RE: Your friend tells you they're a paedophile
October 26, 2016 at 7:11 am
(This post was last modified: October 26, 2016 at 7:12 am by Excited Penguin.)
I tend to choose my friends extremely carefully, and then make sure I can trust them before they stick around for too long.
It depends on the person. If this is my best friend we're talking about, the person whose judgment and character I trust as much as my own, then it probably wouldn't affect me. I do sort of feel like I'd want to distance my kids from them but that seems like an emotional reaction. If I truly trusted this person my kids would have nothing to fear from them, nor others supposedly. Now then, I'd try to find out if he's only attracted to kids and if he can't quiet his urges in some way that is legal and doesn't hurt anyone. If yes and no then I will strongly advise him to seek counsel. Also, this is the point where I cut contact with my kids and tell other people if I don't see willingness from him to treat his condition. It's not about trust anymore. I'd also be asking him if he ever acted out on his fantasies in the past, and inform the police if he did.
What I wrote above seems slightly contradictory only for one reason. I know my friends. I would certainly make sure I did before I let them near my kids. I just don't see me befriending an exclusive pedophile, it seems to me like that kind of person would give off all sorts of warning signs. But hey, anything is possible.
It depends on the person. If this is my best friend we're talking about, the person whose judgment and character I trust as much as my own, then it probably wouldn't affect me. I do sort of feel like I'd want to distance my kids from them but that seems like an emotional reaction. If I truly trusted this person my kids would have nothing to fear from them, nor others supposedly. Now then, I'd try to find out if he's only attracted to kids and if he can't quiet his urges in some way that is legal and doesn't hurt anyone. If yes and no then I will strongly advise him to seek counsel. Also, this is the point where I cut contact with my kids and tell other people if I don't see willingness from him to treat his condition. It's not about trust anymore. I'd also be asking him if he ever acted out on his fantasies in the past, and inform the police if he did.
What I wrote above seems slightly contradictory only for one reason. I know my friends. I would certainly make sure I did before I let them near my kids. I just don't see me befriending an exclusive pedophile, it seems to me like that kind of person would give off all sorts of warning signs. But hey, anything is possible.
