Face of torment drives police to hunt predators

By CATHERINE MASTERS

The tormented face of a little boy stares out from the overhead projector.

His hands clutch the bars that trap him in a dimly lit cellar -- the cage where the predator who is sexually abusing him keeps him prisoner.

His is the frightened and largely anonymous face of paedophilia, a crime which Detective Chief Inspector Robert McLachlan of New Scotland Yard has made it his business to pursue.

Other more graphic and disturbing images of confiscated child pornography are shown, of children being forced to smile as they are raped and as they have objects inserted into them.

They are shocking even for the audience of child abuse prevention experts attending the Auckland conference.

For those in the community who do not believe in the widespread existence of paedophilia, the pictures are proof. New Scotland Yard and the New Zealand police have boxes and boxes.

For Mr McLachlan, who heads the paedophilia unit of the London Metropolitan Police Service, the sickening images are something he deals with daily.

"The day I understand these people will be the day I'll have a problem."

But the task of understanding paedophiles is part of what his job is all about. His unit was set up to vigorously detect abusers through sophisticated intelligence methods.

Child pornography and child erotica are important clues. Collections are psychologically important to abusers, who rarely get rid of their stash -- when it or the computer on which they download images are confiscated, it is like having their arms cut off, says Mr McLachlan.

Paedophiles are devious, cunning, fixated and well organised.

"It is incumbent upon us to try and at least attempt to understand their methods, behaviour patterns and what makes them tick."

The police have identified three major behaviour patterns of abuser.

The most common is "the seducer." They court children, give them presents and seduce them but they don't rush. Those with an age preference may identify a boy or girl they want to abuse, then spend several years "grooming" them until they reach the desired age.

The abuser often holds a position of trust. Parents, who are also seduced into allowing access to their children, are devastated when they learn what has happened. Children are blackmailed and subjected to violence to keep them quiet.

The next pattern is the "introverted offender." He lacks the interpersonal skills to seduce children and more fits the stereotype of the abuser who hangs around school playgrounds.

Then there is the sadistic offender. There are few of them but they are dangerous. To be gratified they must inflict pain or suffering.

"I've got lots of videos ... where children are subjected to the most horrendous torture."

He shows a photo of a smiling naked child who is covered in bruises.

The smile gives the subliminal message that the child is enjoying what is happening and legitimises the behaviour of the abuser and those who access this kind of pornography.

Police Commissioner Peter Doone, who attended the lecture, says enough paedophilia came to the attention of New Zealand police for it to be a significant problem.

But the police, Internal Affairs and Customs had groups focused on the trafficking of child pornography and the investigation of paedophiles.

Detective Sergeant Mark Churches, who will head a new specialised "paedophile unit" being set up in Auckland by police, says offenders defy the public's expectations, which helps them to escape detection.

"The public perception of the dirty old men hanging around in playgrounds is that they are monsters. The thing is, monsters don't get close to children -- nice men do.

"Having said that, we must be careful not to create an unwarranted fear that paedophiles are lurking around every corner."

Paedophiles are often narcissistic, well-educated and usually unmarried men who seek out work or activities involving children. However, many men who are not paedophiles share the same traits.

An Auckland forensic psychiatrist, Dr Steve Allnut, says there is no psychological test to identify a paedophile, who is medically defined as a person with intense sexual urges and sexually arousing fantasies about prepubescent children.

Some are distressed by these desires, and seek help. They cannot be cured, but can learn to control their behaviour with the help of psychological therapy and medication, Dr Allnut says.

Also presenting a paper at the conference is an Australian law lecturer, Judith Lancaster, of the University of Technology in Sydney.

She warns of international effects of moves to lower the age of consent after a recommendation by the Wood Royal Commission into New South Wales police.

A similar idea is being put forward in England and if these countries adopt it, a precedent would be set that would simply encourage paedophilia.

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