“..would have the slightest “romantic” interest in kids?”
I’ve read it’s not romantic interest or “love” etc. It’s actually the power they have over the child that thrills them. Like they say about rapists - they don’t desire sex or the woman they rape. They want to exercise perverse power over them.
I think the “it’s about power!” idea is mostly feminist garbage. It’s not difficult to have power over a child. This is something far worse. And, in the case of adult rape, there are plenty of rape cases where the man wants sex, the woman doesn’t, and the man forces the issue. He’s not thinking about showing his power. He’s thinking about not being denied what he wants.
And, I’m sure there are cases where the man wants to show he has power over the woman. But it’s not all black and white like the feminists like to claim.