Presidio child molestation case

Starting in 1986, children in the daycare center at the Presidio of San Francisco began to come forward with claims of molestation. Initially, the allegations only included daycare teacher and Baptist minister Gary Hambright, but they quickly grew to include other unidentified perpetrators who took the children off-base to be abused. Some of the abuse was even said to be ritualistic in nature, with urine and feces, blood, and threats of violence. The case expanded in scope when one child accused Lt. Col. Michael Aquino, an Army intelligence officer at the Presidio as well as a Satanist who had founded the Temple of Set. After years of legal maneuvering, charges against Gary Hambright were filed then dropped multiple times. Michael Aquino was never formally charged, but he was titled by the Army and processed out, following a CID investigation in which multiple children across Northern California implicated Aquino in molestation and ritual abuse. To this day, Aquino maintains not just that he was innocent, but that Hambright was innocent as well and no abuse took place at the Presidio. Evidence in the case, however, suggests that Aquino has been highly dishonest in his presentation of the case facts.

Abusers

Only three suspects were specifically implicated in the course of the investigation:

• Gary Hambright: Daycare teacher
• Michael Aquino: Army Lieutenant Colonel who lived in San Francisco and was stationed at the Presidio until 1986
• Lilith Aquino: Wife of Michael Aquino

However, the testimony of the children reveals that many of them were taken off the Presidio base to be abused by other unknown perpetrators.

Aftermath

Mind control survivors

Main articles: Paul Bonacci, Cathy O'Brien

External links

Books

• Children for the Devil: Ritual Abuse and Satanic Crime by Tim Tate (1991) - mainly Chapter 5
• The New Satanists by Linda Blood (1994)

Articles and documents

• Diana Napolis, "Overview of the Presidio Case and Investigations in Northern California", 1999/02/20
  • "The CID taped their interviews with the children and some of them identified Aquino from a video lineup of men dressed exactly like him. Some of these children who had described ritual molest, murder and cannibalism on videotape had testified against Charlotte Thrailkill and Daryl Ball during an 18-month preliminary hearing which ended approximately Sept. 1988 - (Case #14750-C Santa Rosa)The children said on CID videotapes that the people who hurt them were part of a "devil worship club." The parents held a news conference describing these allegations. The psychological trauma these children experienced was described in an article summarizing the results of the plea-bargain and sentencing of Ball/Thrailkill."
  • "Michael Aquino notes these are the allegations as I've framed them to be but he states there was no merit to them and the Army didn't believe them either. However, this portrayal of the Army's 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. It is also a mystery as to why there is only one child listed in the alleged victim block of the report but the word "children" is used frequently throughout the documentation. The details of the Army Argument also gives more information about the case as well as the Army Exhibit list which includes the ordering information for these documents at the end of the page."
  • "There were never any criminal charges filed against Michael Aquino. Some of the details of the Army-Aquino case would not have been made public except for the fact that Aquino's lawsuit against the Army placed these documents within the public domain, as well as the two published reports and internal documentation. But the military will not release the Report of Investigation or any of the other items shown on the exhibit list due to the Privacy Act. Aquino disputes much of what's stated in the documents but refuses to provide any information to the contrary."
• Dave McGowan, "The Pedophocracy, Part III: Uncle Sam Wants Your Children", 2001/08
  • What is the source for a "soundproof room" being observed? It might be from the "MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF DEPENDANT'S MOTION FOR JUDGMENT ON THE RECORD" in the Aquino v. Stone case, since it mentions "a black room with soft walls" where Aquino abused one of the victims, and soft walls are sometimes used for soundproofing. Another possibility is p.103 of Cover-up of the Century by Daniel Ryder (a book McGowan uses but not in this part of the Pedophocracy series), citing Objective Evil: Satanic Cults in U.S. Intelligence by Roy Blake: "Among the more bizarre findings at Aquino’s house, said Blake, was a room with all black walls, and another room that was soundproof."
• Nick Bryant, "The Presidio Case, Joseph Russoniello, and the SFPD Search Warrant on Aquino's home", 2010/02/10 (posted on Franklin Files; archive here) - mentions Joseph Russoniello and claims the case was "usurped by the U.S. Attorney"
• Contemporaneous news stories on the Presidio case - many can be found in Mae Brussell's research on Presidio, others on Rigorous Intuition
  • Los Angeles Times, "FBI Investigates Presidio Child Molestation Report", 1987/08/11
  • San Francisco Examiner, "Presidio molest probe finds link to satanic sect", 1987/10/30 (pages 1b, 6b): "On Aug. 14, investigators raided a house on Leavenworth Street owned by Army Reserve Lt. Col. Michael Aquino and his wife, Lilith, according to court records released Thursday. Police seized 36 videotapes, photographic negatives, photo albums, cassette tapes and photos of costumes, masks and stars in connection with the investigation of sexual molestation and child pornography. [...] Aquino, reached by phone at his new residence in St. Louis, told The Examiner that a police search took place while he was vacationing in The City last August, but he denied any allegations of molestation. [...] "This whole thing is pretty traumatic for both of us," Aquino said, adding that he and his wife left San Francisco in July 1986 two months before the alleged molestation took place at the Aquino apartment. Aquino, however, would not say how many times he had visited The City since he left the Presidio to attend a one-year course for Army reservists at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C." - demonstrates that Aquino's supposed alibi about being in Washington DC the whole time is worthless
  • San Jose Mercury News, "ABUSE INVESTIGATION TURNS TO ARMY OFFICER", 1987/10/30
  • San Jose Mercury News, "PRESIDIO CARE CENTER FIRST TO FACE ARMY SCRUTINY", 1987/11/04
  • [unknown Sacramento outlet], "BAY NAVY OFFICER BEATEN TO DEATH, BLUDGEONED IN KITCHEN ON HEAD", 1987/11/05
  • San Jose Mercury News, "SATANIST ACCUSED OF MOLESTING GIRL; SOLDIER CALLS PROBE A WITCH HUNT", 1987/11/08
  • San Jose Mercury News, "ARMY OFFICER BECOMES CRIME SUSPECT SATAN-WORSHIPING COLONEL IMPLICATED IN CHILD SEX ABUSE", 1987/12/13
  • UPI, "Presidio molestation case collapses", 1988/02/17
  • San Francisco Examiner, "Final charge dismissed in Presidio case", 1988/02/18 (pages 1b, 4b): "Two weeks ago, Russoniello asked that four of the 12 charges be dismissed because, he said, the children involved "could not stand up to the competency test; they could not stand up as witnesses." Last week, Judge Schwarzer dismissed seven other charges because the government was unable to state what sexual abuses Hambright supposedly committed other than the broad but unspecific accusations of "lewd and lascivious" acts. [...] Inspector Glenn Pamfiloff said Wednesday that San Francisco police still were investigating allegations involving children who attended the Presidio day-care center and might have been molested at locations in The City. "I've got a lot of victims I'm talking to. . . . I've talked to numerous kids, but I'm not prepared to go into what their statements have been and what evidence I've got," Pamfiloff said. "It's an ongoing investigation.""
  • San Francisco Chronicle, "Scathing Report on Presidio Child-Care Center", 1988/03/21 - described by Mae Brussell in her show bibliography: "The Chronicle, via Freedom of Information, obtained Col. William J. Shaffer's report which was completed in June 1987, and never released. "Dead Spots at nursery school where children-adults could hide, where some incidents of child molestation took place. Gary Hambright charges dropped. Lt. Col. Michael Aquino from DIA, SEALS, ARMY RESERVES, immune from the scandal."
  • Jackson Sun, "Occultist files police harassment complaint", 1988/04/14: "Michael A. Aquino, founder of the California-based satanic church and a U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, directed the legal request to the Office of Citizen Complaint, asking that intelligence division detective Sgt. Sandi Gallant and juvenile division inspector Sgt. Glen Pamfiloff "cease their abusive, harassing in vestigation" of Aquino and his wife, Lilith, a priestess in the devil worship organization."
  • San Jose Mercury News, "ABUSE CASE AT PRESIDIO QUIETLY CLOSED BY U.S.", 1988/04/19: "The U.S. Attorney's Office apparently has quietly closed the investigation of sexual abuse at the Presidio day care center without seeking more indictments from a federal grand jury, as the prosecutors had vowed less than two months ago. The move means that no one will have been held responsible for the alleged sexual abuse of more than 60 children at the center, which is run by the U.S. Army at the Presidio of San Francisco. U.S. Attorney Joseph Russoniello said Monday that the case has not been formally closed, although FBI agents involved in the case have told parents "the official document closing the case is being written." An FBI spokesman confirmed Monday that "we're waiting on something in writing." [...] Recently, however, Russoniello has said that problems had developed with the children's abilities to testify to statements they had made earlier. His comments came after the last remaining child who was to have testified against Hambright was removed from involvement in the case by his parents. Joyce Tobin, whose son allegedly was abused at the center, said Monday that she and her husband, Capt. Mike Tobin, reluctantly removed their child from the court case on the advice of the boy's therapist. "We felt it was in his best interests because the prosecutors could not assure us that they could protect him from further exploitation that might be harmful," she said. "But we know there are other children, some older than our son, aged 4, who can tell exactly what was done to them, by whom and where." Several parents of alleged victims plan to protest closing of the case at a news conference today at the Presidio. [...] "The bottom line is that nobody looks at a child's testimony as evidence," parent Dennis Runyan said in a recent interview. He and other parents maintain that several children are capable of testifying what was done to them, who did it and where." - was Dr. Felix Polk the therapist for the Tobin boy?
  • San Jose Mercury News, "ARMY OF THE NIGHT", 1988/07/24
  • San Jose Mercury News, "SOURCES SAY ARMY IS PROBING ABUSE CASE", 1988/12/23 (reprinted as Anniston Star, "Officer target of sex-abuse probe" by Linda Goldston, 1988/12/25: pages 19a OCR)
  • EIR, "Warning: Satanists may spread AIDS" by Jeffrey Steinberg, 1989/05/12
    • "The headquarters of the Temple, Lt. Col. Aquino's Russian Hill home, was raided by the San Francisco Police on Aug. 14, 1987, based on allegations that the home had been the scene of a rape of a four year old girl. In the raid, police confiscated 38 pornographic videotapes, photo negatives, and other evidence that the house had been the hub of a pedophile ring operating in and near the base."
    • "Although several of the children identified the couple as participants in the rape scenes, some of which were allegedly videotaped by Aquino in the bathroom of his house, and although several children had provided detailed descriptions of the interior of the Aquino house, the reserve officer claimed that he had been in the Washington, D.C. area for the entire year that the rapes had allegedly occurred—taking a military intelligence course at the National Defense University. Although Aquino was posted to the NDU at the time, he did retain his Russian Hill temple/home and frequently traveled back to the West Coast, according to published accounts."
    • "Aquino writes that he modeled the Temple of Set on three Weimar-era occult secret terrorist organizations that were antecedents to the Nazi Party: the Thule Society, Vehm, and Ahnenerbe."
    • "One of Aquino's leading followers in the Temple of Set, Dr. Stephen E. Flowers, a professor of Germanic philology and the history of religion at the University of Texas at Austin, has admitted to interviewers that he is in close contact with the Republikaner Party in the Federal Republic of Germany."
  • San Jose Mercury News, "PRESIDIO CHILD ABUSE FIGURE DIES OF AIDS", 1990/01/05
• San Francisco PD investigation (Case #870910025, 8114/87)
  • San Francisco police search warrant for Aquino's home (full PDF)
  • David Hoffman, "George Bush: World Class Monster", citing his article "Do What Thou Wilt, Satanism and The Temple of Set" from September-October 1995 in the Haight Ashbury Free Press, claims the following about a man who seems to be Glenn Pamfiloff (also lead investigator of the Dubs family murders by Leonard Lake and Charles Ng): "As recently as 1995, the SFPD detective in charge, who I interviewed, was still too frightened to reveal details of the case."
  • Response on 2017/10/11 to public records request #P002929-071217: "Extensive research has concluded that the case for which you request material remains open at this time. The SFPD declines to release records pertaining to an open investigation under California Government Code Section 6254(f), which exempts from disclosure records of complaints to, investigations conducted by, intelligence information or security procedures of, and investigatory or security files compiled by local police agencies. Therefore, we are unable to release the information you request, as disclosure of case information may endanger successful completion of the investigation."
  • Follow-up on 2018/02/20 to public records request #P002929-071217: "The SFPD replied to your Public Records Request on October 11, 2017, via Gov QA, the SFPD’s public records portal. You were notified that the case you are inquiring into is open at this time, and that any records are exempted from release under California Government Code Section 6254(f). On February 15, 2017, you contacted Legal Assistant, Elsa Campos, to inquire into the SFPD's denial to release any records to you pertaining to the "investigation of child abuse at the Presidio Child Development Center during the 1980s." Ms. Campos advised you that she must consult with her superiors before providing you with any further information. Please be advised that although this case is currently closed/inactive, it can potentially be reopened in the future if other victims come forward. Therefore, the SFPD cannot jeopardize any (potential) future investigation by releasing case information. During your conversation with Ms. Campos, you also inquired into the fact that the statute of limitations for the case has expired, and, therefore, case information should be releasable. Please note that the statute of limitations is five years from the time the sexual assault is reported to the authorities. So, for those victims that have not come forward they still have the right to absolute privacy. Furthermore, the SFPD has ultimately determined that the information you requested will not be released to you, because the case you are inquiring into involves the (alleged) sexual assault of juvenile victims, and information cannot be released without a court order"
• Federal involvement (including possible usurpation)
  • From p.140 of Painted Black by Carl Raschke (1990): "Those particular charges were later dropped against Aquino and his associate. Parents of the children who were allegedly abused said it was because of strong pressure from the army on the federal investigators and the San Francisco police. Prosecutors blamed the well-known difficulties of prosecuting child abuse cases in the first place. Just before this book went to press, however, authoritative sources within the military, who requested anonymity, reported that another investigation of Aquino had been opened by civilian law enforcement in California."
  • From p.155 of Painted Black by Carl Raschke (1990): "Twenty-two families filed $66 million in personal injury claims against the army in connection with the Presidio case. Although charges against Aquino were dismissed, Gary Hambright who was arraigned in the case, pleaded innocent and suggested he might be taking the rap for others possibly involved in the alleged molestations. After long legal maneuvering and bickering between army and federal investigators and the San Francisco police, the case against Hambright was shelved as well."
• Army CID investigation
  • 1989/03/15 interview with a child victim
    • Alex Constantine, "Satanism and Ritual Abuse - Case-by-Case Documentation", 2007/07/16 - has Diana Napolis write about the CID investigation
    • Alex Constantine, "Satanist Michael Aquino at the Presidio", 2008/09/29 - mention of the March 15, 1989 interview by Diana Napolis, with a PDF link that is dead
    • 2008 Franklin Files post that has excerpts of the CID interview transcript
  • U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, report no. 0610-88-CID026-69259-5K3/6F3/6E2/6A1/5M2/5Y2/DIMIS - on p.8 it is said that a former Temple of Set member recalled Aquino mentioning a ritual chamber in the apartment at 2420 Leavenworth Street; on p.32 it mentions how Aquino used letters from General William Westmoreland and Senator George McGovern to defend himself from 1972 controversy over his involvement in the Church of Satan; on p.42, it is noted that Aquino claimed in a letter to the Army that he had never come across any contemporary account of a Christian priest conducting a black mass, despite there being such an account in a book on the Church of Satan that Aquino himself wrote; on p.47 the report notes that Aquino's residence contained four apartments, including one that his Temple of Set leader brother-in-law, yet only the top flat was searched by the SFPD, and the apartment that was searched by the SFPD had been repainted between June 1986 and January 1987; on p.71 it is stated that when asked about the colors of his home's interior prior to the SFPD search, Aquino refused to answer on advice of counsel; it is also noted that despite heading to Washington DC at the end of July 1986 to begin classes at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, he not only admitted being back in San Francisco from September 19-21 and December 20-January 4, but had calls from his residence on August 23, August 26, September 4, and December 8; on p.84 are the notes of an interview with Anton LaVey; on p.88-89 are the notes of interviews with Linda Blood; on p.89-90 are the notes of interviews with Cynthia Angell; on p.90-91 are the notes of an interview with the former Temple of Set member who mentioned rumors of Aquino being excited by sadomasochistic sexual activity and claimed to have been told about a ritual chamber in his apartment; also notes that year I in Temple of Set literature refers to 1966; on p.91 are the notes of an interview with somebody who visited the Aquinos' property in April or May 1986 "in his official capacity" and recalled that the front room had walls "of a dark color, possibly black"; on p.91 are the notes of an interview with someone who installed a security system at the Aquinos' property sometime "in early 1986", and recalled "a padded room on the upper level" and "dark rooms"; on p.114 it mentions the CID being contacted by a detective from the Mendocino County Sheriff's Department, who reported that a victim in a ritual abuse case they worked identified Aquino, and noted that the prime suspect in their investigation lived near where Aquino was currently assigned; it is pointed out that this prime suspect was a former US Navy member; on p.114 it mentions a probation officer at the Verdemont Boys Ranch in San Bernardino County CA reporting that one of her probationers claimed his brother was involved with the Temple of Set in the Lake Arrowhead CA, and that two suspects in a kidnapping/rape trial in the area may have been linked to the group; on p.124-125 the entire section about whether Aquino had contact with other suspects or victims mentioned in the report is completely redacted
• Documents from Aquino's lawsuit (United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, no. 90-1547-A: Michael A. AQUINO v. Michael P.W. STONE, Secretary of the Army) where he tried to get the Presidio case out of his Army record
  • Memorandum in support of the defendant's motion for judgment on the record
  • Hearing on motions, 1991/05/31 (PDF copy of court document)
  • Appeal ruling, 1992/02/26
• Diane Ehrensaft, "PRESCHOOL CHILD SEX ABUSE: The Aftermath of the Presidio Case", 1992/04 (PDF here)
• Christopher Cooke claims in 2007 that he was a lawyer for a Presidio victim and the abuse was substantiated

Controversy over guilt

• Diana Napolis online debates
  • ElectriCiti page on the 1997 lawsuit by Aquino: early emails from Aquino and John Price to identify Curio, Aquino lawsuit filing, ElectriCiti response, Curio response on May 8, explanation of how Stephanie Rothman was dragged into it, part 3 of Netmag "SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL"
  • Wired, "Satanists' Suit Against ISP Dismissed", 1997/10/01
  • San Diego grand jury and Karen Hopkins controversy: response to 1998/08/20 San Diego Reader article by Tim Brookes, Dr. Constance J. Dalenberg, "Another Missile In The Memory War", 1998/09/03, "Carol Hopkins and the Justice Committee"
  • Christopher Barden accusations in October 1998: "Christopher Barden's SLAPP Lawsuit Threats", initial email from R. Christopher Barden, Karen Jones response, Barden reply and threat, 1998 version of the FMSF website listing Barden as a legal analyst, David Calof on Barden, 1999/02/17 accusation by Karen Jones of others posting under her name, 1999/02/21 threat against Jones for what somebody else posted
  • Diana Napolis, "Aquino v. ElectriCiti - Harassment by Dr. Michael Aquino from the Temple of Set and his Internet Censorship", 2000/02/18 (Army argument, 1991/05/31 hearing on motions, John M. Price tries to identify a photo of someone else as Curio, John M. Price defends pedophilia from an anthropological perspective and uses the name "Curidiot", "Dr. Nancy Alvarado from UCSD and sci.psychology.psychotherapy", Wendy J. Murphy, "Debunking "false memory" myths in sexual abuse cases", 1997/11, Lorne D. Gilsig mocking Curio in 1997/10, William Scott Scherk attempt to identify Curio, "The Frugal Pervert" by Tanith Tyrr, Professor Lee Lady (of Hawaii) page, email chain on Lee Lady website referring to the "Stephanie Rothman [Curio] nonsense", post of Temple of Set material on a Wicca board)
  • Rumor Mill News, "The Michael Aquino Files", 2000/09/21 - mentions Case #14750-C in Santa Rosa CA involving Charlotte Thrailkill and Daryl Ball, whose victims later testified on videotape against Michael Aquino; says it's a mystery "as to why there is only one child listed in the alleged victim block of the report but the word "children" is used frequently throughout the documentation"; points out that Charlotte Thrailkill was named the first violent female sexual predator in California in 1998
  • Alex Constantine, "Stalking Curio Jones", 2000
  • Diana Napolis, "Ritual Abuse Victims Advocate Responds to Defamatory Article in the San Diego Union-Tribune", 2001/01/01
  • Ellen Lacter, "Problems for Victims of Ritual Abuse in San Diego, California", 2000/09/29
  • alt.conspiracy thread in 2001 by Alex Constantine calling Aquino the "Kook of the Year" (cites alt.satanism thread from 1998 with Aquino's personal information) - discusses Aquino's belief that he was created in a ritual by Jack Parsons and L. Ron Hubbard, which turned out to be anal sex (after which he backed off from his belief); includes testimony of victims of Daryl Ball and Charlotte Thrailkill, and also mentions Tony Carpino (a possible suspect for "Tony" in the Gosch abduction?); one 1998 poster makes fun of Aquino's relationship with Linda Blood
  • 2008 Franklin Files thread on the Diana Napolis lawsuit
• Potential exculpatory evidence for Aquino
  • Michael A. Aquino, "Corrections to Passages Concerning Michael Aquino and the Temple of Set in The New Satanists by Linda Blood", 1995/02/02 - attacks Linda Blood's writings about him and Presidio
    • Calgary Herald, "DEVIL'S DISCIPLES", 1987/03/07 (pages 1e, 2e): "The Temple of Set: founded in San Francisco in 1975 by former Church of Satan "member Dr. Michael Aquino, the Temple of Set has a membership of no more than 100 in Canada and the United States, ex-temple member Linda Blood told the Herald. [...] The Temple of Set is led by a small elite priesthood calling itself The Order of the Trapezoid. The group — whose members claim they can communicate with the ancient Egyptian devil-god Set — are fond of rituals once employed by Nazi SS troops, Blood said from her Boston home. "Aquino is obsessed with respectability. He wants to be taken seriously," says Blood, now an occult expert with Chicago's Cult Awareness Network. "Both the Church of Satan and the Temple of Set keep away from any kind of illegal activity for the same reason: they know that's the only way to survive." [has a rare photograph of Linda Blood]"
    • San Francisco Examiner, "S.F. temple, couple in 'New Satanists' sue author for libel", 1994/10/29: "But the suit claims that the book libels the Aquinos and the church by falsely: Implying that the Aquinos were responsible for the late 1980s kidnapping of a Bay Area lawyer who was representing a child who had allegedly been molested at the Presidio's day care center. [...] Reporting that Michael Aquino was forced out of the Army in disgrace in 1990 when he actually voluntarily retired with honors in 1994."
  • Supreme Court of Texas, no. 04-06-00497-CV: Peter J. Parenti v. Kinsey Moberg, memorandum opinion, 2007/05/30 - reveals that Kinsey, the first child to identify Aquino, had to sue her stepfather to collect the abuse settlement
• On the other hand, Aquino's book Extreme Prejudice misrepresents the facts on numerous occasions
  • p.10: It's falsely asserted that Joyce Tobin, the mother of the first victim to come forward, changed her story. Aquino writes that Tobin told the San Jose Mercury News in 1988 that her son reported his molestation by Gary Hambright as soon as he got out of daycare, rather than later that night as she initially claimed. Yet the San Jose Mercury News article in question ("Army of the Night"), which Aquino does reference as a footnote in his book, shows Tobin maintaining as before that her son reported the molestation at night.
  • p.13-14: Chlamydia being found among several Presidio victims is disputed because the Army medical center used the wrong culture, only doing a preliminary screening rather than conclusive follow-up testing, but Aquino never questions why the Army so egregiously mishandled the evidence
  • p.15: It is pointed out that although Hambright died of AIDS none of the children were found to have contracted HIV/AIDS, but most if not all all of the abuse attributed to Hambright was described as oral copulation, digital penetration, or molestation
  • p.17: The allegations against Hambright are designated as a witch hunt started by Satanic ritual abuse adherents, ignoring that Hambright was a Baptist minister
  • p.19-20: An FBI document is misrepresented to imply that Kinsey Adams-Thompson fabricated or was fed her later accounts of abuse by Hambright. Aquino cites an FBI document stating that Kinsey was upset by Hambright and didn't want to come to school, though she denied at the time being improperly touched by him. Aquino ignores her apprehension towards Hambright, never considering why she felt that way about him, and fixates on how she initially denied abuse.
  • p.28-29: Yet another FBI document is misrepresented in order to deny that Kinsey identified Aquino's home as the one where Hambright had driven her to be abused. Aquino cites an FBI document which quite clearly states that Kinsey was brought to Aquino's neighborhood to identify his house and became visibly scared immediately upon approaching it. Then Aquino claims that this didn't constitute an identification of his house.

Potential leads

• The lock-up garage a block from Aquino's home where he allegedly parked his car: is that detail accurate and did Kinsey ever tell it to investigators?
• Obtain a copy of the Army CID investigative records
  • Part of the interview uploaded by Diana Napolis but now unavailable was excerpted on Franklin Files
• Red Bluff CA kidnapping of Cynthia Angell
  • On 2018/03/08, the Red Bluff Police Department confirmed that records on the kidnapping exist but withheld them
• Interview Christopher Cooke and/or confirm his story
• Dr. Felix Polk, the psychologist for Joyce Tobin, was later murdered by his wife Susan and accused of being an abusive husband who first preyed on her as a teenager in his therapy sessions
  • Jeff Wells, "Shadows and Fog", 2005/10/20
  • 2006/05/01 Rigorous Intuition thread citing articles by Virginia McCullough
  • Jeff Wells, "The Clown at Midnight", 2006/09/06
  • 2006/09/11 Rigorous Intuition thread citing various news articles: pages 1, 2
  • Seth Allen, "Susan Polk Was Innocent Of Murder", 2010/09/02
• Michael Corbin, ParaNet Continuum radio show #94: interview with R. Roy Blake, 1996/01/28 (MP3 link)

Similar and related cases

• West Point child molestation case
  • The Battle and the Backlash: The Child Sexual Abuse War by David Hechler (1988)
  • Dave McGowan, "The Pedophocracy, Part III: Uncle Sam Wants Your Children", 2001/08
  • Contemporaneous news articles
    • Washington Post, "Army Doctor Turns Down Promotion; Lax Response to Case of Child Abuse Cited", 1985/06/25 (see here)
    • San Diego Union-Tribune, "Army Doctor Refuses Promotion in Protest", 1985/06/25
    • Times Herald Record (Middletown NY), "Liability in Point Abuse Case Debated", 1986/12/23
    • New York Times, "$2.7 Million Settles Army Child-Abuse Case", 1991/05/23 (see here)
    • Times Herald Record (Middletown NY), "A Legacy of Pain: Settlement Doesn't Ease Abused Children's Fears", 1991/06/11 (see here)
  • Military intelligence chief involvement
    • From p.92-93 of The Battle and the Backlash:
      
          Some of what they had uncovered seemed to be corroborated when they read in the paper that the chief of military intelligence at West Point was arrested in nearby Highland Falls in September 1984 for asking a 10-year-old boy and 14-year-old girl if he could take nude pictures of them.21 According to a 1986 investigation conducted by the Army's inspector general, in response to a letter Gray wrote accusing the Army of covering up child abuse, "the incident was alcohol related," and following the officer's successful completion of an alcohol rehabilitation program, all charges were dismissed. Furthermore, the report said, the FBI investigated his possible involvement with the child abuse case, but "no connection was ever established, and the officer was never determined be a 'prime suspect.'"22
          What particularly interested the Grays at the time, though, was a rumor that the man frequented the same bars as the day care teachers the children had named.
          Walt decided to contact the man directly. It was a gambit inspired by frustration and should not be seen as a model for others in his situation. At best it was potentially dangerous to himself and the investigation. He called the man, told him that he believed children had been photographed naked by child care workers, and said that he wanted to talk to him. The Grays had come to believe that the only way the case would ever be broken was if someone confessed.
          The man agreed, and they met in a restaurant. Donna and Mary were watching from a distance.If the man did not confess, the Grays were hoping that at least Donna would recognize him. That part worked, the Grays said. "He's not hurting Daddy! He's not hurting Daddy!" Mary said her daughter exclaimed. "He said he'd hurt Daddy!" It was a turning point in the child's recovery, her parents said. It was clear to them now that she had been threatened, and she could see for herself that they were all safe.
       
    • Times Herald Record (Middletown NY), "Army officer charged with endangering child", 1984/09/25: "An Army officer stationed at the U.S. Military Academy was arrested Sept. 11 on a misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a child after he allegedly asked two local children to pose in the nude. According to documents filed in the Town of Highlands Court, the incident occurred about 9:50 p.m. on Aug. 23 in a "secluded area off Main Street." The suspect, identified as Capt. Patrick Burke, allegedly asked a 10-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl to lie down on a blanket while he took pictures of them. According to the court documents, Burke then asked them to take off their clothes so that he could take more pictures. There is nothing in the court records to suggest that the two complied. Burke, 39, lives at 3022A Lamb Place, West Point. According to Maj. Alex Mondragon, a West Point spokesman, Burke was a staff officer in the Directorate of Operations at the academy. Mondragon said Burke is in the hospital. The case against Burke was adjourned on Wednesday until Oct. 17. The adjournment was granted at the request of Burke's attorney. Ned Kopald, Orange County's chief assistant district attorney, said he believes Burke is undergoing treatment in an alcoholic rehabilitation program, and that the court case will resume following his release. Highland Falls Police Chief William E. Stone, whose agency arrested Burke, refused to give out any details of the incident except to say that someone had been arrested and that the case was on file in Town of Highlands Court."
  • Possible connection to NAMBLA
    • Testimony of California congressman William E. Dannemeyer on 1990/03/05: "Pamfiloff reports that many but not all child molesters belong to a group called NAMBLA, North American Man-Boy Love Association, which has about 125 members in California and 600 worldwide. The group was founded about 12 years ago, and men with close ties to the group have been arrested in Sacramento, San Francisco, Boston and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point."
• San Francisco Chronicle, "Satanism Linked To Scores of U.S. Child Abuse Cases", 1987/11/05
• Mendocino County (Ukiah, Fort Bragg) and Sonoma County (Santa Rosa) child molestation cases - allegedly involve Aquino
  • Interesting to note that Ukiah was also the location of the Peoples Temple
  • San Jose Mercury News, "SATANIC PRIEST QUESTIONED IN NEW SEX CASE", 1989/05/13: "Lt. Col. Michael Aquino, a satanic priest who was investigated in connection with the sexual abuse of children at the U.S. Army's Presidio of San Francisco, has been questioned about the abuse of at least five children in Sonoma and Mendocino counties. [...] In the new investigation, police in Ukiah already had been looking into the ritual abuse of two boys and a girl when the children accused Aquino of being involved, parents and police said. Aquino also was accused of molestations in Santa Rosa and Fort Bragg. "Basically, we have a multi-jurisdictional investigation" of Aquino and others, said Ukiah Police Chief Fred Keplinger. Keplinger said that his department is working with the Army's Criminal Investigation Division. [...] Keplinger declined to discuss the details of the investigation but said, "the children are believable. I have no doubt in my mind that something has occurred. It's just being able to prove who the perpetrators are." Army investigators recently videotaped the children's stories. Officials would not discuss their investigation. [...] The Army broadened its investigation to Sonoma and Mendocino counties after children there recognized Aquino during television and newspaper coverage of him and the Presidio case. One of the children, a boy, was watching a television program about the case with his mother when he recognized Aquino, his mother said. "He just grabbed the rocking chair and hung on real tight," she said. "His eyes got huge and he said, 'Mommy, that's the man from the church in Fort Bragg.' " Allegations of ritual abuse erupted in Fort Bragg in Mendocino County in 1985 when several children at the Jubilation Day Care Center said they were sexually abused by a number of people at the day care center and at several locations away from the center, including at least two churches."
  • Ukiah Daily Journal, "Satanic cult fears rekindled", 1989/05/15 (pages 12a)
  • Press Democrat, "Satanic chief tied to Mendocino sex abuse", 1989/05/15 (pages 1, 8)
  • Press Democrat, "Ukiah pair keep molest case alive", 1989/05/16 (pages 1b, 3b)
  • San Jose Mercury News, "Mendocino County cops, parents seek help in child abuse probe", 1989/05/17
  • Anderson Valley Advertiser, "The Great Fort Bragg Witch Hunt", 2002/05/23

Other curiosities

• SFGate, "Mysterious predator haunts rural judge / Jurist finds dog poisoned, arson fires at home", 2001/09/02 - targeting of Cynthia Angell and her (now-former) husband Anthony Edwards