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"In My Own World": A Case Study of a Paedophile's Thinking and Doing and His Use of the Internet

NCJ Number
222699
Journal
Howard Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 47 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2008 Pages: 107-120
Author(s)
David Wilson; Timothy Jones
Date Published
May 2008
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This case study of a convicted pedophile ("James") in England focuses on the links between his "thinking and doing," i.e., the interaction of his fantasy life, his use of the Internet, and his contact offenses against children.
Abstract
For James, his thoughts, sexual desires, impulses, and fantasies were objectified and reinforced by pornographic images and videos viewed on the Internet, which were acted out in sexual contact with children. Thus, he was unrestrained in bringing his thinking, fantasizing, and visualization into the real world of sexual contact with children. The authors note that the proposed model drawn from James' case study does not suggest that every individual who has fantasies of unlawful or deviant sexual acts will inevitably act on them in the real world. For most who engage in such fantasies, they coexist with a conscience conditioned by societal norms, empathy, and histories of conditioned normative behaviors aimed at doing no harm to others in the real world of consensual intimate sexual interactions. The danger comes when individuals, like James, with deviant sexual fantasies do not have a coexisting powerful reservoir of restraints based in social and genetic conditions that keep "thinking" from becoming "doing." The case study of James derived from access granted to a convicted pedophile serving his sentence at HMP Grendon, a facility unique in the penal system of England and Wales in its operation as a therapeutic community. James was interviewed on four occasions, with each interview lasting, on average, 2 hours. All four interviews were taped, transcribed, and analyzed. 1 figure and 28 references