I'm not having any trouble following her logic here. I have trouble understanding your conflation of an adolescent misdeed with a lifetime pedophile who can't be trusted with his own children. I have never seen the show, I despise reality TV. I have no knowledge of his rigid religious beliefs or whether he is a hypocrite or not. But it does seem like he made a youthful mistake, which he owned up to and has not repeated. I cannot see the logic in berating him forever for it.
Yes, I am. A full grown adult pedophile not only knows right from wrong, but they actually "groom" their victims and pick the ones they know are easily manipulated and likely not to tell. They are likely to "buy" silence with either gifts or threats. They also know that shame and financial dependence are two very strong reasons why a victim's mother (or parent) may find out about it, but choose not to pursue either legal action or even counseling. You would be shocked to find out that many families view being a victim or family of a victim as somehow shameful or deserving of public scrutiny. And yes, because they get away with it, they are repeat offenders and studies have shown that long-term treatment may be useless in curbing their behavior. Does the name Sandusky ring a bell? His behavior and crimes are completely different than what Duggar did. A 14-year old perpetrating this kind of behavior is either confused, experimenting, or perhaps showing an early propensity to future behavior. They lack the kind of planning and deception that an adult pedophile engages in. They are also not as fully developed in their understanding of consequences for themselves or their victims whereas a pedophile knows, but doesn't care. A victim more easily trusts an adult as opposed to another child so the violation of trust is not as severe.
Has he been accused or convicted of anything? Not that I'm aware of. Should we make something up because we don't like his politics? Should we assume that he is a pedophile because he fondled some kids when he was a kid? I don't think so. People are sometimes irrational where kids are concerned. A murderer can serve his time and never have to register as a murderer for the rest of his life. But 18-year-olds who had consensual sex with their 17 year old girlfriends have been convicted as sex offenders and must register as such for the rest of their lives. Vball is right. One size does not fit all in sex offenses. I shoplifted liquor when I was 14. Did it make me a habitual criminal? Are you afraid that I will steal your Lexus? I felt up willing girls when I was 14. Did it make me a pedophile and a danger to society? No one is defending his actions. I just think it is wrong to define a person by something he did when he was 14.
a 14 year old molesting a 5 year old, yes i am going to call him a pedophile and thats basically my opinion. The clinical definition is probably the opposite.
While he deserves the benefit of the doubt legally there is no way I would ever trust him to be around children unsupervised even to this day. No, I'm afraid you will steal my liquor. I felt up willing girls when I was 14 too but even at 14 I knew that it was wrong to molest 5 year old girls. I think you probably did too. Maybe it was the weird cultish family dynamic that led Duggar to his actions. Maybe he never did it again. Can't convict him but still wouldn't trust him where young children are concerned.
I don't think anyone is saying they would trust him here. But what do ya'll want? Do we need to brand the kid? Think about this, we are saying that a 17 year old girl does not know enough to say "yes" to sex but a 14 year old boy knows enough that he is a pedophile? I'd agree he wouldn't be anywhere near my kids, but I also don't think he is of the ilk that should be in a dungeon getting ass-raped by unicorns.
Your thunder is also in danger. A fella should do what he thinks is right. And err to safety when his appraisal is mixed. Clearly there is a lot of gray area between the black and the white here. Everybody draws his own lines. I tend to use a fat brush deep in the gray zone. I don't know enough about the issue to cut it any finer.
