This is an updated version of a previous post. Sections I-III are largely unchanged, but section IV is entirely new. In the previous essay, I referred to a person but decided not to reveal their identity; I have since changed my mind about this for reasons I discuss below. Enjoy!
I.
A few years ago I volunteer taught a Biology 101 class at a prison. It was a great experience—it was fun to teach curious adults with a limited background in science and the students were really enthusiastic and appreciative (in stark contrast to the high school students that I normally teach…). At the training meetings they tell you not to look up your students’ crimes during the semester so that you can maintain impartiality as a teacher. The class was 12 male students, ranging from late 20s to 50s. Naturally, I was curious as to what crimes they committed so at the end of the semester I looked up everyone’s name online.
Every. Single. One. Was. A. Pedophile.
One guy got caught with child pornography because he went to get his computer fixed and the technician found it on his computer. Another guy, about 50, was one of my favorite students because he knew a good amount of biology already and was very helpful to his classmates. Turns out the reason he knew a lot of biology was because he used to be a high school environmental science teacher before he got caught committing a series of heinous sex crimes against minors—100s of up-skirt photographs of his students, raping children as young as four years old, and producing pornographic materials that included sexual acts with animals.
Instead of vaguely listing his crimes, I could have just linked to the news article that describes his arrest and conviction, but some part of me feels like that would be wrong to do. Why do I feel the need to protect his identity given that information about his crimes is freely available as public record? I didn’t sign any confidentiality agreement and it’s not illegal for me to disclose his name, everything is public record. But I still can’t shake the feeling that it would be wrong to reveal his identity (note: the feeling has been shaken—I have chosen to reveal this person’s identity and discuss their crimes, see section IV). It is hard for me to say what my reasons are for thinking this and I am not at all sure if it is the right decision; I am morally dumbfounded. I suppose it feels like a violation of an unspoken code of ethics for teachers akin to the Hippocratic Oath. Healing and learning both require a certain degree of trust, and breaching this trust—even for a pedophile and even when no one will know that I have done so—still feels wrong in some way that I can’t quite articulate.
The teaching of pedophiles raises some thorny ethical issues. I would like to believe that spreading knowledge for its own sake is an intrinsic good, but my belief falters in light of my student’s crimes. Can someone commit such a heinous crime that teaching them, improving their mind and their life in some tiny way, is no longer a good thing to do? What about teaching someone that will never again be a part of society—Is it still a good thing to teach a death row inmate if they express a sincere desire to learn? Can you say “yes” but still be for the death penalty?
II.
Pedophilia is so taboo in modern society that it feels gross to even talk or write about it, even in this context. In a way taboos act as a kind of cultural black hole, warping everything around them into a slippery slope. Not only does it become almost impossible to discuss the taboo itself, all adjacent issues and ideas are at risk of being pulled down into the void as well.
Take mentoring for example—although it can be for a very good thing for a teen to have a significant relationship with a non-parent adult, it does open up the opportunity for sexual misconduct (e.g. the Catholic Church, see also The Second Mile, former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky’s charity organization that offered guidance and mentoring for underprivileged youth). It seems to me that modern American has much less mentoring (and when it does occur it is very formalized and circumscribed) than other cultures around the world and throughout history (e.g. ancient Greece). Many of the reasons for our lack of mentoring have to do with broad features of our society and culture that cannot be easily changed, but we can also imagine how there could be more beneficial mentoring relationships if we were willing to take on a little more risk when it comes to organic, unstructured adult-teenager interactions. The problem is that any program or policy suggestion that opens the door, however slightly, to the possibility of sexual misconduct is going to be easily shouted down because of an inherent asymmetry—the pain of pedophilia is so visible and visceral while the societal benefits of mentoring are much more nebulous (but no less real).
There is an analogy here to the MeToo movement—while the harms of sexual harassment are so concrete and personal, the increased reluctance of male managers to mentor women is a subtle background effect contributing to inequality. I’m not sure what, if anything, can or should be done about these mentoring problems1, but this analysis suggests there may be low-hanging fruit—potentially useful ideas (policies, practices, programs, etc.)—available for picking if we can find the courage and the will to venture into taboo-adjacent areas.
III.
Pedophilia has a genetic component (Jordan et al., 2020) and there are medical interventions that can reduce attraction to children (Landgren et al., 2020). None of this is to say that pedophiles are not fully responsible for their crimes (we should remember that the vast majority of people who are attracted to children never act on it), but is there not a deep injustice to the fact that, through no choice of their own, these people are born with an unchosen sexual attraction that is illegal and unethical to act on? It is hard for me to see how this is anything other than a terrible tragedy (just as it is when homosexuals are born in places where their sexuality is illegal/discriminated against). Correcting the injustice of the pedophile’s circumstance might be dead last on the list of injustices that need to be rectified, but the moral arc of the universe is long and if we are a society that is concerned with the flourishing of all people then this is an issue we will have to reckon with sooner or later.
And the reckoning with pedophilia may in fact be sooner rather than later, as technological advances are likely going to force us to confront these issues in the near future regardless of whether we want to or not. How aggressively should we offer treatments that can reduce attraction to minors? Should these be mandated for certain criminals after their release from prison? What about virtually created child pornography—banned or not? Will it increase or decrease sex crimes against minors IRL? What about robot child sex dolls? These are difficult questions that cannot, and should not be ignored, and it matters if we get them right.
The challenge is that even raising these questions for discussion (as I’ve done here) raises suspicions about your motives—why exactly do you care about the ethics of pedophilia, huh? Moral progress will only come when public figures/intellectuals (and not just bloggers who hide behind the veil of anonymity) are willing to take the reputational damage that comes with working on these these issues in a sustained manner (in other words, it will never happen).
IV.
Why have I changed my mind about revealing the identity and crimes of the aforementioned environmental science teacher pedophile? For one, a few more years have passed and it sort of feels like some imaginary statute of limitations on teacher-student confidentiality has expired. Two, and more importantly, I looked again at his apology statement, and if I take him at his word (which is a big if; see below), then I think he would want his message to be spread in the hopes that it might help even one person who is struggling with the same “demons” that he did.
Teacher Who Took Up-Skirt Photos of Students, Used Classroom Pet to Make Porn Complains He Can't Get Guacamole in Jail (NewsWeek)
Aside from the subject matter, it’s just a really bizarre news article (as the title might suggest). I’ll share quotes from the article along with the perpetrator’s statement below, but the overview is this: he pleaded guilty to production of child pornography and was sentenced to 23 years in prison, more crimes came to light and he is facing new charges, he is heard complaining about prison life in recorded calls, prosecutors are claiming that this means he still isn’t taking responsibility for his crimes and didn’t mean his apology.
I'll give my take at the end, but you can decide for yourself what to make of this, whether his apology is genuine or whether his “phone calls show a person who isn't truly sorry for the hurt he's wrought, only sorry for being tossed away to survive torturous boredom”.
The 23-year prison sentence handed down by a judge solidified that a former high school science teacher and part-time karate instructor was a convict. It also established Richard Wellbeloved-Stone as an admitted sexual deviant who fantasized and fondled prepubescent minors he babysat for years, masturbated a dog and defiled a pet snake in his classroom.
You read more details about his crimes in the article.
Here is the the statement that WellBeloved-Stone’s read in court during his sentencing hearing, what the news article strangely calls “a screed”.
Now that I have pled guilty and received my sentence, I need to apologize to everyone in the Charlottesville area that I wronged and hurt through or as a result of my actions. I submit this apology free of expectations or excuses. I simply wish to convey my sincere regret for the pain I have caused. For this pain I have caused you I am, and will forever remain, sorry.
To my victims, I am so sorry that I violated your right to privacy and sense of safety. To the parents of my victims, I am sorry I betrayed your trust and caused you to fear for your daughter’s safety, as well as question your trust in anyone else.
To my family, I am sorry for the betrayal, the shame and the public embarrassment I have caused, and for fracturing family bonds. I have failed each of you.
To all of my former students, I deeply regret if my actions have marred the memories of my classroom. It was always my honor to teach you, and I am sorry that I have dishonored that sacred bond as your teacher.
To all of my former colleagues, it was a great privilege to work with you and I know my actions betrayed that privilege. I am sorry if my actions have led anyone to call into question your integrity, because I truly believe I got to work alongside some of the finest teachers anywhere. I did not live up to your example.
To the martial arts community of which I was once so proudly a member, to all my friends and neighbors, to all the baristas and bartenders, to all the sales people and clerks, to all of the Charlottesville community that I once was so fortunate to be a member of, I am sorry.
Since my arrest, I have been struggling to come to terms with my failure, the pain I have caused, and the deep sorrow and shame I carry. Someone much wiser than me shared the following:
Grace means making all of your failures serve a purpose instead of serving shame. While much easier said than done, I would like to make a first step.
And so, to anyone reading this who shares a similar demon, be it just in the back of your mind or being acted out, seek help. I was afraid to and didn’t. Use me as an example of what can and will happen if you fail to stop and confront your demons. Look around you, at your family, friends, colleagues and community, and see what you stand to lose, whom you stand to hurt. Look at your potential or actual victims and see the pain you are causing or will cause them.
Speak to a trusted friend, spiritual advisor, counselor or therapist and let them know about your struggles and desire to overcome them. Seek help now so you can prevent causing pain and suffering like I have. I wish I had. Because now all I can do is tell people that for this pain I have caused you I am, and will forever remain, sorry.
Here is what the news article says about WellBeloved Stone’s prison phone calls that are now being used as evidence in his new court case:
The sentiments stand in stark contrast to phone conversations recorded while Wellbeloved-Stone remained incarcerated. In them, the former teacher is heard crowing about rote days in lockup at The Abermale-Charlottesville Regional Jail because he can't drink wine or nosh on guacamole.
And while he was also heard in other calls dismissing that he misbehaved in the classroom, it was revealed in his sentencing hearing on Monday and in court documents filed a week before that Wellbeloved-Stone used his high school classroom to photograph unsuspecting female students' "breasts or cleavage" as well as over 100 "up-skirt photographs between their legs."
Despite blaming demons in the apology as being too powerful to control, the court documents detail how Wellbeloved-Stone was recorded in jail phone calls concerned more about vanity than protecting innocents.
When the sex fiend announced in one such recorded call cited in the court documents professing that he "tried to stop" and "wanted to get help," Wellbeloved-Stone caved because "he would have lost his job."
However, her client's behavior in jail suggests he's still grappling with responsibility.
Recorded jail calls show what prosecutors say is Wellbeloved-Stone's "narcissistic focus on himself." They assert that he is less concerned about his victims but more about "what he has lost."
The court documents highlight the teacher's alleged nitpicking the correctional facility's grub to its subpar coffee.
Wellbeloved-Stone, in recorded jail phone calls, at one point airs grievances "that he hasn't had guacamole in a long time, and that he has not had wine," court documents show.
In jail, prosecutors highlight how Wellbeloved has expressed frustration in other phone calls about his limited time to wander outside or "listen to music." The teacher, they say, is looking forward to going to prison because he "expresses hope about getting a harmonica."
"The calls reinforce the selfish nature of the defendant and his inability to truly acknowledge he is the cause."
My take on all of this:
The author of this news article seems to have a clear position: that Wellbeloved-Stone’s apology is bullshit and any talk of “demons” were empty words aimed at getting a reduced sentence. The alternative position, as discussed in part III, is that these demons are very real—that he knew what he was doing was wrong and is deeply sorry for what happened, but he simply couldn’t stop himself. To this point: “in a text message to the undercover, WellBeloved-Stone allegedly confided that he “can't stop rubbing myself”.
The issue hangs on exactly what was said in the phone calls. The article briefly mentions that he, “dismissed that he misbehaved in the classroom”, but to what degree this invalidates his apology is impossible to know without hearing all of the recordings. A separate issue is this notion that his complaining about the lack of guacamole and wine indicates the falsity of his apology. I understand that prosecutors have a job to do and that this argument is not out of bounds, but this seems like a pretty big stretch. Sure, the calls gives off the impression that he’s spoiled and whiny or whatever, but being those things isn’t incompatible with feeling deeply sorry for what you’ve done—we are all confused little creatures that like complaining for the sake of complaining and our words can be a poor guide to our innermost thoughts.
Another point in favor of the apology being genuine is that, “Wellbeloved-Stone forfeited part of his retirement benefits to pay for past and future counseling for the two girls, as his attorney stated in the court documents.” But again, who knows—his lawyer certainly would have counseled him to do this for reducing sentencing. In the end, it is impossible to know what his true feelings are, and frankly it doesn't really matter at this point. If his words caused even one person with pedophilic urges to seek help before they did something terrible then saying them was the right thing to do and we can commend him for that while still condemning him for his crimes.
Not exactly the same issue as I’m discussing but worth pondering (perverts and losers is a little strong but the general point still stands, I think).
Phew. Intense topic: You have mega-guts fur even writing on it. So thank you for your courage. This guy terrifies me. I feel saddened and disgusted...and yet I can’t snuff out the empathy I have for a fellow human being, no matter how grotesque and perverted his crimes may be. Oh: he belongs in prison; clearly. I’m not suggesting he should be free.
As a book editor I edited a memoir years ago by a former neo-Nazi skinhead; he’d become an anti-hate activist who pulls people out of hate groups. But man, some of the stuff he did in the nineties? Horrific. Ruthless. There’s a photo of him doing a Sieg Heil at Dachau. Yet he changed. Redemption is a lost art form in our contemporary historical moment, I feel.
Complex, right?
https://michaelmohr.substack.com/p/how-a-former-neo-nazi-became-my-esteemed
Great article btw 👌