If you have any question about the existence of satanic ritual abuse and related sexual abuse, search "Cathy O'Brien" on google or youtube. But prepare to be shocked to your core.

John, vancouver, canada

I blame hammer films- they show the way!

geo, glasgow, uk

Robert Miles said:
"America has never given a stuff about the outside world. Only thinking of it self, whereas europe does consider others."

Robert, is there an American cemetary in your area? Perhaps you might have to go as far as Normandy to find one. I know of no comparable cemetaries of foreign soldiers in the U.S.

But back on topic: Google "Remembering Satan" for the most amazing case of falsely remembered satanic ritual abuse you have ever heard of.

What usually happens, after the initial arrests, is that some of the interrogators begin to have doubts. Then these skeptics suddenly find themselves charged as collaborators, or even masterminds of the whole gigantic conspiracy. It grows larger and larger, more and more arrests are made, and "deals" are offered to the suspects: confess and testify against the others and you'll get a light sentence. And some of them will take the deal. Meanwhile, no physical evidence is found.

Dave, Washington, DC

It's all true - I have seen them myself flying around on a broomstick at night. They had long noses with warts on them and wore a pointy black hat.
Probably all people with noses with warts on them or people who own more than one broom should be investigated.
This is a very serious matter, perhaps even more serious than the fight against global warming.

Ran, London, UK

Recovered memory is a dangerous and unproven proposition. It has been condemned by Psychiatric Associations. This story has all the hallmarks of modern "witch finding"and moral panic. New Zealand had a similar case. Read about it-Ä City Possessed"by Lynley Hood. It ruined the lives of many children as well as the innocent child care workers accused of similar fantasies.

Doc, Picton, New Zealand

I hate how the article says that it was "satanic sex abuse". This stinks of the satanic panic of the 1990's. Anyone who knows anything about Satanism knows that sexual abuse, or abuse of any kind for that matter has no place in Satanism.

Helena, Bristol, England

The Bible says we fight not against flesh nor blood but against principalities and powers in high places. These people are demon possessed. The way to stay demon free is by the Cross at Calvary and the blood of JESUS CHRIST, the ANOINTED ONE. There is only one GOD and He sent His Son.
It's the children that do need our prayers. God bless everyone on this site.

T.A., Seattle, USA

"In this case, "said to have " indicates that no one has actually seen these supposed films."

Nope, that's not what it means. It means everything is still "allegedly", since the women haven't been convicted yet.

And 3-year olds don't lie. They wouldn't know how to. Look it up.

starling, Lancaster,

How in the world could 3-5 year old children make up a story like this to discredit "respectable" people. Gaaaads, when I was 5 I thought the picture showed dolphins swimming, not 2 people having sex. Predators of children are everywhere! Oh, and by the way, religion is a way of life, not just going to church on Sunday like most people think. How can anyone believe these kids are making these stories up? The "added element of satanism" comes from the descriptions of the games that the children gave, not from a parent just claiming there was satanic tones. I hope some of you don't have children, because if you do and they tell you these kinds of things, you won't listen or believe which will cost them dearly. This is very serious and should be taken as such.

stacyv, annapolis, maryland

So everyone assumes that this another McMartin Preschool case never mind that nobody has any facts of what actually happened! There are idiots in this world who do believe in satanism and if these idiots happen to be in positions that they can abuse then they will. There have been cases which people were bled, made to have sex and even killed and all because of satanism. So don't all jump to defend people that you know nothing of, especially since you don't live in the same country let alone the same village.
Sensationalism aside if those people did wrong things then it will be find out but even if they have it sure doesnt mean that the Italian education system is riddled with "satanists".
Just chill people!

Alex, Manchester, UK

is this really happening in our so-called civilized Western society?

Fernanda, valencia, spain

As a professional clinical therapist, I had to change my skeptical view of such issues, after encountering two such similar situations (unrelated to one another), the details of which surfaced years later. Not only are the memories compelling, there are verifiable physical and physiological manifestations which appear during therapy as the memories are recalled.Dr. Collin Ross' work on Dissociative Identity Disorder can be helpful for those interested in additional information.

Though I don't believe wide spread, I do believe there are indeed certain groups of extremely sick and evil perpetrators who gain access to children. Usually the trauma is so powerful, that the personality "splits" and goes underground... until the internal means of keeping a lid on things breaks down. Then, the power of the trauma starts to manifest itself. Those who suffer from such past abuse experience a wide array of symptoms (usually depression and anxiety... and panic attacks... and loss of time... and

Jon Uhler, MS, Johnstown, USA/PA

I believe that anyone can be consumed by hatred and evil, as well as become controlled by demonic forces beyond our comprehension. Do you all believe in demons? They do exist on this Earth, unfortunately, though they are invisible to our eyes most of the time. The corruption of the Church is merely part of Satan's plan to control Humanity. It seems he may be gaining ground in that regard.

The best defense against becoming possessed by a demon is not only devout faith but a strong family bond and friendships outside of church. A multi-faceted life with many valuable relationships from different areas is much harder to subdue then otherwise.

I of course am not Christian, but another religion. Unless you're a priest or a nun (and incredibly God-loving devout, praying DAILY and not just once a week, plus accepting poverty as a way of life) then you don't stand a chance on defending against demons or evil on faith *alone*. Sad, but such is life. All humans can become corrupted.

Wraith, Los Angeles, CA

To Andrew Chapman, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK:

"Have a look at what Ted Gunderson, a former senior FBI officer, says about the McMartin case. He shows evidence of the tunnels which the children said they were abducted through. Validated with a University archaeologist apparently."

Wrong. The McMartin Preschool building had no basement, and its foundation was a solid concrete slab (very difficult to tunnel through without someone noticing). The school was razed to the ground after being shut down from the case, and the slab was removed, and the only part of the ground under the slab that was disturbed was the sewer line. It would be difficult in the extreme to have dug tunnels through concrete without anyone noticing, then fill them back in without a trace again without anyone noticing, the latter while a major trial was going on with police investigators combing over the site with a fine-toothed comb and news cameras focused on it 24/7.

In other words: balderdash.

Joel, Shreveport, Louisiana

"The world is a dangerous place", Einstein once remarked, "not for the crimes that people commit, but for those who allow to let it happen". As such, it is high time for us to ensure that these predators are kept at bay from robbing the innocense of our kids.

mathew, Bombay, India

Are you people deranged? The same charges were level against the staff at the McMartin preschool in So. California about 20 years ago. And then there's the case of the Amiraults in Massachusetts. They weren't true then and without the "video tapes" it's next to impossible that they're true today. Read the Crucible and about the Salem witch trials. This is much more likely a case of fanatical child welfare "advocates" and ambitious prosecutors. Why the hell would anybody put much stock in the word of 3 and 5 year olds.

bob nilssen, chicago, il

The poor prostitutes are out of business. Evil has now turn to children for sex. If evolution is true, no children would be abused unless the perpetrator is insane.. But there is satan and his evil sick ways, opposite of God who is all good and pure. Humans are going against all their natural instinct, grandmothers and mothers to protect their young. Whether or not this is true, there have been children even babies raped. In some sick culture, sex with children is acceptable. As a Christian, I do not think that just because a person attends chuch or teach in sunday school, they are not capable of such evil acts. Ever heard of false prophets who twist the Gospel for their own lust of the flesh?. One very good example is ordaning homosexual priests. The Word of God clearly condemns this sin but of course the 'church' says that we are not to judge! Whatever happended to discernment, integrity and purity? God loves the sinner but hates the sin and God will judge accordinlgly.

VirginiaDore, BribieIsland, Australia

During my police service (pre-internet!), I never met a pervert who did NOT have a sincere faith in their particular religion and were frequent church (etc) goers. (That is not to say that all people with a sincere faith are perverts - quite the contrary.)

It is almost fundamental, when one asks the question "Where does one expect to find a pervert", the answer is wherever they can expect to have unsupervised access to children. Therefore perverts will try their best to achieve their ideal occupations which will inevitably include the churches, schools, children's homes, voluntary youth organisations etc.

To repeat, I am NOT saying that all priests, teachers etc are perverts (quite the reverse) but that it is inevitable, unfortunately, that a proportion of them are. Perverts have sincere vocations too.

Brian Vallance, LEFKIMMI, Greece

I agree with Howie... several times in the US there have been these types of sensational cases, only to find out that the children were led during questioning or people took the imaginations of a four year old as fact.

A, decatur, ga

Sounds exactly like the McMartin Preschool case. In the end, the whole sad thing was exposed as a hoax. Over zealous prosecutors and cops literally coached the kids to recall bizarre incidents that never happened. The kids even testified that they were taken up into a spaceship and that was admitted into evidence. It dragged on so long that kids eventually grew up and confessed that it never happened. But the poor innocent defendants sat in prison for years.

Fred, Philadelphia, USA

Better not jump to conclusions. This sounds eerily like 2 famous cases here in the U.S.A. In both cases, the interrogators and counselors inappropriately manufactured testimony with leading questions and insinuations to impressionable, eager to please kids. A lot of innocent, decent lives were ruined and in the end all the charges were proven false. Sadly, enough abuse takes place and there are enough true horror stories, but this one has too much of an echo to it. It puts one to mind of hysterical medieval witch hunts. Somebody had better turn the spotlight on the interrogators and be sure they are not a bunch of charlatans.

Dave, Gwynn, U.S.A.

has anyone actually seen the video? does the name McMartin Preschool ring any bells? get the facts before publishing hearsay. If there are facts proving the claims then there is no punishment to severe.

sbhayman, leland, us ms

If America didn't care about the outside world, the UK would be speaking German.

Millions died defending Europe from Hitler and others like him - Let us not forget!

J.E., Reno, NV, USA

Again this shows that you may not just trust your children to anyone regardless of their afliation. We must put our trust in our Creator and pray that these children will one day be productive individuals and can overcome these alleged crimes commited against them.

Moses, Fontana, USA/California

Have a look at what Ted Gunderson, a former senior FBI officer, says about the McMartin case. He shows evidence of the tunnels which the children said they were abducted through. Validated with a University archaeologist apparently.

Andrew Chapman, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

Many reders ahve said it may be a case of mass histeria.. difficult to prove, but PLEASE bear in mind that the article says that the children did have bruising ans swelling, so someone is doing soemthing to those children, the real victims here.

Ana O'Reilly, Dallas,

They've been teaching for decades, and the allegations only relate to the last year?
Where is the "film"?

Andrew, Palm Beach, Florida

This kind of thing is very often covered up, but it does happen. And what better place than church? The most evil people hide in the least likely places, and like to mix with the most vulnerable. I mean, isn't that obvious? But Satanic abuse is everywhere, and it reaches all levels of society. And few people believe it, because they don't want to believe it.

jack, Austin, usa

This is like a bad movie. It is very hard to believe, I would need to see more than what is in this story before I would believe it happened.

Brian, Evansville,

they say they were filmed. There is no evidence in the story to back that up. Without the films, tapes etc.; all you have is a bunch of "statements" by little kids that were fed leading questions. This so far smacks of nothing but another witch hunt. Which is why it disgusts me that people here are so quick to condemn

VultureTX, Houston, TX, USA

The range, depth and emotion of some of the comments below exemplify why I have no faith in the jury system. One sniff of the words 'child' and 'abuse' and emotions boil over. Not one comentator has had sight of the evidence as far as I can tell. The Court will decide

Richard , Jersey,

Does Italy provide compensation for victims of sexual abuse? It's one of the primary motives for making false allegations of sexual abuse.

The video should be interesting if it exists. If it does who is to say actually made it?

Helga, Fylde, UK

Regarding these teachers et al, the case should be thoroughly investigated and if proved guilty, they should receive harsh punishement despite their apparent 'respectful' background.

Hathcynn King, Seabrook, Texas

Hang them all now , do not wait , people that abuse children do not deserve to live....

Claude Wadsworth, Hueytown, Alabama, USA

To Fargo johnfodder, the reason we hear about American loonies and you do not hear about ours is easy. America has never given a stuff about the outside world. Only thinking of it self, whereas europe does consider others.

Robert Miles, southend, UK

When they asked Jesse James why he robbed banks, he said, "Because that's where the money is." Schools are a great place for paedophiles to work.

That being said, I seriously doubt the accusations are true. I'll bet good money there is no film, because there was no ritual satanic abuse. In the US, the legend of satanic abuse, though popular in the late '80s, was never proven.

Howie Feltersnatch, Podunk, KY

There is a well established satanic community with a long history to the north of Rome. There's no indication this is a hoax.

Eric, Portland, OR

Will have to wait and see, but if what the news story says is true and there is a video of these people abusing the children, then it would be proof enough. ...Also I find it rather odd that the parish priest would think that just because these are "Church going people and taught at Sunday school" this some how makes it impossible for them to commit these types of acts. I would think he would learn from the Hundreds of Catholic Priests that have been arressed world wide that being a "Church goer " means absolutely nothing. Pedophiles ALWAYS go where the children are easy pickings>

Lilly, Chester, U.S.A

Another Satanic Panic kicks off. Sadly it can't be long before it makes it to the UK to the pleasure of tabloid journalists and the "child abuse" industry.
Let me tell you how many instances of satanic ritual abuse have been proven beyond doubt (and I discount the deeply worrying convictions based on recovered memories obtained through hypnosis). None, nada, non, nicht, zero, nil.....
So forgive me for saying but this is also very likely to be utter nonsense.

Mike, Brighton, UK

For those who can't find mention of a video, the second paragraph explains that the teachers are accused of "filming them in sexual acts with satanic overtones at the teachers’ homes and in a wood." I dare say the film will be central to the evidence if it's proven to be genuine.

Kathryn, Oxford,

David Icke is right. Read his stuff. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Craig, Deefield Beach , Florida USA

Yes, George Bush sure does get a lot of press.

Sarah, Nottingham,

Paragraph two states that the teachers are "are said to have part in the repeated abuse of 15 children aged 3 and 5 for a year, filming them in sexual acts with satanic overtones at the teachers’ homes and in a wood." In this case, "said to have " indicates that no one has actually seen these supposed films.

Liz, Sterling, US

congratulations to Benjamin Studtman for highlighting the hypocritical manner in which people view female paedophiles.

Karl, Worcs, England

I can't believe the lame gulibility and religious 'tunnel-vision' with which so many seem to believe that if a suspected child abuser was a churchgoer then surely there must be some mistake. ...As if churchgoing were equivalent with saintliness and infallibility, and as if it were impossible to abuse churchgoing as a form of cover. Well, it seems to work very 'successfully'!

Marco, bhm, uk

I had made a comment with a link but that was rejected. If you search the web for references to "false accusations satanic child abuse" you'll find a sad but rich history of hysteria and false abuse accusations. Groups of children, when pressed for incriminating testimony by adults, will tell ever increasingly bizarre stories and implicate more people. Hopefully the Italians and all of us can learn from our ancient and recent histories surrounding children's wild accusations.

Nick Alvarado, houston, tx

Having read the comments here just like to clarify a few points:
- in Italy, the persons suspected of an offence of this dimension are routinely arrested and placed in jail before they are questioned by the investigating magistrate. Whether they actually be charged or released depends on those interrogations.
- the petrol pump attendant is held to be the ringleader, teachers are primarily being investigated as to how the children could have been taken out of classes during school hours.
- 4-6 of the children at the school report the same story, have the same nightmares, draw similar depictions of the abuse they suffered and have suffered sexual abuse according to examining doctors.
- the Carabinieri have been investigating for months
- Satanism exists in Italy, maybe a reaction to Catholicism. At least what the practitioners call Satanism, really just sick murders and abuse. There are quite a few "Satanists" languishing in Italian jails, convicted in the last few years.

JohnW, Milan, Italy

Wow. First France has an incestuous child porn ring, then this Satanic Italian thing, much the same. This stuff is NOT making it into our national news in the States, at ALL; yet all our insane people get worldwide press. Interesting.

Fargo Johnfodder, Aubrey, OK

Gee this sounds familiar... McMartin Trail, United States 1980s. After 6 years and $15 million dollars it all turned out to be unsubstantiated.

It did ruin the lives of respectable people. For the sake of the children, I hope this is the same thing.

Jason, Nashville, TN

Someone mentioned films, but although I read that these acts were filmed I do not read that anyone actually has the films. Unless there is actual evidence of this sort, let's not make up our minds based on descriptions or even "confessions". Yes, I remember the McMaster pre-school case, and there was also a similar case in Britain I believe, in which there were detailed confessions by people who were told over and over that they were guilty and had simply supressed their memories of their crimes.

One doesn't have to be a satanist to worship Satan. American satanism is childish garbage, the real satanists are people who believe in the image of Satan the ruler of evil which is taught by the more conservative parts of the Catholic and Protestant churches. But let's keep our minds open and be thankful we won't be on a jury.

Christopher Hobe Morrison, Middletown, Orange County, NY, USA

I know that sometimes stories sound as if they were made up, but this is far too outlandish for it to be completely false.

I do not think any parent, let alone a group of them, would prompt their kids to lie about this.

I am just stunned that anyone, let alone women who have kids & grandkids of their own would do such a thing. If there was ever a case for a modern day stoning, these people would be the prime candidates.

Olivia, Richmond, USA

Each case must surely be judged on it's own merits.

I don't see how you can say that you do or don't believe this case just because in previous years there have been some 'spoof' cases.

If there where the slightest hint of this happening to either of my children I would want the fullest investigation, I think you would too.

Richard, London, UK

I am troubled by the responses that seem to indicate disbelief... Did you people read the second paragraph? This stuff was FILMED! It's kind of hard to argue your innocence when you made a freaking movie of what you did.

Dan, Seattle, US

Who reported the "Swollen and Bruised genitalia" The Parents or Doctor's? What Video? I never read anything about a video? It's wise to await ALL the facts before concluding anything!!!

john, sydney, Australia

All I have to say Is PROTECT the children. I don't give a rats ass to what happens to anyone other than the child mentioned. Do any of you have a heart or do you just want to see our name on the internet?!?!

Stacie, Ray, Ohio

Mary, paragraph Two...filming them in sexual acts with satanic overtones at the Teachers' Homes and Woods.
That sounds like tehy were filmed to me...Hmmmm

Stacie, Ray, Ohio

Will the Roman Catholic Church ever learn. With all the press on the Priest abuse scandal, now this and the local Priest is backing the perpetrators up. Unbelievable that he does not believe the video evidence.

MRev David Francis, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada

Dear Phil,

Thank you for making those of us that are from the UK look like fools.

Regards,

Marcus

Marcus, Yorkshire, England

On the flip side, just because the McMartin case was false does not grant a pass to these folks in Italy. Since children are susceptible to fantasy, the Satanism ploy seems to fit. We will see what happens. The videos appear to supply the "smoking gun", though.

The Aardvark, Elkmont, AL

Hoax?? Children with bruised and swollen genitals?? Films of adults performing sexual acts on said children?? 'Tell them it was your Father...'

So these kids are doing it themselves are they?? It is precisely attitudes like this that expose our children to these beasts. Like membership of the church means that one is incapable of such acts. That one, two or ten of these incidents was a hoax does not mean that each and every one shouldn't be exhaustively investigated and NOT pre-judged. The church is hardly blameless in matters of child abuse worldwide.

Pu Li, Guangxi,

Quite frankly, I don't know how any teacher could get away with sexual abuse or any other kind of abuse during school hours. If it is true, I blame the administration equally for not supervising. In my school, there's not a free minute - it is constant work due to strict requirements and I have unexpected visitors (my bosses, colleagues, etc.) all the time. It seems like the schools aren't very focused and strict if there's enough free time for even the possibility to exist.

In addition, without all the details, I don't want to rush to a conclusion, except to say if they did it, they're evil, if not, it's a tragedy. It's a shame when someone is falsely accused.

Someone referred to video - did I miss where it said there was a video recording? I don't see that anywhere in the article.

Mary, New Jersey,

NZ had a very public incident from Christchurch in the South Island in the early 1990's. It ruined so many peoples lives and many of the children who were victims recanted up to 10 years later. In the UK children have been taken away from their families in some cases still to be returned when accusations of satanic child abuse were involved. It does happen, it does get covered up, people are damaged, but......investigate, investigate, investigate, be totally transparent and don't base all information on so called "experts" many who are called into question years later! Avoid knee jerk reactions, it helps no-one in the long term.

Jo, Auckland, New Zealand

Well, from the comments on here, it appears that if you want to get away with molesting children, you just have to do all the things that were mentioned in the McMartin case!

People sure are quick to judge things that they have no knowledge of, aren't they? Sure, this could all be a bunch of b.s., but you have absolutely no way of knowing that. Innocent until proven guilty, I say, but I certainly wouldn't be defending a bunch of people accused of the rape of 3, 4 and 5 year old children unless I *knew* they were innocent. And when I say "know," I mean have enough knowledge of the facts of the case to be able to form a conclusion.

Chris, Riverside, CA

Dear Americans,
a) since when was wikipedia a reliable source of information?
b) i doubt that children as young as three are in a position to dream up such horrific 'games' all by themselves..

Phil, Manchester, UK

If the offenders had been men, then 4/5 of the comments would have been screaming for castration, not rushing to defend and explain away.

I find the line "tell them your father did it" particularly telling.

Why rush to excuse those who would blame our entire gender for their own personal evil? Doesn't society have enough of these sorts of persons already?

Benjamin Studtmann, Olympia, WA

If investigated properly and carefully this will be found to be utter nonsense. Let's hope that the truth is found before these innoncent people are railroaded and ruined.

Peter G, Venice, FL

Film or video evidence does not lie. "Good church-going women shouldn't be accused", yet they are on film! The priest scandals are not all lying malcontents, the priests abused children for hundreds if not thousands of years. I come from the city of Dennis Rader - BTK. He was the president of his church, the most upstanding of citizens, yet he took one of his dead victims to his church and photographed her in sadistic pornographic positions all around the church. You can hide alot behind religion. You cannot lie about videotaping raping drugged 3 year olds. This is not the same as the CA case and the witch hunts and people leading them to say things that are not documented by the abusers themselves.

George Sanders, Wichita, Kansas

Before everyone starts believing all of the allegations, please read about similar cases:
- the Kern County, California child molestation cases of 1983 and 1986
- the McMartin preschool case of 1983
Wikipedia lists several cases that sound similar to this one. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_ritual_abuse
Until better evidence comes out, don’t be quick to jump on this. The devil is in the details (sorry about the pun).

Greg, Chicago,

Um...these idiots need to read up on history. There's was this little case
called "The McMartin Preschool Trial" that sounds almost EXACTLY like
this. I mean, reading this is almost verbatim what the McMartins were being
accused of.

Read up on it.

Kevin, Chicago, Illinois

The satanic overtone my be the media or such this is close to Rome and most people over there are Catholic and want to believe or blame everything on Satanism. If you have ever read the Satanic Bible by Anton Lavey you would realize that it has everything to do with being you own God. Nothing to do with sick stuff like this.

Chris, Texas, USA

These "cases" were common in the US for about a decade. They were all frauds which did incredible damage to schools and teachers. Check the internet for the "McMartin" case in California.

B.W., Washington, DC

I am instantly reminded of the book "Michelle Remembers." It was a total hoax that set off a period in America known as The Satanic Panic, where every parent was certain that Satanists lurked around every corner, and one could always count on torrid tales of Satanic rituals on Sally Jesse Raphael or Geraldo.

Radar, Fort Collins, Colorado

Do not rush to judgment. In America, we learned our lesson belatedly - many innocent lives were ruined. Google "Little Rascals Daycare" or "McMartin Preschool" for examples. The interview techniques used by the investigators (and not discussed in this article) are by far the most significant variable. Suggestive techniques used to "help the children tell their stories" resulted in the unfortunate abuses of justice we witnessed in the U.S. Beware of anyone who makes blanket statements like, "believe the children" or "children don't lie." They can and they do. They also can and do tell the truth. It depends on the child and the occassion. Demand a proper investigation and wait for the facts to come to light - not just the allegations.

Jim R., Greenville, North Carolina

We went through something like this in the United States in the 1980s. None of it turned out to be true whatsoever. I doubt very much these charges are true, based on the experience in America. Child molesters certainly do work in schools, but the added element of "satanism" makes the entire set of charges highly suspect.

Shawn, Andover, MA

If you're a child molester. school seems like the best place to work,
doesn't it? Like the wolf working as a sheepdog. Oh Aesop, where
are you when we need you?

Eugene, Heidelberg, germany