Hello Erika,
A very interesting article. I agree that there are many different types of offenders. I also hesitate to say it is a mental illness, though in some cases it could be. Already many offenders are using mental illness as an excuse - as you mentioned may happen. One offender actually admitted this to me and said he 'couldn't help it and was therefore not responsible'.
I have had a great deal of experience with abused children, and was sexually abused myself. Definitely there are many different kinds of sexual abuse, ranging from the parent who sexually abuses their child, through to ritual abuse, which is VERY different.
I do not believe it is sexual attraction in most cases. For example, how can a man or woman ( and let's not forget that women sexually abuse too)could possibly be sexually aroused by a 6 month old baby! One case I knew of involved sexual abuse of a baby of that age by the natural father, and the approval and observation of the mother! The baby died and both parents went to jail.
Can I ask you to go to the Child Abuse forum and read my post there? It explains in gruesome detail what happened to me, and many others.
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