Local Officials Arrested in Alleged Satanic Ritual Case

July 3, 2008— -- A second local Democratic Party official in North Carolina was arrested Wednesday in connection with alleged satanic rituals that involved beatings and sexual assault.

As first reported by ABC News affiliate WTVD, Diana Palmer, the vice chairwoman of the Durham County Democratic Party, turned herself in to police Wednesday afternoon on charges that she was an accessory after the fact to assault with a deadly weapon, police said.

She is the third person facing charges in a case that has shocked local party officials and been met with a certain degree of skepticism after the false rape charges filed in 2006 against several Duke University lacrosse players.

Joseph Craig, 25, was arrested last week on second-degree kidnapping charges for allegedly forcing a man into a dog cage and beating him with a wooden cane and a cable cord, court documents reveal. He also is accused of raping a woman while his wife, Joy Johnson, watched, the documents say.

Local prosecutor Mark McCullough said the victims claimed they were taking part in a satanic ritual. Johnson, a former vice chairwoman of the Durham County Democratic Party, has been charged with aiding and abetting rape and assault with a deadly weapon. The pair are in state custody.

A Durham police spokeswoman said Palmer attempted to take objects from the house where the alleged crimes took place but would not elaborate. Palmer declined to comment when contacted before her arrest Wednesday.

Her attorney, Bill Thomas, did not return calls for comment. He told the Raleigh News & Observer that Palmer was innocent.

"Ms. Palmer vehemently denies any association whatsoever with a satanic cult," Thomas told the paper. "She further denies any knowledge of a crime being perpetrated by the persons previously arrested."

Johnson's attorney said she was not guilty, but would not comment further. Craig's lawyer also had no comment, saying he had just been assigned to the case and had not yet met with his client.

The allegations left many astonished. "It's absolutely shocking," said Floyd McKissick, a Democratic state senator from Durham and the former local party chairman. He said he has known Johnson for several years.