Joy Suzanne Johnson, left, and Joseph Scott Craig.
Posted on 07/02/2008 9:55:22 AM PDT by Renfield
DURHAM - A husband and wife face more charges in a case that contains allegations of sexual assault and satanic rituals that include shackling, caging and depriving a man of food and water. Joseph Scott Craig, 25, and Joy Suzanne Johnson, 30, both of 2305 Albany St., are scheduled to appear in Durham County court this morning on the new charges in a case that has shocked acquaintances and former co-workers of the couple.
Johnson resigned this week as third vice chairwoman of the Durham County Democratic Party and vice chairwoman of the Young Democrats.
The charges stem from accusations of sexual assault and kidnapping by a woman who listed the couple's home as her address.
In a city where an escort service dancer's highly publicized accusations of gang-rape were dismantled and dismissed as phony allegations in the Duke lacrosse case, many are reserving judgment in the satanic ritual case until more facts are disclosed.
With prosecutors divulging little information and newly appointed public defenders not yet up to speed on the cases, the only details available are in arrest warrants.
The News & Observer does not generally identify people who have filed complaints of sexual assault.
The incidents, according to warrants, occurred in December 2007 and in January and May.
Craig, a dispatcher at Allied Waste Industries, has been charged with second-degree rape, second-degree forcible sexual offense, three counts of second-degree kidnapping and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon. Two of the kidnapping charges were filed Tuesday.
Two charges of aiding and abetting filed against Johnson on Tuesday reveal new details of what the woman in their house alleged.
The warrants accuse Johnson of "instigating and encouraging" her husband as he handcuffed a man and forced him "into a dog cage, leaving him there for hours, terrorizing him."
Johnson was charged Friday with two other counts of aiding and abetting.
The accusations have set off a flurry of questions and disbelief in Durham and beyond.
"My mouth dropped open when I found out about this," said Katrina Ford-Merritt, a former co-worker of Craig's. "I thought it was a mistake."
Ford-Merritt worked at Allied Waste Industries with Craig for several years until she left the company in November.
"He never showed me any kind of devil-worshipping stuff," Ford-Merritt said. "We wasn't walking around chanting or anything. He was a normal person. He was a sweetheart to me."
Annette Hickson, who spent many hours with Craig in a small dispatch room at Allied Waste Industries, was just as astounded.
Craig, who moved to Durham from Kentucky several years ago, has been accused of using a wooden cane and cable cord to beat the man he is accused of caging. He also is accused of assaulting the woman with a wooden cane and raping her.
Hickson said she "personally didn't believe" Craig was a Satan-worshipper. "You'd see him wear black pants and a T-shirt with weird stuff on it, but it wasn't that different."
For the past three months, Johnson worked 10 hours a week for People's Alliance, a political action group in Durham that supports local liberal causes. But in court papers seeking a public defender, Johnson stated that she had resigned her post.
Page McCullough, vice president of the alliance, said she could not believe the allegations.
Johnson was described by many acquaintances as shy, someone who blushed visibly when meeting new people.
"We find these charges, if true, just shocking," McCullough said.
Joy Suzanne Johnson, left, and Joseph Scott Craig.
Typical democrats.
Democrats who will NEVER be identified as Dems on the MSM.
Yuck!
First thing that popped into my head? Young Communists.
Guilty.
How wimpy do you have to be to let that twerp force you into a dog cage?
Why resign form the Young Democrats, this fits under what they believe in. Diversity!!! Freedom of religion and freedom of sexual preference. Soooo unfair.
110% Guilty!!!
Come on now folks, Celebrate Diversity!
We need some agitators in Detroit:
"Free the Durham Two!!!"
I always wondered what happened to The Gimp after Zed and the Security Guard got killed.
A Satanist named “Joy”.
The mind boggles.
Vice-chairwoman, indeed.
"We're Democrats, so we're used to weird stuff," she continued. "Besides, we're all comfortable with the idea of chopping up unborn babies, so who's to say that what he did was any worse? Are we serious about celebrating diversity or aren't we?"
Now you're talking.
Sounds like a typical young Democrats convention....
I bet these are the same people that are all upset over Abu Grahib and Club Gitmo.
Well, I guess this is proof-positive that modern day Democrats = the Devil.
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3141729/
Third arrest made in alleged cult abuse case
Posted: Today at 12:26 p.m.
Updated: 15 minutes ago
Police charged a third person Wednesday in connection with beatings and rape that authorities say were carried out by a satanic cult.
Diana Palmer surrendered to police Wednesday afternoon. She was charged with being an accessory after the fact of assault with a deadly weapon.
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.
The couple was arrested last week after a man and a woman told police they were beaten, shackled to beds, kept in dog cages and starved inside a home on Albany Street. Craig is accused of committing the crimes while his wife watched.
Police executed a search warrant at the house Wednesday.
Assistant Durham County District Attorney Mark McCullough said during a Monday court hearing that the two people met Craig through a shared interest in Satan worship, but they never consented to the abuse.
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