Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It is very hard to convince 12 people of guilt. Maybe there are cases, there probably are but the number is so small it is almost 0. Now rape as opposed to molestation is probably a higher rate of false`accusations. Children do not make up that kind of stuff and, if they do, it takes the right adult about 30 seconds to scare the truth out of them. If there is one thing I learned from being in prison it is that almost all the inmates there are guilty. In fact there was only one I knew of that was in there for armed robbery that I was convinced was not guilty of the crime he was convicted of doing.
It's not all that hard, people see a crying child or person who claim they were a child at the time of the alleged incident (s) and figure, where there's "smoke" there must be fire...and of course, they don't want to be the one who let a "monster" off. Then, you add to it the 'rape shield' which can be loosely interpreted, and lawyers who don't want to make the accuser look "bad"
Yeah, false convictions are probably more common than we want to admit.
In many states, there needs be NO evidence other than the accuser's testimony if they are 13 and under OR claim they were at the time of the alleged incident...with statute s of limitations being struck down...it means people can be accused YEARS after the time the accuser alleges, and have NO means of proving their innocence. Tho'of course, they shouldn't have to but in sex abuse cases the presumption of innocence is often ignored.
Just how many places do you think there are in a given town that have no children present? I'm on the fence when it comes to Megan's Law and all that, but this is unreasonable in more than one way.
It does not have to be the whole town. Just places where children hang out. And the neighbors should be warned as to their presence. Maybe when they turn 55 they can move where only 55+ people are allowed. Problem solved.
In the case of pedophiles I do not agree. They should be banned for life from being anywhere near children. They should never ever be trusted around children again. I am not saying they should be "punished" but just kept away from any children. They can work, live their lives and go where they want so long as it is not around children.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vic 2.0
Just how many places do you think there are in a given town that have no children present?
Quote:
Originally Posted by C. Maurio
It does not have to be the whole town. Just places where children hang out.
What do you mean, "hang out"? You said they should be banned for life from being anywhere near children; are you taking it down a notch?
I disagree, in any case. It isn't that they shouldn't be trusted "around children"; it's that they shouldn't be trusted with them. I don't see the point in acting as if pedophiles just attack whenever and wherever they can find a kid. They're usually trusted by the kid's family (if not PART of the family) to babysit or what have you. That's why I'm inclined to agree with some sort of database parents, teachers, and the like can use as a reference. Parents should be advised quite often and in various forums to check this database before hiring a babysitter or tutor, etc. I think this is a happy medium between dangerous and insanely paranoid.
Okay, first, I was molested as a child for 3 years. I forgave my abuser, in part because as I got older and snippets of conversations came back, I realized that he himself had been abused (or was actively being abused at that time) he was an older teen babysitter. I also forgave him...for me, to take my power back
Secondly, it is a myth that recidivism is as high as they say...in reality according to the DOJ, it's between 3-5% and you have to remember that pedophilia is a diagnosis, not all "child molesters" are pedophiles
A lot of things factor into "actual" recidivism (vs, catching a charge for say failure to report and it being counted in as another sex charge...LE sometimes plays fast and loose with their definitions)
Some factors, are situational...was alcohol involved? other factors include was the victim related, was the victim male or female, age, relationship etc
Did they get therapy?
Again, it's also a myth that therapy doesn't work on child molesters...its true it's less likely to work on those with a diagnosis of pedophilia...but otherwise it does work well for others
The point is, it's not cut and dried, and not easy to answer in black and white
Current research is showing that child molesters (as opposed to the term "sex offenders", which covers a lot of different things not just child molesters) if given proper support from family and community being able to find and hold a job, find housing, get therapy, are FAR FAR less likely to re-offend, and that makes everyone safer.
Unfortunately, a lot of our "feel good laws' like residency restrictions, Megan's law etc. don't actually help anything, and actually work against the stability the "offender" needs.
I was molested at the age of four by a brother who was 14. It only happened once because I asked my sister if I could sleep with her and he soon after that ran away from home. He only came home a few times after that and at 21 he was killed by a drug gang in the Fresno area. I never got to talk to him about why he did it, but I too forgave him for me, for my own sanity.
if that woman can forgive her estranged husband for melting her face with industrial grade lye, I can forgive some horrid buggerer. Forgiveness =/= acceptance.
Some believe that the majority of pedophiles are psychopathic, and pedophilia could even be a subset of psychopathy. I believe that would be hard to ever truly discern because we don't know about the possibility of people having the pedophilic sexual tastes, but never acting on them because they have empathy, and know that it would hurt a child. For the most part only the pedophiles who act on their desires will be studied, and they would be more likely to be psychopaths.
There is a third category, namely those who act on their desires, but do not believe what they are doing is actually harmful because of what therapists call cognitive distortions, as well as more common and prosaic ways normal people have of avoiding the obvious: rationalization, minimization, denial, etc. Clinicians work on those problems just like they do on other patients with destructive desires.
Having studied the topic at some length, I do not believe the percentage of pedophiles who are psychopaths is greater than the percentage of non-pedophiles who are psychopaths; and some of the latter, as well as the former, may sexually molest a child merely because there is one available.
It is very hard to convince 12 people of guilt. Maybe there are cases, there probably are but the number is so small it is almost 0. Now rape as opposed to molestation is probably a higher rate of false`accusations. Children do not make up that kind of stuff and, if they do, it takes the right adult about 30 seconds to scare the truth out of them.
Yes, sadly, they do. And many adults have financial motives or other personal motives to induce them to lie.
There is a third category, namely those who act on their desires, but do not believe what they are doing is actually harmful because of what therapists call cognitive distortions, as well as more common and prosaic ways normal people have of avoiding the obvious: rationalization, minimization, denial, etc. Clinicians work on those problems just like they do on other patients with destructive desires.
Having studied the topic at some length, I do not believe the percentage of pedophiles who are psychopaths is greater than the percentage of non-pedophiles who are psychopaths; and some of the latter, as well as the former, may sexually molest a child merely because there is one available.
I suppose so, but that's a tough one to accept, there is so much evidence showing it to be harmful. I do worry that with the intense vilification of pedophiles, those people won't seek help, and figure out what they are doing is very, very harmful, and if they consider themselves decent human beings they MUST stop those actions. I think this also becomes a problem because we will likely never be able to study those who have pedophile type fantasies but never act on them, those people have to be out there, we could probably learn from them, but they would be risking everything to come forward, even if they have never committed a single act of abuse they would be treated by many as hopeless monsters.
I'm certainly not saying we should open our arms to pedophiles, but at some point, if we ever want to learn how to stop/control this, we have to put emotion aside, and deal with it rationally.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
