A PAEDOPHILE IN OUR MIDST

THE SLAUGHTER OF INNOCENCE!

The accused.SEYCHELLES woke up to a startling shock last week when it was widely reported in the national media that there is a paedophile in our midst. A 34 year old man was alleged to have sexually assaulted several children between the ages of 6 to 12 in several places around Victoria. The incidents apparently took place in and around the Victoria suburb at St Louis-Bel Air, Castor Road and La Retraite between the 17th and the 24th February. Unconfirmed report suggests that the man, a Seychellois, emanates from Canada where he served a criminal prison sentence for related sexual offences against children. After serving his sentence the man was allegedly deported to his country of origin, Seychelles, without the authorities here being notified about the danger that the man poses to the local community.

When SBC reported these atrocious acts against innocent children of tender age the whole country erupted in a chorus of disapproval. The Leader of the Opposition immediately tabled a Private Notice Question (P & Q) before the National Assembly calling on the House to condemn the incidents. The National Council for children joined the overwhelming condemnation when their representative, Mr. Jean-Claude Matombe, stated that “children are so vulnerable, they depend on us to take care of them, to love and protect them.”

Surprisingly, even the President of the Republic took the trouble to air his views from state House when he said that “society expects the police and the judiciary to do their work to bring the culprits to justice and severely punish them for their outrageous crimes.” A large crowd gathered around the Court House on the 6th March at 1.45 pm when the man was produced before the courts and was promptly remanded for a period of 14 days. The Judge ruled that there is a great likelihood that the man may interfere with potential witnesses and impede police investigation if released on bail. The Judge quickly added that the man must also be detained in police custody for his own protection. The crowd, which had gathered out of curiosity to catch a glimpse of the suspect, showed disgust and disdain for the culprit when he alighted from the police vehicle. The whole country was talking about these incidents which had managed single-handedly, through its sheer notoriety, to create a national debate.

However, not much is known about paedophile in Seychelles in general. According to our research paedophile is defined by the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems as "a sexual preference for children, boys or girls or both, usually of prepubertal or early pubertal age." In his article entitled PAEDOPHILE AND CHILD MOLESTERS: THE SLAUGHTER OF INNOCENCE, Mark Gad writes “A paedophile will usually exhibit a series of personality characteristics that are common in this type of offender. It is important to understand that these characteristics alone do not conclusively determine that a person is a paedophile. But if these indicators, combined with a pattern of behavior that arouses suspicion, are present then there may be enough probable cause to believe that the person is a paedophile.” The question many people are now asking is how do we spot a paedophile in our midst?

Le Nouveau Seychelles Weekly has attempted to put together some indicators which may better help the public to identify people with such tendencies in order to protect our young children from these monsters who corrupt the innocence of youth. A paedophile normally carries on what can be termed “a special relationship” with a wife. Often paedophiles have failed marriages due to their sexual interests but remain in the marriage to mask their true intentions. Sadly, the wife sometimes knows about her husband's preference, but prefers to keep quiet to avoid social stigma and disgrace.

He displays a fascination or unusual interest in children. If an adult has an inordinate amount of interest in pre-pubescent children, it doesn't confirm he is a paedophile, but it should at least arouse suspicion.

He makes frequent references to children in exalted or exaggerated terms such as “pure,” “innocent,” ”God sent,” “blissful” and other descriptive labels that seem inappropriate and excessive. Remember that a paedophile cannot help the way he behaves and therefore will inadvertently reveal aspects about himself during speech.

He has hobbies or interests that commonly belong in the realm of a child's world such as toy collecting, building models of cars or planes. His home or room is decorated in a child's theme. And often, that theme will reflect the age bracket of his preferred victim.

He is over 30 years of age, single and has few or no friends his own age. He may also have frequent and unexplained changes of residence. He may be unable or unwilling to discuss why he lost his last job. He may have a military discharge that he cannot explain and a past that he cannot easily talk about.

He has systematic and prolonged access to children. Paedophiles, because of the wide age disparity between themselves and their victims, cannot just hang around children. The paedophile has to find a way to legitimize his contact with kids. He usually accomplishes this by obtaining employment in a field where he is forced to deal with children on a daily basis. Jobs like schoolteachers, bus drivers, camp counsellors, photographers and sports coaching serve their needs perfectly. They will always volunteer for activities in which they are left alone with children with no parental supervision. (Planning, p. 19).

Paedophiles are also very adept at locating troubled or withdrawn children. This is a skill they have acquired through years of trial and error. They have come to identify what usually works and what usually doesn't. The most common technique used by paedophiles to obtain sex from children is the seduction method. This process is very similar to the classic boy/girl courtship. Though the child might be under 10-years-old, the paedophile will lavish gifts upon the target, take him or her to amusement parks, museums, restaurants and other places of interest. This author recalls a case in which a paedophile attempted to seduce a child who had an interest in music. The suspect escorted  the boy to expensive Broadway plays like Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon. Afterwards, they ate in fashionable Manhattan cafes and went sightseeing. The child was just 8- years-old. In another recent case, reported by the New York Times (February 2, 2000), a Bronx man lured neighbourhood children to his apartment with Pokemon cards and Chinese food. He then abused a number of children after giving them marijuana and screening pornographic videos. The abused children later got together and attempted to set fire to the suspect's apartment.

If the target is a troubled child, the paedophile will comfort and sympathize with him or her. Often, over a period of time, the child will develop feelings for the offender even though he is being actively abused. The dynamics at work in this type of situation are well known to psychologists. This process of sympathizing with the offender has been called Stockholm Syndrome. It was first recognized in 1973 after a notorious bank robbery in Sweden in which the hostages taken by the suspects began to develop feelings of attachment toward their captors(15). Children who are sexually victimized can feel the same way. This is often the case when the offender happens to be a member of the clergy or another traditional figure of trust. In early 2002, an elementary school bus driver pleaded guilty in Westchester County Court, New York, to abusing 9-year-old children on his bus during the trip home each day. The abuse may have gone on for as long as 15 years with a succession of students. In cases such as this, the events will not be reported because of the emotional attachment between offender and victim. Remember that paedophiles are masters in the manipulation of children. However, as the victim matures into adulthood, these benevolent feelings toward the abuser often dissipate and the painful truth of the abuse sets in.

In February and March 2002, there were dozens of such cases involving adult men who were sexually molested as children by Catholic priests. These sexual assaults, some of which occurred decades before, are sad testimony to the compulsions of some paedophiles who will molest children for their entire lives until the day they are caught. These revelations, and the startling accusations of systematic cover-up by church officials, have shaken the Catholic Church to its core. New York's Cardinal Edward Egan received a firestorm of criticism from the public when it was revealed he treated sexual molestation charges against priests with questionable tactics toward the victims in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Courtesy of crimelibrary.com

March 14, 2008
Copyright 2007: Seychelles Weekly, Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles