ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 20, 1996 TAG: 9601220050
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH
SOURCE: MIKE MATHER LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
Since police launched and publicized an investigation into a self-professed vampire, about a dozen girls have come forward to say they were sexually assaulted or bitten during initiation rites, detectives say.
``I am really alarmed by the number of people he has had sexual contact with,'' Detective Don Rimer said.
So far, 26-year-old Jon C. Bush is charged with rape and sodomy in cases involving two teen-age girls whose cooperation with police led to the investigation.
Investigators said Friday they will seek as many as 25 felony indictments against Bush.
Meanwhile, more details are emerging about the vampire family that police said was headed by Bush, a heating and air-conditioning worker who lives with his mother in Virginia Beach.
Rimer said Bush claimed to have psychic ability and placed himself near the top of the 14 levels of the vampire clan.
Bush said he is the ``elder,'' or head, of his 30-member family, but ``princes'' above him control wide geographic regions. The lowest members were new family recruits, Rimer said.
The suspect ``manages the family. He controls them, he tells them what to do and where to go,'' said Rimer, an expert on occult lifestyles. ``He is the administrator, so to speak.''
Heading the family also meant handing out punishment, Rimer said. Police said Bush punished wayward members with an activity called a ``bloodhunt.''
A clan member who had broken a rule - such as disrespecting Bush - would be taken into a patch of woods at night and set loose. A few minutes later, the remainder of the vampire clan pursued him. If the wayward member eluded the pack until dawn, he was welcomed back into the family. If he was caught, the clan members descended on him and bit him, and he was banished.
Bush's family was loosely based on a commercially available game called ``Vampire: The Eternal Struggle.'' It is a card game where players assume the identities of characters and, through political and physical struggles, try to gain control of adversaries. It is similar to the more popular fantasy role-playing game, ``Dungeons and Dragons.''
Although Bush frequently played the game, Rimer said, most of his followers didn't. Their ties to him were social, often including parties and sex, Rimer said.
According to Rimer, members painted their faces white and their lips and left-hand fingernails black for excursions to local malls. Sometimes, the family would surround Bush in a protective circle as they walked. Bush, who often wore snap-on fangs, would walk with his hands folded in an X across his chest.
The masquerade was designed to pique the interest of teens, who were quietly recruited.
Although biting was common in Bush's vampire family, drinking blood wasn't, Rimer said.
Most people who believe they are vampires drink blood because they think it makes them stronger or more virile, but Bush ``fed'' on sexual conquests, Rimer said.
Bush's arrest may not have ended the vampire family. Rimer said the family has splintered and new families may be developing.
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Bushby CNB