In the August 16 Christian Science Monitor, John Hughes reports on a child sexual abuse and murder case where porn allegedly played a role:
“SALT LAKE CITY – From his jail cell a few days ago, 20-year-old Craig Roger Gregerson explained the reason he has been arrested and charged with capital murder, punishable by death, and first-degree child kidnapping.
“In a case that created national media attention, he is accused of killing 5-year-old Destiny Norton, who went missing from her home in Salt Lake City July 16. Hundreds turned out to search for her. Eight days later police found her body stuffed in a container in the basement of Mr. Gregerson’s house just two doors away from her home. Police charge that he lured her to his own property, suffocated her, then abused her dead body.
“When asked in a jail cell interview with a local TV reporter why he killed the little girl, Gregerson said he was ‘addicted to pornography at one point. It was ruining my life and affecting my relationship with my wife. I can tell you this: I have now become a strong advocate against pornography. I do apologize to the public, and everyone else who’s been involved in what happened.'”
The evidence is not merely anecdotal. Hughes cites several nonpartisan researchers who draw a strong connection between porn addiction and sex crimes:
“Nobody suggests that everybody addicted to pornography becomes a violent person or sexual predator. But as Corydon Hammond, codirector of the Sex and Marital Therapy Clinic at the University of Utah, says: ‘I don’t think I’ve ever yet seen an adult sex offender who was not involved with pornography.’
“Judith Reisman, author of “The Psychopharmacology of Pictorial Pornography” (PDF), sees a direct causal link between pornography and sex crimes.
“‘In many cases I don’t think we have any problem saying pornography caused [the sex offense]. We have tons of data,’ she writes.”
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