Child Sexual Abuse at The Presidio and West Point - Uncle Sam Wants Your Kids

David McGowan, August 2001

"It should come as no surprise, then, that long-time CIA and 'intelligence complex' operatives turn up on the FMSF Advisory Board. Perhaps the most public member has been Dr. Louis Jolyon 'Jolly' West, a legendary figure in CIA mind control circles operating out of UCLA. Another is Dr. Martin Orne, an authority on torture who currently works at the University of Pennsylvania's Experimental Psychiatry Lab . Still another false memory luminary is Margaret Singer, professor emeritus at the University of California-Berkeley." Toward Freedom, May 1998

One of the names that surfaced at the Bonacci trial was that of Michael Aquino, the 'High Priest' and chief executive of the Temple of Set, an overtly satanic cult that split off from the Church of Satan in 1975. Besides tending to those duties, Aquino has also been known to occupy his time serving as (according to his official biography, circulated by the Temple) a "Lieutenant Colonel, Military Intelligence, U.S. Army."

Aquino was identified in court, by the mother of a victim, as being a key player in a nationwide pedophile ring. Paul Bonacci himself has also positively identified Aquino as an associate of King who was known to Bonacci and the rest of the children only as 'the Colonel.' King's former personal photographer has identified Aquino as the man to whom he saw King hand over a suitcase full of cash and bonds. The photographer, Rusty Nelson, has also said that he was told by King that Aquino was part of the Contra guns and cocaine trafficking operation run by George Bush and another notorious Lt. Col. named Oliver North. Aquino has also been linked to Offutt Air Force Base, a Strategic Air Command post near Omaha that was implicated in the investigation by the Franklin Committee (and that was also, strangely enough, where George W. Bush opted to hide out on the afternoon of September 11, 2001). Aquino was also claimed to have ordered the abduction of a Des Moines, Iowa paperboy.

This was certainly not the first time that Aquino had been identified as a key figure in organized pedophile/child pornography rings. In July 1988, not long before the King and Spence cases broke, the San Jose Mercury News ran a lengthy exposé on the Presidio Child Development Center run by the U.S. Army in San Francisco. Allegations of abuse being perpetrated at the center first emerged in November 1986. Alarmed by accusations made by her child, a parent had sought a medical examination that confirmed that her three-year-old boy had in fact been anally raped. The boy identified his rapist as 'Mr. Gary,' a teacher at the center named Gary Hambright. Even with this conclusive medical evidence, however, "it took the Army almost a month to notify the parents of other children who had been in 'Mr. Gary's' class that the incident had taken place."

Within a year, at least sixty additional victims had been identified, all between the ages of three and seven, and further "allegations would be made by parents that several more children were molested even after the investigation had begun." Amazingly enough, the center remained open for more than a year after the first case of abuse was reported, although, as noted by the Mercury News, "day care centers under state jurisdiction are routinely closed when an abuse incident is confirmed." And this was considerably more than a simple abuse incident that had been confirmed. The children told stories that implicated many other perpetrators in addition to Hambright. They also told of being taken away from the center to be abused in private homes; at least three such houses were positively identified. And they told of being forced to play "poopoo baseball" and the "googoo" game - 'games' that involved the children being urinated and defecated upon, and being forced to ingest urine and feces. Many of the children also spoke of having guns pointed at them and of being told that they and/or their parents and siblings would be killed if they told anyone what had been done to them.

Despite the mounting number of victim/witnesses, and the numerous crimes alleged by these children, only one suspect, Gary Hambright, was arrested - on January 5, 1987 - and he was charged with abusing just a single child. Even then the charges were dismissed just a few months later, in March 1987.

There is little doubt that literally dozens of children were in fact severely abused at the center. There undeniably was medical evidence to document that fact. Five of the children had contracted chlamydia, a sexually transmitted disease; many others showed clear signs of anal and genital trauma consistent with violent penetration. Authorities chose to ignore such evidence. One mother complained to the San Francisco Chronicle that the FBI never interviewed her or her son, even after doctors had confirmed the boy's abuse. In addition to the medical symptoms, there were psychological symptoms as well. As The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry noted in April 1992, the "severity of the trauma for children at the Presidio was immediately manifest in clear cut symptoms. Before the abuse was exposed, parents had already noticed the following changes in their children: vaginal discharge, genital soreness, rashes, fear of the dark, sleep disturbances, nightmares, sexually provocative language, and sexually inappropriate behavior. In addition, the children were exhibiting other radical changes in behavior, including temper outbursts, sudden mood shifts, and poor impulse control. All these behavioral symptoms are to be expected in preschool children who have been molested."

The journal article, written by Diane Ehrensaft, Ph.D., also noted that the "Presidio case has confronted both the public at large and the mental health community with an extraordinary and abhorrent situation of grave psychological proportions: the willful molestation of young boys and girls by representatives of the most patriarchal and supposedly protective arm of the American government - the U.S. Army." Ehrensaft observed that a nearly pathological hatred had manifest itself in the fathers of children abused in this way, particularly as they saw their children's cases stonewalled and swept under the rug. One father was quoted as saying: "When something about the Presidio comes on TV, I want to blow someone away." Another father echoed that sentiment: "I was ready to blow the army base away."

One of those who the fathers would have liked to blow away was Michael Aquino. One child positively identified Aquino and his wife, Lilith (known to the kids as 'Mikey' and 'Shamby'), and was also able to identify the Aquinos' private home and to describe with considerable accuracy the distinctively satanic interior décor of the house. The young witness claimed to have been photographed at the Aquinos' home. On August 14, 1987, a search warrant was served on the house. Confiscated in the raid were numerous videotapes, photographs, photo albums, photographic negatives, cassette tapes, and name and address books. Also observed was what appeared to be a soundproof room. Neither of the Aquinos was charged with any crimes, nor have they been to this day - a fact that Aquino points to as proof of his innocence.

A month after the raid, a fire - which the Army deemed to be accidental - destroyed the Army Community Services Building adjacent to the Presidio's daycare center. Strangely enough, "the fire occurred on the autumnal equinox, a major event on the satanic calendar," as the Mercury News noted. The fire also destroyed some of the Child Development Center's records. "Three weeks later, fire struck again, this time at the day care center itself." A building that housed four classrooms, one of which was Gary Hambright's, was completely destroyed. Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms determined "both fires, contrary to the Army's finding, had been arson." In between the first and second fires (with evidence indicating that a third arson attempt had been made as well), Hambright was again indicted, this time charged with molesting ten children. In February 1988, all but one of the new charges were dropped. Shortly thereafter, the remaining count was dropped as well. No further charges were brought against him.

In January 1988, Aquino filed suit against the Army to have it cleared from his record that he had been investigated as a suspected pedophile. According to court records, he also had the gall to charge "Captain Adams-Thompson [the father of a victim] with conduct unbecoming an officer because the Captain reported the allegations of child abuse to the San Francisco police." In denying Aquino's motion, the court concluded "there was probable cause to title Aquino with offenses of indecent acts with a child, sodomy, conspiracy, kidnapping, and false swearing," despite the fact that "the San Francisco police department (SFPD) closed its investigation and filed no charges against the plaintiff or anyone else."

Aquino and some of his defenders have consistently claimed that no one was ever prosecuted in the case due to a lack of evidence. This is cited as proof that the entire affair was no more than a 'witch hunt.' Of course, the failure to prosecute the federal charges could have been due to the fact that, at the time, the U.S. Attorney in San Francisco handling the case was Joseph Russoniello. Russoniello would later be identified by reporter Gary Webb (of the San Jose Mercury News) as a player in the Contra cocaine smuggling operation led by Lt. Col. Oliver North and company, just as witnesses would later identify Lt. Col. Michael Aquino as an operative in the very same sordid affair.

In May 1989, Aquino was again questioned in connection with child abuse investigations; this time, at least five children in three cities were making the accusations. The children had seen Aquino in newspaper and television coverage of the Presidio case and immediately recognized him as one of their abusers. Three of the children lived in Ukiah, California, where Police Chief Fred Keplinger was overseeing the investigation of the allegations. The Mercury News quoted the chief as saying "the children are believable. I have no doubt in my mind that something has occurred." Aquino was also identified by children in Santa Rosa and Fort Bragg, California. In the Fort Bragg case, "allegations of ritual abuse erupted... 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." Aquino was identified as having been present at one of those churches.

According to the Mercury News, there was clear evidence of satanic cult activity on the grounds of the Presidio base, including an abundance of satanic graffiti, a satanic altar, and numerous artifacts of satanic rituals. A former MP at the base told the News "we've got a cult on the Presidio of San Francisco and nobody cares about it... We were told by the provost marshal to just forget about it." On April 19, 1988, the eve of Adolph Hitler's birthday, an open house was held on the grounds of the Presidio heralding the opening of a new daycare facility built to replace the fire-damaged Child Development Center. Meanwhile, a report in the Marin Independent Journal revealed that Aquino owned a building in Marin County - inherited from his mother, Betty Ford-Aquino - that was jointly leased to the Marin County Child Abuse Council and Project Care for Children. The stated purpose of Project Care was, interestingly enough, to assist parents in locating daycare for their children.

As disturbing as the Presidio case was, it was just one of many ritual abuse cases directly tied to one or more branches of the United States armed forces. As the Mercury News reported, "by November, 1987 the Army had received allegations of child abuse at 15 of its day care centers and several elementary schools. There were also at least two cases in Air Force day care centers," and another in a center run by the U.S. Navy. In addition, "a special team of experts was sent to Panama [in June 1988] to help determine if as many as 10 children at a Department of Defense elementary school had been molested and possibly infected with AIDS." Yet another case emerged in a U.S.-run facility in West Germany.

These cases erupted at some of the country's most esteemed military bases, including Fort Dix, Fort Leavenworth, Fort Jackson, and West Point. Many of those making the accusations were career military officers who had devoted their lives to unquestioned allegiance to the U.S. armed forces. Many would resign their posts in outraged protest.

The West Point case, among others, was alleged to be linked to the Presidio case. As The Times Herald Record reported in June 1991, the "incidents [at the West Point Child Development Center] unfolded against a backdrop of satanic acts, animal sacrifices and cult-like behavior among the abusers, whose activities extended beyond the U.S. Military Academy borders to Orange County and a military base in San Francisco, parents charged." The case first broke in July 1984, when a three-year-old girl found herself in the emergency room of the West Point Hospital with a lacerated vagina. She told the examining physician that a teacher at the daycare center had hurt her. The next month, the parents of another child leveled accusations of abuse at the center. As the Mercury News reported, "by the end of the year, 50 children had been interviewed by investigators. Children at West Point told stories that would become horrifyingly familiar. They said they had been ritually abused. They said they had had excrement smeared on their bodies and been forced to eat feces and drink urine. They said they were taken away from the day care center and photographed."

Despite abundant medical and psychological evidence and literally dozens of child witnesses, and despite "950 interviews by 60 FBI agents assigned to the investigation," the investigation, "led by former U.S. Attorney [and future mayor] Rudolph Giuliani" produced "no federal grand jury indictments," according to the Herald Record. "In 1987, Giuliani said his detailed investigation showed only one or two children were abused." Giuliani's contention was directly contradicted by an independent investigation, as the Herald report divulged: "a still-secret, independent report - produced by one of the nation's top experts on child sexual abuse - confirms the children's accusations of abuse."

This was not the first time that prestigious West Point had shown an appalling willingness to overlook military personnel directing extreme levels of abuse at children. A year before the abuse case broke, a 22-month-old child was murdered by an Army staff sergeant. The Mercury News reported that following "a court martial hearing, the sergeant was given an 18 month suspended sentence and dishonorable discharge." In other words, he was essentially given a free ride after murdering a child. With help from Giuliani, the FBI, the U.S. Army, and the grand jury, the abusers of dozens of children at the daycare center (which was, appropriately enough, building number 666 on the academy grounds) were likewise given a free ride.

As with the Franklin case, the children and their parents found justice only through the civil courts. The Herald Record revealed that, in a suit brought by the parents, "lawyers for both the government and the 11 child plaintiffs agreed that some children were sexually abused at the center two years ago." The government, however, claimed that it could not be held responsible, due to the "assault exemption in the Federal Tort Claim Act." As the New York Times explained, "under federal law the government cannot be held liable for assaults committed by its employees and thus cannot be sued for assault." In other words, the Army did not dispute the allegations; it just rather cavalierly maintained that it was exempt from being sued for what had occurred at one of its daycare centers. The court saw otherwise, however, and awarded $2.7 million to nine of the child victims - paltry compensation for their suffering, but a victory of sorts nonetheless. The Times opined that the settlement amount "was large for a child-abuse case in which no criminal charges were filed." The article claimed that the case was not pursued because "the Federal Bureau of Investigation found 'insufficient evidence to prosecute,'" when in fact the Bureau appears to have deliberately ignored and/or covered-up that evidence.

And so ended the West Point case, except that - as one mother noted - it was hardly over: "These people stole our children. She's nothing like she used to be. She's a very angry little girl. She doesn't trust anyone. She's nothing like she was before this happened. It's never going to be over for them, or for us." The mother of a Presidio victim had this to say: "People keep telling us we've got to let it go -- just forget about it and go on... Three weeks ago, our youngest daughter was having nightmares and our other daughter was closing out the whole world, going to her room and sitting there, with no radio, no TV, no nothing. Tell me it's over."

"I cannot accept promotion in a system that at first refused to acknowledge and now refuses to deal with the victims of extensive child abuse that occurred at the West Point Child Development Center."

Army Captain Walter R. Grote, refusing a promotion to Major in June 1985

REFERENCES:
1. Al-Kurdi, Husayn "Messing With Our Minds," Toward Freedom, May 1998
2. Arce, Rose Marie "Liability in Point Abuse Case Debated," The Times Herald Record (Middletown, New York), December 23, 1986
3. Blood, Linda The New Satanists, Warner Books, 1994
4. Cunningham, Douglas and Alan Snel "A Legacy of Pain: Settlement Doesn't Ease Abused Children's Fears," The Times Herald Record (Middletown, New York), June 11, 1991
5. DeCamp, John W. The Franklin Cover-Up, AWT, Inc., 1992
6. Ehrensaft, Diane "Preschool Child Sex Abuse: The Aftermath of the Presidio Case," The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, April 1992
7. Goldston, Linda "Army of the Night," San Jose Mercury News, July 24, 1988
8. Goldston, Linda "Satanic Priest Questioned in New Sex Case," San Jose Mercury News, May 13, 1989
9. Hays, Constance L. "$2.7 Million Settles Army Child-Abuse Case," New York Times, May 23, 1991
10. Sawyer, Kathy "Army Doctor Turns Down Promotion; Lax Response to Case of Child Abuse Cited," Washington Post, June 25, 1985
11. Steinberg, Jeffrey "Satanic Subversion of the U.S. Military," EIR, July 2, 1999
12. "Army Doctor Refuses Promotion in Protest," San Diego Union Tribune, June 25, 1985
13. "The Keys to Hell and Death - Part II," SFLR News (the newsletter of San Francisco Liberation Radio), May 21, 2001
14. Michael Aquino v. The Honorable Michael Stone, Secretary of the Army (Civ. A. No. 90-1547-A), United States District Court, Alexandria Division, July 1, 1991

(Inclusion here does not imply the author's endorsement or support of other authors on the subject included here.)

See more Dave McGowan at The Center for Public Information, http://www.davesweb.cnchost.com

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