In a message dated 9/17/03 10:57:55 AM Eastern Daylight Time, camera_lumina@hotmail.com writes:

Actually, it's quite possible that these writings might be the very thing preventing him from "needing" to do anything in real life. Writing is known to have this function in many writers...ie, of sublimating urges that might otherwise be acted upon.

This Brian Dalton weirdo being local I've read all the media coverage and he was encouraged to write his fantasies down in a diary by his therapist- The parents found the diary and went to the authorities stupidly thinking that they'd try to get him additional help- the help came in the form of charges of pandering obscenity, although he didn't show the diary to anyone. I have a friend who won a county prosecutor election about ten years ago, and he told me the prevailing theory on child predators is that no therapy works and the best strategy is to try to get them the maximum time in jail thus keeping them from being able to abuse more children. Of course this case has obviously violated the first amendment, this guy didn't abuse actual children, just wrote a rather sick and twisted story about keeping kids locked in cages in a basement for sexual entertainment. Knowing the power structure as I do they care jack shit about the constitution, but rather about practical ways to keep predators off the street. I noted that the Dalton was also ordered to have no Internet access, which is interesting as he didn't do an Internet crime. His diary was in handwritten print form. Regards, Matt-