This is a copy of the article, "CHILD ABUSE, SATANISM AND WITCHCRAFT
WRONGLY LINKED," from Volume 1, Number 1, "Witches League for Public Awareness," January, 1987, by Christine Dumas.

(Article copied for this upload by author's permission. *rcp*)

"Last month (November 1986), on of our networking members, PRAIRIE
WIND, sent us an urgent mailing containing a confidential report by
Officer Sandi Gallant of the San Francisco Police Department. This
report contained definitions of Witches as worshippers of Satan, and
other connections between Witchcraft and Satanism.

"Attached to the police report, which was originally for departmental
use only in investigating crimes of a 'satanic' nature involving child
abuse, was a psychological study of satanic child abuse written by
Clinical Pathologist Catherine Gould Ph.d of Brentwood and Encino, CA.
The report further circulated, unauthorized, by the Director of a child
abuse agency at a large conference on child abuse which took place in
the Midwest.

"I called Officer Gallant, who was helpful and courteous. She said
that she knew nothing about this report being distributed at any
conferences, and that she was well-aware of the differences between
Satanism and Witchcraft. She has worked with San Francisco Witches,
such as Valerie Voight, editor of 'Pagana,' and with other members of
the Covenant of the Goddess (C. O. G.). A phone call to a C. O. G.
member confirmed this.

"Officer Gallant has also sent us a tape of a speech she makes
concerning satanic crimes, and she clearly makes the distinction
between Witchcraft and Satanism. She does not stress this difference
as much as we would like, but I was told this is because she does not
want her audiences to get involved in theological discussions. She does
stress Satanism as the focal point of her talk, but she still makes some mistakes, such as defining a 'warlock' as a male witch. She told me
that she used the terms 'witch' and 'Satanist' interchangeably because
many Satanists define themselves as Witches. Also her report was not
meant to leave the police station.

"She says also that, 'I too, am concerned about mis-labeling, and
share your desire for correct informational dissemination. Once again
however, I must stress that many fringe people do incorporate a
combination of terms and belief systems. In the long run, this (her
report) is helpful, although I am sure distressing to you. It is
helpful because we can automatically rule out organized groups,
knowing they will not combine belief systems.'

"The name of the man who was distributing this report has been sent
to the San Francisco Police Department, as the original was copyrighted,
and he is in violation of this copyright.. Hopefully, they will do
something about this.

"It is not clear what part, if any, Catherine Gould played in this
unauthorized distribution. Her report may have been usurped by the
man involved, or she may have been a willing participant in the
unauthorized distribution of this misleading information. When I
asked Officer Gallant about Ms Gould, she replied, 'Oh her! She never
bothers to point out the differences between Witchcraft and Satanism.'

"As PRAIRIE WIND points out, 'We are not out of the woods yet. This
report HAS (caps, mine: *rcp*) gone to child abuse agencies around
the country, and it looks like it has the endorsement of a Ph.d
as well as a director of a well-respected child abuse agency AND a
major police department.' She says further, 'If you discover that a
police department or abuse agency has this report, encourage (or
demand if necessary), that these people personally contact Officer
Gallant and get this mess straightened out.'

"Also, let us know if this report surfaces in your area. Our thinks
to PRAIRIE WIND for her time and energy spent in bringing this to
our attention."


Tim,
telnet://ricksbbs.synchro.net:23
http://ricksbbs.synchro.net:8080