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Old 07-08-2015, 02:55 PM
 
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Okay, we all know that there are people who are pedophiles and into child pornography. And we all agree it's despicable, etc. But I'm wondering about another habit that seems to be connected: sharing it.

In every news story I read about some guy, or ring of guys, getting caught with child porn, it's always because they were sharing it online.

So let's put aside for the moment that child porn is horrible, sick and harmful to kids. Let's say for argument's sake you are a guy who likes child porn. Why on earth would you choose to share it? That's how they get caught. Apparently there are these peer-to-peer file sharing networks online, and these guys somehow have this need to share their child porn pictures or videos. So even if you can grasp the fact that someone is compelled to look at child porn, what is this compulsion to share it with other guys?

It's funny how people often see loners as suspicious, and think that pedophiles are more likely to be loners. But any self-respecting loner would just look at the darned pictures on his own, all by himself, in the comfort of his own home, and not bother sharing then with other guys. So if child porn is your hobby (a disgusting illegal hobby) then why not just pursue it as a solitary hobby?

I have my own online solitary hobby: genealogy. Sure I might message other people on ancestry.com about something, rarely, but I largely pursue this hobby all by myself, and I feel no need to "share" my info I gather with other people. But I'm a bit of a loner. Non-loner, extraverted, genealogy hobbyists are more likely to join groups and share their findings with others. It seems to me that if these guys who like child porn (and let's face it, they're mostly all guys) would just keep their own little collection of sick photos to themselves, it's highly unlikely they'd get in trouble.

Of course, they'd have to obtain the files somehow in the first place. So I guess some "sharing" is involved in buying or getting the photos initially. But I think it's pretty rare that the guys the authorities catch sharing these files are just buying or downloading their very first child porn photo. They often (according to the news stories) are found with hundreds, even thousands of child porn files, and they get caught when they swap them with other guys.

So anyway, I just wonder, what's the motivation behind wanting to share one's child porn? Again, let's forget for a few minutes that it's terrible, repugnant, illegal, harmful, reprehensible, etc. Just examine why, if someone is into child porn, why he's compelled to share it with others?
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Old 07-08-2015, 03:33 PM
 
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Well, my impression is that a lot of them are not just passing the material on for grins, but charging for it. I'm sure that if it's grisly enough stuff a pornographer can name his price and get it with no trouble. But of course, the easiest place to find it is also online, and they get traced that way, too.

I think a few of these guys are like shoplifters -- they don't need what they're stealing, but the rush is all about getting away with something. That rush wears off and they need to do something edgier and edgier until finally the cops show up.

A few seriously seem not to know that what they're doing is wrong and they're stunned when they get caught openly posting stuff to the Net or e-mailing their buddies with attachments.

But most of them are like any other people seeking Internet support -- they feel persecuted for something that they feel ought not to be illegal, and they form chat rooms and la de da and next thing you know...
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Old 07-09-2015, 12:29 AM
 
Location: Illinois
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What you have to understand about pedophiles and pedophilia (some of them, anyway) is that they believe what they want and what they are doing is perfectly fine. Illegal, yes, but they don't think it's wrong - they think the law is wrong. In order to get new child porn they have to find people who are willing to share, which means they have to be willing to share as well. So they amass hundreds or thousands of images and videos to share with others so they can get more. And you also need to understand that some of these pedophiles are producing the child porn that they are sharing. It's a sick, sick world. There was a program I heard recently, I think on NPR, about people trying to infiltrate the child porn areas of the dark web/deep web and they are very, very protective of who they let in and vetting that people are legit, often times they have to be referred by another pedophile who is a member of the group.

There are also pedophiles out there who use porn to satisfy their urges so they don't harm a child. While on the surface that seems like a good thing, but that porn comes from somewhere and they are feeding into the industry by continuing to purchase and share it.
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Old 07-09-2015, 02:37 AM
 
Location: Texas Hill Country
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Okay, three (if uninformed) theories: trophies, new material, and accreditation.

Before I start, let me say that this particular intense study, of figuring out what makes this kind of crook tick and then figuring out tactics to use, I have not done. I have done it with other types of offenders for it's part of what is expected of me when I report on a crime problem; I'm expected to make recommendations on how to solve it and often that means figuring out how to destroy the market that motivates it. That said.......

Trophies, such as perhaps with a serial killer. The killer commits the act and takes trophies of the victim so to relive the act. Over time, the trophies either lose their potency or the killer becomes saturated with the effect of that particular trophy and needs something different. A new fantasy develops, grows in power, until the killer needs to act on that fantasy.

So say getting new pictures is analogy to the killer's act, that they feel some emotion from getting those pictures, such as similar to that of the different kinds of rapists (power over victim, revenge,etc., see: Rapist Types and Methods of Avoidance ). The pictures supply for a while but they eventually lose their potency or the holder becomes saturated with the particular subject and they need something new.

New material: maybe they are just like the rest of the consuming world. Things get old and they need new stuff. Why isn't a year's worth of Playboy or Katy Perry's songs from 2013 good enough?

Accreditation: by trading on a network, they might achieve a level of "respect" or power, even if it is falsely perceived, from others who can understand in that they have such material.

Okay, now consider the need to get new material. Getting it off their network could probably be seen by them as the safest way to get it. "Certainly" better than asking around, talking to people you don't know. Further, I suspect that they may be operating on a level of false expectations for the environment they are operating in.

IE, "it's safe here because anyone who talked to an outsider about it would be turning themselves in.". Such an attitude I've seen from a man or two who suggested a swinger party. Consider, however, the other possibilities of why people might talk and blow the whole affair. They may be too stupid to realize that talking is a bad thing, they might be a spy or other operative, they may not care for their own well being, they might do it for revenge or spite, or other possible motivations.

Of course, I'm just speculating here........I could be wrong.
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Old 07-09-2015, 08:16 AM
 
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-Barter. I'll show you my kiddie porn, if you show me yours. Also profit - they can sell this stuff. I wonder how many are using things like bitcoin...

-Community. These guys are fronting in real life. Online they can be part of a group of like-minded people and not feel like they're actually outcasts or abnormal, or maybe just glory in it with someone else. No man is an island, not even if he's a pedophile.

-Arrogance/Delusion. These people are at least a little out of touch with reality. They don't think they'll get caught, so why not communicate with others who think the same way. If you've ever read any NAMBLA materials, these guys can get pretty self-righteous and talk a pretty good game about how they're just trying to help kids come to terms with their sexuality, yada yada yada.

-Garden-Variety Networking. We all do it in our areas of interest or work. Why wouldn't the pervs?
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Old 07-09-2015, 08:19 AM
 
Location: ......SC
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I think it is like any other addiction. They want more. They feel if they share, it minimizes their guilt and actions. They want to convince themselves that what they are doing is "ok". Share the guilt, so to speak.

They personally...will never see what they are doing is wrong.
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Old 07-09-2015, 12:19 PM
 
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Thanks for all of these insights. I guess that since I've never been much into porn (of any type) myself, I wasn't getting how someone could need more and more. If I look at a sexy photo or video, it might feel stimulating to me, so I guess I was figuring that having 3-4 sexy photos in a collection would be more than enough, and if I look at them from time to time, they would still be stimulating to me. I was forgetting that porn addicts need more and newer photos/videos all the time because they stop being stimulating. Since that's the case with "regular" porn, I suppose it'd be true for kiddie porn.



Here's my idea: If guys are so into child porn, it would be better if they could channel all that time and energy into learning to draw really, really well. Then they could draw their own pictures of kids, and use them for self stimulation, and no kids would be harmed. Sure, you might say, "but not everyone has artistic talent." But learning to draw realistically is more of a skill, which is learned and practiced, than an innate talent. Some people pick it up quicker due to innate talent, but if you've gone through any art training, learning to draw something mechanically and realistically just takes training and lots of practice. It's the creative stuff that requires talent. These guys could take drawing classes, build up their skills until they can draw pictures that they find sufficiently self-satisfying, and then draw new pictures for themselves whenever those pictures get "old." And more importantly, no selling them or sharing them. The pedophile who has gotten good at drawing should just say, those other dudes need to pay for their own art classes and draw their own damned pictures; I'm keeping my drawings to myself. Now no laws are broken, no kids are hurt.

I actually "stole" this idea from a client I knew years ago. He would admit to drawing pictures of children to "satisfy" himself, knowing that anything else would get him into trouble. Fortunately for this guy and for the children of the world, that was enough and he didn't progress beyond that.

Sure, learning to be proficient at figure drawing takes time and energy, but kiddie porn guys are always devoting so much time and effort into this "habit" that this would be a less harmful, and legal alternative. It would just be a matter of re-channeling that effort/energy.

Of course we have to remember that not all child porn users become addicts, and not all child porn users and addicts become actual child molesters. I admittedly don't know the facts, but I would imagine that there a lot more child porn users than there are actual child molesters. The majority must just stop at the viewing of the porn and self-satisfying. I'm sure there are people who "self satisfy" to all sorts of weird images, legal and illegal, and who never progress to acting it out in real life.
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Old 07-09-2015, 01:23 PM
 
Location: ......SC
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No. No. No. They just need extensive therapy, not a new way to encourage their addiction. Some, not enough, get prison time.
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Old 07-09-2015, 01:30 PM
 
Location: SoCal again
20,676 posts, read 19,798,340 times
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They feel misunderstood by society and are happy if they find others who have the same sick hobby, so they are more than willing to share their stuff.
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Old 07-09-2015, 01:31 PM
 
Location: ......SC
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They are predators. Plain and simple.
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