Couple gets probation in case linked to Satanism

Durham, N.C. — A Durham couple whose crimes were linked to Satan worship pleaded to misdemeanor charges and will serve probation, a defense attorney said.
[...]

Joseph Scott Craig, his wife, Joy Johnson, 30, and Dianna Palmer, 44, of Cottage Woods Court, were charged last year after a man and a woman told police they were beaten, shackled to beds, kept in dog cages and starved inside a home on Albany Street.

The case against Palmer was dismissed in January.
[...]

Prosecutors said the victims met Craig through a shared interest in Satan worship, but that they never consented to physical abuse.
[...more...]

Pair’s pleas end sex assault case

A 2008 Durham case marked by sensational accounts of Satanism and sadomasochism appears to have wound to a close with best-interest misdemeanor pleas by a man first charged with rape and kidnapping, and by a woman charged with letting those crimes happen.
[...]

Durham defense attorney Woody Vann said the pleas were entered and approved Nov. 17 in Superior Court. The action brought an apparent end to a case that included testimony that defendants and victims lived in the same house, brought together by a mutual interest in Satanism.

“The evidence doesn’t support a criminal conviction,” Vann said Friday. “We had adults involved in consensual activities, and they didn’t make any effort to report these to law enforcement until months later.”
[...more...]

Read Another Article

Outrage on Swiss minaret vote, but how do Muslim states handle churches?
Australia: Police investigate Scientology

Related News Articles Topic(s): Order of the Morning Star • Satanism Related Tags / Keywords: Joseph Scott Craig • Joy Johnson • Satanism Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates Subscribe to Religion News Blog [What is this?] Get Religion News Blog's headline by Email [What is this?] Follow Religion News Blog at Twitter Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults: ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs. CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support. Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com Order of the Morning Star Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles Prosecutor links case to satanism Woman in alleged Satanic abuse case has bail reduced Convicted killer sues to practice Satanism in prison Satanic group’s plans for Oklahoma City meeting draws calls of concern, comments Difficult to escape, abusive Satanic cults exist in the shadows of society Russian Satanists jailed for ‘ritual sacrifice’ teen killings Satanic cult teens ‘sacrificed’ victims then ate them Satan worshipers possible suspects in Kimberly Simon slaying Religion News Roundup: Atheism; Transcendental Meditation; Marijuana for religious use; and more Satanic cult leader arrested in central Russia

Search Religion News Blog