this is why we have the Black Veil, Pillars the vampyric laws10:11 Feb 02 2008
Times Read: 874
it is Mother Fuckers like this asshole who give us true Vampyres/Vampires a really bad fucking rep. I hope this motherfucker DIES IN JAIL!
it is old news but this just go's to show why we have our laws and codes of conduct.
The Virginian-Pilot
THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 5, 1996 TAG: 9602050028
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 123 lines
ON THE TOP OF THE OCCULT THE DETECTIVE WORKING VIRGINIA BEACH'S "VAMPIRE" CASE IS A VETERAN AT INVESTIGATION ALLEGED FORCES OF DARKNESS
If Jon C. Bush actually were a vampire - as he has claimed to police and dozens of his teenage followers - then Detective Don Rimer admits he would've been powerless against him.
After all, a real vampire could have thwarted police any number of mysterious ways, including ``disappearing into a mist when we came to get him,'' Rimer said. But Bush's vampiric arsenal of face paint and snap-on fangs was no match for Rimer's typewritten arrest warrant, so Bush is in jail and Rimer is busy gathering evidence for a growing case against him.
``That should be a lesson to all the kids who have an interest in the gothic side of things,'' Rimer said.
This isn't the first weird case the 25-year veteran has investigated. In fact, Rimer is the Virginia Beach Police Department's expert on vampires, grave robbers, the occult, black magic, Satanism and all things bizarre.
Sometimes that means figuring out if a neighborhood cat was mutilated as part of a ritualistic ceremony or out of simple cruelty. Or if cryptic markings drawn on someone's door are coded threats or simple graffiti. Or if a teenager's penchant for dark clothes and wild tattoos is dangerous or harmless.
And Rimer gets to write search warrants looking for ``any paraphernalia concerning vampirism, demonology, lycanthropy or witchcraft'' and ``costumes and any accessories related to the above topics.'' Lycanthropy is what makes someone a werewolf.
``I've always had an interest in studying the occult, mainly from the literary side,'' Rimer said. ``I watch for national patterns, because when something is happening nationally, it's only a matter of time before it comes here.''
The interest is a vast departure from his regular job, as a family-violence detective, and from his regular life, as a husband of 30 years, the coach of his 12-year-old daughter's softball team and a life member of the volunteer rescue squad.
Belying his easy manner and avuncular appearance, the 49-year-old mustachioed and bespectacled detective has earned a reputation here and nationally as a leading expert on the occult.
His extensive reference library contains such titles as ``Cults That Kill,'' ``The Devil's Web'' and ``The Satanic Bible.'' And although Rimer is among the top scholars, he also is a top skeptic.
``I personally do not believe it has any power at all,'' Rimer said. ``I think it would be a very frustrating experience for someone.''
Rimer said practitioners often participate in elaborate rituals to produce a desired outcome, but are always disappointed.
Even last year, when a ``card-carrying Satanist'' claimed credit for a series of mishaps that befell witnesses against him, he was convicted of murder anyway.
``Their excuse is that they didn't do something right,'' he said. ``Instead of relying on mere faith in their religion, they have to do all these rituals and ceremonies. They demand immediacy.''
And the more urgently a practitioner needs a result, ``the more hideous, frightening and dangerous the ceremony becomes,'' Rimer said.
Rimer's curiosity in the occult was spawned while he was a student at Oklahoma State University, in his home state.
In Oklahoma, he was a firefighter in Lawton, where he married and had a son, who is now a minister in Chesapeake. In 1971, Rimer, his wife and young son moved to Virginia Beach with a police academy slot awaiting him. He finished first in the class.
In 1986, he became a detective.
``I really wanted to get involved in the investigation of crimes, instead of just taking the reports,'' Rimer said.
In the late 1980s, when police saw a rise in grave robberies and animal mutilations, Rimer attended a conference on occult crimes. That led to other conferences and, eventually, he progressed from student to teacher and consultant.
His main aim is to educate children and parents, he said. Unchecked, an overzealous interest in the occult can lead a child to mutilate himself, break down mentally or commit suicide.
``Failure means death in many of the cases,'' he said.
As a kid, Rimer often dressed up as Roy Rogers with a six-gun slinging from his hip. He was playing a role then just as the vampire followers play a role now.
``But then, the good guy always won,'' Rimer said. ``Now, some of the role models are negative ones.''
A surge in books and films romanticizing vampires has fueled groups like Bush's followers, Rimer said. Modern vampires have become popular because they are deemed resistant to the threats that once doomed them. Like bugs that develop immunity to pesticides, most fictional vampires operate quite well around crucifixes and daylight.
Bush, who by day was a heating and air conditioning repairman, allegedly targeted 13- to 16-year-old girls to join his secret clan, where initiation rituals included sexual assaults, Rimer said.
That's the age group most influenced by occult undercurrents, when a mix of adolescent rebellion, turmoil and insecurity makes teens vulnerable.
Most of the 30 or so members of Bush's vampire family were typical of teens who become involved in such cults. They were smart, yet underachieving. They didn't feel like they belonged in more popular groups, and they had few other social contacts. Many came from fragmented families.
Most often, it is middle- and upper-income teens who delve into the occult, Rimer said, but Bush targeted children from all backgrounds.
``One of the girls, a 13-year-old girl, told me it gave her the chance to be and to have everything she didn't have in her life,'' Rimer said.
Bush assigned new members roles and duties, which made them acceptable and desirable.
And that was the attraction.
``When you have a child who lacks confidence in himself, and you give him a new personality, a role, with specific strengths and weaknesses, you make him a much better person than he is in life,'' Rimer said. ``These kids were given power, authority and other traits they didn't have before.''
But they also were raped and forced to perform oral sex, police say.
Since Bush's arrest, ``The family has fallen apart,'' Rimer said. ``Most of the kids have dropped out and given it up. They've seen now what happens.''
Rimer expects several of Bush's once-loyal female followers to testify against the 26-year-old in an upcoming sexual-assault trial, or trials.
The detective plans to present further evidence against Bush to a grand jury next month. Bush is being held without bail. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by MARTIN SMITH-RODDENThe Virginian-Pilot
Don Rimer, a family-violence detective, is known nationally as an
expert on the occult, which he's studied since college.
KEYWORDS: OCCULT VAMPIRE ARREST
The Virginian-Pilot
THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 11, 1996 TAG: 9609110451
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 73 lines
``VAMPIRE'' DEFENDANT FOUND GUILTY HE'S CONVICTED OF 30 COUNTS OF SEX CRIMES AGAINST TEEN GIRLS
Jon C. Bush was convicted Tuesday of 30 sexual crimes against eight underage girls he molested as an initiation rite into his make-believe family of vampires.
Judge Alan E. Rosenblatt, who presided over Bush's two-day, nonjury trial, said he will sentence the 26-year-old Bush Nov. 26.
Bush, expected to be examined by a psychiatrist as part of a presentence report ordered by Rosenblatt, faces up to 180 years in prison.
In making his ruling, Rosenblatt said testimony in the trial showed that Bush had ``a demonstrated pattern of conduct'' that could have resulted in ``far more charges . . . against Mr. Bush than were brought.''
In all, the charges included 22 felonies and eight misdemeanors, including nine counts of having carnal knowledge, two counts of attempted carnal knowledge, nine counts of crimes against nature, two counts of taking indecent liberties and eight counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
The charges stemmed from allegations that Bush had intercourse or oral sex with eight girls ranging in age from 13 to 16 from November 1995 to January of this year.
Several of the victims and members of their families said Tuesday that the matter won't be resolved for them until Bush is sentenced.
``Everyone will feel better once an adequate sentence has been given,'' said the brother of one of the victims.
``I'll settle for 100 years,'' said a 17-year-old girl who was 16 when Bush molested her in the parking lot of a mall.
According to testimony Monday, Bush had sex with the girls by recruiting them into a role-playing game called ``Vampire: The Masquerade.''
Although the vampire game was often conducted in public - sometimes at local malls, where Bush and other participants dressed in black clothing and used black makeup on their faces - he convinced the girls to keep the sexual activity a secret.
``I wasn't supposed to tell anybody, especially my mom,'' said one of the eight victims who testified Monday
Bush, an air-conditioning technician who lived in Virginia Beach with his mother, told the girls he was the ``elder'' vampire in the role-playing game and claimed to have special powers, such as ESP and mind-control.
Initiation into the game required that the girls be ``embraced'' in one of three ways. The way Bush most often pursued was having sex with the girls.
After bringing them into his group, Bush convinced the girls to introduce him to their friends, especially those who were ``loose'' and having difficulties with their families. Prosecutors maintained that Bush was looking for girls who would be easy targets for his sexual advances.
Sometimes, according to testimony Monday, Bush intimidated the girls into having sex with him through threats against both the girls and their families.
But Bush's lawyer, Lynndolyn T. Mitchell, said Tuesday that the girls participated willingly in the vampire group and were encouraged to exaggerate the sexual aspects of the case by zealous police investigators.
``To (the girls) it was an activity,'' Mitchell said. ``Some people like cheerleading or soccer; they were into the vampire club.''
On Tuesday, several members of the vampire family testified that the girls were willing participants in the vampire game who never showed any fear of Bush.
``It was just a game,'' said 15-year-old Kim Dillon, who explained that all of the victims she knew enjoyed being around Bush. She was not the victim of a sexual assault.
``They were always happy around him and stuff,'' she said.
``No one was afraid as far as I could tell,'' said 17-year-old Jarrod Givens, who met Bush in December and became a member of the vampire group.
But prosecutor Mike Moore said Bush did use scare-tactics with some of his victims.
``I would submit that not every single victim was terrified of him or intimidated by him, but that at least some of them were,'' Moore said. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
KEYWORDS: SEX CRIME SEXUAL ASSAULT VAMPIRE CONVICTION
The Virginian-Pilot
THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 19, 1996 TAG: 9601190592
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines
MORE ``VAMPIRE'' VICTIMS SAY THEY WERE BITTEN, ASSAULTED
Since police launched and publicized an investigation into a self-professed vampire, about a dozen girls have come forward to say they were sexually assaulted or bitten during initiation rites, detectives said.
On Thursday, a day after the suspect's arrest, Detective Don Rimer said he interviewed two girls who belonged to the vampire ``family,'' and at least four others have made appointments.
``I am really alarmed by the number of people he has had sexual contact with,'' Rimer said.
Police are considering all female members of 26-year-old Jon C. Bush's vampire family as potential assault victims because sexual contact was required for initiation, Rimer said. And because all the female members are juveniles, any sexual contact would be illegal, Rimer said.
So far, Bush is charged with rape and sodomy in cases involving two teenage girls whose cooperation with police led to the investigation.
Rimer and his partner, Detective Gary Knowles, fielded dozens of calls Thursday from concerned parents, teachers, guidance counselors and teens. Police have said prospective members were recruited from several middle and high schools. Most callers offered details about Bush or clan members.
Meanwhile, police gave more details about the vampire family they said was headed by Bush, a heating and air conditioning worker who lives with his mother in Virginia Beach.
Rimer said Bush claimed to have psychic ability and ``powers he didn't enumerate.'' He also placed himself near the top of the 14 levels of the vampire clan, the detective said.
Bush said he is the ``elder,'' or head of his 30-member family, but ``princes'' above him control wide geographic regions. The lowest members were new family recruits, Rimer said.
The suspect ``manages the family. He controls them, he tells them what to do and where to go,'' said Rimer, an expert on occult lifestyles. ``He is the administrator, so to speak.''
Heading the family also meant handing out punishment, Rimer said. Police said Bush punished wayward members with an activity called a ``bloodhunt.''
A clan member who had broken a rule - such as disrespecting Bush - would be taken into a patch of woods at night and set loose. A few minutes later, the remainder of the vampire clan pursued. If the wayward member eluded the pack until dawn, he was welcomed back into the family. If he was caught, the clan members descended upon him and bit him, and he was banished.
Bush's family was loosely based on a commercially available game called ``Vampire: The Eternal Struggle.'' It is a card game where players assume the identities of characters and then, through political and physical struggles, try to gain control of adversaries. It is similar to the more popular fantasy role-playing game, ``Dungeons and Dragons.''
Although Bush frequently played the game, Rimer said most of his followers didn't. Their ties to him were social, often including parties and sex, Rimer said.
According to Rimer, members painted their faces white and their lips and left-hand fingernails black for excursions into local malls or to the Oceanfront. Sometimes, the family would surround Bush in a protective circle as they walked. Bush, who often wore snap-on fangs, would walk with his hands folded in an X across his chest.
The masquerade was designed to pique the interest of teens, who were quietly recruited.
Bush encouraged male family members to recruit female members, mostly from Virginia Beach schools, Rimer said. For a girl to be initiated, or ``embraced,'' as Bush called it, she had to let Bush bite her on the breasts, submit to oral sex, or have intercourse, Rimer said.
Male members were simply ``marked,'' or bitten hard enough to leave a bruise or impression.
Although biting was common in Bush's vampire family, drinking blood wasn't, Rimer said.
Most people who believe they are vampires typically drink blood because they think it makes them stronger or more virile, but Bush instead ``fed'' on sexual conquests, Rimer said.
``His goal was the sexual activity,'' Rimer said. ``In every encounter with females, there was at least the attempt. Every girl we have talked to said he tried. That's how he embraced them. That's how he fed.''
An 18-year-old woman who asked not to be identified said Bush was obsessed with sex when she met him four years ago. As a 14-year-old runaway, she said she and a friend met Bush and his cousin and stayed with them at an Oceanfront hotel.
``He was always forcing himself on me,'' she said. ``He kept saying how much he wanted me. I bought a knife at the grocery store and kept it with me because I was scared.''
She said the two-day encounter with him still unnerves her.
Rimer said there may be many more sexual assault victims who are afraid to come forward. Police are encouraging anyone who has had contact with Bush to call detectives Rimer or Knowles at 427-4101. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
The vampire family of Jon Bush (left) was loosely based on the card
game ``Vampire: The Eternal Struggle.'' Players assume the
identities of characters, then try to gain control of their
adversaries. Although Bush frequently played the game, detectives
said most of his followers didn't.
KEYWORDS: RAPE SEX CRIME ASSAULT ARREST
GAMES
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