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| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
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| * Satanic Ritual Abuse - Archive of Court Cases | * Satanic Ritual Abuse - Archive of Court Cases | ||
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| * in People v. Napolis | * in People v. Napolis | ||
| * in Napolis v. Aquino et. al.(2008). | * in Napolis v. Aquino et. al.(2008). | ||
Revision as of 16:06, 16 January 2009
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| Diana Louisa Napolis | |
|---|---|
| Born | La Mesa, California |
| Nationality |  American |
| Known for | Celebrity stalking, conspiracy theorist regarding mind control and satanic ritual abuse |
Diana Louisa Napolis, also known by her on-line pseudonym Karen Curio Jones or more often simply Curio, is an American former social worker. Between the late 1990s and 2000 Napolis posted a series of pseudonymous accusations that individuals who believed satanic ritual abuse was a moral panic were involved in a conspiracy to cover-up the sexual abuse and murder of children. Her real life identity was uncovered in 2000.
In 2001, Napolis was charged with stalking film director Steven Spielberg and in 2002 for making death threats against Jennifer Love Hewitt, and was committed to a state hospital until fit to stand trial. After a year in prison Napolis pled guilty to stalking and was released on probation.
Satanic ritual abuse allegations
Napolis originally worked as a child protection worker for nearly ten years (leaving the position in 1996), becoming involved in the satanic ritual abuse (SRA) allegations that arose in the early 1980s. Despite the allegations being rejected as a moral panic by the late 1990s, Napolis continued to believe the phenomenon was true, that those who had discredited the phenomenon were themselves child abusers, and were involved in a conspiracy to conceal their activities from the public. Posting under the screen name "Curio", Napolis began a pattern of on-line harassment against those she believed were involved in the conspiracy, posting information about the individuals. Among those she targeted were Carol Hopkins, a school administrator who was part of a grand jury in San Diego, California that criticized social workers for removing children from their home without reason; Michael Aquino, an open member of the Satanic church and a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Reserve against whom accusations of SRA were made but dropped as the accusations proved to be impossible; and Elizabeth Loftus, a professor who studied memory who believed coercive questioning techniques by poorly-trained investigators led to young children making false allegations of child sexual abuse. Loftus was confronted at a New Zealand academic conference by a group of people who accused her of conspiring to help child molesters, with information comprised largely of the postings made by Napolis. Using public computers in internet cafes and libraries, Napolis concealed her identity for five years while continuing to post information on-line about those she believed involved in the conspiracy. In 2000, private researcher Michelle Devereaux and the San Diego State University police tracked Napolis and caught her in the act of posting information as Curio on-line from a campus lab. No charges were filed, but by revealing her identity, those Napolis had harassed ceased to consider her a serious threat. The story was reported in The San Diego Union-Tribune, which was added to her on-line list of harassing parties.
Celebrity stalking
Steven Spielberg
In the fall of 2001, Steven Spielberg filed a restraining order against Napolis after she made harassing telephone calls to the director. Napolis claimed Spielberg and his wife were part of a satanic cult operating out of his basement that had implanted a microchip called "soulcatcher" in her brain, an accusation to which Spielberg replied "To state the obvious, I am not involved with any form of manipulating Ms. Napolis's mind or body through remote technology or otherwise." Spielberg also expressed concern for the safety and security of his family. His security team indicated they believed Napolis to be suffering from a delusional disorder and posed "a serious risk of violent confrontation". The judge ruled Napolis was barred from approaching within 150 meters of Spielberg and believed her to be a "credible threat" to the director.
Jennifer Love Hewitt
On September 18th, 2002, Napolis "verbally confronted" Jennifer Love Hewitt while entering the 2002 Grammy Awards, and the subsequent day attempted to pose as a friend of the actress to enter the premiere of The Tuxedo. On October 10th Napolis again tried to confront Love Hewitt at a filming, and e-mailed several death threats to the actress later that month. In December, 2002, Napolis was arrested for stalking and making death threats against Jennifer Love Hewitt, charged with six felonies, and remanded to San Diego County Jail on $500,000 bail. At her hearing, Napolis also admitted to becoming involved in a shoving match with Hewitt's mother while confronting the actress. Napolis accused the actress and Spielberg of being part of a satanic conspiracy and using mind controlling "cybertronic" technology to manipulate her body. Napolis was committed to Patton State Hospital in 2003 for three years or until fit to stand trial.
After nearly a year in jail, Napolis pleaded guilty to stalking on September 29th, 2003, receiving five years probation; in addition, she was required to enroll in a counseling program, surrender all weapons and firearms, abstain from drugs and alcohol and refrain from using computers. Napolis was also barred from any contact with Spielberg, Hewitt and their families for ten years and was required by the judge to continue taking prescribed medication.
Footnotes
- ^ MacKenzie, D (2002-10-20). "Spielberg Stalker in Mind-Bug Game". Sunday Mirror. p. 16.
- ^ Sauer, M (2000-09-24). "A Web of Intrigue: The search for Curio leads cybersleuths down a twisted path". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
- ^ Bocij, Paul (2004). Cyberstalking: harrassment in the Internet age and how to protect your family. New York: Praeger Publishers. pp. 33-35. ISBN 0-275-98118-5.
- ^ Sauer, M (2002-12-31). "Stalking suspect to undergo more psychological tests". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
- ^ De Young, Mary (2004). The day care ritual abuse moral panic. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland. pp. 234-5. ISBN 0-7864-1830-3.
- "Spielberg wins order banning cult stalker". The Australian. 2002-10-23. p. 12.
- "Woman Who Stalked Actress Sentenced to Probation, Mental Health Counseling". City News Service. 2003-11-05.
External links
- Satanic Ritual Abuse - Archive of Court Cases
- Diana Napolis' homepage
- Statement by Napolis in People v. Napolis
- Michael Aquino response in Napolis v. Aquino et. al.(2008).