Profile of a PedophileDeegan Malone, EdS, LPC-S, JSOCC

Paraphelia: Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders

• Paraphelia is “recurrent intense sexual urges and sexually arousing fantasies generally involving: nonhuman objects; the suffering or humiliation of oneself or one's partner (not merely simulated); or animals, children, or other nonconsenting persons.”

• Pedophilia is one of the paraphilias. It involves an interest in children that is abnormal.

What is pedophilia?

• Pedophilia signifies the erotic preference for children who are prepubescent.

• Hebephilia denotes the erotic preference for children who have reached puberty, i.e., ages 11 or 12–14 (Blanchard et al.).

• Archives of Sexual Behavior• June 2009, Volume 38, Issue 3, pp 335-350

What is pedophelia?

• Pedophelia may involve children of the same sex or opposite sex, or both sexes.

• Some are attracted to both adults and children.

Pedophiles Can Be Anyone

• Certain indicators, when combined with behavior that is

questionable, may be helpful in alerting others to a potential problem.

Characteristics

• Male, aged 30 or more.

• Not usually married, with few friends his own age.

• If married, the relationship does not include sexual relations—more of a companionship.

• Gaps in employment history which may serve as an indicator for lost jobs or incarcerations.

Client I

Client II

Characteristics

• Fascinated with child activities and children, with a preference to child activities over adult-oriented activities.

• Often refers to children in exaggerated and inappropriate angelic terms, such as:• innocent, heavenly, divine, pure

• Often target specific age group of children.

Characteristics

• Has child-like hobbies, such as toy collecting, model cars or planes, and keeping exotic pets.

• Environment or special room may display child-like décor appropriate to the age and sex of targeted children.

• May prefer children near puberty because they are curious about sex but lack experience.

Pedophiles Work Around Children

• Often work in environments that put them in daily contact with children.

• May volunteer to work in roles such as coaching, contact sport instruction, or tutoring where there is unsupervised access to children.

The Target Child

• Often seeks out “shy, handicapped, and withdrawn children, or those who come from troubled homes or underprivileged homes.”

• He then shows extra attention, gives gifts, promises trips to zoos, concerts, amusement parks, and other fun places.

• Or, he may find them online and gain access through the Internet.

Internet access

• According to FBI.gov, it is thought that more than 500,000 pedophiles are on the Internet each day.

• Innocent Images National Initiative agents are tracking child predators raising awareness about the “dark side” of the Internet— “particularly when it comes to social networking sites and, increasingly, online gaming forums” that allow pedophiles to gain access through developing trust with children.

www.FBI.gov

• “There are basically two types of pedophiles on the Internet—those who seek face-to-face meetings with children and those who are content to anonymously collect and trade child pornography images.”

www.FBI.gov

• “Those seeking face-to-face meetings create bogus identities online, sometimes posing as teenagers. Then they troll the Internet for easy victims—youngsters with low self-esteem, problems with their parents, or a shortage of money. The pedophile might find a 14-year-old girl, for example, who has posted seemingly harmless information on her space for anyone to see. The pedophile sends a message saying he goes to high school in a nearby town and likes the same music or TV shows she likes.”

www.FBI.gov

• “Then the pedophile cultivates a friendly online relationship that investigators call ‘grooming.’ It could continue for days or weeks before the pedophile begins bringing up sexual topics, asking for explicit pictures or for a personal meeting. By that time an emotional connection has been made—and pedophiles can be master manipulators. Even if an actual meeting never takes place, it is important to note that youngsters can be victimized by such sexually explicit online contact.”

www.FBI.gov

• To gain popularity through amassing friends on social networking sites, about 70 percent of children accept “friend” requests even if they do not know the requester.

• New trend among pedophiles to begin “grooming youngsters through online gaming forums, some of which allow two-way voice and video communication. Parents who might be vigilant about monitoring their children’s Internet activity often have no idea that online video gaming platforms can pose a threat.”

Manipulation of the Innocent

• Pedophiles use manipulation with a child by becoming a “friend,” referring to them in special terms to make them feel good, listening and understanding, and then enticing with adult activities, such as viewing pornography.

• Sometimes alcohol or drugs are used to keep the child

from remembering events or resisting activities.

The Single Parent

• Pedophiles may target a single parent in order to gain access to a child.

• If the parent is working, the pedophile may have

opportunities to be in private with the child to perpetrate the abuse.

Fighting Back

• Pedophiles exert great amounts of energy stalking their victims and will wait very patiently to cultivate relationships with potential victims. They might be developing many potential victims at once.

• “Many of them believe that what they are doing is not wrong and that having sex with a child is actually ‘healthy’ for the child.”

Fighting Back

• Nearly all pedophiles collect pornography and many will collect souvenirs from victims.

• These possessions are kept and valued at all cost by the pedophile.

Fighting Back

• Eventually, children grow up and often recall activities that occurred.

• “Often pedophiles are not brought to justice until such time occurs and victims are angered by being victimized and want to protect other children from the same consequences.”

Megan’s Law

• Megan’s Law—a federal law passed in 1996 that authorizes local law enforcement agencies to notify the public about convicted sex offenders living, working or visiting their communities, have helped expose the pedophile and allows parents to better protect their children.

• In Alabama, approximately 14,000 had registered as of 6/11/2012.

Is the court process terribly traumatic for child victims? Might it be worse than the abuse itself?

• One of the issues faced by child victims is the loss of control over their bodies during the trauma.

• “The court process can give power back to the child. If the child feels empowered by the court process, the outcome can be positive.”

Is the court process terribly traumatic for child victims? Might it be worse than the abuse itself?

• In many states, child victims may have special provisions.

• Child advocacy centers are helpful in reassuring the child and family members. Here, child-friendly interview techniques are used by trained interviewers specializing in victim-witness techniques.

Is sexual offending on the increase or is there just more reporting?

• Because most sexual offenses go unreported, it is difficult to know if rates are increasing.

• New laws related to registration and community notification of convicted sex offenders may cause an even higher rate of underreporting (may be a family member).

Is sexual offending on the increase or is there just more reporting?

• In 2009, 79% of perpetrators were non-strangers to female victims, as compared with 26% to male victims.

Is sexual offending on the increase or is there just more reporting?

Note: Data table from the U.S. National Crime Victimization Study

Reporting Problems

• Stigma • Shame • Repressed memories • Potential repercussions to victim and/or perpetrator • Inconsistent reporting protocols, and • Inadequate communication skills due to developmental

disabilities• Age and cognitive development of the Victim

Thank you!

Healthy Sexual Solutions

Deegan Malone EdS,LPCS,JSOCC(205)356-5083

PO Box 430174, Birmingham, Alabama 35243

HealthySexualSolutions@gmail.com

www.HealthySexualSolutions.com

References

• Unless otherwise indicated, the material in this presentation came from “Portrait of a Pedophile,” by Charles Montaldo, available at http://crime.about.com/od/sex/p/pedophile.htm?rd=1

Other references:• http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/may/

predators_051711• http://www.minddisorders.com/Ob-Ps/Pedophilia.html#b• http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=317