# Growth hormone disorders and pedophilia **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 26, 2006, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growth-hormone-disorders-and-pedophilia/358285 "2006-05-26T03:34:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growth-hormone-disorders-and-pedophilia/358285/21 "2006-05-26T16:00:56Z")
> [@Phlat Phoot](#): > > I guess what I’m wondering is, if one type of sexual deviancy seems more likely to make someone commit a crime, where do you draw the line at registry? And should we really wait until a horrible crime is committed before we warn the public about a potentially dangerous sexual deviant? Well, yes, we generally _do_ wait until someone commits a crime before we start punishing them. That’s sort of essential to the practice of justice, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Phlat\_Phoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/977dab/32.png) [@Phlat\_Phoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlat_Phoot)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growth-hormone-disorders-and-pedophilia/358285/22 "2006-05-26T17:28:38Z")
Very often people are kept tabs on or even punished if there is sufficient reason to think they will commit a crime. And I was just using KGS’s “little people” term. Blame him! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growth-hormone-disorders-and-pedophilia/358285/23 "2006-05-26T17:32:03Z")
> [@Phlat Phoot](#): > > Very often people are kept tabs on or even punished if there is sufficient reason to think they will commit a crime. Cite? Certain steps in preparation for committing a crime are in of themselves crimes, but I don’t understand what you are talking about or how that could work in any western country. ---
**Author:** ![Phlat\_Phoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/977dab/32.png) [@Phlat\_Phoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlat_Phoot)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growth-hormone-disorders-and-pedophilia/358285/24 "2006-05-26T17:38:22Z")
Aren’t police officers called in a lot to investigate and keep an eye on “suspicious characters” even if they aren’t doing anything technically illegal? I would imagine this would take place but on a larger scale. I’m no legal expert at all so please don’t infer that I’m an idiot if I’m wrong about something. (I’m not saying anybody is, I’m just saying I don’t want it to turn into a vitriolic argument.) I’m not here to argue, I’m just here to have a discussion. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growth-hormone-disorders-and-pedophilia/358285/25 "2006-05-26T17:54:09Z")
> [@Phlat Phoot](#): > > I’m talking about people like that guy on MTV who looks like a 12 year old but he’s actually in his thirties. Yes, I was thinking along the lines of people like [Joe C.](http://www.penny.ca/JoeC.htm), Kid Rock’s diminuitive sidekick who died of celiac disease at age 26. > [@Szlater](#): > > Funny that an ‘innocent man’ would [accept a caution](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/3352099.stm) > [Accepting a caution](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_caution) entails admitting to your guilt of the offence you have been accused of. > Pete Townshend has admitted accessing child pornography on the internet, and as a result is quite legitimately on the [Violent and Sex Offender Register (ViSOR)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violent_and_Sex_Offender_Register). Ok, let me ask you this. How do you feel about the [pediatrician whose office was burned](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/901723.stm) by hyper-vigilant protesters who misread her job title and thought it said “pedophile”? I don’t know why Pete Townshend accepted a caution (which appears similar to the American [Nolo Contendere](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nolo_contendere) plea, meaning you’re not admitting guilt but you’re not going to fight prosecution) except, perhaps, to make the whole sorry business go away. The only hard evidence found against Townshend was his credit card number on a child pornography site. They found NO kiddy porn at all in his possession. Now…think about it. If he’s so STUPID to use his real name and credit card to look at kiddy porn, how could he be so smart as to hide his kiddy porn collection in a manner that can never be found?? He can’t. Ergo, he’s not a pedophile. Townshend made a colossal mistake, but the punishment he received was fully undeserved. This is just one symptom of the Pedophile Witchhunt, which has destroyed more innocent lives than those who actually deserve justice. Just ask the [McMartin family.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMartin_preschool_trial) ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growth-hormone-disorders-and-pedophilia/358285/26 "2006-05-26T18:14:50Z")
> [@Phlat Phoot](#): > > Aren’t police officers called in a lot to investigate and keep an eye on “suspicious characters” even if they aren’t doing anything technically illegal? I would imagine this would take place but on a larger scale. Some years ago, the Delaware police formed a database of gang members and alleged drug dealers who were suspected of committing crimes, but not actually _convicted_ or even _accused_ of any actual wrongdoing. Naturally, the public outcry against this Orwellian tactic was extreme, and (I believe) the website was pulled almost immediately. (I’m having difficulty locating a cite, so forgive me if some of the details are off.) **Phlat Phoot** , are you from the U.S.? It would help to know which country you are from. ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growth-hormone-disorders-and-pedophilia/358285/27 "2006-05-26T18:37:40Z")
> [@Phlat Phoot](#): > > Aren’t police officers called in a lot to investigate and keep an eye on “suspicious characters” even if they aren’t doing anything technically illegal? I would imagine this would take place but on a larger scale. Well they are called in a lot and they log those calls but I don’t think they actually go and check them out unless they have reason to believe a crime might’ve occured or is about to occur. Checking every tip about “suspicious” people wouldn’t really fly that well with the public, especially in Florida 😉 . ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growth-hormone-disorders-and-pedophilia/358285/28 "2006-05-26T21:28:44Z")
So could a person with “delayed puberty” act in pornograhic videos as long as they’re of legal age? Would those videos be considered child pornograhpy? ---
**Author:** ![Phlat\_Phoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/977dab/32.png) [@Phlat\_Phoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlat_Phoot)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growth-hormone-disorders-and-pedophilia/358285/29 "2006-05-26T21:29:02Z")
Yeah, I’m from the United States. I’m interested in how it’s handled all over the democratic world though. It just seems odd to me that something like that could happen and, legally speaking, nobody else would think something strange was going on, especially with how strict child molestation laws are in some places of the world. ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growth-hormone-disorders-and-pedophilia/358285/30 "2006-05-26T21:39:23Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > So could a person with “delayed puberty” act in pornograhic videos as long as they’re of legal age? Would those videos be considered child pornograhpy? Umm… I’m guessing you’ve never been to a porn store? I’d guess 10-15%, maybe more, of all legal US pornography is done with women of legal age that have a significant amount of prepubescent features either naturally or artificially. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growth-hormone-disorders-and-pedophilia/358285/31 "2006-05-26T21:45:04Z")
Except statuatory rape laws only consider whether someone is competant to give consent or not, not how they “look”. If I follow you, you’d make it illegal for someone who looks prepubescent to have sex, even if they’re in their 20s? Why? The issue is ability to consent, and only the ability to give consent. As long as someone is not incompetant to give consent (due to age, intoxication, mental retardation, etc), then they can give consent. Why is that so hard to understand? And why should the police have any business monitoring the boyfriend of a youthful looking adult? ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growth-hormone-disorders-and-pedophilia/358285/32 "2006-05-26T22:02:51Z")
> [@groman](#): > > Umm… I’m guessing you’ve never been to a porn store? I’d guess 10-15%, maybe more, of all legal US pornography is done with women of legal age that have a significant amount of prepubescent features either naturally or artificially. Eighteen and nineteen year old males are very popular in gay porn, but with males at least there are certain features of prepubescent male anatomy that are hard to reproduce. Even without hair adult genitals look different than those of a child. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growth-hormone-disorders-and-pedophilia/358285/33 "2006-05-26T23:59:43Z")
> [@Phlat Phoot](#): > > It just seems odd to me that something like that could happen and, legally speaking, nobody else would think something strange was going on, especially with how strict child molestation laws are in some places of the world. Child molestation laws in the U.S. are far more restrictive than any other place in the world. The average [Age of Consent](http://www.ageofconsent.com/ageofconsent.htm) worldwide is closer to 15 or 16, not 18. In Canada, the AoC is 14; in Mexico, The Netherlands, and many South American & Asian countries, it’s twelve. That’s right…TWELVE!!! :eek: Regarding child pornography, once again it’s a situational thing. In most Middle Eastern countries, all types of pornography are illegal (in fact, any sex outside of marriage itself is illegal in Saudi Arabia and Iran, and homosexual sex is punishable by death.) Japan had no child pornography laws at all until 1998, while showing ANY pubic hair at all is considered extremely taboo and is illegal in Japan. Another thing to keep in mind is that there are separate laws regarding sex with children age 13-18 than those 12 and under (generally speaking, since the AoC in some states is under 18, and every state has it’s own laws.) Indeed, the strict definition of “pedophile” refers to someone who is primarily attracted to _pre-pubescent_ children – the word for someone attracted to pubescent teenagers is “hebephilia”, or “ephebophilia”. However, those words aren’t as headline-grabbing as “pedophile”, so the media has co-opted the word to cover both pedophiles AND hebephiles, which is both legally and psychologically inaccurate. There are no laws whatsoever forbidding sex with an 18+ person who physically resembles a minor. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growth-hormone-disorders-and-pedophilia/358285/34 "2006-05-27T00:33:58Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Except statuatory rape laws only consider whether someone is competant to give consent or not, not how they “look”. Exactly, because, by the logic in the OP, minors who look _older_ would be exempt from child pornography and molestation laws. And that’s not the case. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growth-hormone-disorders-and-pedophilia/358285/35 "2006-05-27T00:58:06Z")
> [@groman](#): > > > [@Phlat Phoot](#): > > > > Very often people are kept tabs on or even punished if there is sufficient reason to think they will commit a crime. > > Cite? Well, there’s [Guantanamo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_detainment_camp), though many people disagree that there is “sufficient reason” in those cases. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growth-hormone-disorders-and-pedophilia/358285/36 "2006-05-27T01:31:26Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > So could a person with “delayed puberty” act in pornograhic videos as long as they’re of legal age? Legally speaking, yes. However, the public outcry against such videos would be massive, which is why they don’t exist (AFAIK). ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growth-hormone-disorders-and-pedophilia/358285/37 "2006-05-27T01:43:59Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Well, there’s [Guantanamo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_detainment_camp), though many people disagree that there is “sufficient reason” in those cases. Sort of an apples/oranges comparison, since the Guantanamo detainees are not American citizens, and therefore not subject to the civil rights granted by the Bill of Rights. (Whether or not that is appropriate, of course, is the fuel for a whole 'nother debate.) John Walker Lindh, the infamous “American Taliban”, was not held at Guatanamo _specifically_ because he is an American citizen. Hey, this is interesting. I just looked up the IMDB profiles of four “delayed puberty” celebrities (Emmanuel Lewis, Gary Coleman, [Josh Ryan Evans](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0262924/) and Joe C.) and apparently, _none_ of them ever married. Hmm… ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growth-hormone-disorders-and-pedophilia/358285/38 "2006-05-27T01:46:01Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > Hey, this is interesting. I just looked up the IMDB profiles of four “delayed puberty” celebrities (Emmanuel Lewis, Gary Coleman, [Josh Ryan Evans](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0262924/) and Joe C.) and apparently, _none_ of them ever married. Hmm… Wasn’t Coleman’s the result of kidney disease? ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growth-hormone-disorders-and-pedophilia/358285/39 "2006-05-27T02:01:36Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > Sort of an apples/oranges comparison, since the Guantanamo detainees are not American citizens, and therefore not subject to the civil rights granted by the Bill of Rights. The poster to whom I was responding was speaking of Western countries, not just the US. (There have been citizens of Western countries, such as the UK, imprisoned at Guantanamo.) And the poster to whom the poster I was responding was responding was speaking about arbitrary detention in general, so the citizenship of the detainees isn’t at issue anyway. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growth-hormone-disorders-and-pedophilia/358285/40 "2006-05-27T02:18:23Z")
> [@groman](#): > > Cite? Certain steps in preparation for committing a crime are in of themselves crimes, but I don’t understand what you are talking about or how that could work in any western country. I wish I could find the cite but a few years back there was a local guy who was on probation for some minor (in age) related sex crime. (I think it was something like exposure, but I don’t remember). His probation was revoked because he was found to have a notebook of pictures from magazines that had pictures of children. The pictures were just clippings from ads, not child pornography. The case really bothered me. Granted he was probably a scummy pedophile but there’s nothing illegal about possessing pictures of children that aren’t pornography. Heck, there’s not even anything illegal about whacking off to those pictures as long as you don’t act any further. If something like magazines photos can get him off, maybe it’ll help the twisted guy channel his impulses, I dunno. I’ll have to dig around and see if I can find the case. I remeber thinking it was a prime example of being prosectued for thoughts, not actions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growth-hormone-disorders-and-pedophilia/358285.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growth-hormone-disorders-and-pedophilia/358285.md?page=3)