Ronnie.

One of the first lessons that I learned as an actor, is to never judge the character you are playing.

No matter how ridiculous or absurd or heinous his actions, thoughts or mannerisms might be, to cast judgement on your character would be counter-productive to your pursuit in bringing truth and understanding to his objective.

Photo credit: blog.movieset.com

So when I was given the role of "Ronnie" in a scene from the movie Little Children, my ability to follow the aforementioned tenet was immediately put to the test.

Scene from the movie "Little Children" - Ronnie's Date.

In the movie, Ronnie (played by actor Jackie Earle Haley) is a registered sex offender and a pedophile. He was recently released from prison after serving a sentence for indecent exposure. And after moving-in with his mother and becoming the neighbourhood pariah, Ronnie now faces the daunting task of trying to become a "good boy".

Which in the end, produces disastrous results.

Prior to getting this scene study, the only thing that I knew about pedophiles was that they liked to have sex with children, and that they're probably the most viled and despised people within our society. Even amongst other criminals within a correctional facility, they are reportedly kept in segregation for their own protection!

Photo credit: http://www.sealeta.com/

And given the fact that children are viewed as being innocent and in need of our constant protection, it's little wonder that news reports about pedophiles invoke such a highly-charged emotional response from the general public. Let's face it! We want them put away for life, or in some cases, even worse!

But what is pedophilia? What causes it? And more importantly, what (if anything) can be used to treat it? Or is it something that can even be treated?

According to an article published in the medical journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings, pedophilia is a clinical diagnosis usually made by a psychiatrist or psychologist. The article states that a pedophile is, "an individual who fantasizes about, is sexually aroused by, or experiences sexual urges toward prepubescent children (generally less than 13 years of age) for a period of at least 6 months."

Now the article (which can be viewed HERE), is written BY physicians FOR physicians. So even though it contained a lot of medical terminology and references to various studies, I did manage to learn the following about pedophiles and pedophilia:

Not all pedophiles act on their urges and/or fantasies. In fact, some of them experience either interpersonal problems and/or great emotional distress because of this. But, the ones that are identified either by the police and/or the medical community, generally act upon their sexual fantasies because they don't find it distressing enough to seek treatment on their own.

Pedophilia is usually long-term. While some pedophiles reported that their attraction to children started around puberty, others developed this sexual attraction later in life (e.g. 40-70 years of age).

Pedophiles can be both men and women, and they can develop a preference for a specific age-range and/or sex. They can either be exclusively attracted to children or, attracted to adults as well as children.

Getting an accurate count on the number of pedophiles in our society is difficult because few of them seek voluntary treatment, and most of the available data are from people "who have become involved with the legal system." No one knows for sure how many pedophiles are out there who have never been caught and/or who only fantasize but never act upon their urges.

Some pedophiles justify their actions by saying that it had "an educational value" to it and/or that the child had somehow encouraged it.

According to the US Department of Justice, the 5 common psychological defense patterns in pedophiles are:

1) Denial (e.g. "Is it wrong to give a child a hug?")

2) Minimization (e.g. "It only happened once")

3) Justification (e.g. "I am a boy lover, not a child molester")

4) Fabrication (activities were for research studies)

5) Attack (character attacks on the child, police, prosecutors, etc.)

Now as for the big question "What makes a pedophile?", the article states that:

"Pedophilia, especially the exclusive type, may be best thought of as its own category of sexual orientation, not something that is superimposed on an existing heterosexual or homosexual identity."

So if this is true, are pedophiles born that way? And if so, can they be converted into "normal" people through treatment?

Although there are numerous theories that are being studied, the authors of this article make it clear that:

"No treatment for pedophilia is effective unless the pedophile is willing to engage in the treatment."

And according to the findings of a couple of studies, the urges can be managed BUT, the core attraction doesn't change.

As I sit here thinking about what to type next, I find myself feeling grateful for the fact that I've never experienced the pain that comes from being a victim of child abuse or in the case of Ronnie, the torment of having to fight against something that feels so right but yet, is so wrong.

I hope that one day, medical science discovers a "cure" for pedophilia; otherwise, you might get people resorting to this type of a desperate measure:

Scene from the movie "Little Children" - Ronnie takes matters into his own hands.