Are there signs indicating that a person is a pedophile?

     Pedophilia is a mental disorder that does not have a defined profile to identify these sex offenders, but there are a number of indicators or red flags. The president of the College of Professional Social Work, Emil Alicea Larry Rodriguez says "we must look if the adolescent have sexual behaviors that goes beyond their age and has interest in children younger". However, another red flag indicator is a constant interest of searchin children nudity since it may indicate suffering from mental disorder of pedophilia. In these cases, parents or guardians can stop the problem in time seeking psychological and therapeutic help as this is a pattern that continues into adulthood. There is debate about whether pedophilia is congenital or acquired since you can not determine the exact origin of it, and if there really is a cure. The neuropsychologist Teresa Dalmau says that "it is a matter that remains debatable, as is highly variable whether cured or not, the pedophile is like - a drug or alcohol addict, after therapies and treatments, knows his way and control their impulses, but must be handled preemptively. Dalmau, said that Puerto Rico is a hotbed of pedophiles because society does not know when they arrive or where are these compared to the United States where they have to disclose to the community mental disorder (pedophilia). In the case of Puerto Rico, the persons responsible for carrying out treatments for sex offenders are ASSMCA which is the leading provider of mental health in the country.

(Newspaper El Nuevo Día / Tuesday, February 27, 2016 / electronic version)

     As far as I'm concerned, mental health is a problem that affects us all as a society globally since in many cases it is not known how to eradicate or help people with mental disabilities, and pedophilia is one of them. I chose this story because it is a topic that is related to my future plans as forensic psychologist in the area of ​​child sexual offenses. I believe that in Puerto Rico and various countries have to deal with cases of pedophile or child abuse and learn to recognize potential sex offenders because as the neuropsychologist Teresa Dalmau said the company does not know when or where they are coming. However, a case of sexual assault should be treated more effectively and deliver a consistent message through which parents and relatives know how to identify these mental disorders; especially if a child has been sexually assaulted.