Paedophilia - debate?

Question

I have just had a debate with a "good little Christian Guy" about what punishment should be given to convicted paedophiles....he says they should be forgiven and taught that it is wrong to molest children - I am left feeling frustrated and annoyed - as much as he is entitled to his opinion, paedophilia is one thing, that should not be overlooked or swept under the carpet. I believe punishment by severe torture for the remainer of their natural life is the only way of teaching them, and detering others from doing the same. What is your opinion???

Thank you people!!! I feel much better now!

Answer 1

Hang them or castrate them!

Answer 2

The recidivism rate (those who molest again after "paying their debt to society") is extremely high in pedophiles. It seems they cannot be taught not to molest children. Having been a victim of a pedophile stepfather for many years (5-13) I can only say that I'm glad I was not in charge of his punishment. There are some days when I would say that slow painful torture would be too good for him and others when I would say...I don't know what I would say.

He died almost 20 years ago. I know he loved me in his own twisted way and I hope that his punishment would be just to look into my life and see how much damage he did to me and my husband whom he never even met. I have put the whole matter behind me now, but it was a long, hard road. After all these years, I can FINALLY say I have forgiven him and it is just a non-issue in my mind now.

At the very least, convicted pedophiles should serve jail time and NEVER be allowed unsupervised visits with ANY child EVER again. If my step-father were alive now, I would make sure he never even MET my children.

Answer 3

First, we need to have some kind of differentiation in the individual crimes. By that, I mean that the 30 year-old who sleeps with the 16 or 17 year old should not receive the same punishment as an adult who sexually abuses a younger child. The difference is that most teenagers, by a certain time, are physically sexually mature. It's not truly pedophilia if the victim is sexually mature. If it's rape, it's still a crime of course, but pedophilia is a sick abnormal sexual attraction to children who are immature sexually. And that is where the punishment line should be drawn. If you sexually abuse a child who has not matured sexually (physically) in any way, you should be chemically castrated for the first offense. If you fall into the other category, the punishment should depend on the circumstances, I suppose, but I think most people that fall into that category won't reoffend, because they are not true pedophiles - not sickly attracted to young, sexually immature children.

Answer 4

In the 'good little christian guy's eyes, it's a sin. It's not his fault and if he is sorry and prays for forgiveness, he will be forgiven. In the real world, it's a felony and needs to be dealt with. I have a very dear friend who was repeatedly raped as a teenager. Her life has been affected by this in so many ways if I ever come face to face with that guy who did that to her, I have no doubt I'd kill him. This is a crime that deserves the worst of punishments. At the same time though, you do have to acknowledge that this person does have a problem and needs to be dealt with. No question, they need to be taught that where they find sexual attraction is very wrong. But they have to learn it in jail.

Answer 5

Although torture is a great idea and as much as I would love to know that these type of men are suffering from such anguish, it's not what America stands for. Pedophiles should be locked up for the rest of their lives on the first offense. It appalls me when I hear about men locked away for less than a year for molesting a child. What are these judges thinking?? Then they go out and do it again. These men deserve no chances. Once an offender, always an offender. The closest thing to torture we can grant them is to lock them up with the general population --- screw segregation for these men.

Answer 6

This is a relevant question. NY state Gov. Spitzer is proposing extended consequences for sexual offeders because the rate of secondary offenses is especially high in this population of criminals.
I also believe in forgiveness - but forgiveness is not the same as forgetting. I am a parent too, and need to balance my concern for who my daughter might run into with a hope that people can be helped into better mental health and social practice. At this point I do not think we know what it takes to truely rehabilitate a pedophile - or even if it is consistently possible.

Answer 7

The comments of the vast majority of you folks are really SICK and EVIL!!! Just in case you don't know, consensual sex between adults and children have ALWAYS been practiced by Humans since the dawn of History! Yes of course ANY kind of abuse against children are to be mercilessly PUNISHED!! But you very deliberately make an irrational confusion between ABUSE, and CONSENSUAL SEX between two individuals! For your information, just a century ago, MARRIAGE between youngsters at the age of TWELVE was fully LEGAL in many States of the Union. Do you really think that all Americans living in those times were "SICK" or "EVIL"??! Of course NOT!! I am SURE that in 30 or 50 years, people will actually LAUGH about the completely irrational "taboo" that exist today regarding Pedophilia... I believe that Sex between an adult and a child can be both beautiful and perfectly healthy! The problem: it is today vitually IMPOSSIBLE to have a PUBLIC, RATIONAL DEBATE about this question, in our sick, and more and more repressive Western Societies. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was possible to debate about this, with a freedom that would be INCONCEIVABLE today!

Answer 8

I agree mostly.

Anyone who abuses or takes advantage ok kids is affecting that persons future life, and anyone who tries to love them also, and if they have kids perhaps future generations too. SInce people who were abused often pass along issues to their kids also.

Maybe make em watch how they screwed up the person's life who they claim to love or whatever, while tey are in prison. Perhaps that woudl be the appropriate punishment. A 30 minute thrill in exchange for totally messing up somebody's sex life forever. Yeah, prison! My wife was abused by a stranger, now I'm gonna leave her most likely, how much should he pay? I would kill him if I met the guy, I would make sure it was him, then I would kill him.

Also, I think society clouds these issues, due to fear for kids , justified sometimes, usually not though. That is due to the parents having been abused mostly, so they are overly protective, can't ever deal with their kids being sexy or sexual, etc. Also the abusers fault mostly.

That said, its normal to enjoy a woman's beauty, even if she is 12. We are designed to apprecite beauty and healthy fertility potential. Nothing wrong with that. Just don't have sex with anyone who isn't approximately your own age and no problems. We are sexual beings, if we are healthy enough to be them, physically and mentally.

Answer 9

Few things boil my potato more than paedophiles. And I'm not talking about a 45 year old man having sex with a 17 year old girl (although that is bad).

I'm talking real child molestation. I feel they are hopeless, cannot be rehabilitated and need to be locked away.

(Personally, I'd like to hang a sign on them and let the general public do what they wish)

Answer 10

FORGIVEN!!!He is mental.Paedophiles ruin children and steal their innocence.
You asked for my opinion,so here goes-Being left to die in a filthy pit of faeces,in the middle of a desert,covered in honey under a bee hive,with a tooth a day being removed with pliers and the hot ashes from my fire being emptied into the pit still isn't enough punishment.
Kinda glad it wasn't me having that debate....

Answer 11

It's been proven that Pedophiles are born pedophiles. They have it in their heads from the time they are kids that they are attracted to children and it's not really the sex that they like as much as having that much power over another human being. Maybe they can be rehabilitated, but they probably can't. I don't want to take the risk of having one "get all better" then walk out of therapy and straight into a crowded park to pick his next victim. I say we shoot them dead where they stand- no trial- no cozy jail cell- no therapy-no 3 square meals a day. Get rid of them. They're of no use to anybody.