sect killings, 11 September 2003, Reuters News and Five
Canada
One of the earliest claims of satanic ritual abuse was made in the book Michelle Remembers, co-written by Canadian psychiatrist Lawrence Pazder and Michelle Smith, later Pazder's wife. The book detailed a satanic cult that allegedly operated in Victoria, British Columbia.
A protracted child custody case contested in family court in Hamilton, Ontario, from 1985 to 1987, centred on allegations of satanic ritual abuse; it was later documented in a book written by a Globe and Mail reporter who was assigned to cover the case.Passages: Respected Author, Longtime Reporter. The Hamilton Spectator, April 8, 2013.Marron, Kevin. Ritual Abuse: Canada's Most Infamous Trial on Child Abuse. Seal Books, 1998.
The Martensville satanic sex scandal occurred in Martensville, Saskatchewan, in 1992, where an allegation of day care sexual abuse hysteria escalated into claims of satanic ritual abuse.
Ireland In 2007, a jury at Dublin County Coroners Court unanimously ruled that an infant found stabbed to death over three decades ago was the daughter of Cynthia Owen (then 'Sindy Murphy').NoleenBetrayed40Years . Accessed April 7, 2014.Senior Counsel to examine Cynthia Owen's case . RTÉ, 25 February 2007. The infant was alleged to have been murdered by the infant's grandmother.Barry O'Kelly, Revealed: New claims of Dalkey abuse The Sunday Business Post Online, July 3, 2005. The Minister of Justice, Equality and Law Reform had previously rejected a request by Cynthia Owen to have the body of the child exhumed, a decision Owen did not contest.Woman will not challenge McDowell decision. RTÉ, 9 June 2006. The inquest was prohibited from assigning blame due to the Coroners Act of 1962 and therefore returned an open verdict.Cynthia Owen mother of baby girl: verdict. RTÉ, 16 February 2007. Also, the jury was instructed that the standard of proof was not the "beyond a reasonable doubt" benchmark of criminal trials but rather the lesser standard of determining whether Owen's claims were true based "on the balance of probabilities". Ms. Owen made claims about a stillborn second child buried in the family garden, but police found no human remains after digging up the plot.'Mother' of dead baby welcomes move to exhume. The Independent, June 07, 2006.McDowell will reject request to exhume stabbed baby. The Independent, June 08, 2006. Owen's parents, as well as her older siblings, denied her allegations of abuse.
During the trial, Owen provided her account of incest, organised abuse, and satanic ritual abuse orchestrated by her parents involving at least nine other men, and her account was supported by her psychologist. She claimed that her brother, Michael, and sister, Theresa, were also abused, a charge that was denied by her older brother and father. One of the alleged abusers is Cynthia Owen's older brother, Peter Murphy Junior, while the father, Peter Murphy Senior, is also an alleged abuser.Paddy Clancy, Sickening incest inquiry ends, Irish Voice Newspaper February 21, 2007 One brother, Martin, committed suicide in 1995 after revealing he had been sodomised in his family home, while another brother, Michael, disappeared in 2002, and sister Theresa committed suicide shortly after the discovery of his body in 2005; Theresa's detailed 37-page suicide note corroborated Cynthia's account.Jim Cusack, A horrifying past that society seems unable to confront, The Independent, June 11, 2006Brighid McLaughlin, A beautiful life lost to utter hell, The Independent, July 24, 2005 A friend of Theresa's testified at the trial, stating that Theresa had spoken to him at length about her sexual abuse in childhood. Theresa Murphy committed suicide on February 24, 2005, as a result of childhood sexual abuse, a finding that was supported by police evidence.Breaking News, Childhood sex abuse caused woman's suicide , inquest told, September 30, 2005 Theresa was the child of her older sister, Margaret Murphy.
Following the findings of the Coroner's Court, Owen has raised questions regarding the disposal of her daughter's body and the failure of the police to investigate the murder.Living With Evil, by Cynthia Owen Headline Publishing, January 7, 2010 In particular, she has highlighted the fact that no blood or tissue samples were kept, that the bag and sanitary towels found alongside the murdered child have gone missing, that the records of the first inquest into the murder have gone missing, and that her daughter was buried in a mass grave alongside other infants. Owen claimed that the police knew about the murder and did nothing.'My mother's death robbed me of justice for my baby'. The Independent, November 08 2006. She also stated that she felt robbed of justice by her mother's natural and peaceful death.
Owen's father, Peter Murphy Senior, and three of her sisters won the right to appeal the findings of the inquest from the High Court. The family claimed that the coroner was biased toward Owen, shielded her when giving evidence, and was selective in the evidence presented to the jury.Family win leave to appeal Owen verdict. The Irish Times, 14 May 2007. The case of the murdered child was reported in 2008, and in 2013, it became the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Garda Síochána.'Mother's surprise that garda probe into infant's death is ongoing' . The Tribune, April 04 2008.'Gardai revisit 'house of horrors' paedophile case'. Independent.ie, April 28, 2013. A petition calling for further investigation received 10,256 signatures and was submitted to government authorities on April 3, 2014.'Dalkey House of Horrors victim calls on Alan Shatter to re-open murder inquiry into dead baby in the lane' . Sunday World, April 4, 2014.'Raped aged 10, her baby murdered and dumped – Cynthia Owen demands 'justice for Noleen. TheJournal.ie, April 4, 2014.'Shatter urged to set up 'house of horrors' inquiry'. Independent.ie, April 5, 2014.
Peter Murphy Senior has since died.Andrew Phelan, Herald.ie, January 13, 2009.
Italy In 1998, six adults in Emilia-Romagna were arrested with allegations of prostituting their children and the production of child pornography. The children were also reported to be involved in satanic rituals.
In 2002, four people were arrested for "satanism and paedophilia" in Pescara. Police believed that the group may have abused dozens of children in rituals involving bodies stolen from ceremonies. In 2006, five members of the cult "Beasts of Satan" were jailed for three ritualistic murders. The victims included the girlfriend of the cult leader, a young runaway who had joined the group, and a woman apparently intended as a human sacrifice. Police speculated that the cult may have killed the two members for attempting to save the life of the woman they planned to sacrifice. Victims were shot, stabbed, and buried alive.Peter Popham, The Death Metal Murders: Monsters of Rock, The Independent, 24 November 2005, p 26–27
In April 2007, six people were arrested for sexually abusing fifteen children in Rignano Flaminio. The suspects were accused of filming the children engaged in sexual acts with 'satanic' overtones.
New Zealand