a place for pedophiles (updated). Detailed Notes on Pedophilia and Treatment at Coalinga Mental Hospital

Pedophilia and Treatment: Coalinga Mental Hospital

Defining Pedophilia

  • A controversial subject, especially regarding self-identification.

  • "I am": Suggests current interest and practice.

  • "Ex-pedophile": Indicates past interest with no current practice; the individual in the segment identifies as this.

Societal Views and Personal Awareness

  • Awareness of societal abhorrence towards the behavior is crucial.

  • Understanding the legal aspects and potential dangers due to past actions.

  • Admission that many people would want to inflict harm as retribution for child molestation.

  • The speaker does not want to judge the people, he believes that two wrongs do not make a right.

Coalinga: A Containment and Treatment Facility

  • A mental hospital in California designed to house and treat serious sexual offenders.

  • Individuals committed for lewd and lascivious acts on minor children.

  • These men have served prison time but are now diagnosed with sexual disorders, leading to indefinite confinement.

  • Affirmation: "I am not now attracted to children. I don't seek out the affections of children nor do I want to have sex with children."

  • Kualinga is viewed differently - for some, it is the best solution to pedophilia, for others is a prison in disguise.

  • Around 800 patients are confined.

Treatment and Rehabilitation

  • Patients are referred to as "individuals" and addressed by their surnames.

Mister Rigby's Case

  • A former high school sports coach committed to the hospital after serving ten years for abusing students.

  • Openly discusses his crimes with his therapist.

  • His social worker, Joe, reports excellent progress over the past year and a half.

  • Mister Rigby is compliant and faces challenges willingly.

Dorm Life and Personal Expression

  • Dorms house four men each.

  • Personal space is respected, with individual decorations reflecting personal interests.

  • Mister Rigby displays pictures of classical statues, expressing appreciation for art and the male form as an open gay homosexual man, without flaunting it.

  • Controversy arises over a ballet performance photo, potentially featuring a youngish man/teenager.

  • Mister Rigby clarified that he views them as ballet performers and not teenagers.

  • Joe intervenes confirming that as long as the images are of-age, they are okay.

Past Offenses and High-Risk Situations

  • Disclosure of organizing a club called "the togas" focused on athletic activities that evolved into sexual initiation of 11-12 year old boys.

  • The initiation included a sexual element involving a tube and breaching modesty boundaries for personal gratification.

  • Mister Rigby denies encouraging any oral copulation, but admits to encouraging other boys to do that.

  • Future prevention involves managing his environment and avoiding high-risk situations, especially around children.

  • A desire to be seen as a better citizen but is unsure how society will accept him.

Group Therapy and Treatment Methods

  • Group sessions encourage individuals to discuss crimes, ongoing thoughts, and fantasies to recognize and repress deviant urges.

  • Reducing sexual content in materials and decreasing masturbation frequency aimed at extended periods between masturbations are part of the treatment.

  • One of the signs of sexual preoccupation is total sexual outlet of seven or more orgasms a week for extended period of time.

Ernie Marshall's Perspective as Social Worker

  • Social workers read patients' records and charts, maintaining a hands-on approach.

  • Liking the patients is not a requirement, as they are often seen as the least likable people.

  • Focus is on the human being beyond their prior sexual behavior.

  • Marshall points out that nobody chooses to become a pedophile or rapist.

Vocational Activities and Social Interactions

  • The facility includes vocational education, a music center (Golden Gate Center) for program participants.

  • The gentleman shares a common musical interest in The Grateful Dead with another individual at the facility.

  • Expresses embarrassment and discomfort while talking about the crime.

  • Belief in being no longer a risk to the public and expresses willingness to continue therapy post-release.

Assessment and Potential Release

  • Clinician believes that he presents as committed to abstinence from abusive behavior.

  • Reintegration into society is possible with continued support.

Testing and Evaluation

  • Five phases of treatment at Koalinga.

  • Progress is assessed through polygraphs and penile plethysmograph (PPG) tests.

Penile Plethysmograph (PPG)

  • Administered by Abel Vera, a PPG technician.

  • Measures penile arousal in response to stimuli:

    • Normative stimuli: Consenting adults.

    • Deviant stimuli: Rape scenes, audio with children, suggestive scenes with children in bathing suits (no nudity).

  • Participants sit in a chair. They are asked to slide the table over them and put their hands on top of the table the individual places this gauge on the shaft of the penis, which is filled with mercury inside.

  • Deception is monitored and addressed.

Release Statistics and Mister Lam's Case

  • Low release rate: Only 13 individuals approved for release in the last ten years.

Mister Lam's Situation

  • Met during a tour led by Dr. D'Orazio.

  • Works on craft projects while waiting for housing in the outside world.

  • Release ordered by a judge over a year ago, delayed due to housing issues.

  • Community resistance: People don't want sex offenders living nearby.

  • The program aims to instill the idea that individuals have changed and can live among people again.

  • Conditional release agency has looked at approximately 1,100 properties.

  • One decline from a judge due to proximity to a family group home.

  • Another landlord withdrew after threats and rattlesnakes left on his porch.

Mister Lam's Offenses

  • Molestation of approximately 40 to 50 male victims (some in their teens).

  • Admits to and takes accountability for fifty victims.

  • Convictions exist, including convictions as an adult.

  • A deeply entrenched pattern of fantasies and urges.

Financial Aspects and Treatment Adherence

  • Koalinga cost almost $400,000,000 to build.

  • Annual cost per patient: 200,000.

  • High boycott rate: Majority of men do not engage in therapy and prefer legal appeals.

Mister Kitchens: Non-Participation and Warehousing

  • Met as part of the 70% declining specific treatment program.

  • Claims he doesn't have a problem.

Mister Kitchens's Offenses

  • A friend's child (6-7 years old) was touched while babysitting under the influence.

  • A 1989 conviction of lewd acts with a 14-year-old.

  • No other cases taken to trial.

  • Claimed he was only aroused by children during the two instances

  • Admits to the possibility of an unconscious attraction to children.

The Subject's Opinion

  • Affirmation: "I am not now attracted to children. I don't seek out the affections of children nor do I want to have sex with children."

  • Interviewer finds this statement not clear.

  • Amy: "It's very possible that I have an attraction to children that I don't know about."

Ethical Considerations

  • The interviewer questions his awareness of his attractions.

  • Mister Kitchens is in a "catch 22,": Warehoused due to non-participation in the program and unlikely release.

Observations on Daily Life at Koalinga

  • Surprisingly high level of comfort.

  • Men have served their prison time but remain confined due to psychological and sexual disorders.

  • Majority feel completely sane.

Another Patient's Thoughts

  • Claims he was wrongly charged and is innocent.

  • Feels most people in the facility do not have a mental disorder, but have committed criminal acts.

Triggered Session

  • A session triggered by the documentarian's view of art displayed.

  • The issues were were fair. Considering when Louie actually saw the the picture, yeah, it it actually was just kinda shocking of his perception because even I didn't perceive it like that.

  • He saw something that looked potentially adolescent, and that's against my nature

  • Agreed in the youthfulness of the person in the painting.

  • Doctor finds it okay, but if it's the same person he has victimized from he is wrong and the actions he took to reach out to the New York Ballet.

  • Validated them which made him feel the incident wasn't towards an adolscent.

  • Doesn't change any perspective and doesn't change the identity I wish to convey to you and and anyone else who knows I was a sex offender, and they don't want me looking at adolescents.

Mister Price's Polygraph Results and Honesty

  • Debriefing on recent polygraph setback.

  • Mister Price left the test due to intending to lie.

  • Was covering up more serious offenses involving relatives.

  • Feared prosecution for undiscovered crimes.

  • Intended to use antiperspirant to invalidate the test.

  • Felt exposed and lacked orientation about the testing process.

Responses

  • Doctor points out defensive behavior and finger-pointing.

  • Doctor suggests he may want to have his space with he BBC.

  • Feels as a participant, he doesn't know what he is going to be asked.

  • Director feels he has had an emotional dysfunction and is not regulating his emotions properly.

  • If the patient continues it, it will not be processed other then get out of the place and file a complaint.

Social Events and Perspectives

  • Regular social events are held, such as Halloween parties, karaoke nights, and birthday celebrations.

  • A patient who prefers prison expresses discontent with Koalinga.

  • Values the clear code, responsibilities, and respect in prison.

  • Feels Koalinga is unjust, implying a life sentence without committing another crime.

  • Admits to a past date rape offense.

Mister Lam's Progress and Reflections

  • Reports no current attraction to small children, attributing this to a personal choice of castration.

  • Started with chemical castration, then opted for physical castration for permanence.

  • Acknowledges the wrongfulness of molesting a child and discusses therapy insights:

    • Obsessive moment.

    • Life issues.

    • Early sexualization.

    • Self-molestation.

    • Early sexual encounters.

  • Recognizes that his actions caused others tremendous pain.

  • Addresses concerns about his credibility:

    • Actions speak louder than words.

    • Must act well to be viewed favorably.

Disgruntlement and Complaints

  • Growing discontent over the documentary's focus on the minority in treatment.

  • Complaints about spending too much time with them.

Mister Yon's Perspective

  • A man who exhausted legal appeals and refuses treatment, destined to die at Koalinga.

  • Claims no threat to anyone and doesn't need treatment.

  • Raises concerns about a rehabilitation therapist who looks like a 12-year-old, questioning if she is a "plant."

Mister Yon's Offenses

  • Involves masturbation with children.

  • Denies physically raping a child but admits to sex acts with them.

  • Engaged in oral copulation with a nine-year-old girl.

  • Had his son perform oral copulation on him.

  • Masturbated in front of his children and encouraged them to do the same.

Reasoning

  • Claims he stopped finding those acts arousing when his children grew up and he recognized them as people with feelings and desires.

In Summary

  • Asked for the facility to take all liability of his possible future actions.

Final Assessments and Contradictions

  • Observation that those in the phase program can come across as plausible.

Mister Rigby's Case Again

  • Has passed every question in his polygraph

  • Dedication, look at pictures or movies and think deviant arousals or still think of kids as sexual objects.

  • Doctor says he is not sure but he may recommend to a panel by the medical director and consider community treatment.
    Interviewer finds the idea of taking away a deal to be outrageous

  • Treatment to be awful.

  • There has a significant component of that because of peoples inability to seperate what they think.

Mister Price's Apology

  • Expresses remorse for his behavior during the polygraph debriefing.

  • Acknowledges emotional dysfunction and inappropriate actions.

  • Doctor views the incident as a growth opportunity.

  • Points out that similar behavior in the community could lead to a formal complaint or legal action.

  • The interviewer was trying to show he wasn't abusive or aggresive.

  • Some purposefully intentional demeaning statements and some belittling statements and some he made some statements to suggest that I wasn't being sincere in what I was offering

Reflections on Mister Lam's Case

  • Secured a potential housing option in a rural area.

  • Journalist questions if they are to pry into details of a crime if the subject seems upset about the act.

  • Expresses resistance from Mr. Lam.

  • He is ashamed about what he has done but finds no need to tell everyone every small detail to help anybody then a clinician.

  • Doctor would like the interviewer to talk about the transperancy and where he is now.

  • I am not too sure how much more that I could actually own up to them going through eleven years of treatment after six years of prison just to cover where I'm feeling about this and the judge saying if they're clinical buzwords.

Conclusion

  • Mixed impressions of sincerity and self-delusion among individuals.

  • Possibility of reformed men but awareness of grooming tactics.

  • The main function of Koalinga is containment rather than treatment.

  • Most residents will live in confinement until the end of their days.