It's not about money. The guy is a paedophile and a predator. He's fishing.
This will explain why he does it:
www.fbi.gov...
The Subcommittee has asked whether there is any connection between those who trade or possess child pornography and those who molest
children.
Based on my experience and based on my consultation with experts who have made it their business to study that connection, my answer is a resounding
and alarming - -
yes.
The Internet has caused explosive growth in the market for child pornography. The volume of child pornography circulated on the Internet is staggering
and the number of persons obtaining, trading and distributing these images is downright appalling. Recently, Operation Candyman uncovered more than
7,200 such traffickers worldwide in a single e-group. The number of e-groups, newsgroups, bulletin boards, and the like that cater to child
pornography is enormous. Yet, these facts, and this trend, do not sufficiently capture the gravity of the situation.
Our experience in the investigation of these crimes also signals a strong correlation between child pornography offenders and molesters of
children. In Operation Candyman, for example, of the 90 people arrested thus far for their participation in the child pornography e-group, 13 of
them who chose to make inculpatory statements admitted to molesting a combined total of 48 children. These offenders included a school bus driver, a
foster parent, a mentor for underprivileged children, a member of the armed forces, a delivery person, a landscaper, a prison case worker, a janitor,
an office manager, a security guard and his wife. This number, though alarming, probably represents only a small fraction of child molestations
committed by the more than 7,200 Candyman members - - the vast majority of whom did not make admissions.
My colleagues at the U.S. Postal Inspection Service tell me that, according to statistics compiled from their investigations, a frighteningly high
percentage of the child pornography offenders investigated were also involved in the sexual molestation of children. Their studies indicate
consistently that, of the total number of child pornographers investigated over the past several years, nearly 40 percent have been determined to be
child molesters.
In addition, in November 2000, Dr. Andres E. Hernandez, PsyD., Director of the Sex Offender Treatment Program, Federal Bureau of Prisons, FCI Butner,
presented the results of his
study of child pornography offenders entitled, Self-Reported Contact Sexual Offenses by Participants in the Federal
Bureau of Prisons' Sex Offender Treatment Program: Implications for Internet Sex Offenders. This study, among other things, explored the correlation
between child pornography offenses and actual child molestation. Dr. Hernandez' data indicates that the majority of the persons in his study
convicted of child pornography offenses actually molested significant numbers of children without detection by the criminal justice system. The
study also indicated that "these offenders target children in Cyberspace in a similar manner as offenders who prey on children in their neighborhood
or nearby park. They seek vulnerable children, gradually groom them, and eventually contact them to perpetrate sexual abuse."
I have attached to my written testimony a summary of the report prepared by Dr. Hernandez. Dr. Hernandez concluded that 76 percent of the child
pornographers or travelers (those who travel or intend to travel interstate for the purpose of having sex with a minor) who participated in his study
admitted to having committed contact sex crimes which went undetected by the criminal justice system.
These offenders had an average of 30.5 child
sex victims each. In fact, this group of offenders admitted to having molested a combined total of 1,433 victims without ever having been
detected. That is not 1,433 more offenses - - it is 1,433 more victims.
If you factor in the number of times they offended against each individual
victim, the number would be significantly higher. In addition, while Dr. Hernandez' study lumped child pornographers and travelers in the same
category, his data shows that the number of undetected sex crimes was significantly higher for child pornographers than it was for travelers. In
short, child pornographers, who consisted of 49 of the 62 subjects, were responsible for the vast majority of the 1,433 victims reported for that
group. [The group consisted of 49 Child Pornography Offenders and 13 "Travelers."]
The Subcommittee has asked whether child molesters use child pornography to seduce children.
Our experience has shown that the answer to that question is undeniably - -
yes. The FBI's Innocent Images Task Force has conducted several
hundred online investigations where the agents pose as children.
The agents report that sexual predators routinely send images of child pornography
to them as part of the grooming process to increase the likelihood of a sexual encounter. The child pornography typically depicts a child of the same
age as the Agent's cover having sexual acts with an older man. The purpose behind this is clearly to lower the inhibitions of the person the
offender believes is a child and to convince the child that the activity is fun and acceptable.
Specifically, we have found that child pornography is used by child molesters to:
- Lower the sexual inhibitions of children. Some children naturally fear sexual activities. Some offenders show pictures of other children engaging
in sexual activities to overcome these fears, indicating to their intended victims that it is all right to have sex with an adult because lots of
other boys and girls do the same thing.
- Desensitize children to sex. Offenders commonly show child pornography to their intended victims to expose them to sexual acts before they are
naturally curious about such activities.
- Sexually arouse children. Offenders commonly use pornographic images of other children to arouse victims, particularly those in adolescence.
- Groom them into a sexual relationship.
Some offenders take advantage of the fact that some children are curious about sex. They show them images which appear to depict other children
enjoying sexual activities with adults to encourage their victims to engage in sex.
Others take advantage of the guilt and shame commonly
experienced by their victims by taking pictures or videos of the sexual activities with their child victims to use as an insurance policy against
disclosure by them.
The Subcommittee has asked whether child pornography seduces child pornographers to molest children.
It definitely has that effect on some of the collectors. Those who trade in child pornography participate in organized (like "Candyman") or informal
(chat rooms, F-serves, news groups, bulletin boards, Web sites, etc.) networks of like-minded individuals, which serve as support groups. That these
individuals can easily find, identify with, correspond with, and trade child pornography with each other, gives them comfort in the fact that they are
not alone and
tends to validate their offending behavior. They feel they are part of a vast network of like-minded people who believe it is
acceptable to engage in sexual fantasies about children, thus lowering their inhibitions about acting on their fantasies and increasing the likelihood
that they will actually molest children.
The best indicator of future behavior is a pattern of past behavior. The next best indicator of future behavior is what an individual wants to do.
Some individuals may be sexually aroused by viewing images depicting nude children but are repulsed by seeing images depicting an adult interacting
with a child sexually. Others might enjoy viewing images depicting nude children but are more excited by viewing depictions of children "playing"
sexually with other children. Others still are aroused by viewing any image depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, but are most
aroused when viewing images depicting children engaged in sexual acts with adults.
An individual's child pornography collection is the best indicator of what he is fantasizing about. In turn, an individual's fantasies are the best
indicators of what he wishes to do. Therefore,
those who collect images depicting adults engaging in sexually explicit conduct with children are
the most likely to molest children.