WARNING: This episode contains vivid discussions of child abuse. Viewer discretion is advised.

 

The longer one spends time tumbling down the rabbit hole, researching the various pieces of The Pyramid of Power, the more likely you are to learn about examples of child abuse. From teachers and sports coaches, to law enforcement and religious leaders, and celebrities and politicians – it certainly appears as if there is a society wide problem with pedophilic behavior and the abuse of young children.

Unfortunately, examples of this behavior can be found in all political parties, religions, ethnicities, professions, and lifestyles. A quick search of the news on any given day will reveal stories of arrests made on the local, regional, national, (1) and international levels. (2, 3) Even organizations like the Boyscouts of America have not been immune to claims of sexual abuse of children.

Demographic data on paedophiles shows they are generally of above-average intelligence, and live what appear to be normal and respectable lives. The Guardian reported in 2007 that Restricted Scotland Yard documents show that the UK’s child abusers are usually white males aged between 36 to 45. The majority are in a long-term relationship, married or have children. Almost all have no previous convictions of sexual abuse.

Before we go further, let’s dive deeper into the definition of pedophilia.

What is Pedophilia?

Pedophilia is defined as a sexual perversion, or psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (or DSM) says a pedophilic disorder is defined as a pattern of pedophilic arousal accompanied by either subjective distress or interpersonal difficulty, or having acted on that arousal.

Despite the public often labeling any instance of child abuse as pedophilia, the psychiatric diagnostic criteria for pedophilia considers the cut-off point for prepubescence to be 13 years old. In fact, several sub-types of pedophilia exist based on the specific age group which arouses the individual. For example, Infantophilia (or nepiophilia) refers to a sexual preference for children under the age of 5 (especially infants and toddlers), while Hebephilia is defined as individuals with a primary or exclusive sexual interest in children ages 11 to 14-years old. Finally, Ephebophiles have a primary sexual interest in mid-to-late adolescents, generally ages 15 to 19 years old.

This would mean, for example, that the infamous sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was not a pedophile, but would more accurately be termed a hebephile because the majority of the young girls he abused were young teenagers. Previous chapters of this series have covered Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged connections to Israeli and British intelligence services, as well as his numerous relationships with celebrities, scientists, politicians, journalists, and other high profile socialites.

(Whitney Webb Interview?)

Either way, regardless of these distinctions, we continue to see consistent reports detailing the abuse of young children and teenagers across all sectors of society.

While Epstein is a prominent example of these despicable actions, we are going to focus on 2 lesser known incidents of child abuse allegations which intersect with government, intelligence agencies, and religious institutions. What can we learn by understanding these dark chapters in history? Is there a common thread to these horrific situations? We should also consider the possibility that there is an effort to conceal the prevelance of pedophilia and child abuse.

The Finders Cult: Accusations of Pedophilia with Links to the CIA

In 2018, I began researching the group known as The Finders Cult, an eccentric group of parents who claimed to be traveling journalists who were accused of being involved in everything from child trafficking, pedophilia, satanism, and connections to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

In pursuit of this topic I would spend months combing through obscure forums, police documents, tracking down former members of the Finders, and former police officers who had worked on the case in the late 1980’s. I ended up releasing a documentary titled Who Will Find What The Finders Hide? telling the story of the mysterious group and the incident which made them infamous around the world. The story goes like this…

The Finders cult was a young group of men, women, and children who claimed to be nothing more than former hippies living an alternative lifestyle and practicing alternative parenting. The Finders were founded by a mysterious man named Marion Pettie, who had military intelligence connections and was nicknamed “The Game Caller”. He believed in turning his life, and the lives of those around him, into a constant game or experiment. The Finders members followed Pettie’s every order without question.

The trouble for the group began in Florida on Wednesday, February 4, 1987 when an anonymous caller told the Tallahassee Police Department that two well-dressed men were at a local park with six kids and a blue van. The children were described as looking “disheveled” with potential signs of abuse. Tallahassee Police arrived and questioned the two men – Douglas E. Ammerman and Michael Houlihan – members of The Finders who said they were taking the kids to a school for brilliant children in Mexico. The men also said the children were being weaned from their mothers. Authorities eventually took the men and children into custody. A search of the van turned up 20 floppy computer disks, a TSR-80 computer, and a device that police said “could be used to hook into a computer in another location by telephone.”

Immediately it became clear that this case was not like any other. Following the arrests, the Associated Press reported that police had moved the six children from a shelter after receiving a “half-dozen” phone calls threatening the kids. The AP notes, “children were moved to an undisclosed location where they were being protected by armed guards.”

When interviewed by the police, the kids claimed the men were their teachers and that they had been living in a house with other children and adults. The children were unaware of modern technology, including phones, televisions, hot water, staplers, typewriters, and electricity. The oldest child said they received instructions from “a man they called a Game Caller or a Game Leader”.

The Washington Post reported that a confidential police source previously told authorities The Finders were “a cult” that conducted “brainwashing” techniques at a warehouse and apartment in Washington D.C. The source told of being recruited by The Finders with promises of “financial reward and sexual gratification” and of being invited by one member to “explore” satanism.

At that point, officials with the U.S. Customs Service agency joined the investigation due to suspicion that the potential crimes may have crossed state or national borders. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) were also said to have been investigating the case. After learning the children were based in the D.C. area, the Tallahassee department contacted D.C. Metropolitan Police to establish the identities of the children. Tallahassee police spokesman Scott Hunt told reporters that D.C. police were already aware of The Finders.

On Friday February 6, Virginia State police raided a 90-acre farm owned by Marion Pettie in rural Madison County, Virginia. Neighbors of the farm say children were often brought to the farm in vans, usually crying. An FBI report states that “evidence of a satanic/cult ritual was discovered.” The same report notes that all reports regarding Finders are to be classified as Secret.

Meanwhile, D.C. Metro Police and U.S. Customs Service agents raided other Finders properties, including a duplex apartment building and warehouse in Washington D.C. Police reports and articles from 1987 indicate that the D.C. police removed large plastic bags filled with color slides, photographs and photographic contact sheets from the warehouse. Some of the photos were of naked children.

U.S. Customs spokesman David Hoover told the Post, ″We’re not saying that it’s pornographic, but it has all the earmarks.″ A U.S. Customs Service report filed by Customs Agent Ramon Martinez described some of the photos as showing blood rituals involving children slaughtering goats while adults in white robes watched. Martinez’ report also mentioned police had found instructions on how to purchase children.

By Monday, February 9, five days after the children and their two male chaperones were arrested, Metropolitan Police announced they have found no evidence of wrongdoing or satanic activity by The Finders. Health officials in Florida then said they had no evidence of sexual abuse of the children. D.C. Metro Police Chief Maurice Turner Jr. stated that the department had not uncovered any evidence to “corroborate allegations made by an informant that the organization is a cult and that its activities involve satanic rituals.” By Thursday, February 12th, the FBI’s Washington field office said the investigation has “not uncovered any evidence of federal violations.”

However, according to the New York Times reporting at the time, “the statement from the Metropolitan Police Department conflicts with accounts from the police in Tallahassee, Fla., where the children were found, unwashed and hungry” and that “officials there say that morning at least two of the children had signs of sexual abuse.”

Tallahassee Police Reports

This report from the New York Times was confirmed in 2018 when 75 pages of Tallahassee police reports were finally released to the public. The documents make it clear that when the eldest child was questioned about sexual abuse she became very evasive. She said there were no “bad touches” between the children and adults, and reportedly became fidgety and wanted the interview to end. The same police report mentions that an official with the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, or HRS, said two children were confirmed cases of sexual abuse. Jane Pittilla of HRS stated that a Dr. Moorer had found one of the children lacked “anal sphincter control,” consistent with acts of sodomy. Also, one of the girls had signs consistent with vaginal penetration by fingers.

Despite these reports, by February 24 lead investigator Rick Huffman officially ended the Tallahassee Police Department’s investigation into The Finders. Huffman did not mention the reports of sexual abuse by doctors with HRS. The release of the TPD documents add more evidence to the theory that agencies within the federal government covered up the crimes of The Finders.

This alleged cover-up even made headlines in 1993 when U.S. News and World Report reported that the Department of Justice was initiating a new investigation into allegations that the CIA was somehow connected to The Finders cult and had worked to cover up the case. U.S. Customs Agent Ramon Martinez, as well as local police officers in Tallahassee, had spent the previous years attempting to alert the authorities to the apparent cover up.

After interviewing dozens of people directly involved in the case and reviewing hundreds of documents, the DOJ concluded there was no evidence of child abuse or trafficking, satanic cult activity, or law enforcement complicity. In the minds of the authorities, the case was closed. However, as we have uncovered here, there are many details that ought not be forgotten.

While it may be easy to dismiss these claims as nothing more than conspiracy, it’s difficult to ignore the statements from the Tallahassee Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services regarding signs of sexual abuse.

We also have the original reports from Customs Agent Ramon Martinez describing detailed information related to trafficking.

While participating in the raid of the Finders warehouses, Martinez conducted a limited search of the documents and claimed he saw many suspicious details, including detailed instructions for obtaining children for unspecified purposes, and another message specifically ordering the purchase of two children in Hong Kong to be arranged through a contact in the Chinese Embassy.

In October 2018, I spoke with Ramon Martinez via email about his experience, his claims of a cover up, and whether or not he still stood by his story. In one email, Martinez made it clear that he stands by his original report and does not believe anyone will be held responsible. On November 1, 2018, Martinez wrote:

“Nothing’s ever come of any info I’ve provided over the years, except professional grief. I have no delusions of anyone ever being held accountable for what I know happened.”

Martinez inititially agreed to speak with me on camera, but would later back out of our planned interview. I decided I would fly across the United States to attempt to meet Martinez in person to encourage him to go public with his knowledge of a government cover up of the abuse of children. Martinez kindly told me to F off and stay away from him. He has since refused answer my emails or phone calls.

In September 2018, I became the first person in more than 30 years to interview a member of The Finders on the record. I spoke with The Finders spokesperson Robert Terrell, a man who was the self-described “right hand man” for Marion Pettie. Terrell told the story of how he became involved with The Finders after he helped a friend get a job.

In early 1972, Terrell would begin visiting the Finders house, The New Ark, and eventually meet Marion Pettie. Terrell said he was fascinated and impressed by Pettie.

After meeting Pettie, Terrell decided to move into the New Ark with The Finders, and traveled with them around the country. Soon after, Terrell’s wife filed for divorce. After giving the majority of his savings to his ex-wife and children, Terrell then used his remaining savings to purchase several buildings for The Finders. It is these buildings which would later be raided by the police.

I asked Terrell directly about the 1987 arrests and the claims of child abuse involving The Finders.

Terrell claims that the rumors of satanism and child abuse came from a disgruntled former member of The Finders who reported these allegedly false claims to the police in an effort to get back at an ex-boyfriend.

In March 2019, five months after I spoke with Terrell, I released my documentary, Who Will Find What The Finders Hide?, sharing the details of the Finders story, including my interview with Terrell. The documentary attracted significant attention and introduced a new generation of true crime sleuths to the story of The Finders.

In October 2019, only 6 months after the release of my documentary, the FBI began releasing 100’s of pages of previously unreleased documents relating to the Finders. Between October 2019 and May 2022, the FBI released four different sets of documents. Most of the documents contain references to elements of the story which have been widely known to the public. However, some of the pages add further corroboration to the claims that The Finders had some type of involvement with the U.S. intelligence community, particularly the Central Intelligence Agency.

For example, on page 66 of the first FBI document dump, we find a page from the Washington Metropolitan Police Department’s investigation into The Finders titled “Summary”. It states:

“It is this writers belief that the Finders organization is and has been utilized by the CIA as a disinformation service spreading non-essential, non-critical information to various organizations throughout the United States and overseas.”

Regarding the allegations of abuse of children, the redacted author writes, “I do not think that child abuse was a planned tactic of this group, but as in any cross section of society, sick and demented subjects belong to a cult as well. I do believe the shaping of the children is a planned experiment of this group as in the case of the Nazi’s they strove for a perfect society, thereby in their own way they tried to form a group of children and ultimately adults that did not suffer from the ill’s of normal society.”

The unknown law enforcement officer who wrote the report also stated that it was his belief that the Finders did not disband, but “as reported in their master plan” have only “appeared to disband to prevent further detection from law enforcement and social service officials”. The officer concludes his summary by calling for the Finders to be monitored.

I interviewed Robert Terrell again in October 2021, nearly three years after our first discussion and two and a half years after my documentary was released.

He was unhappy with the conclusions of my documentary and made it clear to me that he did not think I was a credible journalist.

We had a heated discussion about what the documents say, and what Mr. Terrell says.

As of 2024, no former members of The Finders or their children have come forward to admit involvement with child abuse or connections to intelligence agencies.

The Utah Investigation into Ritualized Child Sexual Abuse

On May 31st, 2022, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office released a statement detailing how “multiple county and federal agencies are investigating reports of ritualistic child sexual abuse from as far back as 1990”.

The Sheriff’s statement noted that the investigation “into ritualistic child sexual abuse and child sex trafficking” in Utah County began in April 2021. The investigation subsequently discovered previous reports alleging “similar forms of ritualistic sexual abuse and trafficking” that occurred in Utah County, Juab County, and Sanpete County between 1990 and 2010.

The Sheriff’s office stated that “portions of these allegations” had been confirmed and were being investigated by the Utah County Sheriff’s Office in cooperation with other local and federal agencies. The statement called on the victims or individuals with knowledge of the events to contact the Utah County Sheriff’s Office Special Victim’s Unit.

Following the announcement I reached out to Sergeant Spencer Cannon, the Public Information Officer with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, asking him to clarify what was meant by “ritualistic sexual abuse”. Sergeant Cannon said this type of case “typically involves a religious component, or people from a religious group”. Cannon also stated, “it can also be systematic abuse that happens over an extended period.”

In a strange twist of events, David Leavitt, the Utah County Attorney at the time, held his own press conference calling for the resignation of Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith, the man leading the investigation into ritualized child abuse. Although, the USCO statement never mentioned Leavitt as a suspect, he claimed he and his wife were potential suspects and claimed the Sheriff’s investigation was politically motivated.

David Leavitt is the younger brother of former 3-time Utah Governor Michael Okerlund Leavitt. The father of the two men is Dixie Leavitt, the founder of the Leavitt Group, one of the largest independent insurance brokers in the nation. The entire Leavitt family is connected to the Church of Latter Day Saints of Jesus Christ, aka the Mormon Church.

During his press conference, Leavitt stated, “I learned that my wife and I were part of those allegations, alleging that we were guilty of cannibalizing young children and murdering young children.”

Leavitt claimed the new investigation is related to charges filed against a former therapist more than 10 years ago.  He noted the man was charged in connection to allegations of raping someone he knew from church. Leavitt also claimed the charges were dismissed in 2014 because, “the evidence was so outlandish and so unbelievable.”

Leavitt provided the local media with a 151-page document labeled as a “victim statement” that described the alleged crime. The document included Leavitt’s name, as well as more than a dozen people accused of practicing ritual sexual abuse of children, cannabilism, and murder.

Leavitt described the report as “151 pages of utter baloney” and called the woman who made the allegations “tragically mentally ill.” He called for PIO Sgt. Spencer Cannon and Sheriff Mike Smith to resign. Leavitt also called for an independent investigation into the case to see where the case documents originated from. Leavitt accused the Sheriff’s office of attempting to interfere with the primary elections, which were only weeks away at that time.

Salt Lake City Fox-affiliate FOX 13 News also reported that “multiple confidential sources” confirmed the new investigation related to a therapist who was previously charged with a series of sex crimes against young female family members. The Utah County Attorney’s Office previously dropped charges without prejudice, and the man was not convicted. However, FOX 13 claimed to have records which “indicate the man previously confessed to sexually assaulting at least one of the girls on an undercover phone recording”.

David Lee Hamblin

The disgraced therapist is a man named David Lee Hamblin. In 2012, Hamblin was accused of rape and arrested. The Utah Daily Herald reported at the time that Hamblin was being charged with 12 counts of rape of a child, three counts of sodomy of a child, one count of attempted sodomy of a child, all first-degree felonies, and two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a second-degree felony.

The charges were based on events that reportedly happened between 1991 and 1998.

However, despite the accusations against Hamblin, all the charges would be dismissed in 2014 after prosecutors said they had trouble obtaining the necessary documents to prosecute Hamblin.

Both Hamblin and Leavitt are indeed mentioned in the 151-page document Leavitt shared with the Utah press. While these accounts have not been proven in court, they do provide some insight into what Hamblin and Leavitt have been accused of.

One document labeled “Victim Statement #3” is one of 8 different victim statements included in a larger file from the Provo Police Department’s investigation into David Hamblin.

On page 49 of the document we see the mention of David Leavitt as being involved in a “prostitute house” with children. “He (David Hamblin), David Leavitt, and Joe Bennion would all jokingly call Rosie “Madam” to talk about her running a prostitute house,” the document says. The Rosie mentioned refers to David Hamblin’s then wife, Roselle Hamblin.

A chart describing “Experience #50” lists David and Rosie Hamblin, and David Leavitt as people involved in abuse between 1993 and 1995 at a house in Provo. Under a section titled “Other Occurrences, Times, and Locations” it states:

“This happened at nearly every party or when people came over to our homes, however the frequency refers to how many times this happened with David Leavitt. This also happened when we were at parties of other group members, like when we were at Gordon Bowen’s house for a few different parties. REDACTED often pushed us on to many people trying to get us to have sex with them. She did this at many parties and places she took us.”

The alleged victim goes on to describe David Hamblin and David Leavitt remarking about how they were the “cutest thing”. The statement says “David L. grabbed me around the waist and said that he would love to do that, and kissed me on the forehead. Rosie walked away and on the way out David L. said to David H. that he was going to stop by in the next couple days.”

The statement goes on for another 150 pages describing 118 cases of ritualized sexual abuse.

Arrests Begin

In September 2022, Utah County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit arrested David Lee Hamblin for multiple first-degree felony sexual offenses against a child. Hamblin, now a 68 year old man, was booked for 3 counts of sodomy of a child, 1 count of rape of a child, 2 counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, and 1 misdemeanor count of lewdness involving a child.

According to the Probable Cause Statement (reader discretion advised):

“A female victim came forward in April 2022 to report that she had been repeatedly sexually assaulted by David Hamblin. The sexual assaults began when she was 6 or 7 years old in the mid 1980’s. The victim’s family resided in the same neighborhood as David, located in      Provo, UT. The victim stated she would regularly play with David’s children and had been babysat on numerous occasion by David.

The victim asserted that the first sexual assault that she would recall, occurred when she was playing at the Hamblin residence. The victim recounted a time when she had been sexually abused when she was in the basement of the Hamblin home. The victim described a sexual assault where she and two others children were forced to stand in front of David Hamblin while he directed them to take turns, “sucking on his penis.” David forced each child to take turns giving him oral sex while he critiqued and criticized their abilities and efficacy of what they were commanded to do.”

The statement describes additional incidents of abuse, including one involving another female adult. It also notes that David Hamblin had his therapist license revoked by the State of Utah due to allegations of sexually abusing his clients. However, the investigation has found that he continues to perform “therapy” in the form of “healing circles”.

Although Hamblin was originally ordered to be held without bail, in March 2023 he was granted a 100k bail and allowed out on house arrest with an ankle monitor while he awaits his trial.

In August 2023, Hamblin’s ex-wife, Roselle Stevenson, was also arrested by the UCSO for her alleged role in the ritualized child abuse. Stevenson was arrested on one count of sodomy on a child, relating to abuse of a girl under age 13. The alleged incident occurred in Spring City, Utah around the year 1994. Stevenson was ordered to be held without bail.

As of June 2024, David Hamblin is still under house arrest and awaiting trial to face the charges of child abuse.

The Role of Religion

As with the accusations against David Hamblin, many incidents of child abuse involve various officials associated with religious institutions. Examples of child abuse can be found in nearly all religions.

Probably the most infamous examples involve the Catholic Church. In the late 1980’s and early 2000’s, numerous allegations of various types of sexual abuse of children by Church authorities lead to investigations, trials, convictions, and apologies from Church leadership. The abuse mostly affected boys but also girls, between the ages of 11 to 14 years old, with some victims as young as three years old. The allegations were made against priests, nuns, cardinals, and other Catholic Church officials.

The allegations often involve decades of sexual abuse committed by adults. Incidence of sexual abuse have been documented in Canada, the United States, Chile, Australia, Ireland, and parts of Europe. The crimes of the Catholic Church leadership also include covering up sex abuse allegations and moving abusive priests to other parishes, where the abuse often continued.

By the early 1990’s reports of abuse within the Catholic Church were becoming harder to ignore. In 1992, Irish singer and activist Sinéad O’Connor tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II during a performance on Saturday Night Live. The act of protest sought to draw attention to the abuse allegations and the lack of action taken by the Church in response. Although O’Connor faced heavy criticism for her actions, nine years later the Pope publicly acknowledged child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. He was criticised by representatives of the victims of the sexual abuse for his slow response to the Catholic sex abuse crisis.

The allegations against the Catholic Church received even more widespread attention after a 2002 investigation by the Boston Globe. The Globe’s Spotlight Team revealed the church’s secret protection of pedophile priests in a series of articles which had international repercussions.

Of course, the Catholic Church is not the only religious organization to face allegations of child abuse. Similar allegations have faced the Jehovah’s Witnesses (1, 2) the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, aka the Mormon Church, and the Second Baptist Church.

In 2017, Paul Pressler, a former Texas representative and state judge, and an important figure in the 2nd Baptist Church, was accused of molesting a 14-year old boy beginning in 1979, while Pressler was a justice on Texas’ 14th Court of Appeals. The alleged abuse continued until 2004. The following year Pressler was also accused of molesting two men and soliciting them for sex over a period of 14 years. The men were a former member of a church youth group and a lawyer who work worked for Pressler’s law firm.

Solutions

As we proceed higher up the Pyramid, the solutions for the problems presented become more complex. How can we put an end to the widespread abuse of children in churches, schools, families, sports, and groups like the boyscouts? How can we hope to create a better world if we don’t protect the children and ensure they have a future free from abuse?

The answers to these questions are not always easy. Especially, in the face of organizations and media outlets who seem intent on normalizing child abuse by attempting to rebrand pedophiles as “Minor Attracted Persons”, making the argument that child abuse is simply another sexual identity anyone can choose.

We must continue to question and challenge authority, especially as it relates to the most vulnerable and susceptible population, the children. Since abuse often comes from family members or family friends, parents need to be cautious with who they leave their children with. Parents ought not assume their children are automatically safe when in the presence of authority figures like religious leaders, sports coaches, teachers, security and police officers. This doesn’t mean parents should live in a constant state of fear and paranoia, but blind trust in adults simply because of their role in your local community is also not advisable.

Sexual abuse of children can also often begin on the internet. Children and young adults are not always aware of the threats of child abusers when they are scrolling social media and posting pictures to their friends. Parents can inform their children of the risks of talking with random strangers in chat rooms, video games, livestreams, and social media sites. Parents can also consider parental controls on their children’s devices, or, consider not allowing the children on social media until they reach a certain age where they may be mature enough to understand the risks.

While we cannot protect the children at all times, in all places, we as parents, families, and communities can absolutely do our best to educate the children about the dark realities of our world. Finding a balance between terrifying the children with tales of “stranger danger” and allowing them to roam freely is not easy, but its absolutely worth the effort.

We must continue to question and challenge authority while protecting the most vulnerable among us. The children of the future are counting on us to protect them so they might have the opportunity to grow into healthy, balanced, and educated adults.

To dive deeper into this topic, we recommend reading:

The Franklin Scandal by Nick Bryant

and One Nation Under Blackmail by Whitney Webb

We also recommend watching the documentaries:

Who Will Find What the Finders Hide?

and Bringing Down Jeffrey Epstein

Thank you for watching.