"..to lure unsuspecting boys." Washpost

 "His case underscores the difficulties that educators and parents face when they only suspect abuse but can't prove it, and how reluctant even the most suspicious and well-meaning people can be in coming forward with allegations. It shows how someone can for decades wear a mask of trusted role model while using that powerful position to lure unsuspecting boys.

Interviews with six of his victims or their families in Asia, Europe and the United States -- along with several others who think they or their children were being groomed as victims -- tell a story of a teacher who believed he was falling passionately in love with his students and the foreigners he brought into the country. They said he spent months infiltrating their lives, their families and their youth groups. He plied them with expensive gifts, trips, event tickets, attention and ultimately loads of alcohol.

When the boys were in a drunken stupor or asleep, Ricks would molest them, using a camcorder and camera to capture the graphic, secret sex acts, according to victims and law enforcement officials."  Washpost

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OK.  No girl victims?  Step up boys and girls and tell me why you think this creep is a "pedophile" and not a predatory homosexual.  His wife?  OK, a predatory bisexual.  pl 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/24/AR2010072402605.html?hpid=topnews

Comments

[alnval]

Col. Lang:

Pedophilia is a crime. Homosexuality is not. What was done by this man is a crime. Calling him a predatory homosexual is no different than calling him a predatory Mormon. It's irrelevant.

[Steve]

Seems to me that this person, by definition, is both a pedophile and a predatory homosexual.

[Roy G]

Outside of common misperception, there is no causal link between homosexuality and pedophilia. I do believe that abuse of power against the powerless is repugnant. Referring to the previous post, I have less abhorrence towards gay clergy who engage in their acts privately, with consenting adults, than with predators who abuse their charges, sexually or otherwise.

ps. disclosure: I am a husband, father and an ex-Catholic; Thomas Merton, however, remains an inspiration to me.

[Roy G]

Sorry, my first paragraph got cut; The basis of Ricks' relationships with his victims was of power and authority, starting with the 10 year old deaf boy, when Ricks was 18. Imo, while he did engage in homosexual acts, the salient feature was the power relationship. This is similar to both prison rape and clergy abuse.

[BillWade]

Given that no evidence was presented that he tried to hook up with guys his own age makes me think he's a predatory homosexual pedophile.

[Robert]

Most of the comments I've made here where about subject that I have had little direct experience with. This one, I do. Defining the difference between Pedophile and predatory homosexual, may be parsing the information incorrectly; The pathology can't be reduced that simply. Its like saying that Islam "hates our freedoms" simplistic, but appeals to the low foreheads. And you can always attack gays, and get away with it, in every culture.
The high School I attended had one of these teachers, pillar of the community, churchgoer, a married man who's own son was our classmate. He used his teaching position and his sons friendship with the rest of the football team to identify and pick out his marks. He would let the football team have parties in the safe zone of his home, buy all the booze, and then watch us. Pick out his targets. He moved on at least a dozen of us, carefully cultivating and managing the process. When any of us reported it, we were accused of being liars, gay ourselves, and threatened to keep silent, to bury it, by our family, by school admin's and the local Sheriff. The shame of being accused of being gay when we weren't was enough to make us drop it. Over a period of many years afterwards, I called around the state, by school district, and gathered information on this man, hoping to deliver it to anyone who could stop him. I found that he had a 20+ year career, and had moved every three or four years, under a cloud of rumors that no one would step up and explain. He was always defended, always covered, always made the right friends in authority.
Was he straight? was he a closeted homo? How useful is it to to categorize sexual predators based on their choice of boys or girls? Catholic Priests go after boys because girls dont participate to nearly the same level in church ritual; these men go after targets of opportunty, of convenience. And they can still say that they are celibate, by not having relations with women, which is all the Church cares about.
This story is common, even worse in the middle east. Separation of the sexes in Islam has made adaptation to their own a hidden, shameful, but very distinctive aspect of their culture. The Taliban are quite fond of owning young men, and yet would slit a homosexual's throat in a second, just to keep show God how devout they are. They see no irony. Neither do we.

[Patrick Lang]

Robert

Pathetic politically correct crap. pl

[Andy]

Why can't he be both?

[Medicine Man]

Well what is it you're looking for, Col. Lang?

Predatory homosexual pedophile seems pretty accurate on all counts to me. What of it?

[Patrick Lang]

MM

I am looking for 'truth in lending" instead of the desired outcome based sludge that people like Robert dish out. pl

[Ian]

"His wife?"

He liked little boys and adult women. None of the gay men I know are attracted to either.

[Patrick Lang]

Ian

No. He liked pre-pubescent and adolescent boys. what would you call him, a bisexual predatory married man? The implication being that true male homosexuals are psychologically castrated with regard to boys? Perhaps we should insist that such psychic castrati teach boys? pl

[Medicine Man]

Fair enough.

Are homosexuals more likely to offend than heterosexuals if placed in positions of responsibility over youths? I don't know. I would want to look at a few statistics on pedophilia first. Barring a wider inquiry, conclusions about what motivated this creep are not necessarily indications of any larger truth.

I am going to look for better opinions than my own on this. If you are interested, I will share what I find out.

[Patrick Lang]

MM I am interested. pl

[LJ]

Pat,

What is your point? I read the WaPo article: the point of that article is around the difficulties identifying sexual predators. And your point is what?

[Jackie]

Sir,
I was raised Catholic and have had no experience with pedophile priests, although Monsignor Price scared the hell out of me.

Is it possible that this is tolerated more in some orders of priests? I'm not sure about the priests, but the nuns were Order of Saint Benedict.

[optimax]

Maybe he thinks he's a Spartan.

[Patrick Lang]

LJ

No. What is your point? pl

[Patrick Lang]

Jackie

Means what? pl

[Jackie]

It means Monsignor Price scared me half too death. He would tell parishoners where to park their cars and who should take their crying infants into the cry room. The man was a tyrant, but not a pedophile. He scared the whole congregation.

I think the point I was trying to make was, are there different orders of priest who condone homosexual behaviour?

As always, if you get mad at my comment,please delete.

Respectfully yours,

[Steveb]

Are men who prey on boys gay pedophiles just like men who prey on girls are "just" pedophiles? I suppose, and I believe I get your point...but surely you understand the unwillingness of gays to acknowledge this point? I think you are just rubbing their noses in it and for no good reason.

[Patrick Lang]

Steveb

For no good reason? The unwillingness to acknowledge that there are gay predators is "no good reason?" pl

[Trever]

Shouldn't the focus be on why pedophilia is over represented amongst males regardless of orientation?

[Trever]

If you approve my comment I would like to add one more thought.

It would seem they gravitate towards positions an adolescent would normally associate with trust.

[Grimgrin]

I don't. This guy is clearly a sexual predator, with a taste for young men, who may also be attracted to women, or may be sophisticated enough to understand the need for a good cover story. But is that what we're really talking about? Or are we talking about the Catholic church scandals? Gays in the military? Or just the organizational difficulties in preventing pathological types from seeking out positions of authority from which to indulge their pathologies?

When one of the common arguments made against any increase in homosexual rights, or in favor of any anti-gay measure is the idea that all gay people target and recruit children, in effect that being gay is the same as being a predator I can understand why gay people and supporters of gay right became rather unwilling to concede any point that seems related to the canard. Of course then on the flip side the argument is that because gay people and supporters of gay rights are unwilling to concede on any point that the point must in fact be true.

I'll offer this as a possibility to why no girl victims though. In today's climate, a male victim is more easily shamed into silence. I'd imagine a victimized teenage boy fears having their own sexuality questioned, and has a very strong desire to deny that they were the victim of a homosexual assault, particularly an unresisting victim even if that was a result of drugs or coercion. Being on the bottom is not a position of esteem.

Now that girls are far far less likely to be assumed to have seduced or invited contact, it seems like male victims would be more attractive, assuming all other things being equal.