Events to be evaluated during the alleged abuse include:
- use of fear or scare tactics
- degree of trauma
- use of magic, deception, or trickery
- use of rituals
- use of drugs
- use of pornography
Events to be evaluated after the alleged abuse include:
- disclosure sequence
- background of prior interviewers
- background of parents
- co-mingling of victims
- type of therapy received
Evaluate Contagion. Consistent statements obtained from different multiple victims are powerful pieces of corroborative evidence--that is, as long as those statements were not "contaminated." Investigation must carefully evaluate both pre- and post-disclosure contagion and both victim and intervenor contagion. Are the different victim statements consistent because they describe common experiences or events or because they reflect contamination or urban legends?
The sources of potential contagion are widespread. Victims can communicate with each other both prior to and after their disclosures. Intervenors can communicate with each other and with victims. The team or cell concepts of investigation are attempts to deal with potential investigator contagion. All the victims are not interviewed by the same individuals and interviewers do not necessarily share information directly with each other. Teams report to a leader or supervisor who evaluates the information and decides what other investigators need to know.
Documenting existing contagion and eliminating additional contagion are crucial to the successful investigation and prosecution of these cases. There is no way, however, to erase or undo contagion. The best you can hope for is to identify and evaluate it and attempt to explain it. Mental health professionals requested to evaluate suspected victims must be carefully selected. Having a victim evaluated by one of the self-proclaimed experts on satanic ritual abuse or by some other overzealous intervenor may result in the credibility of that victim's testimony being severely damaged.
In order to evaluate the contagion element, investigators must meticulously and aggressively investigate these cases. The precise disclosure sequence of the victim must be carefully identified and documented. Investigators must verify through active investigation the exact nature and content of each disclosure, outcry, or statement made by the victim. Second-hand information about disclosure is not good enough.
Whenever possible, personal visits should be made to all locations of alleged abuse and the victims' homes. Events prior to the alleged abuse must be carefully evaluated. Investigators may have to view television programs, films, and videotapes seen by the victims. It may be necessary to conduct a background investigation and evaluation of everyone, both professional and nonprofessional, who interviewed the victims about the allegations prior to and after the investigative interview(s). Investigators must be familiar with the information about "ritual abuse of children" being disseminated in magazines, books, television programs, videotapes, and conferences. Every possible way that a victim could have learned about the details of the abuse must be explored, if for no other reason than to eliminate them and
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