Professor: Many sex offenders have "brainwashed" themselves

The real question here is, who has been "brainwashed," while I am sure there may be some sex offenders as she describes, but to use the word "many" is very likely exaggerating. In the world of sex offenders there are facts and there are myths, here it seems the myths reign. Then to further classify all of them "sociopathic," well the myths are taking over again!

6-8-2009 National:

Many sex offenders were molested as children and commit sex crimes because they're confused about love - that is, they grow to learn what felt physically good as a child is unacceptable to society, according to professor Laura Barnes, chairwoman of the Lenoir Community College Behavior and Social Sciences Department.

Many victims of child molestation end up fine with extensive therapy, she said, but some of those who don't get help act on their conflicting beliefs.

Treating a sex offender, in turn, has become a difficult task.

"What they try to do is build up empathy skills," Barnes said. "Many sex offenders have been molested themselves and have convinced themselves what they're doing is a favor - that the child wants it and it feels good to the child even though it's through fear and intimidation.

"They have so brainwashed themselves with their narcissism that they truly don't get it. And if they do get it even a little bit, they don't care because they're narcissistic and they're sociopathic at the same time.

"These are people who can convince themselves that if a child walks into the bathroom at the same time - ‘Oh, he's here because he wants it' - and would work to justify in their thinking.

"They can work to rationalize anything like that.

"So because their thinking is so off the chart and their justification for the behavior is so off the chart, you have to set artificial boundaries around them because they can't set a boundary inside.

"What we do in society is create those fences that will stop them. We try to create a sense of safety and protection for our kids by creating artificial barriers that person will have to observe."

"Society's stepping in and trying to make the ego boundaries the person can't make for themselves." ..Source.. by Justin Schoenberger, Staff Writer