This is sadly true. Many of the offenders that I worked with in their group sessions were in complete denial of any wrong doing. They just knew that it was illegal but in their minds the child was anywhere between consenting, curious and even initiating the contact. But it's a deep dark path down the minds of these wretched creatures, one that I could share but I think many here would not unless they are involved with some form of therapy for sex offenders.
Keep in mind it DOES work, I've seen it work first hand in offenders who are given the no-holds barred in your face type therapy. However; it's something that must be re-enforced over time. One person, a pederast I knew had gone through the 18-20 months of intensive therapy and wasn't allowed to complete the program until he had (truly) met their requirements. But within two years he didn't re-offend children but conducted the exact same type of control, manipulation, denial, minimizing, justifying, rationalization and all of that with a girl 18 years of age, more than half his age. When I pointed it out to him he said "it's not the same thing!" There were charges filed and because of his prior he was ordered to go through therapy again, which he did and some 9 months later he told me that I was right and that he was blinded by his own thinking pattern that emerged because he had stopped practicing the techniques needed to stay on his toes so that he would not fall into the same cycle again. He's now committed to staying in therapy and doing the work.
Thing is if we can understand how these pedophiles think then we can at least spot the behavioral patterns as they interact with (our) children. But again, watching the child for any changes in behavior is another link and another step in stopping the abuse before it goes too far. Again, developing the trust with the right adults in not being afraid of telling the truth and "breaking the secret" helps immensely.
