Satanism Today - An Encyclopedia of Religion, Folklore and Popular ...

180 Mr. Bubbles Case
embodies the Martinist occult/mystical tradition
in North America. It is a ritual theurgic body that
emphasizes purity of ritual, as well as the
Eucharist as the center of initiation, through
which the invocation of angels and planetary
spirits is made. Spirit communication often takes
place during the Mass, when members of the
clergy, who are clairvoyant, may have visions.
During the Mass a mystical language is perceived
and spoken. The Absolute, emanating the Trinity,
is viewed as the head of a Gnostic hierarchical
system. The Trinity is the source of Lucifer, the
morning star, and Sophia, the female divine being
who is often revered as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.
The Neo-Pythagorean Church is subject to a
supreme heliophant, and its American jurisdiction
is under Bishop Pierre-Antoine Saint-Charles of
Boston, whereas Michael Bertiaux in Chicago is
over the Caucasian-American members. The
Ancient Order of Oriental Templars—a lodge
with credentials derived from the pre-Crowleyite
Ordo Templi Orientis in Germany—the Arithmosophical
Society, Zotheria and the Esoteric
Traditions Research Society (both outer courts of
the various esoteric structures) are associated with
the church.
See also Magic and Magical Groups
For Further Reading:
Green, Marian. The Elements of Ritual Magic.
Longmead, Shaftesbury, Dorset, UK: Element,
1990.
Melton,J.Gordon.The Encyclopedia of American
Religion. 5th ed. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1996.
Mr. Bubbles Case
The “Mr. Bubbles” case involved child abuse accusations
that appear to have been drawn directly out
of Satanic ritual abuse (SRA) literature and
imposed on otherwise innocuous behavior. The
setting for the case was Sydney, Australia, in the late
1980s at the height of the so-called “Satanic panic.”
Like many other SRA incidents, this case
emerged in connection with a child care facility, in
this case a private kindergarten called Seabeach
Kindergarten. Operated by Dawn and Anthony
Deren, it was situated in Mona Vale, a suburb of
Sydney. Accusations began after the mother of a
student, while eating at a restaurant, observed
while her daughter “slipped down off her chair
and spread her legs apart; she pushed her chest
forward and pulled her arms back, with her head
tilted back.” On the basis of this observation, the
mother reported to police that she believed her
daughter had been abused sexually.
Law enforcement authorities subsequently
initiated Operation Bubbles, committing extensive
resources to investigating the rumor. Subjected to
hours of intensive questioning, some of the children
disclosed that Anthony Deren, while dressed
up as “Mr. Bubbles” in a clown outfit, spirited them
off to a motel where he assaulted them in a spabath.
There were also claims of cutting and stabbing.
Medical personnel concluded that five young
girls had been abused after eighteen of the children
were examined. The Derens and two of their teachers
were subsequently charged with abduction and
sexual assault.
The Mr. Bubbles case led to a great deal of
controversy. Defense attorneys asserted that the
children’s testimony had been generated in
response to repeated interrogation and leading
questioning by authorities and parents. The
defense also noted that parents had exchanged
rumors among themselves, creating an atmosphere
of suspicion that led them to accept the
accusations as true.
Because the child abuse unit was unstaffed at
the time, much of the interrogation of the children
was performed by a probationary constable with
no experience. During the trial, one of the
defense’s expert witness, Dr. Ralph Underwager,
expressed concern about inexpert questioning:
“By the process they have put them through, the
authorities have taught three to five year olds
about deviant sexual behavior of the most gross
and irresponsible sort—and at a time when they
have no ability to know what is proper behavior....
They have been taught to associate
violence, stabbing, cutting with sexuality and the
effect is worse than if they had been abused.” The
judge finally ruled that the children had been
subjected to too much input from parents and law
enforcement officers, making their testimony
inadmissible. All charges against the Derens and
their employees were dropped.