I had to think long and hard before making a comment to this post because of the inflammatory context. Currently, in today’s society, there is a rabid, public hatred abounding concerning pedophiles, which seems to exclude rational thought.
As a reference point, I want to remind people of the ages long attraction in sex and pornography concerning adult women dressing up as kids, complete with pigtails and calling their client or lover ‘Daddy.’ Speaks volumes doesn’t it? Plus the very frequent jokes from older men in which they request to be called ‘daddy.’
Now, that having been said, I would like to point out the very rarely discussed or even mentioned possibility of the pedophile being mentally ill. I mean, what normal person would have sex with a child, KNOWING that the consequences of the act are so severe that he will be branded for the rest of his entire life if ever caught? Those who rape adult women are treated with less severity. Serial killers are made into media stars. Plus, what normal person would rape a child, knowing that to protect himself that he would have to kill the victim in many cases?
I read ages ago that, before things got really crowded, young men and women often experienced sex first with cousins, brothers or sisters. Especially in rural areas. (Jokes are still made about hillbillies and first cousins, sisters and the like.) As short a time ago as in the 1960s, it was not uncommon for sex play to happen between siblings and doctors used to simply tell the parents to inform the kids that is wasn’t right, why and to knock it off. No one went running to HRS, the cops, shrinks or Social Services. (Remember childhood ‘games’ like I’ll show you mine if you show me yours?) As a moot point, the 7 year old daughter of a friend of mine was involved in a ‘touchy-feely’ exploration with an 8 year old girl friend, who knew a bit more about sex.
The result was that she became panicked and disturbed because of what she had seen on television about inappropriate touching, told her parents, wound up having to have several sessions with a child psychiatrist and is not allowed to be with her previous best friend any more. For a time, the police and social services were almost involved and the friendship between both sets of parents ended. (I remember being 7 or 8 and examining a neighboring girl of the same age out of curiosity as she examined me. Big deal. About the only thing that worked at 8 was the erection process without the ejaculation or even knowing what to do with it or why the sight of a nude female body excited one.)
Back to the original line. Pedophiles have to be mentally ill in order to have such overwhelming urges to do what is socially unacceptable and which carry such an enormous penalty. Rapists in jail are not brutalized like child molesters are. Even the police treat rapists better than child molesters. Rapists, having served their time, are not required to post notices on their doors about their crimes nor does the general citizenry rise up and force them to move to another area.
So, if child raping/molestation is a mental illness, then can the repeat offender control their urges? If not, and there is no actual workable therapy in general for them, what should be our response? Most therapies do not work well. Some convicted molesters willingly opt for castration to try to prevent themselves from doing it again. (THAT method is not fail safe because the urge to rape in regular rapists is not always based just on sex.)
I’ve noticed the dramatic increase in child molestation not only in the States, but across the globe and have yet to find any sound reason for it. (AIDS fear might count for maybe, I guess, 2%.) Trying to have a reasonable discussion concerning it is difficult also because I have found that if one presents such a side to the topic as I am now, one can often be accused of being a ‘hidden’ molester or possibly having ‘molester’ tendencies and even the potential stigmata of being suspect can be devastating.
The OP cites a horrible crime. In today’s world, I wonder WHY the crime took place. How should we respond? In outrage and gut the bastard? In concern and hospitalize him? Put him in jail forever? Try to find out a cure for his mental illness? Remove his nuts? Remove his schlong? Persecute him forever even after he gets out of jail? Ignore him? Exicute him?
Why are crimes of this form on the rise? We KNOW why most rapists rape, but there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of knowing why molesters molest.
Any opinions? Any correlation to the current incidents of children shooting children?
A brief historical note here. In the past, many male kids got all steamed up over their female teachers in school. (I know I did with a few.) Most dreamed of potentially having sex with them. Remember, nearly ALL adolescent boys are so full of hormones that they are essentially a walking penis. To a few, it happened. Back then, if it did, the student was somewhat treated like a stud and if it got out, the teacher was quietly reprimanded. No jail. No molestation charges. No lawsuits. (The kids dad would usually admonish the kid, then pat him on the back in private, tell him about protection and then go tell his beer buddies bout his stud of a son.) No shrinks. No Social Services.
Not today. Have we gone too far in concerns about child sex in that way? Have we not gone far enough? Does it tie in with molestation?
This does not concern the warped, quasi-homosexual group of NAMBLA (North American Man Boy Love Association) which promotes sex between adult males and young boys. (Circa Early Rome.) They are another issue.
Any solutions?
What? Me worry?’