State worker reassigned after "satanic cult" story 

by Ted Bell 
Bee Staff Writer 
_Sacramento Bee_, Saturday Jan 16, 1993 

A state employee who works with mental health patients has been 
reassigned to administrative duties after her appearance on a 
nationally televised show in which she claimed a satanic cult 
forced her to kill people when she was a little girl. 

Connie Valentine, 49, of Davis normally helps mental health 
patients find vocational training and rehabilitation services in 
the state Department of Rehabilitation's Woodland office. She is 
not supposed to provide counseling for clients. 

"We are conducting an investigation on the allegations and 
concerns brought to my attention," said the department's chief 
deputy director, Rich Bayquen. Valentine has been assigned to 
administrative work in Sacramento. 

Valentine said Friday much of what has been said about her and 
her work in Woodland since the show aired in November has been 
"inaccurate and maybe even slanderous." But she confirmed that 
during her interview for the Fox network TV show "Sightings" she 
did say she had been involved in satanic ritual killings. 

"That was 45 years ago and it was all reported to law enforcement,"
Valentine said. "But I didn't realize that the show would be so
lurid, and a lot of what I said was chopped up and taken out of
context." 

"Sightings" features stories on such subjects as the "occult" and 
extraterrestiral life. t airs Fridays on Channel 40 (KTXL) in 
the Sacramento area. 

Valentine declined to explain Friday just what she felt she 
participated in as a little girl, saying she preferred to put 
everything in writing some day. 

But she added, "I wanted people to know that it is a sad fact 
that this (satanic rituals) is going on with the children of 
Yolo and Sacramento counties, and the children are terrified to 
talk about it." 

The "Sightings" interview reportedly has Valentine stating that 
"they" would put a knife in her hand and then guide the knife 
into a victim. Bayquen said he has seen a tape of the interview 
as it was aired and confirmed that was what Valentine said. 

When asked if she was only 4 years old at the time of the 
alleged killings, Valentine replied only that "there were 
several occasions that happened" and declined to discuss the 
matter further. 

Asked if these experences have influenced her dealings with her 
clients, Valentine responded: Good grief, no. That's ridiculous." 

Yolo County Medical Health Director Steve Mayberg said Friday 
that rumors and innuendoes about the interview "developed a life 
of their own" after the show was aired and that he asked the 
state Department of Rehabilitation to conduct an investigation. 

The county mental health agency refers clients to the state 
Department of Rehabilitation. 

"Who knows what's really going on?" Mayberg said. "Let's find 
out and then lay it to rest. My concern was that (the rumors) 
were getting in the way of people doing their business." 

Mayberg said Valentine "does a good job" and that "there has 
never been a question of her devotion to her job." 
 
/* end of article */