Evidence of the extent of child sexual assault has come from growing instances of venereal disease among infants and prepubertal children. Sexual assault of children produces lasting difficulties for the child, particularly if the perpetrator is known by the victim. Most pedophiliacs do not have personality disorders and are not antisocial; the dominant diagnosis is sexual deviance without other disorders. Any approach to preventing pedophilia will require that the public acknowledge adults' responsibility to protect children from harm, recognize that this act involves violence and power (not affection), and that adults (not children) are responsible for their sexual conduct. Society must also be able to discriminate between types of pornography harmful to society and types of pornography that are artistic. Seventeen references are included.