Tremendous post, Tom. I used to work in an inner-city care home for teenagers, and one of our residents was in a similar position. He was sixteen and had been found having various sexual interactions with his younger siblings and their friends, who were three to six years old, so as a result he was housed with us. I too saw a victim. He had had the most hideous life, I remember him telling me very matter-of-factly about one time his dad got really angry and, in front of him, pulled the legs off his pet dog. I really struggled to maintain my professional composure on that occasion when I just wanted to throw up and scream. This was in the days when people weren't allowed to be mad until they were 18, so there was no support for him but us, and I don't think we were able to help much. I think about him sometimes and wonder where he is now, what kind of life he has. I have absolutely no sympathy with the actions of paedophiles, but I doubt many if any of them start out as purely evil beings; I think most if not all, like the lad you met and the one I knew, are victims first. I know this is an unpopular view and I have often been accused of being a bleeding-heart liberal for espousing it. But it's too easy to brand people like paedophiles 'other', and refuse to see in them the humanity that we do in fact all share.