Quote West Leeds Rhino="West Leeds Rhino"Out of interest, what does everyone think about him prospectively having a relationship and starting a family (if it hasn't already happened)? Should his partner/family know his real name and his past? Do you believe that the traits of an abuser are genetic, rather than just learned?'"
Relationships - no problem as long as they were legal ones.
Partner knowing who he is? I'd emphatically say that at some point he would have to come clean. Otherwise the whole relationship would be built on a mammoth lie.
Genetic? That's a difficult one. The first reaction is just "Nah!" but I think it can't be as simple as that. Just as a starting comment, given his subsequent conviction under his new ID, it seems clear Venables has a predilection for young children. We all find certain people sexually attractive and I do reckon that that's largely genetic; for example, it's at least about 50% genetic as most people are either gay or straight, and nobody (well, not nobody, but you know what I mean) would argue that they made a choice of sexuality.
Venables obviously found some attraction in the sight of the young James Bulger that spurred him to do what he did, so were those feeling essentially genetic, or learned? Maybe paedophile tendencies are indeed part of his genetic makeup. I suggest that if attraction to young children was something he had somehow earned, which could therefore be unlearned, then he wouldn't have been sentenced to 2 years in chokey for having what must have been some pretty vile films and images. This was at the age of 27. Given the millions spent on him since he was a young offender, and given the strenuous efforts that must undoubtedly have been made to re-educate and rehabilitate him away from a predilection for young children, maybe the fact that it plainly had no effect does support the view that he's just like that?
If any child abuser in the country should have been "cured" of their abusive feelings and inclinations, it would surely be Venables, and yet he plainly wasn't. I tend to the conclusion that he is genetically that way, and can't help himself.
He could, of course use his free will to choose to refrain from abusive behaviour, but that would just mean that he didn't do it - not that he didn't feel it. He would be a reformed abuser. I tend to the view that many notorious paedophiles will always be, genetically paedophiles, they will always find the thought of abusing young children attractive, and many go on to repeat offend. If one stops offending, I don't think, in most cases, that is because the feelings are likely to have stopped, and think this again supports the argument that they are just made that way. They will be paedophiles until they die. They may just choose to stop acting on those impulses. So maybe it is, basically, genetic?