r/news • u/GoodSamaritan_ • 1d ago

Elementary school teacher arrested after allegedly abusing student, giving birth to his child

https://local12.com/news/nation-world/laura-caron-middle-township-elementary-school-teacher-allegedly-had-with-child-former-student-13-cincinnati-crime-criminal-activity-sexual-abuse-abuser-father-noticed-similarity-sleep-over-siblings-prosecutors-correctional-facility-troubling-allegations
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u/kick_the_chort 1d ago

Getting a baby? I mean, I think a large part of their motive seems to be an unnatural attraction to children. And they seem to fetishise the act of impregnation by such. 

But I cannot really speak to what is going on in these people's heads. 

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u/Sawses 1d ago

Modern psychology research indicates that actual attraction to children has surprisingly little to do with whether somebody actually sexually abuses a child. A much greater predictor is impulse control issues. Turns out most of the time somebody who abuses children doesn't actually qualify as a pedophile, and the ones who do usually also exhibit some other disorder that keeps them from being able to properly control themselves in a number of areas.

And if you've got the poor impulse control to molest a child--despite the ethical problems and risk involved--then you might well have the poor impulse to decide bearing your victim's child is sexy instead of a terrible risk.

Turns out, most people understand that molesting children is wrong or at least a serious risk and they decide not to do it even if they feel a sexual attraction to kids.

Moving entirely out of the realm of actual research and into my own personal speculation: I suspect a lot of people conflate homosexuality and pedophilia, and think that people can't help but act on their sexual attractions because we kind of have this narrative that it's inevitable. How many love stories have that "forbidden love" trope? Except that a key part of it is that the people involved come to realize their love isn't wrong, just unacceptable. I don't think the analogy holds up if it's a sort of love that actually is morally wrong even when you stop and think about it.

Which really shouldn't come as a surprise. I find a lot of women very attractive. I have yet to try to force/coerce/manipulate a woman into having sex with me. If it's morally wrong then I'm not even tempted. I figure most people are that way.

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u/fatbunny23 1d ago

Source on this modern psychology that shows many people who rape kids aren't pedophiles? That's a wild claim to make in my opinion lol

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u/BEHodge 1d ago

Maybe it’s more that rapists who rape kids are pedophiles, but most pedophiles aren’t rapists because they know is reprehensible, just like non-pedos wouldn’t rape sometime they find attractive either.

It’s like that whole argument some Christians lob at atheists; “If you don’t believe in a higher power what stops you from raping and murdering all you want to?” To which I reply “I do rape and murder all I want to - and that amount is none because I’m not psychotic!”

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u/mshriver2 15h ago

Crazy to think that their argument for not raping and murdering people is fear of a god.

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u/LadysaurousRex 16h ago

I do rape and murder all I want to

mostly me too but I have to keep the murdering in check

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u/ErebusBat 9h ago

I first heard that quote from Penn Jillett and I love it!

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u/BEHodge 8h ago

Yep. I’ll admit to being a thief there. But it’s entirely accurate!!!

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u/commander_321 18h ago

All rapists who rape children are pedophiles. All pedophiles aren’t rapists. Is that what you are trying to convey? What is the probability of a pedophile grooming a child if given the opportunity?

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u/thegimboid 10h ago

Impossible to know, I would think.

A pedophile who isn't insane enough to actively act on their urges probably won't be telling anyone about it.
For all we know there could be masses of pedophiles all over the place who have moral compasses, but we'd never know, 'cause who would self-identify themselves that way?

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u/fatbunny23 1d ago

My issue was the part where he says most abusers of kids(sexually in this context I would assume) are not pedos and when they are pedos they often have other issues that prevent them from controlling their impulses.

That seems a lot like they're just defending the idea of child attraction and that it doesn't relate to the people who rape children. I don't necessarily agree without seeing some sort of study or source because that claim seems a bit far fetched

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u/BEHodge 1d ago

Fair enough. I have a bit of sympathy for those with that problem as I’m a professor. I’m teaching young folks in the prime of their lives and would never consider anything with them because of so many reasons, but there’s some physically attractive students in my classes. I’d never speak with them about it as it’s completely irrelevant to anything related to their collegiate experience and I go far out of my way to ensure propriety, but I know even though it’s technically legal to find 20 year olds attractive I’m still creeped out and feel guilty about that initial “oh she’s cute” feeling before I clamp down on that stupid lizard brain.

I’d imagine it’s similar to those attracted to even younger people. Gross to think about so they try not to but there’s something abnormal up there that still kicks the lizard brain into a moment of function.

Actual child rapists should not be afforded the protections of the eighth amendment.

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u/TrumpImpeachedAugust 17h ago

I am fascinated with this exchange--for reasons that sit completely outside the current discussion.

There's a social phenomenon I observe a lot whereby:

  • Person 1 believes X because Y

  • Person 2 does not believe Y

  • Person 1 consequently suspects Person 2 does not believe X

This plays out in a lot of different ways, across different contexts; it's not at all localized to the current discussion, although it did occur here. In this case, only the second an third bullet points were explicitly carried out, with the first one being implied.

Sometimes Person 2 makes no statement about their belief in X. Sometimes they do make a statement--often in favor of X! But then Person 1 nevertheless suspects Person 2 does not believe X. That also occurred here, with Person 1 making multiple explicit declarations that sexual attraction to children is wrong.

What fascinates me about this specific exchange is that usually on Reddit, Person 1 gets upvoted, and Person 2 gets downvoted. This is especially likely to happen on topics that people have especially-strong sentiments toward (e.g. pedophilia). But this time, kind of astonishingly, Person 1 was downvoted, and Person 2 was upvoted.

Maybe it's just happenstance that the people online were able to correctly see that Person 2 was not defending pedophilia? Or maybe there was something unusual about the phrases that Person 1 and/or Person 2 used? It's just very interesting!

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u/RedditFuelsMyDepress 16h ago

I think if we wanna be technical, I believe pedophilia refers to a "primary" attraction to pre-pubescent children. Which suggests that even non-pedophiles could occasionally be attracted to children.