Spotting a sexual predator

Editor: Lately we have been hearing and reading about adults committing sexual acts against children. Not that this is a new development, but rather it is now being exposed as against years gone by. However, we must admit that it is now becoming a menace to society and is indeed sickening. We sometimes wonder what goes on in the mind of a sexual predator and child molester.

• • • Research will show some of the following: Pedophiles are notoriously friendly, nice, kind, engaging and likeable.
    • Pedophiles target their victims, often inserting themselves into that child’s life through their family, school, house of worship, sports, and hobbies.
    • Pedophiles are professional con artists and are experts at getting children and families to trust them.
    • Pedophiles will smile at you, look you right in the eye and make you believe they are trustworthy.
    • They sometimes are married or in a relationship. Not always strangers, often family members, family friends and neighbours
    • They are sometimes arrogant. They see women as sex objects. They many times have been watching several kinds of pornography. They are sometimes well known and intelligent.
    • Great helpers — are there to lend a helping hand — prey on people in need, when they can insert themselves in your life
    • Use stressful and vulnerable situations to get in — they find a need they can fill and they use that to get next to the victim
      These are just some of the characteristics of a sexual predator. Therefore it is sometimes not easily detected, for those who we may think are the predators, may not be, but rather those around us who we least expect are the ones. For indeed from the above mentioned we can see that the sexual predators are not necessarily the person on the street but rather someone close to us that we least expect.

It is important therefore that as parents and females in general that you be careful who you get into a relationship with and who you have as friends of the family. Let us all be alert and pray harder than before.

Kennard King