"Shocked" and "scared."
That's how former cop and preschool teacher Jesse Ward described his reaction to stumbling across a child sexual abuse image for the first time in an online network. But instead of repelling him, the image – depicting graphic and violent sexual acts committed on young victims – sent him looking for more.
“I went back to it for multiple reasons. One was because of the taboo nature of the images themselves,” Ward wrote in a letter to The Times. “There was a ‘rush’ of being involved in that world, knowing I shouldn’t.”
There's no consensus on whether offenders who commit sex crimes against children can be rehabilitated. Some psychologists and correctional workers point to low rates of re-offending for those who complete treatment programs, while others point to the high rates of re-victimization for those who don’t.
“We’re talking about images and videos that are so disturbing that I’ve had to turn them off before I got sick,” said Louisiana State Police Detective Melissa Welch. “And these are individuals who are watching these videos and becoming sexually aroused and masturbating to them. So therein lies your problem with child pornography.”
Susan Tucker, an assistant warden with the Louisiana Department of Corrections who works with the state's sex offender treatment program, said sex offenders can change – or at least restrain – their behavior if given the tools and if they want to change.
“While we’ve thrown out the idea of curing a sex offender, there is a way to teach them to manage their risk,” Tucker said. “I think it’s important for people to know there are some programs that do work.”
