English: An FBI agent's advice for investigating claims of "satanic" "ritual" child abuse, explaining how the eagerness of some investigators to find "satanic" or "ritual" elements to abuse had impeded the course of justice in some child abuse cases. From the abstract: " In the United States the prevailing attitude toward child sexual abuse is denial. In addition, the long-standing stereotype of abusers as complete strangers has been replaced by the view that satanic devil worshipers are victimizing children. Conferences have focused on the subject, although it has been impossible to document the widespread existence of this problem. Alternative explanations for the allegations include pathological distortion due to mental disorders in the victim, traumatic memory, normal childhood fears and fantasy, confusion, trickery, overzealous intervenors, and the spreading of urban legends."