Computer-generated preteen girl with webcam helps identify 1,000 pedophiles

[Xithras]

31. Research suggests that it's biological, and possibly genetic.

I have to admit that it's a subject that's been a bit of a morbid fascination for me for years. As children, my sister and I were both repeatedly molested by a predator over several years. While I understood that it was "bad thing" even when I was little, the gravity of it all didn't fully sink in until I became a parent myself and began to get paranoid about someone molesting my own kids. An initial attempt to figure out how to recognize them turned into a longstanding interest in research trying to figure out what makes these guys tick.

Most research today tends to suggest that pedophilia is simply a deviant sexual orientation, and that pedophiles have no more or less choice over their preference than straight or LGBT people do. It emerges during puberty and remains present over the course of their lifetimes. You can't cure pedophilia any more than you can "cure" gayness. Research has also largely dispelled the folk wisdom saying that most pedophiles were molested themselves...it turns out that the rate of pedophilia among molestation victims is largely the same as among the general population.

On the upside, there is also a lot of research suggesting that the majority of biological pedophiles don't actually ever molest anyone. Making the jump from attraction to victimizing appears to require some other sociopathy. In other words, a pedophile who empathizes with children (the way most normal people will) is substantially less likely to molest than a pedophile who doesn't care about his victims, or who has narcissistic tendencies. Couple that with a fear of social ostracization and prison time, and most never go beyond fantasy.

This is a good thing, because it means that many potential predators can be redirected to the "non-molesting" group if their mental illness can be detected early enough and they can get into proper counseling. An improved mental healthcare system could save a lot of children from a lot of suffering.

By the way, some have posited that this may actually be the reason why convicted child molesters tend to skew conservative in their political leanings as well. There hasn't been a lot of research on the subject for obvious political reasons, but the same lack of empathy that drives someone to NOT CARE if a "brown child" starves or gets bombed makes it more likely for them to act on pedophilic urges. I'm not saying that more conservatives are pedophiles (there is no biological connection between politics and sexuality), and I'm sure that the percentages of pedophile liberals and pedophile conservatives are about the same, but the lack of empathy often seen on the right may make their pedophiles more likely to act on those urges. I'd really like to see more research on this subject, but I'm not holding my breath on anyone getting funded for THAT project anytime soon!

As for the cause, I tend to think that it's they are just outliers in the normal range of human variability. I don't think it can be stopped any more than "shortness" or "red hair" can be stopped. Hopefully it CAN be detected someday though, so they can be treated BEFORE they become a danger to others.