By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Writer A North Carolina couple heavily involved in the New Age are facing criminal charges in connection with alleged satanic rituals involving the kidnap, rape and starvation of another couple. Joy Johnson, 30, and her husband, Joseph Craig, were arrested on June 27. Craig, 25, is charged with second-degree rape and kidnapping and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon for an incident in January and another in May. Johnson is charged with two counts of aiding and abetting. According to published and broadcast reports, prosecutors said a man and a woman met Craig through a shared interest in Satan worship, although the couple never consented to any physical abuse. Craig allegedly shackled his victims to beds, kept them in dog cages and starved them inside his home. Police say he beat the man with a cane and a cord, and raped the woman. Aside from her work as vice-chairman of the Durham County Democratic Party and vice chairwoman of the Young Democrats, Johnson also operates a business called Indigo Dawn, Inc. that is described on their website as a spiritual growth service offering “past life reconstruction” and “communication with spirit guides.” The site talks about Johnson’s political activism and describes Craig as a reverend and a “devout student of magick.” Johnson claims the idea for Indigo Dawn was given to her in a vision during meditation. “She decided to explore the New Age community more, and after taking a course in Reiki healing, experiencing past-life regression along with direct guidance from her spirit guides, she confirmed that her destiny was to help bring about the New Age on Earth,” says her on-line biography. “Joy shared her vision with her husband, Joe; as a result the Indigo Dawn was founded to raise the vibration of energy on Earth.” Craig is described as having discovered the reality of magick at the age of 14. “This started his study of self and his study of the occult,” the site says. Apparently, the couple also dabbles in Satanism. “Part of the allegations are that satanic worship is part of this case,” said Mark McCullough, an assistant district attorney, to WTVD-TV. A judge set Craig’s bond at $590,000 and Johnson’s at $270,000. Another ranking local Democrat, Diana Palmer, 44, the first vice-chairwoman of the Durham County Democratic Party, surrendered to police on July 2 and is being charged with being an accessory after the fact of assault with a deadly weapon. She's being held at the Durham County Jail under $95,000 bail.   © All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly/Women of Grace. http://www.womenofgrace.com The New Age is fraught with dangers for the Christian. In our 13 part series, "The New Age Counterfeit," experts Johnnette Benkovic and Fr. Edmund Sylvia teach you how to discern the Truth from the deception. Available in our store at: http://womenofgrace.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=199