What does a pedophile look like?
A pedophile can be a male or female.
He/she can have brown hair, blonde, black, grey, red. or any other color.
He/she can be young or old.
He/she can be dressed sloppily, or very neatly.
He/she can be well-educated or hardly educated at all.
He/she can be short, tall, fat, skinny.
He/she can be drug and alcohol free, or be addicted to drugs or alcohol.
He/she can be fun to be around (normally is),or not fun to be around.
He or she might be a stranger.
But, more than likely,
a pedophile is
a close friend or
someone in YOUR family.
Can you protect your child? Probably not, unless you want to hide your child from the rest of the world, or never let your child be alone with anyone ever. But what kind of life would that be?
You can teach your child good touch and bad touch. You can teach your child to tell you, and have complete faith that your child will, since you have had such good discussions. But the sad fact is, they will normally be too afraid to tell, until some years later, and they probably won't tell you, but rather a teacher or someone else they trust. Bless their hearts if they do tell right away.
If you can't protect them, what can you do?
BELIEVE them when they finally do tell you. That is the most important thing you can do. The next most important thing to do is, KEEP THEM AWAY FROM THE ONE WHO ABUSED THEM. It's not fair to do otherwise.
Whether or not you want to prosecute is up to you and your child, but do let them know the statutes of limitations for their state, when they are able to understand it. They have a right to file not only criminal charges, but civil charges for money, as well. Let them be informed.
I hope you won't be faced with this, but statistics say, you or a loved one probably will.
*There are some similar traits, such as having hobbies or professions that require being around children, but we can't assume everyone that's around children are molesters. We really cannot predict one way or another.
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Comments: 19
However, I agree friends (with previous posters) etc. of the family that are "trusted" seem like they are more often the culprits.
So far I have been successful in keeping my 4 kids away from a childhood like mine where I managed to encounter 4 molesters.
Gave you a 10.
I have heard many women say that they would never fall for the lure of a sexual predator. I'm afraid they are most likely to be the next victims. No one can be sure when dealing with these predators, especially not children.
great post. I'm still amazed at how many parents do NOTHING to protect their children. A friend of mine's daughter was molested by her own brother who is about 8 years older than her. The mom was so upset over her son being in a juvenile treatment program that she never ever really dealt with the daughter's issues. In fact she made statements to me that basically said she didn't believe her son really did anything. Another friend overheard another brother saying the sister came home without her underwear again and called authorities... very very sad.