I’m not trying to witch hunt on anyone nor will I use this to inform witch-hunts in the future, it’s just something I am wondering about.
Also forgive the use of “ephebophile,” I’m not using it in an apologist sense but because - when formulating my question - I was more thinking about people attracted to teenagers.
In my experience, yes… But I’ve only ever known one such person. He volunteered as a group leader in a scouting club I also volunteerd at. He had been with that group since his childhood. So he was never vetted or anything. Only after years, he started showing signs that were not ok. He had started a too close relationshio with one of the kids. We’re sure nothing sexual had happened, so thats a blessing, but he did start a relationship with one of the kids.
I’m not sure what exactly happened. It’s been more than a decade. But it was bad enough that the group had to solicit external advice.
I did know that person outside of scouting a bit and he did hang out mostly whith people a decade his junior.
Wow what a stupid reason to not vet/background check someone? That’s actually a scenario I’ve wondered about before but I think all the places where I live aren’t making that mistake (hopefully)
I don’t think it would’ce mattered. He never did anything before that would make him not pass any vetting. My take on this is that he just had mental problems (liking young boys) and his exposure to young boys made him snap eventually.
The whole situarion took place in a span of a 3 to 6 months, if I remmeber correctly. By the time we started noticing some weird stuff, it took maybe two weeks before the first conversation with that guy. A warning was given. Advice was solicited. The guy was fired. Parents were notified. And the guy was put on a blacklist.
It was all handled as well as any amateur group could’ve handled it. It could’ve been better,but that’s hindsight.
you dont just snap, he likely had those pedopheliac urges way before showing signs, he just suppressed up until that relationship, he probably did those things in secret at first, like watch illcit material online.
Yes, I believe that as well. I mean “snap” as in “no longer able to hold back the urges and hold up the facade”
Edit: I just realized that I only touched upon half of your question. 🤣 There were some inmates who had committed sexual offenses against minors while being in a romantic and/or sexual relationship with a grownup, but if I recall correctly, they were a minority.
I worked as a correctional officer at a sexual offenders only prison for three years and during all my talks with the inmates - which is a lot, seven hours a week on average - I never got the impression that those that were sentenced for sexual offenses against minors had had platonic relations with their victims. It could just be the case that they didn’t tell me about it though, so take this with a grain of salt.
I didn’t know there were sex offender only prisons. Are you talking about a special wing of a prison?
No, it was a prison dedicated to sex offenders and domestic violence. The last of it’s kind. It housed 220 inmates, 200 in the mid security section and 20 in the minimum security section. Last I heard it’s going through reconstruction to house 700+ inmates, this time dividing the sex offenders in a separate wing.
I see. Any intresting stories from there?
Do I…? I’ve got heartfelt, violent, juicy, dystopian, utopian… Pick your poison! 😄
Do you think it’s a good idea to combine those people in one location to concentrate resources on how to help them or do you think its a bad idea due to them exchanging information on how to be more effective?
I think it is a double edged sword, because there are those who genuinely ask for help.
There are people who want to learn both cognitive and practical strategies on how to stop hurting children. For them, group therapy works really well, because admitting your sexual deviation - whether it’s pedophilia, voyeurism, violence whatever - is often the first step. The goal is for them to admit this to themselves, but often it’s easier to admit it to their “peers”, since “all” they have to do is say it out loud, which in turn is easier when there are people listening. But admitting to themselves is for reason much harder, as I have perceived.
But then there are those who feign repentance and it is a fact that they exchange methods, forums, venues - any and all means - on how to keep indulging once they are let free. We sometimes even confiscated tiny memory modules containing porn that some inmates were passing around, although our heads of security wouldn’t tell us what they contained exactly…
In any case, putting sex and DV offenders together with ordinary inmates is not an option, because they risk being killed.
