This article has been authorized by http://ra-info.org/faqs/ and is an excellent explanation of the types of perpetrators:
Who perpetrates ritual abuse?
Ritual abuse is perpetrated by men and women from all walks of life and geographical areas, both rural and urban. The percent of the population that perpetrates or that is victimized is unknown.
Perpetrators have been classified as:
- Family or Transgenerational: Adults, who were abused as children, in turn abuse and indoctrinate their own children. The tradition can go back for generations.
- Extra-familiar: Adults abuse non-related children. Children can be accessed at day care, schools, church, or through social groups.
- Ad hoc groups: Adults, who may or may not have had abusive childhoods, come together and form a new group with its own ideology and rituals. Teens are thought to comprise many such ad hoc groups.