The stalkers have arrived with bells on. "Armed with a telephoto lens and a laptop computer with a hidden camera," San Diego Union-Tribune reporter Mark Sauer informs us, "Michelle Devereaux headed south from San Francisco on a mission to find Curio."1 Ms. Devereaux, a vociferous member of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation (FMSF), and Barry, a friend, "camped out for hours at the computer lab in San Diego State University's Love Library," patiently waiting for Curio to arrive and log on at the library's computer lab. Devereaux, 43, has, according to Sauer, "a plethora of tattoos and body piercings and an extraordinary knowledge of cyberspace after 20 years in the computer business." She and her fellow "cyber-sleuth" hoped to catch "Curio" in the act - not of a crime, mind, not even a misdemeanor, but of posting documentation on organized child molestation and expressing opinions on the same in the Internet's Usenet newsgroups, a public forum.

What's up with that? "In her zeal to protect 'young victims,'" Sauer explains, "Curio has posted extensive information about notable individuals who worked hard over the years to debunk the notion of satanic-ritual abuse."

Among the "notables" targeted by Curio, count ...

DR. RALPH C. UNDERWAGER - Former director of the FMSF, forced to resign in 1993 after it was widely reported that he'd opined in Paidika ("Darling," in Greek), a journal published by and for pedophiles, that they should proclaim it "God's will" that adults engage in sex acts with children. Nevertheless, he is often quoted in the media and has appeared as an "expert" in over 100 child abuse trials. In 1988, a New York State court decision held that Underwager was "not qualified to render any opinion as to whether or not [a child] was sexually molested." This was painfully clear on December 19, 1993, when the London Times reported his reference to unspecified "scientific evidence" that demonstrated "60% of women sexually abused as children reported that the experience had been GOOD for them. He contended the same should be true for boys involved with pedophiles." Underwager blames feminists for the current climate of rancor toward pedophiles because they are "jealous" of "men's ability to love other men or children and have stirred up hysteria over pedophilia."2

MICHAEL AQUINO - A former military intelligence officer with top-security clearance at the Pentagon and the disgraced high priest of the Temple of Set in San Francisco, a quasi-Satanic sect that dabbles in Nazi occultism and "invisibility," among other quack pursuits.

In 1984-85, Curio wrote in one of her Internet postings, "there were reports of sexual-ritual abuse at Jubilation Daycare, operated by Barbara and Sharon Orr in Fort Bragg, Northern California. This case was investigated by Mendocino County Sheriff deputies. Eventually some 400 pages of reports were submitted, but the DA declined to prosecute, resulting in no criminal charges filed against the Orrs. Due to the fact they had a history of complaints against their daycare center, some of which were upheld and one cited a child experiencing unusual punishment, the Orrs ultimately surrendered their childcare license in 1984." (The case is detailed in Treating Survivors of Satanist Abuse, by Pamela Hudson, a therapist who provided counseling to children allegedly abused at the daycare center.) Aquino was implicated in a related scandal at the Presidio Army base, but the SFPD abandoned the probe in August 1988. Michael Aquino insists there was no substance to the charges, and the Pentagon dropped them. However, says Curio, the Army's public position "is in stark contrast to their actual stated position as described in a transcript of the hearing on the motion to dismiss dated May 31, 1991. He sued the Army in part because they refused to remove his name from the titling block or amend their report stating he was the subject of an investigation for sexual abuse and related crimes. The court document notes that several members of the Army thought there was probable cause to 'Title' Aquino with offenses of indecent acts with a child, sodomy, conspiracy, kidnapping, and false swearing."3 Aquino has twice attempted to sue ElectriCiti, Curio's ISP server, and twice the case was tossed out of court, "with prejudice."

ELIZABETH LOFTUS - Another board member of the FMSF. Loftus's academic interests have long fueled suspicions that the organization, which defends accused child abusers and pedophiles in the courtroom and the press, is more concerned with supporting the accused than ferreting out the facts. Before she joined the FMSF, Loftus testified in 150 criminal cases, always on behalf of defendants. Critics, she concedes, find her "research" to be "highly prejudicial." (Mark Sauer, however, claims that Loftus is "an internationally known expert on the workings of memory. [She] has written numerous articles and books decrying the idea that trauma associated with child sexual abuse acts to repress the memory of such horrible events.") Ethics and Behavior, a peer-review journal, considers the "study" of "false memories" for which Loftus is best known, the famed "Lost in a Shopping Mall" experiment, to be a "breach of professional ethics." The Mall study results "have been entered into sworn testimony and reported by the media to support a claim that therapists can implant false memories of childhood trauma. Although we acknowledge that inaccurate and mistaken memories may occur, we must conclude that Loftus and Pickrell's mall study does not support in any manner the notion that false autobiographical memories of abuse in childhood can be implanted by therapists. Finally, we suggest that any legal decisions that have been based on claims that the mall study provides such evidence should be carefully reexamined. Appellate courts should be especially wary of relying on or citing the study as authoritative support for the proposition that false memories of sexual abuse can be implanted, because once a study is so cited in an appellate decision, it takes on value that it may not deserve and may unduly influence other judicial decisions."4

... Among others who bona fides as "experts" on ritual abuse are equally inflated by the public print, including FBI agent Ken Lanning. The famed Lanning report on ritual abuse is widely quoted in the "mainstream" media. It is falsely claimed to be "the FBI's official position on ritual abuse." Actually, the report is one agent's publicly-stated viewpoint. It also misrepresents the fact