One of the top fears on any parents list is that their child will somehow come into contact with someone wishing to do them harm. We read the stories, hear the news reports- and we're suddenly taken about at just how easy it seems for some predators to reach a child. And while this is a very normal reaction- it also leads to us believing that a predator, a child molester, will go after any and every child they come into contact with. This misrepresentation of the characteristics of child molesters often does more harm than good- because we look at a potential person and label them based upon what we think we already know.
Take for instance Alexander Morales-Rivera, recently convicted of sexually abusing a young in Lancaster Pa.
Horrific crime, to which Morales-Rivera still remains adamant that he did not commit. His plea of innocence is not something new- we see it all the time in cases such as this. And, of course the reaction of his family is not unusual either:
This blantant blanketing of child molesters as a danger to every child is partly responsible for situations like this- and completely responsible for comments like this.
One of the things most people understand about pedophiles is that they often have a particular attraction to children of one sex or the other. It's not that they can't be sexually aggressive to both sexes- it's just more common for them to victimize one over the other.
Another area that needs more discussion is that most pedophiles are actually limited in their selection of victims to certain types of children, and even age ranges of children. This is not even close to being a complete list, and by no means it meant to be seen as a blue print on the child molester who might live next door to you- but as a brief summary of the most common factors taken into consideration for predators picking their victims.
1.) Age and size, many pedophiles have a age range that they are most attracted to, they will seek victims that fall withing this range- while often leaving children who do not fall within it alone- although if a child were to act or appear to be within that group, it would not be uncommon for the predator to victimize them despite being older/younger than other victims.
2.) Gender, it is most common for pedophiles to favor one sex over the other- and the majority tend to not cross over into violating both sexes.
3.)Personality, much like heterosexuals and homosexuals- pedophiles tend to seek out certain personality types. These personalities traits may lead the molester to believe that the child is more vulnerable, allowing the pedophile to feel more in control of the victim.- or may be traits that the pedophile finds easy to relate to. A pedophile may be attracted to shy children, out going children or any part of the spectrum in between.
Because of different qualities that children may possess over another- a pedophile might not raise any red flags by his behavior with one child, all the while victimizing another that he deems to be within his scope of one that is attractive to him.
Morales-Rivera mother comments that because it hadn't happened to her grand daughters- that we should assume it didn't happen this time either; just as many parents assume that because one child is safe with someone, every child will be. This can not be farther from the truth- especially if the children left untouched by Morales-Rivera were not within the normal group of children that he would have found himself attracted too.
I've often mentioned that I am active in watching the online activities of numerous groups of pedophiles. Part of the reason for this is in order to come to a better understanding of just what sort of threat they pose, and what sort they don't pose. The range of different qualities that members of these groups are attracted to in children is almost never ending- and disturbing to say the least. I won't tell you that they wouldn't go outside of their preferred group if they were unable to find someone from within it- just that their first choice would almost always be the preferred- and the distance that they'd be willing to go away from those preferred qualities normally isn't extremely far. It would be extremely rare for a pedophile who is mainly attracted to small shy girls between 4 and 6 to suddenly begin to victimize outgoing boys in their teens.
So while we look at many cases where it would appear that a child molester should have had more victims just because he was around more children- jumping to the conclusion that his lack of more victims is a sign of innocence is a far crime from reality. Try to keep in mind that one child may not have appealed to them, while another did.
Morales-Rivera's nieces may have been completely safe with him- because they didn't appeal to him. However, that's not to say that he didn't molest them at all, or that he wouldn't have. It's just unlikely that he would have reached outside of his scope of attraction- IF he had a victim that already fit within the bounds of what he was looking for.
Just compare it to yourself- if your idea of a perfect person to be with is someone your age, your religion, your skin color, with a similar personality to your own, with like minded political beliefs and morals, and of a certain sex- what is the chance that you would attempt a relationship with the polar opposite of that? We pursue what we are attracted to... as do they.
Categories: predators, molesters,
Take for instance Alexander Morales-Rivera, recently convicted of sexually abusing a young in Lancaster Pa.
Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey A. Conrad said the abuse Morales-Rivera inflicted on the girl is deplorable.
“This was a horrible rape of a child,” Conrad said. “There is no more heinous crime.”
Lancaster city police began their investigation in June 2003 after Lancaster County Children and Youth Social Service Agency uncovered the sexual abuse.
Detective Robert Deeter determined Morales-Rivera had abused the girl from February 2002 until June 2003, starting when she was 10.
Horrific crime, to which Morales-Rivera still remains adamant that he did not commit. His plea of innocence is not something new- we see it all the time in cases such as this. And, of course the reaction of his family is not unusual either:
Erma Ramos, Morales-Rivera’s stepmother, also told Madenspacher the allegations were fabricated.
Morales-Rivera has “been around my granddaughter and other girls. I saw him play with them, and nothing suspicious happened,” Ramos said. “I don’t believe he did (the crimes) because something would’ve happened to the other girls.”
This blantant blanketing of child molesters as a danger to every child is partly responsible for situations like this- and completely responsible for comments like this.
One of the things most people understand about pedophiles is that they often have a particular attraction to children of one sex or the other. It's not that they can't be sexually aggressive to both sexes- it's just more common for them to victimize one over the other.
Another area that needs more discussion is that most pedophiles are actually limited in their selection of victims to certain types of children, and even age ranges of children. This is not even close to being a complete list, and by no means it meant to be seen as a blue print on the child molester who might live next door to you- but as a brief summary of the most common factors taken into consideration for predators picking their victims.
1.) Age and size, many pedophiles have a age range that they are most attracted to, they will seek victims that fall withing this range- while often leaving children who do not fall within it alone- although if a child were to act or appear to be within that group, it would not be uncommon for the predator to victimize them despite being older/younger than other victims.
2.) Gender, it is most common for pedophiles to favor one sex over the other- and the majority tend to not cross over into violating both sexes.
3.)Personality, much like heterosexuals and homosexuals- pedophiles tend to seek out certain personality types. These personalities traits may lead the molester to believe that the child is more vulnerable, allowing the pedophile to feel more in control of the victim.- or may be traits that the pedophile finds easy to relate to. A pedophile may be attracted to shy children, out going children or any part of the spectrum in between.
Because of different qualities that children may possess over another- a pedophile might not raise any red flags by his behavior with one child, all the while victimizing another that he deems to be within his scope of one that is attractive to him.
Morales-Rivera mother comments that because it hadn't happened to her grand daughters- that we should assume it didn't happen this time either; just as many parents assume that because one child is safe with someone, every child will be. This can not be farther from the truth- especially if the children left untouched by Morales-Rivera were not within the normal group of children that he would have found himself attracted too.
I've often mentioned that I am active in watching the online activities of numerous groups of pedophiles. Part of the reason for this is in order to come to a better understanding of just what sort of threat they pose, and what sort they don't pose. The range of different qualities that members of these groups are attracted to in children is almost never ending- and disturbing to say the least. I won't tell you that they wouldn't go outside of their preferred group if they were unable to find someone from within it- just that their first choice would almost always be the preferred- and the distance that they'd be willing to go away from those preferred qualities normally isn't extremely far. It would be extremely rare for a pedophile who is mainly attracted to small shy girls between 4 and 6 to suddenly begin to victimize outgoing boys in their teens.
So while we look at many cases where it would appear that a child molester should have had more victims just because he was around more children- jumping to the conclusion that his lack of more victims is a sign of innocence is a far crime from reality. Try to keep in mind that one child may not have appealed to them, while another did.
Morales-Rivera's nieces may have been completely safe with him- because they didn't appeal to him. However, that's not to say that he didn't molest them at all, or that he wouldn't have. It's just unlikely that he would have reached outside of his scope of attraction- IF he had a victim that already fit within the bounds of what he was looking for.
Just compare it to yourself- if your idea of a perfect person to be with is someone your age, your religion, your skin color, with a similar personality to your own, with like minded political beliefs and morals, and of a certain sex- what is the chance that you would attempt a relationship with the polar opposite of that? We pursue what we are attracted to... as do they.
Categories: predators, molesters,
Comments
Many children who are abused will not tell, and will even deny it if asked. Or they might be threatened not to tell.