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67
I'm posting here an informative email from STEVEN UNTHANK
by AndersonsInfo inyesterday, a jwn poster e-mailed me asking if i would post on this discussion board his recent email to steven unthank and also post stevens reply.
the reason for the request is because the poster has need to remain completely anonymous.
i agreed to share the email because i knew you would find stevens reply informative and interesting.. .
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67
I'm posting here an informative email from STEVEN UNTHANK
by AndersonsInfo inyesterday, a jwn poster e-mailed me asking if i would post on this discussion board his recent email to steven unthank and also post stevens reply.
the reason for the request is because the poster has need to remain completely anonymous.
i agreed to share the email because i knew you would find stevens reply informative and interesting.. .
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67
I'm posting here an informative email from STEVEN UNTHANK
by AndersonsInfo inyesterday, a jwn poster e-mailed me asking if i would post on this discussion board his recent email to steven unthank and also post stevens reply.
the reason for the request is because the poster has need to remain completely anonymous.
i agreed to share the email because i knew you would find stevens reply informative and interesting.. .
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AndersonsInfo
For those who posted their wish that the WT’s attorney’s talk was recorded, I’d like to offer some thoughts, plus comment on some other issues. And prepare yourself for a long read ahead.
Please note that the attorney's talk was public, given to an audience. WT has a big problem in that a number of good people are willing to vouch for what the attorney said. Who knows but that someone did record it, but I'm not privy to that information. Keep in mind though that Steven presented to the government officials at the recent Parliamentary Inquiry a massive amount of evidence to support every allegation he has made, and this did indeed include sensitive audio recordings which are now protected under a term called ‘Parliamentary Privilege’, so please don't underestimate him. Take it for granted that he has it all under control to prove the WT guilty of harming his family.
Steven is under a gag order right now forbidding him to discuss what went on in that Inquiry, but all in good time the events that took place at the hearing will be made public. It will take, however, months before the government agencies involved are finished with their investigations and everything is presented to the proper authorities for their decisions. Remember, as pointed out in The Age newspaper article, there are at least three investigations launched and probably more if one reads between the lines in that article. And as I said in a previous post, the Fairfax conglomerate that owns that newspaper would not have let those investigations be made known in one of their flagship newspapers, by one of their most senior reporters, if there was no evidence.
I want to point out something important here. Steven and others are not only accusing the WT of wrong-doing, but also the State of Victoria who they begged for help for years with little help given. In years past, Steven notified the State that WT was not abiding by the Working With Children Act that became law in 2008 requiring all clergy to get the WWC card. Now the State has to show why it didn't respond to Steven's cries to do something to protect JW kids from JW molesters or any elders that did not have working with children checks. And the question is asked, Why didn't the last four court hearings that ended in February of 2012 result in penalties given to the WT who broke the WCC law since 2008?
The kids were victims of crimes and the State did nothing. In The Age article, it stated that the child (who launched a private criminal prosecution against JWs) "asks why the government and police let the church 'get away with non-compliance...'" Now the State has to get to the bottom of this and find out why elected officials ignored parent's accusations of child abuse in the WT org. Now, it appears that the present Victorian administration is trying to figure it all out.
Keeping that information in mind, just think of the scope that the governmental investigations will take to try to unravel why public officials and WT officials didn't listen to the cries of the children and take action to protect them. Who knows, maybe some politicians and government officials have to learn a severe lesson that anyone who breaks the working with children laws, even themselves, can be in a lot of trouble, even the possibility of facing criminal charges.
I wish many woes (penalties) to come upon all those responsible at Watchtower’s Australian Branch headquarters because of what they didn’t do to help protect their own member’s kids. And I wish many woes (penalties) to come upon those same Watchtower officials because of what they did to the Unthank family and other families to cover-up the acts of pedophiles who were known to them to be molesters. The men who are responsible for the harm that came to little kids are appointed agents of the Governing Body that operates the Watchtower Society worldwide. For the sake of justice, let the buck stop at their New York desks.
Steven once wrote… “You can’t win if you don’t try, and if you don’t try you can’t win.” My motto has been, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Recently, an XJW wrote me and said his present philosophy in life comes from a quote that goes like this: “What you think about you bring about” or what you focus on you will get. Well, for years, Steven in Australia and me in the United States thought and thought about the WT’s indifference to the suffering of children from sexual abuse that was reported to them, and asked ourselves what could we do about it? So maybe there’s truth to the quote, “What you think about, you bring about” because our thinking resulted in our focusing on the issue at hand and then taking action despite expected harassment or worse from JWs. In time, our actions slowly resulted in wins and gains in our pursuit of justice for the victims. We have refused to be guided by negativity in what we set out to do, so the negative thoughts expressed on this board by some does not impact our present or future actions.
Furthermore, I want to express my appreciation for the positive words from supportive posters who make up the majority. No doubt in my mind that your thoughts are sending shivers down the spines of cowards in New York.
Barbara
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I'm posting here an informative email from STEVEN UNTHANK
by AndersonsInfo inyesterday, a jwn poster e-mailed me asking if i would post on this discussion board his recent email to steven unthank and also post stevens reply.
the reason for the request is because the poster has need to remain completely anonymous.
i agreed to share the email because i knew you would find stevens reply informative and interesting.. .
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AndersonsInfo
Some posters may think that Steven Unthank is a "prized nut job" or use other very unkind expressions to undermine his efforts in the minds of others. Some want or demand proof for events Steven claimed happened before they will give him a kind word. Who are we that this man should offer us proof of his allegations? The editors of The Age (a very respectable Fairfax Publisher's newspaper that can be compared to England's The Independent), were convinced from the proof offered (proof we know nothing about and won't know about until the players in this saga are ready to release), that they chose to cover the story which appeared a few days ago about the Parliamentary Inquiry which Steven would and did appear at. At the front door of the Parliament building were reporters who expected to cover the hearing. Due to the fact that a child testified, the session was closed to outsiders and that's why there was no press coverage.
Would there have been a Parliamentary Inquiry at all if Steven was a "prized nut job"? Steven has accumulated real evidence over many years which he has not publicly shared, but wisely kept close to his chest. He doesn't have to convince us of anything. What is more important is that he has the proof to convince the authorities that the WT has protected and still is protecting JW pedophiles. Steven is just informing those of us who are interested in what the WT did to him and his family. If he offends some of you by not producing proof, don't bother your heads to read about the unfolding events in Australia which are now having and will continue to have a profound effect upon the Watchtower empire due to media coverage.
And for your information, the coming events are going to unfold whether you are a supporter of Steven or not. Perhaps it would be best to refrain from such negativity until this is over. Then if Steven is proved to be a "nut case" you can say "I told you so!" For now, just let us release information that comes our way in peace.
Barbara
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I'm posting here an informative email from STEVEN UNTHANK
by AndersonsInfo inyesterday, a jwn poster e-mailed me asking if i would post on this discussion board his recent email to steven unthank and also post stevens reply.
the reason for the request is because the poster has need to remain completely anonymous.
i agreed to share the email because i knew you would find stevens reply informative and interesting.. .
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67
I'm posting here an informative email from STEVEN UNTHANK
by AndersonsInfo inyesterday, a jwn poster e-mailed me asking if i would post on this discussion board his recent email to steven unthank and also post stevens reply.
the reason for the request is because the poster has need to remain completely anonymous.
i agreed to share the email because i knew you would find stevens reply informative and interesting.. .
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AndersonsInfo
notjustyet: Yes, this email from Steven has been confirmed by me. Now, you'll just have to believe that I'm telling you the truth. If you don't believe me, I suggest you email Steven through his website, www.jwnews.org.
BTW, as far as I'm concerned, nobody in this world expresses himself in written form like Steven Unthank. Even if I didn't personally know Steven, I could identify his letters or emails in less than thirty seconds. I have posted on JWN Steven's submissions to the Victorian government from the very beginning of his cause. His first submission was over 660 pages long, which I read, and then posted a few pages from it on JWN maybe two years ago. At that time, Steven had a number of critics who were quite outspoken on JWN calling him a fraud. He has weathered name calling from inside and outside of the JW community with strength of character. He's as tenacious as a pit bull dog when it comes to protecting his family, and, for sure, the leaders of the Australian branch of the WT picked the wrong person to persecute for Steven has the sharp mind of a solicitor and the character and caring kindness of Gandhi.
Soft + Gentle: No, this email was not sent to me from Cedars. Take my word for it, he had nothing to do with this. If you still doubt, write to him at jwsurvey.org.
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I'm posting here an informative email from STEVEN UNTHANK
by AndersonsInfo inyesterday, a jwn poster e-mailed me asking if i would post on this discussion board his recent email to steven unthank and also post stevens reply.
the reason for the request is because the poster has need to remain completely anonymous.
i agreed to share the email because i knew you would find stevens reply informative and interesting.. .
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AndersonsInfo
YESTERDAY, A JWN POSTER E-MAILED ME ASKING IF I WOULD POST ON THIS DISCUSSION BOARD HIS RECENT EMAIL TO STEVEN UNTHANK AND ALSO POST STEVEN’S REPLY.
THE REASON FOR THE REQUEST IS BECAUSE THE POSTER HAS NEED TO REMAIN COMPLETELY ANONYMOUS. I AGREED TO SHARE THE EMAIL BECAUSE I KNEW YOU WOULD FIND STEVEN’S REPLY INFORMATIVE AND INTERESTING.
Dear Steven,
I take my hat off to you for your tenacity in going after the WT for their failure to obtain the Working With Children Card, yet more importantly for exposing their failure to protect children from sexual abuse in the organization.
If there is anything you would like to pass on to ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses as I`m sure you’re aware of their great interest and support for you in your quest?
I hope your health is standing up to all this as it must be taxing. I`m sorry to hear of the families, especially of the children in the Traralgon Congregation who have had to endure the ostracizing this religion dishes out to victims of such abuse. Please pass on my sympathies and also sympathy from the rest of JWN who are following this case.
HERE IS STEVEN UNTHANK’S REPLY:
Dear …,
Yeah, I'm not giving up. Not for what they did to me, not for what they did to my family, and not for what they did to the children.
Before all this started going public, including the bringing of criminal charges against the religion of the working with children laws, and before even going to court or even the Parliamentary Inquiry this week, we invited the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses and the Watch Tower Society to settle our dispute with them over the actions of a group of elders, not only for the sake of peace, but because it was the right thing to do and the Christian thing to do.
We invited them to apologize and to make financial compensation of 99 cents. To help them out, and so that there was no burden on them, we each placed $20.00 in the contribution box at the Kingdom Hall to cover any phone calls, letters, postage, even the 99 cents itself.
The paying of compensation, even a paltry 99 cents, is a provision allowed within the congregation, i.e. "the making of amends." Our reason for choosing a financial compensation amount was that if financial compensation was made, no matter how small, then no legal action could ever be commenced by us in a civil court in pursuit of damages. In other words, "Say Sorry", hand over 99 cents and everyone has the assurance that this is the end of the matter. No further discussion, no talking within the congregation, just peace.
Further we invited representatives from both the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Watch Tower Society to a mediation meeting at the Melbourne Assembly Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses. They refused.
Instead, a few weeks later they sent their lawyer to visit our congregation to give a talk from the platform. Our body of elders informed us that the talk was directed specifically at our family. The Watchtower lawyer stood up, identified himself as the Society's lawyer, and directed his comments right at our family sitting there. He carefully stated that if anyone went up against the Watch Tower Society...
"with a view to seeking justice, even if you have actually been wronged, then you can expect to be wiped out and left penniless."
Our family had been wrong, we were seeking justice, the Watchtower Society knew this, and hence the public threat of harm and detriment.
We later informed our congregation that we had a Divine Right to justice and that we will continue to seek that Divine justice.
The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Australia, both directly and through the resources of the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, then launched an unprecedented wave of non-stop vicious persecution and attacks on both myself and my family. They have not stopped.
Our body of elders, at the time, informed us to personally write to the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses seeking immediate protection. We did and included all our evidence. A short time later, Geoffrey Jackson flew in and met with those persecuting and attacking our family. The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses then sided with those attacking us and refused to hear our cries and pleas for help, protection, and justice.
Until the Watchtower Society backs off, withdraws the public threat of harm and detriment, and then leaves me and my family alone, I will not stop defending us. It's not about going after the Watchtower Society, or the Church of Jehovah's Witnesses, or even the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, it is about our self-defense and our right to defend ourselves.
As Witness for the Crown I cannot comment on my giving evidence before the Parliamentary Inquiry on Monday, February 18, 2013.
Prior to appearing, I had prepared extensive evidence in relation to my personal financial losses to date as a result of the attacks from the Watchtower Society etc. This included the loss of my home, personal effects, my business, and so on. My direct losses and expenses were over $500,000. That's just for me. It is impossible to calculate the indirect financial loss. I guess, in a way they did indeed cause me to be left "penniless" but I'm not wiped out.
Then there is losing your family, your religion, your friends, and your health.
The newspaper reported that other people attended the hearing to give evidence against the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Watchtower Society. I cannot comment on them, as everyone gave evidence at different times, and not as a group.
Ironically, Divine Justice now requires that those who threatened both myself and my family be "wiped out and left penniless."
Cheers,
Steven Unthank
(P.S. you're welcome to share this email on JWN)
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Victoria, Australia, Newspaper article: Child in Jehovah's Witness Court Bid
by AndersonsInfo inhttp://www.theage.com.au/victoria/child-in-jehovahs-witness-court-bid-20130217-2elcg.htmlchild in jehovah's witness court bid.
february 18, 2013barney zwartza traralgon child has clubbed his pocket money together with three others, paying $69.70 to launch a private criminal prosecution against the jehovah's witnesses.. the child, 11, who is due to give evidence on monday at the state inquiry into how the churches handled child sex abuse, wanted to force the church to comply with working with children laws.
after four hearings, to which church leaders did not send a representative, the church began complying and the office of public prosecutions intervened to discontinue the case.. the inquiry will also hear from anti-jehovah's witness campaigner steven unthank, a former member of the church who says he and his family were ostracised and persecuted after he tried to tackle child abuse.. his submission alleges the church and its incorporated body, the watchtower society, covered up criminal child abuse, including rape, sexual assault, death threats, blackmail and assault, across four states by ordained ministers and officers of the church.. advertisementthe victorian and civil administrative tribunal will hear a religious vilification complaint against the church by mr unthank in may, after the church said people who left the church, as he had, were ''mentally diseased''.. and the victorian health services commissioner is investigating a complaint by another former gippsland church member that a jehovah's witness chaplain was found alone without permission with a naked toddler in a room at latrobe regional hospital.. the child appearing today, who cannot be named, has asked the inquiry to determine whether the church's failure to get working with children checks between july 2008 and december 2011 amounted to criminal child abuse of all 6160 jehovah's witness children in victoria.. he asks why the government and police let the church ''get away with'' non-compliance, and whether the state will help file a class action against the church.. the submission suggests the 2000 jehovah's witnesses who worked with children were committing criminal offences each week.
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AndersonsInfo
In the newspaper article, notice that two important hearings are scheduled and one investigation has been launched by appropriate Victorian governmental agencies. This is certainly good news, especially the hearing scheduled for tomorrow, Monday, in Victoria.
BTW, Steven Unthank will not be the only one to testify against JWs mishandling of child sexual abuse.
We have all waited patiently for the day that the Victorian government will finally look into the awful child sex abuse scandal within the JW organization, and now that day is just about here.
1. The child, 11, who is due to give evidence on Monday at the state inquiry into how the churches handled child sex abuse...
2. The Victorian and Civil Administrative Tribunal will hear a religious vilification complaint against the church by Mr Unthank in May, after the church said people who left the church, as he had, were ''mentally diseased''
3. And the Victorian Health Services Commissioner is investigating a complaint by another former Gippsland church member that a Jehovah's Witness chaplain was found alone without permission with a naked toddler in a room at Latrobe Regional Hospital.
Please keep checking Steven Unthank's websites, www.jwnews.org and www.jwleaks.org for news as it develops.
Barbara
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Victoria, Australia, Newspaper article: Child in Jehovah's Witness Court Bid
by AndersonsInfo inhttp://www.theage.com.au/victoria/child-in-jehovahs-witness-court-bid-20130217-2elcg.htmlchild in jehovah's witness court bid.
february 18, 2013barney zwartza traralgon child has clubbed his pocket money together with three others, paying $69.70 to launch a private criminal prosecution against the jehovah's witnesses.. the child, 11, who is due to give evidence on monday at the state inquiry into how the churches handled child sex abuse, wanted to force the church to comply with working with children laws.
after four hearings, to which church leaders did not send a representative, the church began complying and the office of public prosecutions intervened to discontinue the case.. the inquiry will also hear from anti-jehovah's witness campaigner steven unthank, a former member of the church who says he and his family were ostracised and persecuted after he tried to tackle child abuse.. his submission alleges the church and its incorporated body, the watchtower society, covered up criminal child abuse, including rape, sexual assault, death threats, blackmail and assault, across four states by ordained ministers and officers of the church.. advertisementthe victorian and civil administrative tribunal will hear a religious vilification complaint against the church by mr unthank in may, after the church said people who left the church, as he had, were ''mentally diseased''.. and the victorian health services commissioner is investigating a complaint by another former gippsland church member that a jehovah's witness chaplain was found alone without permission with a naked toddler in a room at latrobe regional hospital.. the child appearing today, who cannot be named, has asked the inquiry to determine whether the church's failure to get working with children checks between july 2008 and december 2011 amounted to criminal child abuse of all 6160 jehovah's witness children in victoria.. he asks why the government and police let the church ''get away with'' non-compliance, and whether the state will help file a class action against the church.. the submission suggests the 2000 jehovah's witnesses who worked with children were committing criminal offences each week.
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AndersonsInfo
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/child-in-jehovahs-witness-court-bid-20130217-2elcg.html
Child in Jehovah's Witness court bid
- February 18, 2013
Barney Zwartz
A TRARALGON child has clubbed his pocket money together with three others, paying $69.70 to launch a private criminal prosecution against the Jehovah's Witnesses.
The child, 11, who is due to give evidence on Monday at the state inquiry into how the churches handled child sex abuse, wanted to force the church to comply with working with children laws. After four hearings, to which church leaders did not send a representative, the church began complying and the Office of Public Prosecutions intervened to discontinue the case.
The inquiry will also hear from anti-Jehovah's Witness campaigner Steven Unthank, a former member of the church who says he and his family were ostracised and persecuted after he tried to tackle child abuse.
His submission alleges the church and its incorporated body, the Watchtower Society, covered up criminal child abuse, including rape, sexual assault, death threats, blackmail and assault, across four states by ordained ministers and officers of the church.
AdvertisementThe Victorian and Civil Administrative Tribunal will hear a religious vilification complaint against the church by Mr Unthank in May, after the church said people who left the church, as he had, were ''mentally diseased''.
And the Victorian Health Services Commissioner is investigating a complaint by another former Gippsland church member that a Jehovah's Witness chaplain was found alone without permission with a naked toddler in a room at Latrobe Regional Hospital.
The child appearing today, who cannot be named, has asked the inquiry to determine whether the church's failure to get working with children checks between July 2008 and December 2011 amounted to criminal child abuse of all 6160 Jehovah's Witness children in Victoria.
He asks why the government and police let the church ''get away with'' non-compliance, and whether the state will help file a class action against the church.
The submission suggests the 2000 Jehovah's Witnesses who worked with children were committing criminal offences each week. These included ministers, elders, chaplains, teachers, volunteers, publishers (a term for people who doorknock) and even people who repair the church premises, called Kingdom Halls, ''as they use child labour to save money''.
The child says he and his family have also been ostracised by the church and forbidden to attend services. ''Because everyone protected them, I have now lost my religion.
''The state of Victoria allowed this to happen.''
The four children launched their prosecution with a magistrate's permission on July 26, 2011. In October 2011 the church's Governing Body wrote to all Victorian congregations, telling them to get the checks. At the final court hearing, on February 21, 2012, the Director of Public Prosecutions discontinued the case, saying it was not in the public interest.
''How can [tackling] child abuse not be in the public interest? How can criminal charges be discontinued after the person refused to turn up to court of five separate occasions?'' the child asks. He wants charges reinstated against church leaders.
A spokeswoman for the Office of Public Prosecutions said the charges were withdrawn because there was no reasonable prospect of conviction.
Vincent Toole, solicitor for the Jehovah's Witnesses, said the fact that the church got working with children checks had nothing to do with Steven Unthank, whom he suggested was behind the court case. ''We find it disappointing that he continues to misrepresent our organisation.''
Mr Toole said Mr Unthank unsuccessfully tried to get authorities to take action against the church over working with children checks, and ''after none were prepared to pursue the matter, he took the extraordinary step of instituting a private prosecution''.
''Jehovah's Witnesses abhor child abuse, and place the protection of children at the highest level,'' he said.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/child-in-jehovahs-witness-court-bid-20130217-2elcg.html#ixzz2LB17z0Qw -
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LA Times: Many researchers taking a different view of pedophilia
by AndersonsInfo inhttp://articles.latimes.com/2013/jan/14/local/la-me-pedophiles-20130115/2.
many researchers taking a different view of pedophiliapedophilia once was thought to stem from psychological influences early in life.
now, many experts view it as a deep-rooted predisposition that does not change.january 14, 2013|by alan zarembo, los angeles timesas a young boy, paul christiano loved the world of girls the way they danced, how their spindly bodies tumbled in gymnastics.
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http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jan/14/local/la-me-pedophiles-20130115/2
Many researchers taking a different view of pedophilia
Pedophilia once was thought to stem from psychological influences early in life. Now, many experts view it as a deep-rooted predisposition that does not change.
January 14, 2013 | By Alan Zarembo, Los Angeles Times
As a young boy, Paul Christiano loved the world of girls — the way they danced, how their spindly bodies tumbled in gymnastics .
In adolescence, as other boys ogled classmates, he was troubled to find himself fantasizing about 7- to 11-year-olds.
His desires remained stuck in time as he neared adulthood. Despite a stable home life in suburban Chicago, he was tortured by urges he knew could land him in prison.
"For having these feelings, I was destined to become a monster," he said. "I was terrified."
In 1999, Christiano was caught buying child pornography. Now 36, he said he has never molested a child, but after five years of state-ordered therapy, the attraction remains.
"These people felt they could snuff out the desire, or shame me into denying it existed," he said. "But it's as intrinsic as the next person's heterosexuality."
In the laboratory, researchers are coming to the same conclusion.
Like many forms of sexual deviance, pedophilia once was thought to stem from psychological influences early in life. Now, many experts view it as a sexual orientation as immutable as heterosexuality or homosexuality. It is a deep-rooted predisposition — limited almost entirely to men — that becomes clear during puberty and does not change.
The best estimates are that between 1% and 5% of men are pedophiles, meaning that they have a dominant attraction to prepubescent children.
Not all pedophiles molest children. Nor are all child molesters pedophiles. Studies show that about half of all molesters are not sexually attracted to their victims. They often have personality disorders or violent streaks, and their victims are typically family members.
By contrast, pedophiles tend to think of children as romantic partners and look beyond immediate relatives. They include chronic abusers familiar from the headlines — Catholic priests, coaches and generations of Boy Scout leaders.
Other pedophiles are "good people who are struggling," said Dr. Fred Berlin, a psychiatrist who heads the Johns Hopkins Sexual Behaviors Consultation Unit. "They're tortured souls fighting like heck not to do this. We do virtually nothing in terms of reaching out to these folks. We drive it underground."
Studying criminals
Some of the new understanding of pedophilia comes from studies done on convicted sex criminals at the Center for Mental Health and Addiction in Toronto, where researchers use a procedure known as phallometry to identify men whose peak attraction is to children.
A man sits alone in a room viewing a series of images and listening to descriptions of various sexual acts with adults and children, male and female, while wearing a device that monitors blood flow to his penis.
Like men attracted to adults, nearly all pedophiles respond most strongly to one gender or the other — females far more often than males.
In searching for causes of pedophilia, researchers have largely dismissed the popular belief that abuse in childhood plays an important role. Studies show that few victims grow up to be abusers, and only about a third of offenders say they were molested.
Scientists at the Toronto center have uncovered a series of associations that suggest pedophilia has biological roots.
Among the most compelling findings is that 30% of pedophiles are left-handed or ambidextrous, triple the general rate. Because hand dominance is established through some combination of genetics and the environment of the womb, scientists see that association as a powerful indicator that something is different about pedophiles at birth.
"The only explanation is a physiological one," said James Cantor, a leader of the research.
Researchers have also determined that pedophiles are nearly an inch shorter on average than non-pedophiles and lag behind the average IQ by 10 points — discoveries that are consistent with developmental problems, whether before birth or in childhood.
In a 2008 study, Cantor's team conducted MRI brain scans on 65 pedophiles. Compared with men with criminal histories but no sex offenses, they had less white matter, the connective circuitry of the brain.
The evidence also points to what Cantor explained as "cross wiring": Seeing a child sets off the same neural response that men typically experience around an attractive woman.
More evidence of brain involvement comes from scattered examples of men with brain tumors or neurological diseases affecting inhibition.
In one case, a 40-year-old teacher in Virginia with no history of sexual deviance suddenly became interested in child pornography and was arrested for molesting his prepubescent stepdaughter.
The night before his sentencing, he showed up at an emergency room with a bad headache. An MRI revealed a tumor compressing his brain's right frontal lobe.
When the tumor was removed, his obsession faded, according to Dr. Russell Swerdlow, a neurologist on the case. A year later he again became sexually fixated on children. The tumor was growing back.
Swerdlow and others said the case suggests that the man's attraction to children may have always been present — the tumor simply took away the man's ability to control it.
Strong impulse control may help explain why some pedophiles never break the law.
Resisting desire
Most clinicians have given up on changing the sexual orientation of pedophiles in favor of teaching the how to resist their unacceptable desires.
Experts believe that pedophiles who also have a significant attraction to adults stand the best chance of staying out of trouble, because of their capacity for some sexual fulfillment that is legal. For others, injections of hormones to reduce sex drive are often recommended.
Most pedophiles, however, don't receive any attention until they've been arrested.
In an attempt to change that, sex researchers in Germany launched an unusual media campaign in 2005.
"You are not guilty because of your sexual desire, but you are responsible for your sexual behavior," said billboards urging them to contact the Institute of Sexology and Sexual Medicine in Berlin. "There is help! Don't become an offender!"
More than 1,700 men have responded to the print, television and online ads for Project Dunkelfeld — literally "dark field." As of August, 80 had completed a one-year program aimed at teaching them to control their impulses. Some received hormone shots. Compared to men still on the waiting list, those who received treatment were deemed less likely to molest children, according to an analysis of risk factors.
The German researchers promise patients confidentiality. About half of those assessed admitted to having already molested a child.
Though extolled by many researchers, the same program could not be conducted in the United States or many other countries, where clinicians and others are required by law to notify authorities if they suspect a child has been or could be harmed.
There have been some grass-roots efforts to bring pedophilia out of the shadows. Anton Schweighofer, a psychologist in British Columbia, said he recently referred one of his patients to Virtuous Pedophiles, an online support group for men who have never acted on their desires and want to keep it that way.
"I just don't want to get myself in trouble," said the man, a factory worker who spoke on the condition that he not be identified. "I really don't want to harm anybody."
For many pedophiles, a fundamental part of life will always be a shameful secret.
In his late teens, Christiano taught gymnastics and supervised hundreds of young girls. He fasted at work to distract himself from his erotic feelings.
"My hand never slipped," he said. "There were students I loved and adored. In a perfect world, I could sweep them off their feet and live happily ever after."
In this world, however, he has tried to commit suicide three times, he said.
In 1999, he stepped into a federal sting operation when he ordered pornography. He avoided prison but was permanently added to the Illinois sex offender registry.
Once lauded in the Chicago press for his promise as a dance choreographer, Christiano now lives off unemployment, help from his parents and low-paying jobs. He has lost apartments and jobs because of his felony.
"PEDO PIECE OF GARBAGE," read one of many emails he received after an activist group posted a notice about his case online.
His mother, Jennifer Christiano, said that as far back as she could remember, he had always been different from other boys — an odd and creative soul who loved to perform and seemed to worship his female classmates.
"I can't tell you how hard it is," she said. "He's my only child. He'll never truly be happy. He'll never have someone he can truly love and who can love him back."
alan.zarembo@latimes.com