# would you report a pedophile coworker ? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 8, 2009, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-report-a-pedophile-coworker/513022 "2009-10-08T04:13:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-report-a-pedophile-coworker/513022/81 "2009-10-10T00:09:01Z")
You have no assurance that I wouldn’t kick his ass, and I never said anything about reporting the pedo to the police, so that’s a strawman. What you shouldn’t do is leave me alone with the pervert for too long. ---
**Author:** ![atomicbadgerrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@atomicbadgerrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atomicbadgerrace)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-report-a-pedophile-coworker/513022/82 "2009-10-10T00:19:19Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > You have no assurance that I wouldn’t kick his ass, and I never said anything about reporting the pedo to the police, so that’s a strawman. What you shouldn’t do is leave me alone with the pervert for too long. Sorry; I suppose that was more aimed at those crying for the FBI to get involved. Replace it “report you to the boss as a potentially dangerous employee who has shown a desire to assault, but claims he wouldn’t do it.” ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-report-a-pedophile-coworker/513022/83 "2009-10-10T00:22:55Z")
Yep. I’d report his ass. Assurances that he wouldn’t really do it are meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-report-a-pedophile-coworker/513022/84 "2009-10-10T00:37:13Z")
You should distinguish between desired outcome in the “One and Only One” hypothetical case and the “General Situational” hypothetical case. Would you report the one and only possible conceivable pedophile coworker who would ever exist and make such a statement? Oh, perhaps you would? Perhaps you’d even just go ahead and shoot the dude & figure you’re saving the world from this creep? Yeah but. Would you report **A** hypothetical pedophile coworker, in other words creating a work environment in which anyone making such a statement would be subject to ramifications and consequences for doing so? Seems to me all you’d succeed in doing is making the conversaton topic verboten. Wouldn’t get pedophiles in general fired. Would not make your workplace pedophile-free. WOULD make life at your workplace one footstep closer to a witch-hunt, more or less, depending on how specific such a statement had to be before triggering such a reaction. Quite possibly it would become a workplace where no one is quite comfortable saying they “really like kids”. Could even become an environment in which no one but female parents are safe acknowledging the existence of children. C’mon. Rethink this in terms of what the fuck you expect to accomplish. Me, I favor free speech. I have far more fears of evil things growing in the dark than I do of evil things being seen in the bright light. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-report-a-pedophile-coworker/513022/85 "2009-10-10T00:45:19Z")
It’s got nothing to do with fucking free speech. Free speech is about what the government can do. You have no right to free speech in a fucking workplace. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-report-a-pedophile-coworker/513022/86 "2009-10-10T02:58:14Z")
I would agree, I would seek to ostracize him as best as I can if possible have him resign or fired. ---
**Author:** ![atomicbadgerrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@atomicbadgerrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atomicbadgerrace)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-report-a-pedophile-coworker/513022/87 "2009-10-10T03:21:37Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > I would agree, I would seek to ostracize him as best as I can if possible have him resign or fired. It always amazes me when people feel that the best way to deal with someone with a psychiatric disorder is to ostracize them. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-report-a-pedophile-coworker/513022/88 "2009-10-10T03:52:01Z")
> [@atomicbadgerrace](#): > > It always amazes me when people feel that the best way to deal with someone with a psychiatric disorder is to ostracize them. Well, of course we should ostracize them. After all, why should decent, normal people be forced to associate with them? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![atomicbadgerrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@atomicbadgerrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atomicbadgerrace)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-report-a-pedophile-coworker/513022/89 "2009-10-10T03:58:28Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > Well, of course we should ostracize them. After all, why should decent, normal people be forced to associate with them? :rolleyes: Words fail me. I’ve nothing more to say in this forum except that I’m very sorry you feel that way. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-report-a-pedophile-coworker/513022/90 "2009-10-10T04:13:43Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > It’s got nothing to do with fucking free speech. Free speech is about what the government can do. You have no right to free speech in a fucking workplace. Nonfucking free speech, actually. And while I may not have the guarantee of any _right_ to free speech in the workplace, I really ought to be free to opine, self-describe, or pontificate, at least up until the point I am tolk to STFU about it, whatever it may be. Somehow I don’t get the sense that STFU is your intended outcome in “reporting” your hypothetical pedophile coworker (or do I misconstrue?) …and I _am_ saying that law or no law, it is not a good thing for anyone when any workplace becomes a place where you get fired for something you say offhand. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-report-a-pedophile-coworker/513022/91 "2009-10-10T04:33:04Z")
> [@atomicbadgerrace](#): > > Words fail me. I’ve nothing more to say in this forum except that I’m very sorry you feel that way. Perhaps the :rolleyes: wasn’t sufficient indication that I was being sarcastic. ---
**Author:** ![atomicbadgerrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@atomicbadgerrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atomicbadgerrace)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-report-a-pedophile-coworker/513022/92 "2009-10-10T05:25:11Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > Perhaps the :rolleyes: wasn’t sufficient indication that I was being sarcastic. I thought it may have been, so I held my tongue… in this thread, one can’t be too certain, I suppose. I apologize. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-report-a-pedophile-coworker/513022/93 "2009-10-10T06:03:45Z")
No problem…although it’s probably just as well that I didn’t go on to suggest that the next step would be ostracizing people that are overweight, unattractive, or dress funny. Particularly since I fit into at least one of those categories myself. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-report-a-pedophile-coworker/513022/94 "2009-10-10T06:14:24Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Nonfucking free speech, actually. And while I may not have the guarantee of any _right_ to free speech in the workplace, I really ought to be free to opine, self-describe, or pontificate, at least up until the point I am tolk to STFU about it, whatever it may be. Somehow I don’t get the sense that STFU is your intended outcome in “reporting” your hypothetical pedophile coworker (or do I misconstrue?) …and I _am_ saying that law or no law, it is not a good thing for anyone when any workplace becomes a place where you get fired for something you say offhand. Someone saying they want to rape the babies they are entrusted to take care of is not “saying something offhand.” Sexual harrassment is not saying something offhand. These are cases where a person is presenting either a danger to the public being served, or creating a toxic, hostile atmosphere to work in or both. Jesus fucking Christ, I can’t even believe that someone at a daycare saying they want to rape the babies would not be a cause of concern for you people. What the fuck is the matter with you? ---
**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:** [October 11, 2009, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-report-a-pedophile-coworker/513022/95 "2009-10-11T03:54:42Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Nonfucking free speech, actually. And while I may not have the guarantee of any _right_ to free speech in the workplace, I really ought to be free to opine, self-describe, or pontificate, at least up until the point I am tolk to STFU about it, whatever it may be. Somehow I don’t get the sense that STFU is your intended outcome in “reporting” your hypothetical pedophile coworker (or do I misconstrue?) …and I _am_ saying that law or no law, it is not a good thing for anyone when any workplace becomes a place where you get fired for something you say offhand. Bullshit. Depends on what you say. If I had an employee who said they liked to have sex with children, I’d probably pull him/her into the office, and speak to him/her about it – at the very LEAST, you don’t say this kind of thing at work. (Hello, hostile work environment?) Ever hear of sexual harassment? I don’t have the right to make others feel uncomfortable at work. I don’t have the right to treat my fellow workers to racial slurs, sexual remarks, details of my own sex life, etc. And depending on WHERE you work, it could get you into more trouble. (Like say, if you work with customers, and you said this within ear shot?) I believe **Diogenes** has stated he works with disabled children, so he would be _required_ to report the guy. And as far as being “free to opine” or whatever, well, that’s only so far as whether your opinions interfer with your work place. If I were your boss, and you were talking about how you (generic you) liked to fuck kids, I’d be pretty damned disturbed, to say the least. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-report-a-pedophile-coworker/513022/96 "2009-10-11T15:32:25Z")
Look, “someone with a disorder” _ **who is at the same time seeking help, getting therapy, trying to avoid situations that make matters worse,** _ etc., does not deserve organized ostracism, BUT\*\* that\*\* sort of person – the one that knows he has a problem and seeks help and tries to do the right thing – will probably have enough sense to _ **NOT** _ call attention upon himself unnecessarily, and in the case of the pedophile example to avoid child-involving workplaces. ( It’s kind of sad that we haven’t as a society been able to create some sort of scenario wherein the pedophile-who-wants-to-get-help can be told “right, the first step in dealing with the problem is recognizing you have a problem; let’s see how we can deal with this” as do people with other maladjustments, without some wag coming out and saying “and the way to deal with it is to kill yourself before I kill you, you nonhuman”. ) OTOH the example of someone who shares _unsolicited_ TMI in the (_ **non-child-involving** _) workplace, including the implication that he sees nothing wrong with this and the only thing holding him back is fear of punishment, that’s where **Guinastasia** ’s latest post applies: he’s putting the company at risk for sexual harassment liability. At _minimum_ on first offense the boss must tell him in no uncertain terms to STFU while on the clock or in circumstances he may be identified with the company, get help, and certainly not to show up on “take your kids to work” day. Now – do his squicked coworkers have a right to expect to have him summarily fired and publicly pilloried just for an “offhand comment”, one strike and you’re out, you worst thing in the universe? No. But neither is he immune or protected from that happenning. If the expressions persist beyond an “offhand comment”, so that it’s clear it’s not a misunderstanding or a backfired joke, he’s then certainly stepping into “hostile work environment” territory; if it’s an “employment at will” job, if the boss herself is badly squicked enough she may just go ahead and terminate without any explanation, but unless he’s entirely disconnected from reality he would have had to expect something like that to happen. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-report-a-pedophile-coworker/513022/97 "2009-10-11T16:14:45Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Glad to know the kiddies can rely on you. Well I like to live dangerously 😃 I eat rare meat, I go outside without a sweater, and play video games or read while driving the car. 😛 What real assurance do I have that its just an offhand comment and not a serious declaration of intent? None. Assuming I believe him, why think he’ll break the law if I thought he was serious about being a pedophile? Take the emotion out of the argument, and you’d have just a co-worker who has an odd taste in jokes. Logically speaking, it doesn’t matter whether he works with kids or the elderly, because the above statement works either way. So I don’t think its the right thing to report him at all because you’d either be sure he’s joking, or be sure he won’t break the law. Only someone steeped in bias would callously twist his words into the no-win scenario you’ve driven him in to. By your actions, why shouldn’t he go and rape the next baby he sees? Either way, he’ll get the cops on him, probably lose his job, and be ostracized. Might as well indulge, right? And before you ask, yes, I would totally leave him alone with any kid, even mine. It would be hypocritical for me to display distrust after defending him, and I’d be pretty sure of correctness to the point where I don’t think he’s a threat. Sometimes you just gotta take chances Dio ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-report-a-pedophile-coworker/513022/98 "2009-10-11T16:25:24Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > All pedophiles are in danger of acting on their urges. Indeed. What is also important to remember is any one who would (as is the scenario in the OP) openly admit their desires to someone they know in the real world, someone they work with, is extremely unstable to begin with. It is one thing to make admissions on a message board where you are extremely protected by your anonymity, but if someone made the admission to a coworker that’s already showed enough poor judgment and lack of internal controls that I wouldn’t put much stock in their claims that they “would never violate the law.” ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-report-a-pedophile-coworker/513022/99 "2009-10-11T16:30:55Z")
I’ll say this thread is a good example of how extreme and non-mainstream the SDMB is. I can tell you guys with absolute certainty I could poll 100 people in the city I work in (Richmond, Virginia) from all districts, all races, all occupations and I’d be shocked to my core if less than 90 responded that they **would** report a pedophile they worked with. In fact I doubt any of them would say they wouldn’t, even if they actually wouldn’t, simply because decent people would never cop to allowing a pedophile free reign to work with children. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-report-a-pedophile-coworker/513022/100 "2009-10-11T16:31:44Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Well I like to live dangerously 😃 > > I eat rare meat, I go outside without a sweater, and play video games or read while driving the car. 😛 > > What real assurance do I have that its just an offhand comment and not a serious declaration of intent? None. Assuming I believe him, why think he’ll break the law if I thought he was serious about being a pedophile? Take the emotion out of the argument, and you’d have just a co-worker who has an odd taste in jokes. > > Logically speaking, it doesn’t matter whether he works with kids or the elderly, because the above statement works either way. So I don’t think its the right thing to report him at all because you’d either be sure he’s joking, or be sure he won’t break the law. Only someone steeped in bias would callously twist his words into the no-win scenario you’ve driven him in to. By your actions, why shouldn’t he go and rape the next baby he sees? Either way, he’ll get the cops on him, probably lose his job, and be ostracized. Might as well indulge, right? > > And before you ask, yes, I would totally leave him alone with any kid, even mine. It would be hypocritical for me to display distrust after defending him, and I’d be pretty sure of correctness to the point where I don’t think he’s a threat. Sometimes you just gotta take chances Dio Along those lines, you should always take somebody’s word for it if they tell you a gun isn’t loaded, becuase, what the hell, people never lie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-report-a-pedophile-coworker/513022.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-report-a-pedophile-coworker/513022.md?page=6)