Articles by Andrew Vachss, expert on crimes against children

Parade Magazine, Vachss website ^ | 7/17/02 | GalvestonGal.com

[GalvestonGal.com]

This is a collection of links to the author and lawyer Andrew Vachss. He is an expert on crimes against children.

I'm not going to copy all the verbiage, just a series of links for our education. 1999 post about Andrew Vachss: http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a37322c7a4f0b.htm Vachss website: http://www.vachss.com/ July 14 article, not available online yet: http://www.vachss.com/av_dispatches/parade_071402.html Parade magazine, new July 14 article http://www.parade.com/ Archives of Vachss articles for Parade Magazine http://www.parade.com/current/coverstory/index.lasso

[GalvestonGal.com]

I found these articles helpful in educating myself on this horrific subject. Please add links, discuss,.....

[GalvestonGal.com]

1999 post about Andrew Vachss: http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a37322c7a4f0b.htm

Vachss website:
http://www.vachss.com/

July 14 article, not available online yet: http://www.vachss.com/av_dispatches/parade_071402.html

Parade magazine, new July 14 article
http://www.parade.com/

Archives of Vachss articles for Parade Magazine http://www.parade.com/current/coverstory/index.lasso

[mhking]

I've been impressed with Vachss' work, both legal and literary, for a number of years...

[GalvestonGal.com]

OK, I'm pasting the 1999 thread on Vachss to give this thread a starting point. Thanks for your reply

Topic: CHILD MOLESTATION
Andrew Vachss---not NAMBLA's Favorite Author

Citizen reporting
5/6/99 denydenydeny


I went to a reading/signing for the crime-fiction writer and activist lawyer Andrew Vachss last night. Vachss’s protagonist Burke makes his living hunting pedophiles. His books are powerful and violent-- “a pit bull on angel dust” is how James Ellroy describes Vachss’s writing. What separates Vachss from other gritty, violent crime fiction is the vile realism of the child-rapers that Burke pursues, a realism acquired from years of dealing with the real thing.

Vachss only spends 10% of his working time writing. The rest is in court. (Vachss is a private attorney who works with prosecutors in child-abuse cases. He does all his work confidentially, in consideration of the victims—unlike others who make sure there are TV cameras around at critical times. Janet Reno comes to mind). He has been working on child abuse cases for decades. When he began, the idea of sexual abuse of a child was inconceivable to most people. “This is going to sound terrible, but we used to pray for gonorrhea. Our only hope in certain cases was that these children would test positive for gonorrhea—otherwise they would not be believed.” His depiction, in his first novel Flood, (1987) of the transmission of child pornography by modem he was called "crazy" and "Stephen King stuff." He is amused that the International Pedophile Liberation Front, a real group, has put him on their most-wanted list.

About the current DSM controversy: Meaningless, because the DSM doesn’t matter in this case. Pedophiles never, ever voluntarily ask for help. There is no record of a pedophile ever asking for help before getting caught. So, if the DSM says that pedophilia is only a problem “if it interferes with your life,” a professional will only have to deal with a pedophile after his arrest, when his life has already been “interfered with” by the criminal justice system. An obvious political decision on the A.P.A.'s part, but it doesn't change anything.

On McMartin and other false allegations: Not one case he has ever been affiliated with has been reversed. The problem arises when kids are interrogated 15 times as in McMartin—at that point they will say anything just to get it to stop. Kids should be interviewed only one time, and videotaped, and no more.

On how pedophiles are created: “Not by sexual abuse. Not by physical abuse. The most profound impact in the creation of a sociopath is from emotional abuse, by the destruction of empathy in the child.”

When asked about the civil libertarian implications of criminalizing the viewing of child pornography: “Child pornography is not speech. It is the photograph of a crime scene. If you think of this as a philosophical question, you are talking to the wrong guy. It is not a philosophical question to the victims. The First Amendment does not apply. If you can call the photographic record of the rape of a child ‘speech,’ it’s as if I mugged you and then called it performance art.”

On current law: “You could fill this room with child pornography, and it would get you less time than a pocketful of cocaine. I would trade all the dope fiends in prison for all the pedophiles currently on probation.”

“I am not motivated by love for children. I am motivated by hatred of pedophiles.”

[Stand Watch Listen]

bttt

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[contessa machiaveli]

i've read mr. vachss's novels, they're very dark and unbearably depressing. unfortunately, life follows art.

[dighton]

“Child pornography is not speech. It is the photograph of a crime scene. If you think of this as a philosophical question, you are talking to the wrong guy. It is not a philosophical question to the victims. The First Amendment does not apply. If you can call the photographic record of the rape of a child ‘speech,’ it’s as if I mugged you and then called it performance art.”

Exactly.

[general_re]

"Child pornography is not speech. It is the photograph of a crime scene."

I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately, I've been told today that when I agree with someone like Clarence Thomas, I'm really doing it to protect my stash of kiddie porn by wrapping myself in the Constitution.

Ah, well - it's lucky for me and Clarence that some folks know us better than we know ourselves...

[aculeus]

On McMartin and other false allegations: Not one case he has ever been affiliated with has been reversed.

Unfortunately, the crimes of Shanley and the scores of other priest-pedophiles have made it easier for the false accuser-prosecutors to keep the innocents in prison.

[GalvestonGal.com]

"We need to understand our enemy. The essential characteristics of a predatory pedophile are: They like what they do, they do it because they want to, and they will continue to do it until incapacitated."

Quote from one of the Parade articles.
I'm going back to a post by sun_flower on the Samantha thread - there was a link to how to find out if a predator is in your neighborhood.

[Valpal1]

bump

[steamroller]

I've read all of Vachss' novels.Also his short stories.he has a righteous hatred of child abusers of all types.His writing is like this-you either really like it or you don't.I don't think the ACLU likes his philosophy.the worst thing I ever experienced in law enforcement was the degradation of children and their lives being ruined before they even had a chance to think for themselves.It was something that sank in after awhile and I knew there was no help for most of them.I once locked up a guy who had done time for raping his daughter,manslaughter,and other stuff.He got away with beating his wife to death.He died of a heart attack awaiting trial.I felt good that next day-knowing he croaked in a cell.

[SEA]

On current law: “You could fill this room with child pornography, and it would get you less time than a pocketful of cocaine. I would trade all the dope fiends in prison for all the pedophiles currently on probation.”

Amen to that. I'm not a supporter of drug use, but I would have to say that I would trade the war on drugs for a war on pedophiles.

[GalvestonGal.com]

http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/cac/states.htm
This is the link to a registry of sex offenders. Go to your state, follow the prompts.

I went to my zip code, the same as the city, and the database came up with 26 PAGES.

The 26 PAGES also contain sex offenders alias. 26 PAGES

[GalvestonGal.com]

The vachss.com website must be overloaded. I got frozen up there hitting one of the buttons.

A woman on O'Reilly last night said you should teach your children to seek help from "someone who looks like Mommy". I feel like Burke in Vachss' novels - I want to dispose of them.

Pedophiles don't stop until they are taken out.

[GalvestonGal.com]

http://www.vachss.com/av_dispatches.html
Website was updated yesterday. Above link goes directly to a list of educational articles by Andrew Vachss.