Child Molestation Is the Most Horrible Crime an Adult Can Commit

Child molestation is the most horrible crime an adult can commit. I believe this type of crime does more psychological damage to its victims than any other type of crime. Who are child sex offenders? Do they look like monsters? The fact is a child sex offender can be anyone. A child molester is often a person the victim's parents or the victims think they can trust. The devastation these people cause their victims is tragic. Their victims are certain to suffer a lifetime of emotional trauma. Child sex offenders should not get a second chance. They should get life in prison for their first offense. More than one-half of offenders (about sixty percent) are family acquaintances, such as baby sitters, neighbors or other family friends. Less than one-half of perpetrators (about thirty percent) are relatives of the child, and a very small percentage of perpetrators are strangers to the child. Both men and women can be child sexual offenders. Women have been the perpetrators in twenty percent of cases that have been reported. (Whealin) There is no way to know who these people are just by looking at them, but there are signs to watch for. Pedophiles are usually friends of the victim's parents, or they might know the victim from church, schools, or social events. Child molesters give their victims gifts, take them places, and have hobbies or interests a child would like. (Pedophile Characteristics) Every one square mile of land in the United States has a child sexual offender living in it. One child molester will abuse between twenty and sixty children before they are caught, and over three hundred in a lifetime. In California the state has lost track of thousands of registered sex offenders. (Child Safety) These mentally ill individuals do not care or worry about what they have done psychologically to their victims. The child molester hurts their victims physically, emotionally and mentally. Their victims have to live a lifetime with the images of what

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