Sexual Predators
What is a "child sexual predator"?
A child sexual predator is an individual with predilections towards having sex with children; it's as simple as that. Anybody that would sexually exploit a child is somebody that needs to be taken very seriously, and is somebody that really needs to be taken out of the system, because we know that that's one thing that we just don't tolerate in our society.
How common is sexual abuse against children?
Statistics say that one out of every six boys under 18 and one out of every four girls under 18 has been sexually abused. I think that the internet has completely changed that paradigm though. I believe that we're seeing many more instances of it now than we ever have in the past, for a variety of reasons. Number one, the proliferation of child pornography on the internet and the ability of individuals who would sexually exploit children to be able to network now has been greater than it ever has been. And it's all because of the internet. That kind of activity then emboldens individuals who otherwise may not even have given a lot of consideration to that kind of activity. So we find that because of the anonymity of the internet, and because of its ability to put populations together that children are probably much more sexually threatened now than they ever have been in the past. And it's unfortunate because society's not really paying a lot of attention to that yet. The perverts are. But as far as the rest of us, its only since Dateline has been publicizing the information on internet predators that people are really starting to realize that there's a whole new 21st century crime wave crashing upon us, that had been on the radar screen for the first couple years of this century.
How does sexual abuse affect children?
It depends on the age of the child. I mean, if a child is at a very tender age, they may not even remember something like that. But it certainly doesn't mean that anybody should have a license to do those kinds of things. This sexual abuse can be physical, emotional, phychological, or even spiritual. There are a lot of affects of the sexual abuse of a child. There is also the how, and what kind of sexual abuse it was, and over what period of time did it occur? But the reality is, that in many instances, it takes a lifetime for children to recover from that kind of abuse.
Who are the most common perpetrators of child sexual abuse?
One of the things that we see, is that certain individuals will spend their lifetime putting themselves in positions that give them unsupervised access to children. It can run the gamut, and we've seen this. I mean it can run the gamut from your neighborhood priest, to your neighborhood pediatrician, to your Little League coach, to your schoolteacher, to Dad, to Uncle Billy, and it tends to be men, but there's no real consistent profile of what to look for.
How do I know if there are sexual predators near my home?
Since 1996, there's been policy in this country called "Megan's law", that does two things. It mandates that government register sex offenders and then give that information to the public so the public can use that information to protect their children. The most effective means of community notification has proven to be the internet. Every state now has a Megan's Law website where you can look at the pictures, the addresses, the names of the sexual offenders within your community. And most of them allow you to categorize via physical characteristics, race, zip code, address, even crime and in some instances things like vehicle registration. It's an absolutely wonderful tool because there are well over half a million people now on the various state registries. And people have used it for a variety of reasons, to be able to protect children.
How do I know if there are sexual predators near my home who have not been previously arrested?
You don't and that's part of the problem. I mean you want to keep your ears open and listen to what's going on in your community obviously. And if rumors start arising about an individual then it obviously warrants looking into. Or if your children are seemingly lured or brought into the environment of an adult that doesn't make any sense, it certainly is something that's worth consideration as well. But the reality is that since there is no obvious profile and since twenty percent of those that are registered are absconders anyway, it becomes problematic sometimes. You don't know who the predators are in your community oftentimes which is why so many other things have to be done to protect kids. They have to be given good information; we have to have our neighborhood watch programs; we have to utilize the Megan's Law website. There are so many things that have to be done to protect them against, unfortunately, these types of individuals.
Can sex offenders be reformed?
I don't know that you can change anybody's sexual preferences. What you can do when you have somebody who's a serial molester, is you can hope that some combination of chemical and psychological therapy will tamp down their preferences for some period of time. But the reality is that state hospitals all over this country have been looking for cures for these kinds of aberrations, for these kinds of afflictions, for decades now. And nothing really seems to work very well. That's why when you have somebody who is a predator, somebody who is a pedophile, somebody who is a psychopath, the best thing for society as a whole is to take these people out and to keep them out.
What are warning signs that my child may be the target of a sexual predator?
I think if somebody takes an inordinate interest in a child that really doesn't make sense on any level, then that's somebody that absolutely needs watching. If it's a teacher that is spending too much time alone with your child, then that should be a red flag. If it's any adult that is forcing themselves into your child's universe on a regular basis with too much intensity, then absolutely, these all are red flags that have to be dealt with.
