A SURVIVOR SPEAKS... One would expect that if laws are passed then the evidence presented to the law makers was hard stuff. You don't change the law, unless there's a good reason, do you? By "ANNE". Testimony As Presented To The Idaho House Jud./Rules Committee, Idaho Centennial Legislature. From File 18 Newsletter, April 1990. "Mr. Chairman, my name is Ann. I'm here as a ritual abuse survivor. I was ritually abused between the ages of three and fourteen. It began on my third birthday when my parents and grandparents relinquished their rights to me and dedicated me to Satan. From that point on the high priest of the coven my father and grandfather belonged to had control over my life. I still lived at home and went to school, yet there was a part of my life no one knew about. That part consisted of sexual abuse, bestiality, pornography, drugs, and witnessing and participating in animal and human sacrifices. My abuse occurred in both Idaho and Washington. The coven that I was involved in was 1 of 12 covens linked together who came together several times a year in Idaho. There were approximately 125-175 people at these meetings. The most vivid memory I have of the rituals that occurred in Idaho is one when I was five years old. All twelve covens where [sic] at the ritual. Some covens wore black robes and some wore white. The high priests of these covens made up a thirteenth coven led by a man called the Supreme. The Supreme had ultimate control over every member of every coven. During the ritual I went through a series of tests including drinking blood from the two girls they had sacrificed earlier, repeating the rules correctly, and killing a kitten. At the end, I was chosen to be a priestess for my coven provided I completed the training that was required. Another ritual that is vivid to me also occurred in one of these large gatherings in Idaho. At the age of eight, I was married to the High Priest of my coven. They said we were "bonded together as one." The ceremony started with a cleansing process in which I was covered in blood from the three people they had sacrificed that evening. Secondly, vows were exchanged between the Supreme, the High Priest, and myself. These vows were in a different language that they used frequently that I never understood. Thirdly, the Supreme cut my finger and the finger of the High Priest and the blood was mixed together. This was followed by communion in which blood and flesh of the sacrifices was used. Lastly, the High Priest had intercourse with me on the altar. This was supposed to seal the bond between us. This was not the only time I went through this ceremony; I also went through it at the ages of eleven and fourteen. Each time there were numerous sacrifices to purify and cleanse me and the High priest, as the purer we were in the eyes of Satan, the stronger the bond was supposed to be, or so I was taught. I watched many human sacrifices during the twelve years I was involved in the coven. Usually after a sacrifice various organs or body parts were removed such as eyes, ears, fingers, the heart, or the ovaries, to name a few. On several occasions I witnessed them peel off the skin of both live and dead victims. The high priest of the coven I was involved in also scalped the hair off of many of his female sacrifices. On one occasion I watched some sort of acid solution eat the flesh off a sacrificed teenage girl. There ere [sic] also times when they used chainsaws to cut the bodies up into pieces. I was forced time and time again to eat flesh and drink blood of both animal and human sacrifices. I was also forced to drink urine, eat feces, and to eat bugs. When I was five I was put into a coffin with a teenage girl I had watched murdered during a ritual. They closed the coffin and told me they were going to bury me with her. I also remember being placed in an open grave with a dead cow that had been sacrificed. They then threw dirt and bloody flowers in on top of me. I was given drugs after every ritual. I never remember going home. The last thing I can remember is being given an injection and trying not to go to sleep as I did not know what was going to happen to me if I did. I believe this was to hinder my recollection of what I saw. I was also given drugs when I was not cooperating. Sometimes I was forced to swallow pills or held down while the doctor gave me an injection. I learned to do whatever they wanted without fighting [because] if I fought they gave me the drugs and I lost total control of my body and my mind as they broke my resistance. At least, without the drugs, even if I [was] forced to do awful things, in my heart and my mind I resisted. I was continually threatened that I would die or my parents would die or they would kill my sister if I didn't do what they wanted. I had no doubt they would carry out their threats as during the large ritual in Idaho when I was eight, I watched them sacrifice a member of one of their own covens to pay for the wrongs of his coven. When I reached the point that I didn't care what happened to me, they began hurting other children when I did something wrong. They know my guilt over the pain was far worse punishment than hurting me would be at that point. I was also warned that if I ever told anyone what I saw they would kill me and/or the person I told. When I was seven I made friends with a new girl at school. The High Priest would come occasionally and watch me on the playground at recess. He observed us together several times. One day she quit coming to school. The next time I saw her she was in the hands of the coven. The High Priest accused me of telling her. I insisted that I did not say anything to her. He began hitting her for every time I denied his accusation. Finally, I told him I did tell her to get him to stop hitting her. Then, he killed her. I'm telling you this because I want to increase your knowledge and awareness about what has been and is going on in our society. It is only through awareness that we are going to be able to do anything about ritual abuse. As Idaho Legislature, you have an opportunity to put into action laws that will require offenders to pay for their crimes against children. In conclusion, I want to tell you about someone who was very special to me. Her name was Jenny. She had beautiful long, blond hair and blue eyes. I was six when I met her; she was fourteen. The first time I saw her she was lying naked on a bed with a chain attached to one of her legs. She had bruses all over her body and a black eye. She also had cuts all over her body. Jenny and I spent time together on several occasions. They would let me into her room and then leave us unsupervised for hours. Jenny's story was classic. She ran away from home because of physical and sexual abuse. She told me she was on her way to her grandmother's when my grandfather picked her up. She did not realise where my grandfather was taking her and what was to happen to her until it was too late. Jenny and I got into an argument about this the last time they let us send [sic] time together. I did not want to believe that my grandfather would have actually taken her to that awful place. But Jenny insisted that he did. She had a one-line argument that I had no comeback for: "If he brings you here, why wouldn't he bring me here?" Jenny was real special. She talked about the ocean, seagulls, and her little sister. She tried to teach me her phone number to call her parents for her but it was an impossible task. At six I did not know how to use the phone and I did not know where we were to tell her parents where to come and find her. The night they murdered Jenny in a ritual was probably the worst night of my life. They told me that I had chosen the night of her death by daring to ask my grandfather that afternoon if he was the one who brought Jenny to the High Priest. My grandfather admitted to the above, which increased my sense of guilt. My ears rang with Jenny's crying and screams as they tortured her that night. The hardest part of Jenny's death for me to deal with was the fact that my hands were on the knife under the hands of the high priest when Jenny died. I tried to get them out but he was much stronger than me. I never mentioned Jenny to anyone until I told my therapist a couple of years ago. There were several ways the coven assured my silence about her. I was told and forced to repeat over and over that I was the one who killed Jenny. I was also told that if I told a policeman that the policeman would put me in jail because I was the one that killed her. They showed me what jail was like by locking me in a box and pouring her blood on top of me. I was told I had to be good or they would tell the police and the police would put me in jail forever and ever. I don't want to mislead you, Jenny was not murdered in Idaho. Yet, she could have been from Idaho...I don't know where she was from. But there were several other children that I saw murdered in Idaho who were just like Jenny. Ritual abuse is a serious crime. We need serious laws with serious penalties to fight back and protect our children." QUOTE ENDS Editorial Note: Not a very nice story. But is it credible, or is it the product of a mind that has been under psychiatric care for a number of years? According to Larry Jones, the editor of File 18, "Annes" story is being investigated by the police force with primary jurisdiction. Since the abusers were members of "Annes" extended and immediate family, one would expect a result on this one. Anyone fancy a bet that the investigation will come to nothing? Emotionally charged, unverifiable, stories like this are the "anti-satanists" stock in trade. One trusts that the Knight Committee will have no truck with with this kind of pseudo-evidence. But then one believes in fairies...