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Ingram Ritual Abuse Case 127
Another investigator began carrying a crucifix
for protection. And yet [the sheriff] admitted
later there was no physical evidence, only the
girls’ accusations and Paul’s dubious
confessions. (Brailey, website)
In the quest for physical evidence, the county
directed forensic archeologist Mark Papworth (at
the time chief deputy coroner for Thurston
County) to seek out evidence at several places the
daughters indicated were sites at which they had
witnessed sacrificial victims being buried. After an
extensive search, the only thing Papworth found
was a cattle bone. He was taken aback by the
response he received from investigators:
I said, “[name of county official], there’s no
evidence. There’s no evidence. None at all.
Zero.” And he said to me, “If you were the
devil would you leave any evidence” and I ...
my hair stood on end and I realized at that
point there was no talking to him beyond that
and I excused myself and I said. “My report.” I
handed that to somebody and I’m out of here.
I have nothing else to add. I can make no
stronger statement than there was no
evidence. (Papworth 1996, website)
The prosecution also brought in Dr. Richard
Ofshe, a false memory researcher and selfproclaimed
expert on “cult” coercion tactics. In his
report, he dismissed Ingram’s accusers as not credible.
He also carried out an experiment with Ingram:
Over a two day period, I caused him to recall
events that I arbitrarily selected. Mr. Ingram
produced a written confession to acts of
sexual abuse of his children in response to the
influence methods I employed. The tactics I
used were modeled on the sessions Mr.
Ingram had been having with [Ingram’s
pastor] and resembled the interview
procedure used in Mr. Ingram’s
interrogations....it is quite likely that most
of what Mr. Ingram reports as recollections of
events are products of social influence rather
than reports based on his memory of events.
(Ofshe, website)
Ofshe submitted his report with the warning
that, in his opinion, the authorities were preparing
to convict an innocent person. When the country
prosecutor refused to give the defense a copy of his
report, Ofshe complained to the judge who then
agreed to provide a copy to Ingram’s attorneys.
Failing to turn up hard evidence of Satanic
ritual abuse, the prosecution eventually decided to
drop the Satanism issue and convicted Ingram on
the simpler charge of rape. Inconsistently,
however, they proclaimed that they were responsible
for “the first ritual abuse investigation that has
been confirmed by an adult offender involved
directly with the offenses in the nation’s history”
(The Paul Ingram Ritual Abuse Case, website).
Not long after his confession, Ingram came to
feel that he was innocent, but could not reverse
his plea under Washington law. Despite a number
of appeals and requests for clemency, Ingram
remains in jail. Although his younger daughter
eventually recanted and reconciled with her
father, the older daughter not only continued to
maintain the truth of her charges, but went on to
become a minor celebrity on the TV tabloid
circuit. Ingram’s case has inspired a number of
important articles and has been discussed in
numerous books, including Lawrence Wright’s
Remembering Satan, which features Ingram. The
case has also inspired two films, Crimes of the
Imagination and Forgotten Sins.
See also Satanic Ritual Abuse
For Further Reading:
The Paul Ingram Ritual Abuse Case, Olympia WA.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/re ingr.htm.
Brailey, Daniel. “The Prosecution of a False
Memory: An Update on the Paul Ingram Case.”
http://members.aol.com/IngramOrg/.
Lennon, Bill, and Paul Ingram. Tape transcript. First
meeting with Bill Lennon, December 28, 1988.
http://members.aol.com/IngramOrg/lennon.htm.
Nathan, Debbie, and Michael Snendeker. Satan’s
Silence. New York: Basic Books, 1995.
Ofshe, Richard.“Ofshe Report on the Ingram Case.”
http://members.aol.com/IngramOrg/ofsherep.htm.
Ofshe, Richard, and Ethan Watters. Making
Monsters: False Memories, Psychotherapy, and
Sexual Hysteria. New York: Charles Scribner’s
Sons, 1994.
Papworth, Mark. “Excerpts from an Interview with
forensic archeologist, and faculty at the
Evergreen State College, Dr. Mark Papworth.”