Progressive Belgian Poet: 'People Must Accept That Pedophilia Resides in Each of Us'
'Every human being is sometimes attracted to innocence and youthfulness'
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A poet in Belgium who is employed by the city of Bruges wrote a letter condemning the demonization of pedophiles, arguing people need to accept them.
Delphine Lecompte wrote a letter responding to an investigation into a Flemish actor accused of sexually abusing young children.
Lecompte argued pedophiles are “a marginalized, vulnerable group that has been treated as sickening scum by the decent moralistic community for years.”
Despite massive backlash for her remarks, she still remains employed by Bruges.
The city council said that although it disagreed with Lecompte's remarks, she was entitled to free speech, broadcaster VRT reports.
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Lecompte continued in the letter that “most pedophiles never engage in pedophile acts” and “that every human being is sometimes attracted to innocence and youthfulness.”
She continued:
“I think it is very dangerous to demonize and silence pedophiles."
“In this way, the pedophile is almost forced into a position of illegality and perverted criminality. If you yell at someone long enough, ‘You’re sick and disgusting, get under a rock!’ you just get the pedosexual excesses and child pornography we all want to avoid.”
“I think it would be wiser to get to know and accept the pedophile. And to accept that pedophilia resides in each of us,” she added.
The letter caused outrage, including Stefaan Sintobin of the populist party Vlaams Belang who demanded the city of Bruges to end its relationship with Lecompte and Flemish Minister Matthias Diependaele, who stated: “We can’t condone or normalize pedophilia in any way, let alone seek excuses.”
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Bruges mayor Dirk De fauw responded to the remarks:
“We do not, very explicitly, support Delphine Lecompte’s statements about pedophilia, and therefore clearly want to distance ourselves from this.”
But he still said the city stood for “the right to free opinion and artistic freedom.”
Lecompte's follow up letter claimed:
“The lives of most pedophiles are a sad, fateful, lonely torment. Most pedophiles are completely harmless and do not rape children. They deserve mercy, gentleness, and grace. Understanding and professional help.”
The calls for the normalization of pedophilia has become more common in progressive circles; the Salon articles written by “virtuous pedophile” Todd Nickerson, who wrote about sexual attraction to a five-year-old
In 2018, Neon Nettle reported on a speaker at a Ted Talks TEDx event who called on the public to accept pedophiles for who they are, claiming that adults wanting to rape children is "natural."
The TED organization's lecturer caused outrage after blasting those who disapprove of pedophilia as "immature," claiming that "public perception of pedophiles must change."
In response to the backlash, the TED organization has attempted to cover up the controversial lecture, which featured a German medical student at the University of Würzburg in a talk entitled, “Why our perception of pedophilia has to change.”
