posted on January 7, 2003 05:45:24 PM new
And this is what I tried to say in my own way.
It happened before in California and in New Jersey. A convicted pedophile kidnapped, brutally raped, tortured, and murdered a child. More recently, the same scene was almost played out in its entirety in Texas. Not just one victim, not just two victims, but three known victims and maybe even more. These victims and the communities from where they came were lucky. They all lived. And who was the offender? A three-time convicted sex offender who had previously preyed upon children. This offender had been released on parole and was placed on Super Intensive Supervised Parole (SISP). And yet he walked away to offend again.
The Department of Public Safety, Special Crimes Service has many responsibilities. Two of its most ardent duties relate to the apprehension of fugitives and the enforcement of laws regulating convicted offenders who are required to register as sex offenders. Therefore, in response to these major objectives, ten high-profile sex offenders, who have committed acts on children AND who have absconded from supervision, have been selected for special publication.
When most people imagine a child molester, they picture an ugly old man in a trench coat coaxing children with candy. They don’t picture their uncle or aunt, the neighbor next door, the friendly parishioner, another family member, or trusted co-worker. They don’t think of Mom or Dad or, in the case of single parents, their significant other. Child molesters come from all walks of life and from all socioeconomic groups.
Adults who molest children can generally be divided into two groups, according to their behaviors. A small percentage may suffer from a lifelong exclusive attraction to children and have little or no emotional interest in adult partners—the classic definition of this person is a pedophile. Typically, the pedophile is not initially known to the victim or potential victim. They may use force, fear, bribery, or tricks to secure their victim. They may pretend or appear to be trustworthy. Potential victims are likely to be children who are poor, neglected, loners, or runaways. Many pedophiles seek out mothers of single-parent families for the purpose of victimizing children. These offenders like playgrounds and other places where children congregate. Often the offenders will position themselves to:
Come into contact with children by creating a playground environment where victims have access to toys, games, and other things that will later be traded for or result in forced sex acts;
Entice children with attention, affection, gifts, promises, and providing alcohol and pornography to lower inhibitions or potential victims;
Be the nice guy in the neighborhood who is willing to entertain children and even offer babysitting services for the child’s parents; and
Seek employment or volunteer where they will be in contact with children and teens.
The reality of the deviant behavior of these offenders is best summed up by the following statements made by a convicted sex offender:
I am a sex offender and I always will be
I will lie to you
I will try to outsmart you
I will not keep promises
I will exploit you and take advantage of you
I will try to avoid the responsibility of my own actions
I will be unresponsive to your emotions
I will cover up and try to spare myself the consequence of my actions
