The Case of the Missing Predator (or) Has Anyone Seen Chester?

You would think that sexual predators are very easy people to recognize. We all know what they look like. Dark trench coats, dark glasses or a hat pulled down well over their eyes. They are typically leaning against a light pole in a dark alley or near a slide on a playground. They are sometimes wearing pants, sometimes not, but always have a pocket full of candy or treats to be used as an ice breaker for unsuspecting victims. With warning signs such as these, certainly we should be able to see them coming and certainly we should be able to spot them when they get back out into mainstream population. They could not be any more obvious if they had the proverbial scarlet letter sewn on their very trench coats.<br /> <br /> Ahhhhh, if it was only so easy. We now know that the many stereotypes and myths that we have always heard of were just that; stereotypes and myths. The real people that we should have been afraid of and should avoid looked nothing like what we thought. The caricature, while albeit crude and completely unrealistic, of Chester the Molester is possibly as well known as Joe Camel. Unfortunately, the chances are better for Joe the Camel to jump off the cigarette pack into real life than you actually spotting Chester. Why? Because the Chester that some of us still believe in does not exist. A child molester or a sexual predator looks like a lot of things but they do not look like Chester.<br /> <br /> They look like teachers, coaches, moms and dads, relatives, neighbors, ministers, scout leaders; and they look like you and I. You can replace the trench coat with a designer business suit or whatever the normal attire of anyone might be. You are more likely to see them in your living room than a dark alley. In most cases, there are no warning signs or characteristics of a child molester that would stand out to you. We have learned that the person who commits these types of crimes may be the person that you thought was your best friend. In most cases we never see them coming because they were already there all along. Itâ