The archive / Morals and safety
1980–1995 · USA and worldwide
Secret satanic cults are abusing children in ritual sacrifices!
The Satanic Panic
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The verdict
Thousands of ritual-abuse allegations were investigated in the USA. The FBI’s investigator found no evidence of organised satanic cults.
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What was said?
Following the book Michelle Remembers (1980), stories spread of secret cults subjecting children to ritual abuse. Therapists unearthed "repressed memories", talk shows broadcast special programmes and police officers attended courses on Satanism.
The best-known case was the McMartin preschool in California, whose staff were accused in 1983. The trials dragged on for seven years.
The verdict: what happened next?
The McMartin trials ended in 1990 without a single conviction, having been among the longest and most expensive in American history. In a 1992 report, FBI agent Kenneth Lanning concluded that there was no evidence of organised Satanic abuse.
Later research has shown how leading interview techniques can prompt children to describe things that never happened. Several people who had been convicted were exonerated after many years in prison.
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