Radio 4 iPM now - offender talks

[HopeClearwater]

Cannot believe what I am hearing

Convicted sex offender allowed to give his story and says wife is a ‘good woman’ to have stayed with him. Now complaining about Dickensian prison conditions.

It's very hard to listen to.

He was working with vulnerable people too.

I heard him on r4 this morning. He is a horrible convicted sex offender. Why was he on the radio?

A catholic nun once told me never, ever believe a sex offender. They will lie.

It's repellent but I must say I'm finding it interesting. I can't bear the notes of self-justification, and I really think it would benefit from a victim statement of some sort, but I am still finding it interesting to listen to.

Perhaps I'm just being nosey though.

I didn't hear any genuine remorse there at all. Almost no emotion at all.

The bit I heard this morning - he sounded as if he 'kind of knew' it was wrong but was really only going along with what other people were saying (as if he didn't really think it was a big deal).

DP and I listened with open mouths. We have both worked as complementary therapists and used the services of other therapists. This man is my worst nightmare. I encountered someone like him during my training, and despite being challenged by several other participants and eventually kicked off the course, he showed no remorse, and remained convinced that he had an 'intuitive' insight into the kind of touch individual female clients 'needed'. He thought he could detect and 'release' repressed emotions through unsolicited intimate touch, and any resistance or protest was indicative of him 'hitting the nail on the head', and 'being on the right track', and a signal to carry on. A kind of narcissistic omniscience fantasy. Absolutely repulsive.

I think you're being very unfair - he has supported "women's issues" in the past... we should be grateful

Also, the fact that he was labeled as a sex offender and experienced hostility from other prisoners as a result - the implication being that he isn't a real sex offender, not like the bad guys, he's just someone who sexually assaulted a vulnerable client with learning difficulties... (among others )

That was an extraordinary listen. He's articulate and to many would come across as "nice". He clearly thinks of himself as being a good person and doesn't seem to have grasped that he has done fundamentally terrible things. The sense of "well, I had good intentions but it ended up going wrong" shows that there is no remorse there at all. He's sad he got caught, he's sad his deluded wife and family have been hurt, and he's sad at the loss of his standing in the community.

If he doesn't reoffend, it will be because he's afraid of getting caught. Listening to him, if that risk could be removed then I think he'd reoffend at the next opportunity. While still thinking highly of himself.

The interview has a tone at a number of points of "how could this happen to me when I have all of the proper liberal progressive values?"

I turned this off half way through, I just couldn't listen to the BS.

There's a robust response today from those who know this abusive prick as well as an extremely powerful account from a listener about what happened to her when she was assaulted like this. here.

Dear listener whose story I just heard, I believe you. I too have laughed off things that have not been jokes. I understand the need to make things that happen 'normal' somehow so you can carry on muddling through. Thank you so much for your bravery in speaking up and your down-to-earth eloquence in telling it how it is. You are Time Person of the Year and I salute you

The response was very welcome. It would have been a disgrace for this sex offender's profoundly dishonest and stomach-turning account to have stood alone.

Yes I listened to the response after you posted it on another thread. These reactions are very common and lead people to assume that the assault wasn't really all that big a deal for the person. In some cases they may be right. In most, they are wrong.