I let the first arrest pass -- but when you get a second one, it is certainly news.

Police charged a third person Wednesday in connection with beatings and rape that authorities say were carried out by a satanic cult.

Diana Palmer, 44, of Cottage Woods Court, surrendered to police Wednesday afternoon. She was charged with being an accessory after the fact of assault with a deadly weapon and was being held in the Durham County Jail under a $95,000 bond.

Joseph Craig, 25, has been charged with kidnapping, rape, forcible sexual offense and assault in the case. His wife, Joy Johnson, 30, has been charged with aiding and abetting. Both were being held Wednesday in the Durham County Jail.

Satanism and sexual assault -- you may be wondering what this has to do with politics.

Well, here it is.

Palmer is first vice chair of the Durham County Democratic Party. Johnson resigned her positions as third vice-chair of the Durham County Democratic Party and vice-chair of the Young Democrats following her arrest.

Which leads to this priceless quote.

State Sen. Floyd McKissick, D-Durham, called the case "an isolated incident" and said he doesn't expect any other Democratic Party activists to be implicated.

Two top leaders arrested in a Satanic sex case constitutes "an isolated incident"? I think that is probably a pretty god percentage of the party's top leadership.

And as an aside -- I know Johnson was a vocal supporter of Mike Nifong and the lying rape victim. I suspect Palmer was as well. Will they insist, as they did in the earlier case, that the woman making the accusation must be believed at all costs?

Posted by: Greg at 01:30 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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