Professor claims people should not presume all pedophilic relationships 'start with a predatory or criminally inclined adult'



A University of New Hampshire professor's remarks about pedophilic sexual relationships have simultaneously made headlines and raised eyebrows.

What are the details?

Professor David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center, suggested that he believes it is not "effective" to presume that a pedophilic relationship starts because of a "predatory or criminally inclined adult."

In a recent panel discussion titled "Sex Crimes Against Juveniles Involving Elements of Voluntary Participation: Implications for Prevention and Response," Finkelhor suggested that children may be the ones initiating sexual activities with adults who aren't otherwise "criminally inclined."

“If young people are initiating sexual activities with adults, or enthusiastically involved, we can’t be effective working with them if we assume that all such relationships start with a predatory or criminally inclined adult,” Finkelhor reasoned during the March online discussion. “We’ve seen in the discussion, young people bridle at being forced into this box of being seen as the victim of a predator, and so there are reasons for learning about what the dynamics are and how to talk about them so that we can better help the young people who are in these situations.”

He added that there's a lot of "ambiguity about and discussion and lack of consensus about what to call these kinds of episodes," and added that he's opted to coin the phrase "voluntary elements to the sexual relationship between the child and considerably older partner."

“It can be a kind of manipulation of consent, it can be ambivalence about something that an adult takes advantage of, it can be about actual curiosity the child has to discover sex or do things that adults do,” he explained. “It can actually represent a very enthusiastic kind of participation on the part of the child who really feels very positively about the adult and sees themselves as wanting to have some kind of relationship.”

“It can actually involve the active initiatory seduction of an adult by a juvenile,” Finkelhor added. “So there’s a pretty wide spectrum here. In my view, maybe what I’m talking about starts here at the curiosity/enthusiasm and goes to the seduction end of the range here, but there could be debate about where we would want to draw the line.”

.@UofNH professor says it\u2019s ineffective to assume a sexual relationship between young people and adults is predatory and criminalpic.twitter.com/GqQXmcr7hc
— Libs of Tik Tok (@Libs of Tik Tok) 1650257587

What else?

Following outcry, Finkelhor told the Daily Wire on Monday that his remarks were taken out of context and insisted that he “clearly said that all these kinds of crimes are illegal.”

“The point that I was making was that we can’t identify them if we assume that everybody who was sexually abusing children is identifiable from the kind of predator model where they had prior sexual interest in children and they were forcing themselves on a child,” he said.

He added that some related crimes take place because both young people and adults are "unaware of the statutory sex crime laws."

Professionals, he added, ought to take "more time educating people about why this is a crime" and spend more time "discouraging young people from allowing themselves to be seduced by an adult's flattery and interest."

Sex Crimes against Juveniles Involving Elements of Voluntary Participation www.youtube.com

Two FBI agents fatally shot, three wounded, while serving warrant in Sunrise, Florida



Two FBI agents were shot and killed and three more wounded while serving a warrant at a home in Sunrise, Florida, officials said Tuesday. The suspected gunman barricaded himself in his home for several hours before taking his own life, the Miami Herald reported.

"Tragically, the FBI lost two of our own today. Special Agent Daniel Alfin and Special Agent Laura Schwartzenberger were shot and killed this morning in the line of duty while executing a federal court-ordered search warrant in a crimes against children investigation in Sunrise, Florida," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. "Three other agents were shot and wounded; two suffered injuries requiring hospital care, but both are now in stable condition. The third injured agent did not require hospitalization."

The shooting took place around 6 a.m. Tuesday at the Water Terrace apartment complex in an area near Fort Lauderdale, according to CNN. Police officials said that the gunman, a man suspected of child pornography possession by FBI investigators, had barricaded himself inside the apartment before opening fire on the agents.

Law enforcement sources that spoke to the Miami Herald said the FBI was conducting a routine search warrant to seize the suspect's computer and other evidence. The FBI reportedly obtained the IPA address for the suspect's computer from an internet service provider and matched that with the suspect's physical address.

"In accordance with FBI policy, the shooting incident is under investigation by the FBI's Inspection Division," the bureau said in a statement. "The review process is thorough and objective and is conducted as expeditiously as possible under the circumstances. Because this is an ongoing investigation, no further information will be released at this time."

"Every day, FBI special agents put themselves in harm's way to keep the American people safe. Special Agent Alfin and Special Agent Schwartzenberger exemplified heroism today in defense of their country. The FBI will always honor their ultimate sacrifice and will be forever grateful for their bravery. We continue to stand by our FBI Family, and the families of these special agents, in the days to come, bringing every resource we can to get through this together," Wray said.

The FBI Agents Association also offered condolences to the families of the deceased and injured agents.

"These Agents were working to protect the most vulnerable in our society. FBIAA stands with the Agents' families and pledges our support to them during this difficult time," FBIAA President Brian O'Hare said in a statement.