Thirty Years of Publishing and Advocacy – Neil Brick
From the 2025 Online Annual Ritual Abuse and Mind Control Conference Presentation – Sunday August 17, 2025
Thirty Years of Publishing and Advocacy – Neil Brick
Neil Brick will discuss how and why he created the SMART Newsletter. He will talk about how the newsletter and the field of ritual abuse have changed over the years. He will discuss the importance of advocacy and public education. Ideas for the future growth of the field will be discussed.
Neil Brick is a survivor of ritualistic abuse. His work continues to educate the public about child abuse, trauma and ritualistic abuse crimes. His child abuse and ritualistic abuse newsletter S.M.A.R.T. https://ritualabuse.us has been published for over 30 years. http://neilbrick.com
Parts of this presentation may be triggering and may describe abuse or violence. All accusations are alleged.
In March 2025, SMART celebrated thirty years of printing newsletters. The newsletter has been published bi-monthly since March 1995. In July 2025, we published our 183rd issue. Originally the newsletter was only mailed to subscribers. In March 1996, we began publishing the newsletter online and we started our email address smartnews@aol.com . In August 1998, we had our first ritual abuse conference in Connecticut. We have had yearly summer conferences since then. This is our twenty eighth conference.
I originally started the newsletter because I believed no one was fully covering the issue of secretive organizations and groups involvement in the abuse of others. There were a few newsletters covering the topic of ritual abuse in the United States and Australia during the 1990’s. Most of those stopped publishing during that decade. Survivorship started publishing their newsletter in 1989. Their publications of their bi-monthly notes and twice a year journals are still being published today.
Ritual abuse crimes began being fully uncovered in the 1980’s. One of the first books describing these crimes was Michelle Remembers by Michelle Smith and Lawrence Pazder, MD. Though the book has been viciously attacked by child abuse skeptics, the reality is that the facts in the book were vetted by the publisher:
Two experienced interviewers journeyed to Victoria and talked to Dr. Pazder’s colleagues, to the priests and the bishop who became involved in the case, to doctors who treated Michelle Smith when she was a child, to relatives and friends. From local newspaper, clergy, and police sources they learned that reports of Satanism in Victoria are not infrequent and that Satanism has apparently existed there for many years. Satanism in Western Canada flourished in many areas with activities far more ominous than some of the innocuous groups now found in parts of the United States who claim some connection with Satanism.
The source material was scrutinized. The many thousands of pages of transcript of the tape recordings that Dr. Pazder and Michelle Smith made of their psychiatric sessions were read and digested; they became the basis of this book. The tapes themselves were listened to in good measure, and the videotapes made of some of his sessions were viewed. Both the audio and video are powerfully convincing. It is nearly unthinkable that the protracted agony they record could have been fabricated.@ (A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER@ pages xi B xiii).
Dr. Alison Miller also verified the existence of ritual abuse in that area of Canada.
“I can add more about Michelle Remembers. Larry Pazder practised in the same city as me, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. I knew him slightly and once shared a case of a teenage boy with DID caused by abuse by a babysitter. It was in Victoria that I encountered my first four survivors of organized abuse, and they were all members of the same coven of a Satanic cult, the Serpents. They shared past and (then, early 90s) current memories of abuse by that cult. Some of their parents were leaders in the cult. They remembered rituals at the same locations that Michelle reported (in particular, Ross Bay cemetery.)…I have no question that he and Michelle were talking about very real events.” (correspondence with the SMART newsletter).
The notes from the publisher and Dr. Miller’s complete statement is available online at https://ritualabuse.us/ritualabuse/articles/michelle‑remembers/
The McMartin Day Care Case was the one of the first major day care cases to uncover ritual abuse crimes in detail. There has been a great deal of misinformation produced about this case by skeptics of ritual abuse crimes. This case began in 1983 and ended in 1991.
(See Chronology of the McMartin Preschool Abuse Trials https://ritualabuse.us/ritualabuse/articles/mcmartin‑preschool‑case‑what‑really‑happened‑and‑the‑coverup/ )
In February 1984 seven defendants were arrested and charged with 207 counts of child molestation and conspiracy. On April 2, 1984, the L. A. Times reported that students at McMartin had been fondled, raped, drugged, photographed nude, forced to witness animals being slaughtered and threatened to keep silent. In May 23, 1984, the prosecution filed 93 new counts. The indictment count reaches 208, involving 40 alleged child victims. On August 8, 1984, Prosecutor Lael Rubin announced that the seven McMartin teachers committed 397 sexual crimes, in addition to the 115 for which they already faced charges.
On January 7, 1985, Doctor Astrid Heger testified that she found physical evidence of sexual assaults on 33 of the child witnesses. On June 11, 1985, Judge Bobb ruled that child witnesses will not be allowed to use the new statute allowing child victims of abuse to testify over closed circuit TV. The prosecution immediately announced that it would not call any of its remaining witnesses. Only 5 of those 28 were willing to testify at all and then only by way of closed-circuit TV. Six other witnesses dropped out because Rubin said they could not withstand even the protective TV procedure. The remaining 16 witnesses had been withdrawn by their parents after they saw the effects of lengthy cross‑examination on the early witnesses. This reduces the number of witnesses from 43 to 13 and, as a result, the reduces the number of counts.
On January 17, 1986, before the case is assigned to a trial judge and after losing 28 witnesses because of brutal defense tactics during the pretrial weakened the case, District Attorney Ira Reiner decides to drop charges against five of the seven defendants. Reiner tells parents that Betty Raidor has enough remaining counts to face trial, but says he thinks she would not fit in prosecuting mother and son, Peggy and Ray Buckey. The two are prosecuted on 79 counts and 20 counts, respectively, of child sexual abuse.
In August 1987 the first victim witness, a girl now age 12, takes the stand as a witness for the prosecution. October 12, 1987, Judge Pounders dismisses 27 of the 100 counts. Some parents again refuse to let their children testify under adverse conditions.
December 10, 1987, a retired former police investigator Paul Bynum is called to testify at the trial by prosecutor Lael Rubin. The morning he was to appear, a juror’s home was burglarized and Bynum’s testimony was rescheduled for the next morning. Bynum was found dead by his wife at 5:45 that morning, shot in the head by a .38 caliber pistol. Bynum had conducted the first search for evidence at the preschool site in 1984 at the request of Ray Buckey. ANone of the half dozen people questioned who were close to Bynum could think of any reason why his involvement in the case might have driven him to suicide, reported Kevin Cody of the Easy Reader in Manhattan Beach. “Paul was kind of a worrier,” said Stephen Kay, a deputy district attorney and friend of the Bynum family, “but there was no hint of suicide. He was very upbeat about his wife and new daughter, both of whom he adored.”
In January 18, 1990, the jury returns its verdict in the first McMartin trial. Peggy and Ray Buckey are acquitted on 52 counts. The jury deadlocks on 13 counts, all against Ray Buckey. The jurors are polled and say they believe molestation took place at the preschool but that the prosecution did not prove the case. They expressed disappointment at not hearing more from the children.
In April and May 1990 Tunnels are found under the foundation of the McMartin Preschool building by a team of Archaeologists headed by Dr. Gary Stickel. Ground Penetrating Radar recently developed by the U.S. Army is used to define the location of anomalies underground. Three segments of tunnel, one over 45 feet in length with a 9 x 9 room area are found exactly where the children said they were. District Attorney does not use the evidence because of time and money constraints and the fact that they would have to start a new investigation of their own at the site as they did in 1985. The discoveries are widely reported in the news. (Archaeological Investigations of the McMartin Preschool Site, Manhattan Beach, California
(http://web.archive.org/web/20010123212200/members.cruzio.com/~ratf/McMartin.html/ )
In July 27, 1990, on their 15th day of deliberations, the jury tells the judge they are hopelessly deadlocked on all 8 counts. The judge declares a mistrial. Juror L. I., a 64 year old treasury department employee said, “I don’t know how you could get 12 people to be unanimous in this case. There are too many unanswered questions. Too much time has passed.” Again because of money and time constraints, DA Ira Reiner decides not to ask for a third trial of Ray Buckey. The first two prosecutions have consumed over $15 million and seven years of court time. He is under tremendous political pressure because he has failed in prosecuting the case.
Large collection of data and articles on the McMartin Preschool Case https://ritualabuse.us/ritualabuse/articles/mcmartin‑preschool‑case‑what‑really‑happened‑and‑the‑coverup
In the early 1990’s accounts of government mind control began to be discussed. One of the most well-known of these was the “The Greenbaum Speech.” This was a presentation at a conference called Hypnosis in MPD: Ritual Abuse by D. C. Hammond Ph.D. in 1992. It was Adelivered at the Fourth Annual Eastern Regional Conference on Abuse and Multiple Personality, Thursday June 25, 1992, at the Radisson Plaza Hotel, Mark Center, Alexandria, Virginia. Sponsored by the Center for Abuse Recovery & Empowerment. D. C. Hammond was a well-trained psychologist. His credentials are cited in the link below this section.
Hypnosis in MPD: Ritual Abuse
“Okay. I want to start off by talking a little about trance‑training and the use of hypnotic phenomena with an MPD dissociative‑disorder population, to talk some about unconscious exploration, methods of doing that, the use of imagery and symbolic imagery techniques for managing physical symptoms, input overload, things like that. Before the day’s out, I want to spend some time talking about something I think has been completely neglected in the field of dissociative disorders, and that’s talking about methods of profound calming for automatic hyper‑arousal that’s been conditioned in these patients.”
“Here’s where it appears to have come from. At the end of World War II, before it even ended, Allen Dulles and people from our Intelligence Community were already in Switzerland making contact to get out Nazi scientists. As World War II ends, they not only get out rocket scientists, but they also get out some Nazi doctors who have been doing mind‑control research in the camps.” https://ritualabuse.us/smart‑conference/2023‑conference/the‑effects‑of‑social‑movements‑on‑survivor‑support‑systems‑and‑survivor‑recovery‑neil‑brick
“Greenbaum Speech” audio https://archive.org/embed/thegreenbaumspeech&playlist=1&autoplay=1
“Greenbaum Speech” text https://static1.squarespace.com/static/52e9ece3e4b074062a41314d/t/5c53a2e1104c7bd8f7751256/1548985059033/The+Greenbaum+Speech%2C+Corry+Hammond.pdf
In March 1995 therapist Valerie Wolf and her patient Claudia Mullen testified at the Presidential Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments.
“My name is Valerie Wolf. In listening to the testimony today, it all sounds really familiar. I am here to talk about a possible link between radiation and mind control experimentation that began in the late 1940’s. The main reason that mind control research is being mentioned is because people are alleging that they were exposed as children to mind control, radiation, and chemical experimentation which were administered by the same doctors who were known to be involved in conducting both radiation and mind control research. Written documentation has been provided revealing the names of people, and the names of research projects in statements from people across the country. It is also important to understand mind control techniques and follow‑ups into adulthood may have been used to intimidate particular research subjects into not talking about their victimization in government research. As a therapist for the past twenty‑two years, I have specialized in treating victims and perpetrators of trauma, and their families. When word got out that I was appearing at this hearing, nearly forty therapists across the country (and I had about a week and a half to prepare) contacted me to talk about clients who had reported being subjected to radiation and mind control experiments. The consistency of people’s stories about the purpose of the mind control and pain induction techniques, such as electric shock, use of hallucinogens, sensory deprivation, hypnosis, dislocation of limbs, and sexual abuse is remarkable.” (CKLN‑FM Mind Control Series ‑‑ Part 3 Mind Control Survivors’ Testimony at the Human Radiation Experiments Hearings: Valerie Wolf ‑‑ Claudia Mullen ‑‑ Christine deNicola http://www.whale.to/b/wolf3.html )
MKULTRA victims ‑ Claudia Mullen Testimony https://vimeo.com/26846581
MKUlLTRA victims ‑ Valerie Wolf & Christine deNicola Testimonies
A good articles about the research on DID and ritual abuse and the cover up by child abuse skeptics is Disinformation and DID: the Politics of Memory by Brian Moss, MA, MFT https://ritualabuse.us/research/did/disinformation‑and‑did‑the‑politics‑of‑memory
This article contains information about now closed The False Memory Syndrome Foundation (FMSF). AIn March of 1992 the False Memory Syndrome Foundation was formed claiming to have discovered a new syndrome. “Syndrome” is a clinical term that requires certain agreed upon signs and symptoms indicative of a disorder. The FMSF definition of “false memory” does not meet these criteria: Despite the fact that “False Memory Syndrome” remained undefined and had never been the subject of any research, the FMSF focused its early activities on influencing the media and legal system. The definition of “False Memory Syndrome” did not evolve from clinical studies; rather the purported syndrome’s description is based on the accounts of parents claiming to be falsely accused of child sexual abuse, usually by their adult daughters. (Disinformation and DID: the Politics of Memory)
The FMSF group started in the early 1990s. In the 1980s and the early 1990s, there was mixed coverage of ritual abuse crimes, some favorable coverage and some unfavorable. By the mid-1990s, most of the media coverage about ritual abuse crimes was biased and unfavorable.
I started remembering ritual abuse memories in 1990 when I stopped using alcohol and I moved away from the area where I grew up. I had already started a period of self exploration prior to this, meditating and working on building meditative mind states. There was very little information available at that time. A few years later I found about Survivorship and other ritual abuse newsletters. In SMART Issue 4 – September 1995 (https://ritualabuse.us/2008/10/issue‑4‑september‑1995/ ) I republished a copy of an interview I did with S.O.A.R. (Survivors of Abusive Rituals) in July 1993. I discussed my allegations of Masonic Ritual Abuse and my healing process at that time. The first ten issues of SMART in 1995 and 1996 covered allegations against the Masons and the Mormons. In 1997, we started to cover the issues of Government Mind Control (as discussed above in the Presidential Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments.) In our seventeenth issue we have an article about Claudia Mullen. https://ritualabuse.us/2008/10/issue‑17‑november‑1997/
A quick reference list for all of our newsletters is at https://ritualabuse.us/newsletter/back‑issues‑ordering‑form/
We also have a search engine bar at our website https://ritualabuse.us in the top right-hand corner.
This following may be very triggering for RA/MC survivors.
In our thirty-fourth issue in September 2000, I discussed how I realized that I am an alleged survivor of mk‑ultra programming, and Illuminati programming. I had known for many years that I was a survivor of alleged Masonic ritual abuse. The last few years I had been having more memories about being experimented on in lab settings and electroshocked. While talking to friends, I had a very strong emotional feeling, like I had been hit by an incredible wind in my midsection, and I felt very disorientated. I realized that all sorts of walls had gone down in my system and that I was very confused and disorientated, like spin programming. I really knew at that moment I was Illuminati. This fits with the Masonic piece I had talked about for years.
I didn’t fully realize this until this particular moment, but I had always kept my mind open to whatever memories or feelings I had, thinking about them to see if and how they fit.
After talking to my friends, I had an incredible deal of trouble finding my way out of where I was via car and drove around lost for about ten minutes or so until I could find the highway. I realized that this was a disorientating program that I was supposed to have once I got to this layer of programming. That whole night until I fell asleep, I was terrified someone was going to come and get me or kill me because I had remembered all this. I realized this was also programming. The next day I felt a lot better, having worked through the feelings accompanying these programs. I began to work on unraveling the memories and programs that had been put in me.
I realized that I was trained by delta force programs, to kill. I had memories of being put on planes with groups of other mk‑ultra delta survivors to do certain jobs, usually to kill, but sometimes to get information. My jobs varied on different missions. Sometimes I killed but I was also supposed to clean up and/or be a lookout.
I have memories of sometimes being drugged or blindfolded or having a rope tied around me so I wouldn’t know exactly where we were going or what we were doing. It was usually dark and my vision had never been very good anyway. Missions were on a “need to know” basis.
Now I realize I am a survivor of Illuminati programming, Masonic section. The Illuminati symbols had always bothered me, they are sometimes similar to the Masonic ones and historically, I believe the groups are connected. I was also used in mk‑ultra type experiments to see how someone would react and how much pain they could take before passing out, at least on the East Coast. This fits with my extremely high pain threshold.
After having all of these memories, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of me. I had not had any major memories in a while. I also felt much stronger and much more confident. I am now much more aware of triggers and much more in tune with my gut feelings about what and who is and isn’t safe. This increased confidence had helped me state my needs clearer and stronger in my relationships with others. I am also a lot less afraid and terrified of the world. I think that this is due to the fact that I have worked through a lot of fear and confusion or disorientation type programming. I have increased clarity and energy because I no longer need to hold all of this inside me anymore behind amnesic barriers. (https://ritualabuse.us/2008/10/issue‑34‑september‑2000/ )
In the early 2000’s. SMART Newsletter began to cover clergy abuse issues and other cult abuse and mind control cases. Though these cases had been discussed since the 1990’s, they became well known in 2002. SMART Newsletter March 2002 – Issue 43 discusses a wide variety of clergy abuse cases including those in the Boston area. https://ritualabuse.us/2008/10/issue‑43‑march‑2002/ These cases showed how severe abuse crimes can be covered up for decades.
One major case was described in Geoghan found guilty of sex abuse – Boy was assaulted at Waltham pool By Kathleen Burge, Globe Staff, 1/19/2002 AThe Archdiocese of Boston, which has settled 50 civil lawsuits filed by victims of Geoghan at a cost of at least $10 million, released a three‑paragraph statement saying it was grateful that a verdict had been reached….Geoghan has been accused of molesting at least 130 children since the 1960s, but he has been criminally charged with assaulting just three. Geoghan is also named in 84 civil lawsuits alleging sexual abuse. https://web.archive.org/web/20020208002253/http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/019/metro/Geoghan_found_guilty_of_sex_abuse+.shtml
We have additional articles listed at https://ritualabuse.us/research/clergy‑abuse/
In 2008, we published information on the Extreme Abuse Survey. https://extreme‑abuse‑survey.org/ The Extreme Abuse Survey final results are online with findings, questionnaires and presentations for download as pdf‑files. More than 750 pages of documentation.
Understanding ritual trauma: A comparison of findings from three online surveys B Handout for Karriker, Wanda. (2008, November). Understanding ritual trauma: A comparison of findings from three online surveys. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation, Chicago, IL.
10 Extreme Abuse Survey Findings Helpful to Understanding Ritual Trauma
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Ritual abuse/mind control (RA/MC) is a global phenomenon.
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A diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder is common for persons who report histories of RA/MC. (84% of EAS respondents who answered that they have been diagnosed with DID [N=655] reported that they are survivors of RA/MC).
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Ritual abuse (RA) is not limited to SRA, i.e., satanic ritual abuse, sadistic abuse, satanist abuse.
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RA is reported to involve mind control techniques.
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Some extreme abuse survivors report that they were used in government‑sponsored mind control experimentation (GMC).
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RA/MC is reported to be involved in organized Aknown@ crime.
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RA/MC is reported to be involved in clergy abuse.
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Most often reported memories of extreme abuse are similar across all surveys.
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Most often reported possible aftereffects of extreme abuse are similar across all surveys.
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In rating the effectiveness of healing methods, therapists tend to favor stabilization techniques; survivors are more open to alternative ways to cope with indoctrinated belief systems.
