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Inside the mind of the paedophile - and the wife standing by him
Daily Mail (UK) ^

Posted on 06/20/2007 10:59:24 AM PDT by pabianice

Many will find this article deeply disturbing. But as a paedophile ring is smashed, one man jailed for child porn offences gives a brutally honest insight into his warped desires... and his wife reveals why she's standing by him.

Bill Henkel and his wife Sharon sit close together on a sofa in their bright, immaculate detached home in a quiet corner of eastern England.

They are active members of their local church. They sing in old age homes and Henkel, 47, likes to help the elderly of the parish with D.I.Y. jobs.

On the surface, there is nothing remarkable about the couple. The same could be said of their home.

Supportive: Sharon Henkel has stood by her husband Bill in his battle against his paedophile tendencies

Observant visitors, however, might note the absence of any computers - a clue to the fact that this is no ordinary marriage.

In June 2003, Henkel was caught downloading child pornography at work. He was prosecuted, sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment in March last year and released at the halfway point in October.

In the wake of the smashing of Britain's largest internet paedophile ring, reported in yesterday's Mail, Bill's account of his desires and his battle to control them makes compelling reading. It offers a chilling insight into the mind of a paedophile.

This week a court heard how 700 paedophiles had accessed a website - set up by 28-year-old brewery worker Timothy Cox, from Suffolk - containing 11,000 images, including more than 1,000 videos of children being abused.

While Cox was given an "indeterminate sentence", Bill Henkel admits that, in his case, getting caught was the best thing that could have happened to him.

Henkel, 48, once a high-flying IT expert, had known throughout his adult life that his sexuality was warped.

His wife of 17 years, 40-year-old Sharon, had also known - after they experienced sexual problems - that her husband was sexually attracted to young girls.

But she never thought he would offend because she had accompanied him on visits to doctors, psychologists and therapists.

Full article


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: moralabsolutes; paedophile; paedophilia; porn; pornography
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To: Calpernia

Thanks for posting that! I don’t know how to post pics and have been too lazy to learn.


21 posted on 06/20/2007 11:35:34 AM PDT by 17th Miss Regt
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To: pabianice

Fascinating article. The guy provides a lot of insight, and shows remorse, but is unable to trust himself. HE knows waht a danger he is to kids. That’s more honesty than I would have expected.

Sadly, there’s just not much to do with the guy. Remorse not withstanding, he’s a danger and recognizes it himself. He should be locked up otherwise, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him kill himself next time he tries. He knows he has no control over this.


22 posted on 06/20/2007 11:44:54 AM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: pabianice

“Observant visitors, however, might note the absence of any computers - a clue to the fact that this is no ordinary marriage.”

Ah, yup, that’s always a dead giveaway. If you don’t compute, something is wrong with your marriage.


23 posted on 06/20/2007 11:52:44 AM PDT by gcruse
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To: LucyT

“They never change, never.’

And yet homosexuals can get better... /s


24 posted on 06/20/2007 11:54:02 AM PDT by gcruse
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To: pabianice

>>Observant visitors, however, might note the absence of any computers - a clue to the fact that this is no ordinary marriage.<<

Oh no - my Grandparents don’t have an ordinary marriage - they have no computers... I hope they are not pedophiles. /sarcasm


25 posted on 06/20/2007 11:55:15 AM PDT by gondramB (Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words)
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To: metmom

He could get castrated. If he is fearful of what he might do in the future, isn’t this his only real option?

My biggest question is:

How in the He!! did 700 people find this “ring” before one person with any dignity did?

If he found it from a newsgroup, can’t we monitor those?

I have a friend who is a network specialist. He is hired by major corps to find loopholes in their security. He won’t tell me why, but he has had to call the FBI on numerous occasions because of what he found on employees computers.


26 posted on 06/20/2007 12:11:27 PM PDT by IL Republican
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To: pabianice

Several years ago I read a story about a pedophile who would not own a television or have newspapers or magazines in his home because just looking at children in underwear or diapers would just set him off. He had to avoid eveything to keep children out of his mind. He was really struggling with what he knew was terrible. Maybe they should just be castrated.


27 posted on 06/20/2007 12:43:24 PM PDT by windcliff
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To: IL Republican
I have a friend who is a network specialist. He is hired by major corps to find loopholes in their security. He won’t tell me why, but he has had to call the FBI on numerous occasions because of what he found on employees computers.

This fellow is a computer geek himself. He knew how to cover his tracks, and did it regularly. He only got caught because he spooled a porno article to the wrong printer in his office.

28 posted on 06/20/2007 12:45:10 PM PDT by thulldud ("Para inglés, oprima el dos.")
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To: 3AngelaD
except he just got arrested for it AGAIN

No he didn't. Maybe you should actually read the article. He's being interviewed now because he was willing to talk about his own problem at a time when there's just been a mass arrest of OTHER offenders, and the media is looking for insightful stories. His story and attitude are unusual in a lot of ways and I think he's probably one of the very rare ones who will stay clean (not be cured, but continue to restrain himself).

29 posted on 06/20/2007 12:55:10 PM PDT by GovernmentShrinker
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To: thulldud

He had also recommended to his employer that they make changes in their computer systems that would have prevented him from feeding his addiction, but they deemed it unnecessary. This guy really does seem to have been trying to control himself and get help for a long time, and kept hitting brick walls. Including the GP doctor who told him (before he was caught and convicted) that the only treatment programs in the area were for convicted offenders. Given the scale and gravity of this problem in modern society, it’s just absurd that governments require people to offend and be convicted before getting the specialized psychiatric treatment that is their only hope of leading a civilized, non-criminal life.


30 posted on 06/20/2007 1:01:17 PM PDT by GovernmentShrinker
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To: GovernmentShrinker

He certainly seems to have, given the article spent most of his life dealing and trying to fight the urges.

Including 3 suicide attempts.

What is interesting is his admitted spiral, from adult porn, to perversion, to children, and then to as perverted children porn he could find... and admitting that he kept needing more to get the release he needed...

Both he and his wife were both abused as children.

I don’t excuse this guy, but it does seem he recognized and has tried his best to control himself.... fortunately he has not ever done anything to a child directly and hopefully he will manage to stay that way.


31 posted on 06/20/2007 1:16:01 PM PDT by HamiltonJay
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To: 3AngelaD
except he just got arrested for it AGAIN.

I missed that part.

32 posted on 06/20/2007 1:16:19 PM PDT by Recovering_Democrat (I am SO glad to no longer be associated with the party of Dependence on Government!)
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To: LucyT
Indeed. The key quote:

"Numerous counsellors helped them resolve some difficulties, but each concluded they could not overcome Henkel's paedophile tendencies."

NO CURE --but death.

33 posted on 06/20/2007 1:25:28 PM PDT by Malacoda (A day without a pi$$ed-off muslim is like a day without sunshine.)
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To: Recovering_Democrat

So did everyone who actually read the article. He’s only been arrested one. Tried to commit suicide 3 times.


34 posted on 06/20/2007 1:59:02 PM PDT by Jaded ("I have a mustard- seed; and I am not afraid to use it."- Joseph Ratzinger)
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To: windcliff; IL Republican

Castration’s a pretty severe option but it sounds like the only one.

A rabid dog can’t help being rabid, but you have to shoot it anyway.

It’s good to know that there’s some conscience left in some of them.


35 posted on 06/20/2007 2:02:39 PM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: Jaded

Thanks. :) I thought I had gone over it pretty well.


36 posted on 06/20/2007 2:16:33 PM PDT by Recovering_Democrat (I am SO glad to no longer be associated with the party of Dependence on Government!)
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To: HamiltonJay

I think he’s likely to, especially since by choosing to publicize his name and face in this context, he’s making it much easier for parents and others protectors of children to identify him as a possible threat who should not have unsupervised access to any child. When you compare that with the many convicted child molestors in the US who have sued to prevent their pictures and other identifying information from being put on publicly accessible websites, and the slimy lawyers and judges and politicians who have, at least in some states, backed them up, this guy comes out looking about as good as anyone with this awful affliction possibly could.


37 posted on 06/20/2007 4:12:50 PM PDT by GovernmentShrinker
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