How to recognize a pedophile: A talk with Dr. David Brantley

Dr. David Brantley
Dr. David Brantley

A conversation with David Brantley, Ph.D., licensed clinical psychologist, on recognizing a pedophile.

What has been your professional experience in the realm of sexual abuse?


I’ve worked with a significant number of victims and survivors of sexual abuse. None of the American sexual abuse survivors that I’ve encountered since 1996 have been victimized by strangers.

What can you tell us about a pedophile?


I found a good quote on wikiHow.com that summarizes what I’d like to say: “Understand that any adult could be a pedophile. There is no one physical characteristic, profession, or personality type that all pedophiles share. Pedophiles can be any sex or race, and their religious affiliations, occupations and hobbies are as diverse as anyone else’s. A pedophile may appear to be charming, loving, and completely good-natured while harboring predatory thoughts that he or she is adept at hiding. ”

What criteria is used to identify a pedophile?

While there are criteria that qualify people as pedophiles, they aren’t apparent or identifiable until after the pedophile is caught.  There are things you can do to minimize a child’s likelihood of being victimized by a pedophile. The “criteria” presented by the media described nine out of every 10 people that work with children. You’d get mostly false positives if you used them.  Most articles claiming that there are profiles you can use to identify pedophiles in advance are catering to the illusion of control that parents would like to have over this issue.

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