[foxdougan]

I thought Pat's points were great, about staying objective on the subject. There seems to be hysteria about pedophilia - yes, child abuse accusations should be taken seriously and investigated but "Someone said he touched his kid. Yeah, he looks like a creep! It makes sense."?

I'm not voting in the poll because I simply don't know if Woody Allen touched Dylan. No-one knows apart from the people involved.

Also, brandishing pedophiles as monsters mythologises them, which A) turns them into hate figures and stops pedophiles (even ones who harbor desires but do not act on them) to come forward for therapy and, therefore, stop children being abused; and B) Brings people to think that child abusers are "other". No, it could be your boss, your husband, your brother or your best friend, whether they have acted on their feelings or not. They could have it as their main sexuality or just occasionally/rarely think about it.

It's a myth to think these people are backward, retarded, socially awkward losers, and it's dangerous to think that way, as it means abusers can get away with it for longer, hiding under the cover of disbelief. Once society gets real about pedophilia, we will be in a far better position to stop it before it happens, and recognise it when it has happened. Fewer kids will be abused.

Offering support, and promoting reconciliation, accountability and taking responsibility to pedophiles is not something which should be viewed as "why should we help these disgusting people?" but rather: what can we do for people to recognise these tendencies in themselves, and stop them before they happen, and therefore reduce the amount of abuse cases?