A paedophile ring in Cornwall had guys engaging in depraved fantasies while donning hooded robes and intimidating their young victims with daggers.
Decades of abuse culminated in a trial that significantly implicated a parish councillor labelled as a ‘witch’ and the victim of a partially unsolved murder that had rocked the county a decade prior.
In December 2012, two men charged with involvement in a paedophile ring operating a witches’ coven near St Ives, perpetrating “ritualistic, abhorrent” sexual abuse of young girls, received extended prison sentences.
Jack Kemp and Peter Petrauske, both residents of Falmouth, inflicted prolonged anguish on their female victims, one reportedly as young as three years old.
Both men had denied any involvement in the abuse, claiming they were victims of a “witch-hunt”. [Editor’s Note: pardon their pun]
A jury at Truro Crown Court rejected their claims, convicted the duo of multiple acts dating back to the 1970s, and additionally found Kemp guilty of several recent sexual assaults unrelated to Petrauske.
Judge Graham Cottle sentenced Jack Kemp to 14 years and Peter Petrauske to 18 years in prison, stating: “The offences range from the extremely serious to the truly horrifying.”
Peter Petrauske was reportedly the “high priest” of a witches’ coven that convened at a secret site in St Ives, commanding the females to fulfil his depraved dreams. The court was informed that Kemp recorded the abuse.
He participated in the assaults alongside acquaintances Peter Solheim, who was subsequently discovered killed and dismembered in the waters off the Lizard, and Stan Pirie, a prominent paedophile who perished in prison after his conviction for sexual abuse in the mid-2000s.
Judge Cottle stated: “You are two of the remaining members of a paedophile ring, alongside others frequently mentioned during this trial, who were part of a ring that functioned in Falmouth during the Seventies and Eighties.”
I am content that you both possess a persistent sexual desire in young female children.
The trial has involved ritualistic and abhorrent mistreatment of very young children. The scars on the two unnamed victims are so conspicuous that it appears highly improbable that either has any genuine chance of healing.
“Ultimately, the veracity of your deceptions and your undeniable inclinations has ensnared you.”
The pair’s victims provided distressing testimony from behind a screen throughout the three-week trial. They recounted the abuse inflicted by their tormentors prior to receiving money and sweets to ensure their silence.
Peter Petrauske was found guilty of rape, complicity in an attempted rape, and indecent assault. Judge Cottle imposed an 18-year prison sentence.
Jack Kemp was convicted of eleven sexual crimes, including indecent assault and indecency with a child, and received a 14-year sentence.
However, it was not the inaugural instance that the name Peter Solheim was mentioned in conjunction with child sexual assaults and witchcraft.
Six years prior, in the same courtroom at Truro and before the same judge, his name was pivotal in a dramatic trial.
Margaret James, the lover of Mr. Peter Solheim, was accused and convicted of playing a significant role in his gruesome murder.
Margaret James was indicted following the discovery of the drugged, dismembered body of the 56-year-old former parish councillor, which was located adrift in the waters off the Cornish shoreline by a passing trawler.
Margaret James was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison, but the other conspirators have yet to be identified and remain at large. Margaret James reportedly learnt of Solheim’s intentions to abandon her for a longstanding mistress.
A police spokesperson stated, “The inquiry into the murder of Peter Solheim remains open.”
“Officers involved in this case have collaborated closely with those investigating his death to ensure that any potentially pertinent new evidence is examined.”
“We persist in encouraging anyone with new information concerning Mr. Peter Solheim’s death to report it to the police.”
During the trial of Margaret James in the summer of 2006, a bleak portrayal of Solheim was unveiled.
Paul Dunkels, QC, representing James, elucidated to the jury Mr. Peter Solheim’s fixation on witchcraft and sexuality. He generated thousands of pounds through the exchange and sale of antique rifles and other weaponry.
The court also learnt that he was a pagan, inclined to cast spells on those who displeased him.
And he had been accused of being a paedophile by members of the local community at Carnkie, near Helston, where he lived.
Indeed unknown hands had sent him hate mail for his unsavoury appetite for young children, argued the defence team.
On three occasions Mr Dunkels applied for a bad character application to show the darker side of Peter Solheim’s nature.
When a judge allows such an application the jury may hear a person’s previous convictions or “reprehensible behaviour” as evidence.
The QC’s strategy was to persuade the jury that because the dead man’s behaviour was so questionable anyone could have hatched the murder plot and eventual slaying.
Judge Graham Cottle eventually granted the application.
Mr. Dunkels contended: “We assert that Peter Solheim possessed a propensity for committing sexual offences against children, trafficking in illegal firearms, and participating in black magic and satanic rituals.” This gives anyone a motivation to hurt him, resulting in his death.
The filthy details of Mr. Peter Solheim’s life were revealed, including his involvement in hardcore pornography through the duplication and sale of videos; his attic was characterised as a “occult laboratory.”
It contained formulas for potions intended to allure ladies and numerous volumes on witchcraft.
In the trial of Kemp and Peter Petrauske, defence witness Eleanor Watson illuminated Mr. Peter Solheim’s distorted character by characterising him as being on the “dark side.”
She informed the court that she developed a friendship with Peter Petrauske during his attendance at a Wicca ritual at her residence in St Ives in the mid-1990s.
Mrs. Watson stated that rituals occurred annually at various locations, including gardens, woods, and beaches.
She stated: “They never included nudity or garments and hoods, and only on very infrequent occasions do children participate.” I composed a pagan drama for their performance in my garden.
Peter Solheim participated in several meetings before our disagreement, after which I informed him that he was prohibited from attending further sessions.
“He was on the dark side.”
In addition to Mr. Peter Solheim, convicted paedophile Stanley Pirie also prominently featured throughout the crown court trial.
He was a friend and neighbour of Jack Kemp and underwent a trial in 2005 at Truro Crown Court.
The jury delivered unanimous judgements on many sexual crimes, resulting in a 12-year imprisonment.
Victims of Stanley Pirie’s depravity subsequently provided testimony of the egregious torture they endured from Jack Kemp and Peter Petrauske.
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