Newswire

Chicago man accused of kidnap for ritual

Girl Kidnaped For Satanic Ritual

CHICAGO -- An 18-year-old Chicago man was arrested after allegedly kidnapping two young children to perform a demonic ritual intended to get back his former girlfriend, authorities said.

David Rodriguez was being held on $500,000 bond. Prosecutors said he and a 15-year-old companion snatched the children Friday outside a South Side library and planned to carve a pentagram in the girl's chest.

Rodriguez apparently needed only the girl, so he released her 8-year-old brother, who told people on the street about the kidnapping, Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Tracy Senica said.

Police found the girl unharmed at Rodriguez's home, and they arrested Rodriguez when he returned with candles and incense.

Rodriguez was charged with two counts of aggravated kidnapping, police spokesman John Mirabelli said.

His grandfather, Julian Rodriguez, called the accusations "ridiculous." He said his grandson was a "good kid."

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Teen Accused Of Abducting Girl For Satanic Ritual
CHICAGO -- Authorities believe a teenager accused of abducting two young children in Chicago intended to perform a demonic ritual in order to get a former girlfriend back. Prosecutors said David Rodriguez, 18, and a companion snatched Erika Castillo, 6, and her older brother, Oscar, outside a Little Village library on Friday and planned to carve a pentagram in the girl's chest.

Witchcraft Is Attracting Ever-Growing Numbers
The practice of witchcraft is attracting ever-growing numbers, particularly among young women. A recent attempt to understand its appeal is the book "Wicca's Charm," published in September by Shaw Books. Authored by journalist Catherine Edwards Sanders, the book stemmed from a magazine article she was commissioned to do. Initially dismissive of Wicca, during her subsequent research Sanders came to appreciate that a genuine spiritual hunger was leading people into neo-pagan practices. Sanders, a self-professed Christian, defines Wicca as a "polytheistic neo-pagan nature religion inspired by various pre-Christian Western European beliefs, which has as its central deity the Mother Goddess and which includes the use of herbal magic."

Posted by Editor at November 30, 2005 07:50 AM