The effect of false satanic ritual abuse charges years later

Here's a story from the Middletown Guardian on the after-effects, 15 years later, of false charges of satanic ritual abuse.

This week the parents of the family that sparked off the "witch-hunt" told the Guardian there was still no closure for them. They would be fighting on to get the council to publicly admit their mistakes.

And a former Langley councillor has revealed that he warned the chairman of the Social Services Committee at the time, that the social workers were fundamentalist Christians on a mission, lacked objectivity and should be replaced.

He said the families should receive "serious compensation".

Andrew, the father of Daniel, who inadvertently sparked off the ritual abuse alert, and Julie, said that he had been gratified by the reaction of local people who had expressed their support since the programme was transmitted.

He said: "People have stopped me in the street and in the shops to say how shocked they were at the injustice we have suffered and the ordeal our family has been put through. They have seen for themselves how the social workers conducted those terrible interviews with the children.

"But there has been no complete closure for us and there will not be until the council honestly admits fully and publicly its mistakes. In the meantime we will continue our campaign for full disclosure."

Last night the family was travelling to London to appear on today’s (Thursday) "This Morning" programme on ITV.

This week a former Langley councillor, Robin Parker, told the Guardian that he tried to alert the then chairman of the Social services Committee, Councillor the Rev Paul Flowers, a clergyman, that something was going wrong.

Parker – a former Manchester City Council social services official - said: "I was a very new councillor in Rochdale at the time. I was approached by Langley councillors Kevin Hunt and Tony Heaford.

"They said that something was going very badly wrong and they were on the wrong track."

He said it was apparent that the two social workers involved were fundamentalist Christians and that could be affecting their judgement.

"I went to the chairman of Social Services and said the two social workers were on a mission and could not be objective when they believed Satan was at work, but he rejected this."

Interesting. Tragic. My novel The Defilers touches on the whole controversy about satanic ritual abuse, that's why I'm linking to these stories.