Recovering porn addict, sex offender talks of experience
Recovering porn addict, sex offender talks of experience (Columbia) March 10, 2006 - "You don't think you're gonna get caught because you think it's anonymous." That was the mindset one man had before SLED seized his computer and found hundreds of pornographic pictures, including some of minors. The man wants to remain anonymous, so he asked us to call him Paul. "It was a very slow progression. It was like ... I shouldn't do that. You don't. But you know it's there and maybe a week later ... you go back," says Paul. Paul's addiction ended with his arrest. He was convicted of looking at child porn, a crime he thought he could get away with. "It wasn't costing anything. That's how I rationalized it. ... Now, it seems ludicrous especially when you see how far it can get people down the road." This week's arrest of two people charged with distributing child pornography has brought back painful memories for Paul and his wife, who asked to be called Kay. "My first reaction was 'oh, my gosh! they went too far,'" says Kay. She says the case was a reminder her family's experience. "It isn't worth it. It isn't worth it to have to deal with this for the rest of your life," says Kay. Her husband and the father of their two children will always be a registered sex offender. That's a label that won't keep Paul from being a living lesson for others. "If you think you have a problem you probably do," says Paul. If going to jail or saving your family isn't enough to get help, Kay asks to consider the victims. "Every time you pull it up on the internet, every time you download it, every time you sell it ... even though you didn't do it ... you're hurting that child again." Reported by Angie Goff Posted 6:15pm by Graeme Moore http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4615964&nav=0RaPdmGN