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<---BACK to INDEX 8/17/2020 Pedophilia Defined <----- BACK TO INDEX ------- (c) 2007-2019 Derek W. Logue. No part of this website may be used in any way without expressed written consent of the site owner. REGISTERED CITIZENS vs PEDOPHILES vs “SEX OFFENDERS”: UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCES Derek W. Logue of OnceFallen.com Published 14 July 2019 INTRODUCTION The mainstream media and American society as a whole tends to use the terms “sex offender” and “pedophile” interchangeably. At times, news reports use the erroneous term “convicted pedophile.” This article examines the differences between people diagnosed with pedophilia and people convicted of a sexual offense. People can be forced to register without having a clinical diagnosis of pedophilia, and a clinically diagnosed pedophile is not listed on the public sex offense registry if he or she has not omitted a sexual offense. SEMANTICS MATTERS The major premise needs to be stated repeatedly: “Pedophile” is a clinical term, "Sex Offender" is a legal term. You cannot be convicted of “pedophilia” but you can be convicted of a sex offense. There is no such thing as a “convicted pedophile.” You can be a pedophile without committing a sex offense. You can commit a sex offense and not be a pedophile. In order to understand the differences, we must begin with a proper definition of each term. “Sex Offender” The definition of the term “sex offender” is pretty straightforward—“A person who has been found guilty of one or more sex crimes.”[1] This means anyone convicted of adult rape, a prostitute or person paying for prostitution,[2] a teenager engaging in various sexual acts with a teenager,[3] a public urinator,[4] a teenager engaging in sexting,[5] or someone who viewed a nude picture of someone ages 16 or 17 (even if it is legal to engage in sexual intercourse with the person in the picture)[6] can be classified as “sex offender” without engaging in sexual activity involving a prepubescent minor. According to a 2009 US Department of Justice study, about a third of sex crimes committed against juveniles were committed by other juveniles; Roughly 6% of the juvenile offenders age 16 or 17 committed an offense against someone under the age of 12. Also, the single age in which we find the most people accused of committing a sexual offence is age 14[7] Thus, at least 94% of juvenile offenders would not even be allowed to be clinically diagnosed as a pedophile under the DSM-V because the diagnoses requires the person to be “at least 16 years old, and at least 5 years older than the child in the first category. However, this does not include an individual in late adolescence involved in an ongoing sexual relationship with a 12- or 13-year-old.” Many current classifications used on those who have committed a sexual offense against a minor are based on the classical typology of “situational/ regressed” versus “fixated/ preferential” offender types. Those who commit sexual offenses into minors can fall into a continuum between the two types rather than be pigeon-holed into one of the two main types. According to Lanning: “The situational-type child molester does not usually have compulsive-paraphilic sexual preferences including a preference for children. He may, however, engage in sex with children for varied and sometimes complex reasons. For such a child molester, sex with children may range from a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ act to a long-term pattern of behavior. The more long-term the pattern, the further down the continuum he may move.” (Lanning describes certain subtypes based on primary motivations based on feelings of inadequacy, regression (poor social skills), or being morally indiscriminate.) www.oncefallen.com/pedophilia.html 1/15 8/17/2020 Pedophilia Defined “Preferential-type child molesters have definite sexual inclinations. For many those inclinations or preferences include children, and they are the ones it would be most appropriate to refer to as pedophiles… Within this category at least four major patterns of behavior emerge of seduction, introverted, sadistic, and diverse.”[8] The point is that a number of people accused of a sexual offense, even a sexual offense against minors, could not meet the clinical diagnosis for pedophilia. Pedophilia What is a pedophile? Pedophilia is currently classified as a mental disorder. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), in order for pedophilic disorder to be diagnosed, the following criteria must be met: • Recurrent, intense sexual fantasies, urges, or behaviors involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child (generally age 13 years or younger) for a period of at least 6 months. • These sexual urges have been acted on or have caused significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. • The person is at least 16 years old, and at least 5 years older than the child in the first category. However, this does not include an individual in late adolescence involved in an ongoing sexual relationship with a 12- or 13-year-old. • Additionally, a diagnosis of pedophilic disorder should specify whether the individual is exclusively attracted to children or not, the gender that the individual is attracted to, and whether the sexual urges are limited to incest.[9] The Mayo Clinic states the following: “Pedophilia is a clinical diagnosis usually made by a psychiatrist or psychologist. It is not a criminal or legal term, such as forcible sexual offense, which is a legal term often used in criminal statistics.[10] WebMD, citing sexologist Ray Blanchard, PhD, adjunct psychiatry professor at the University of Toronto, states the following: “What is a pedophile?” “A pedophile is a person who has a sustained sexual orientation toward children, generally aged 13 or younger, Blanchard says. Not all pedophiles are child molesters (or vice versa). ‘Child molesters are defined by their acts; pedophiles are defined by their desires,’ Blanchard says. ‘Some pedophiles refrain from sexually approaching any child for their entire lives.’ But it's not clear how common that is.”[11] Writing for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, FBI Profiler Ken Lanning writes: “Although the use of the term child molester has been commonplace for a long time, publicity and awareness concerning sexual victimization of children has resulted in more frequent use of the term pedophile. One problem is the fact the term pedophile has both a less precise lay definition and a more precise diagnostic definition…” “Technically being labeled a pedophile is a psychiatric diagnosis that can be made only by qualified psychologists or psychiatrists. For many, therefore, the word is a diagnostic term, not a legal one…” “There is still confusion, even among professionals, with regard to the terms child molester and pedophile. For many the terms have become synonymous. For them the word pedophile is just a fancy term for a child molester. The public, the media, and many child- abuse professionals frequently use the terms interchangeably and simplistically refer to all those who sexually victimize children as pedophiles. There is no single or uniform definition for the word pedophile….” “Labeling all child molesters as pedophiles is, however, confusing. There are clear differences between the types of individuals who sexually abuse children, and law-enforcement officers handling these cases need to understand that and make such distinctions when appropriate. For me, not all pedophiles are child molesters. A person suffering from any paraphilia can legally engage in it simply by fantasizing and masturbating. A child molester is an individual who sexually molests children. A pedophile might have a sexual preference for children and fantasize about having sex with them, but if he does not act on that preference or those fantasies with a child, he is not a child molester…” “In addition not all child molesters are pedophiles. In my experience, many child molesters are not pedophiles. A pedophile is an individual who prefers to have sex with children. A person who prefers to have sex with an adult partner may, for any number of reasons, decide to have sex with a child. Such reasons might include simple availability, opportunity, curiosity, or a desire to hurt a www.oncefallen.com/pedophilia.html 2/15 8/17/2020 Pedophilia Defined loved one of the molested child. The erotic imagery and sexual fantasies of such individuals are not necessarily recurrent, intense, and focused on children; therefore, these people are not pedophiles…” “Many child molesters are, in fact, pedophiles, and many pedophiles are child molesters. But they are not necessarily one and the same. Often it may be unclear whether the term is being applied with its diagnostic or some other definition. Most investigators are not qualified to apply the term with its diagnostic meaning. In addition labeling all child molesters as pedophiles is potentially confusing and counterproductive. Not everyone using the Internet to facilitate having sex with children or trafficking in child pornography is a pedophile. To avoid confusion with a mental-health diagnosis and possible challenges in court use of the term pedophile by law enforcement and prosecutors should be kept to a minimum. Distinctions between the types of child molesters, however, can have important and valuable implications for the law-enforcement investigation of sexual exploitation of children.”[12] These quotes are merely a cross-section of the general consensus view among clinical professionals and experts in sex crimes there are differences between pedophiles and those labeled by society as “sex offenders.” Furthermore, they understand there are differences between a pedophile and someone who commits an offense involving a minor. Paraphilias Not to be confused with pedophilia, a paraphilia is “a condition in which a person's sexual arousal and gratification depend on fantasizing about and engaging in sexual behavior that is atypical and extreme.
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