(LifeSiteNews) — A court in Utah has approved $100,000 bail for a former psychotherapist charged with multiple counts of child abuse and accused of participating in satanic cult activity for decades within the Latter-Day Saints (LDS) community.
According to ABC4, Judge Roger Griffin recommended the bail on March 6, and it was approved on Wednesday despite opposition from a community petition. As of Thursday, the Change.org petition had 825 signatures and noted David Hamblin’s long history of abuse allegations, which include multiple felony charges of child sex crimes.
The Utah County Sheriff’s Office (UCSO), which announced charges against Hamblin last fall, told LifeSiteNews it would prefer that Hamblin stayed in prison. “We would rather Mr. Hamblin remain incarcerated instead of being granted bail,” said Sgt. Spencer Cannon on Thursday. “But we comply with the orders of the court.”
Hamblin is reportedly required to wear a GPS ankle monitor and surrender his passport to the defense counsel. Hamblin’s attorney had argued unsuccessfully that the state failed to provide sufficient evidence that he was a danger to the community or a flight risk.
Hamblin previously faced 18 felony charges related to child abuse, and UCSO announced multiple additional counts – including sodomy and rape – last fall. A booking sheet claims that one of Hamblin’s alleged victims’ accounts was corroborated by two others who were present at the time of the abuse. Hamblin reportedly told one of his own family members “I’m sorry for raping you.” His case was dismissed without prejudice as both sides had difficulty obtaining evidence.
UCSO has explicitly limited its own description of Hamblin’s activities to non-satanic ritual abuse, although victim statements from the Provo Police Department appear to show his daughters accused him of years-long involvement in a pedophilic, satanic cult.
Hundreds of pages of victim statements alleged Hamblin and others in the LDS community took part in Church of Satan (CS) ceremonies that involved child rape and brutal acts of violence, including human sacrifice and torture. CS previously told LifeSite that Hamblin was not in its membership records and that it categorically opposed child sexual abuse.
Hamblin’s bail coincides with the controversy over satanic ritual abuse (SRA) heating up both within and outside Utah. The South by Southwest festival recently screened a documentary on the so-called “satanic panic.” That label has also been used by some media outlets to downplay concerns about Sam Smith’s Grammy performance.
The day of Hamblin’s bail approval also featured victim advocate Cindy Metcalf’s Relentless Hope organization’s meeting with alleged survivors seeking legal options for pursuing their alleged perpetrators within the LDS church.
The 1991 leak of a memo by Elder Glenn L. Pace suggests that the LDS church has encountered accusations of SRA for decades. Echoing Pace, the Hamblin victim statements allege abuse by prominent individuals within the LDS community, including former Utah County Attorney David Leavitt. Leavitt has reportedly said Hamblin served as his elder quorum’s president when Leavitt was in law school.
Leavitt denies the allegations.
The issue exploded onto headlines after the UCSO requested tips for ritualistic abuse in the state. Leavitt followed shortly thereafter with a press conference last May during which he accused one of his alleged victims of being “tragically mentally ill.” He also alleged that the sheriff’s office was perpetrating a political attack even though UCSO didn’t name Leavitt.
The brother of former governor and EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt, David Leavitt lost his re-election campaign last year. He’s currently being prosecuted by Juab County Attorney Ryan Peters.