Comment: As usual on controversial issues, both sides are wrong - or at least not entirely right. Whether or not pedophiles are hardwired makes no difference - if they commit a crime and get caught, they will go to jail. Psychopathy, for example, is widely accepted to be "hardwired", but so far there is no movement toward giving psychopathic offenders more rights than their victims. The majority of violent incarcerated criminals are psychopaths, and the fact that they are hardwired means they are less likely to get parole because of their higher chances of recidivism. There's no reason to think it will be any different with pedophilia if the issue is just one of nature vs. nurture.
Dr. James Cantor, a neuroscientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), has triggered controversy with a recent interview in which he argues, based on MRI brain scans of convicted child molesters, that "pedophilia begins in the womb." Strangely, however, no brains of infants or children were examined in the study.
Comment: Not a lot is known about the causes of sexual orientation and paraphilias. There's no "gay gene", for instance. As far as we know, it is probably some combination of genetics and early imprinting. But that's just a guess at this point. So Cantor's statement should be regarded as no more than a guess - as with everyone else claiming to know the source of human sexuality.
At one point in the interview, it seemed that Cantor was being too kind to "positive pedophiles," as he politely refers to those individuals who refrain from acting upon their unspeakable impulses. Cantor argues there is a difference between a so-called 'positive pedophile' who has committed no crime, and a sexual predator who has violated a child.
Comment: Technically he is right. The question is one of statistics - which we don't have. How many non-offending pedophiles are there? What percentage of total pedophiles? How likely is a "positive pedophile" to become a "negative pedophile" and offend? In the face of uncertainty, it's prudent to take steps to keep such individuals away from children.
"There's nothing about a pedophile who has never touched anybody, never watched child porn, has a sexual interest pattern he didn't ask for and can't get rid of. What did he do wrong," Cantor asked. "What am I blaming him for?"
Comment: See also: