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The Boy Scout ‘Perversion’ Files: They’re About Combatting Pedophilia, Not Bashing Gays

October 16, 2012

By TIM KOSNOFF

Claims that pedophiles are predominantly homosexual or that homosexuality leads to child molestation are scarcely new. They continue courtesy of, among others, the hierarchy of the Boy Scouts of America, an organization with rampant documentation of pedophilia among its past and present leadership.

Contradicting a relationship between homosexuality and pedophilia also is nothing new. Indeed, one of the most compelling studies debunking a causal relationship between same-sex preference and sex crimes against children is from oft-cited scientific research published in 1994 in “Pediatrics.” The latter is the official journal of the American Society of Pediatrics.
What follows is the abstract for the study:

“Objective. To determine if recognizably homosexual adults are frequently accused of the sexual molestation of children.

“Design. Chart review of medical records of children evaluated for sexual abuse.

“Setting. Child sexual abuse clinic at a regional children’s hospital.

“Patients. Patients were 352 children (276 girls and 76 boys) referred to a subspecialty clinic for the evaluation of suspected child sexual abuse. Mean age was 6.1 years (range, 7 months to 17 years).

“Data collected. Charts were reviewed to determine the relationships of the children to the alleged offender, the sex of the offender, and whether or not the alleged offender was reported to be gay, lesbian, or bisexual.

“Results. Abuse was ruled out in 35 cases. Seventy-four children were allegedly abused by other children and teenagers less than 18 years old. In nine cases, an offender could not be identified. In the remaining 269 cases, two offenders were identified as being gay or lesbian. In 82 percent of cases (222/269), the alleged offender was a heterosexual partner of a close relative of the child. Using the data from our study, the 95 percent confidence limits of the risk children would identify recognizably homosexual adults as the potential abuser are from 0 percent to 3.1 percent. These limits are within current estimates of the prevalence of homosexuality in the general community.

Conclusions. The children in the group studied were unlikely to have been molested by identifiably gay or lesbian people.

Jamie McGonnigal, founder of the advocacy group TalkAboutEquality.com, cited the above study Sept. 19 in a blog entry for The Huffington Post. McGonnigal also noted the ongoing perpetuation of the gay-means-pedophile myth by the usual suspects:

“Anti-gay hate groups such as the Family Research Council (FRC) are constantly on the attack, perpetuating the false link between homosexuality and pedophilia. FRC’s Peter Sprigg said in their brochure ‘Debating Homosexuality: Understanding Two Views,’ ‘We believe the evidence shows … that relative to the size of their population, homosexual men are more likely to engage in child sexual abuse than are heterosexual men. And on the organization’s website, FRC president Tony Perkins claimed (again with no evidence whatsoever): ‘While activists like to claim that pedophilia is a completely distinct orientation from homosexuality, evidence shows a disproportionate overlap between the two. … It is a homosexual problem.’”

Perkins, of course, is a conspicuous hard-right-philosophy spokesperson, frequently seen on TV issues programs. His agenda scarcely is to find the truth, especially when it comes to bashing gays. Perkins’ many followers aren’t just ardent believers of whatever he tells them. They’re also inclined to believe the most extreme anti-gay propaganda, especially if falsehoods can have for them the added benefit of finding bogeymen to blame for the sexual abuse of children.

Those who perpetuate the lie also are obviously predisposed not only to reject scientific analysis such as the study cited above. They’re also proud about finding contemptible scientific findings relating to other matters — evolution, bacteriology, etc. — that rationale people believe.

Thus it doesn’t surprise me in the least when, during the flood of media coverage involving this law firm’s release of information about so many cases of pedophilia associated with the Boy Scouts of America, a response to this blog was:

“That’s what happens when you let homosexuals into scouting.”

If someone you know needs help, you can contact us:

Our attorneys are highly experienced in childhood sexual abuse law and offer free initial consultations to potential clients. We are also willing to assist other attorneys in sexual abuse cases. Please call 206-257-3590, or email us directly. Conversations will be kept confidential, and even if you are unsure about a lawsuit, often we can direct you to the assistance you need. You will be treated with compassion and respect.

Toll free: 855-529-4274
Tim Kosnoff, direct: 425-837-9690
Dan Fasy, direct: 206-462-4338
Kosnoff Fasy, Seattle office: 206-257-3590

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