OUR Op Ed No. 23: SATANIC RITUAL ABUSE ALLEGATIONS

Report No. 23: A new satanic child sex abuse controversy has flared up in Utah. Among suspects is a New York advertising executive with friends in very high places. Gordon Bowen, who was raised in Utah, but achieved notoriety on Madison Avenue, was named by four ostensible victims as being part of a ritualistic child sex abuse ring. Besides being famous in advertising circles, Bowen is close friends with Utah Senator Mitt Romney and high-ranking Mormon Apostle M. Russell Ballard. While there is no indication either Romney or Ballard was aware of any Utah child sex abuse cult—indeed the accusation that one existed at all may be completely unfounded—the two would have been aware that Bowen was previously accused of hiring male escorts, engaging exorcists to cure his homosexuality, and sexually assaulting other men. Over decades Bowen provided image and branding advice for the LDS Church and Romney political campaigns. Romney also used Bowen as creative director for Utah’s 2002 Winter Olympics. Bowen conceived the games’ “Light The Fire Within” tag line and designed the torch that was carried by numerous celebrities.