Polly
Wanted Poster
She was anyone's little girl. She could have been yours, or mine. She
had long, dark hair, which cascaded down the sides of her head and her
friendly face would one day become a familiar sight to millions of
Americans. Her name was Polly Klaas, a quiet, unassuming 12-year old
who lived a comfortable life in Petaluma, California. Like everyone,
Polly had her own dreams and plans for the future. On a peaceful night,
on October 1, 1993, she was in her own bedroom. She invited two
friends over for their very first slumber party and all three girls
were immersed in the joy and freedom of being away from their parents
for a few hours. Until that awful moment when evil made its way into
Polly's life. At about 10 that evening, an intruder, high on booze
and armed with a knife, crawled through an open bedroom window and
within minutes, two of the girls were tied up and left writhing in
terror on the bedroom floor. Polly was abducted and carried off into
the night, the victim of a cowardly killer whose own life was a twisted
maze of hate and violence.
The body of little Polly Klass was found two months later on December
4, 1993. Her confessed killer, Richard Allen Davis, provided
information that eventually led police to her body. She had been
brutally raped and strangled. One lifetime may not be enough to recover
from the horror her parents endured during this ordeal (1). On August
5, 1996, a San Jose jury sentenced a smirking and unrepentant Davis to
death. His rap sheet was a pathetic litany of major and minor offenses
that include robbery, burglary, assault, rape and kidnapping that
stretched back 26 years(2). But Davis was not a pedophile. Although he
had never been arrested for child molestation, he can be characterized
as a situational child molester.
It is important to understand the differences between pedophiles and
molesters. Pedophilia, which is a psychological disorder, is a distinct
sexual preference for pre-pubescent children. The Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 111-R), which is published
by the American Psychological Association, supplies this definition of
pedophilia: "recurrent, intense, sexual urges and sexual arousing
fantasies of at least six months duration involving sexual activity
with a pre-pubescent child" (DSM, V.3, 1987). Generally, this means
the target of the fantasy will typically be less than 12 years old.
Notice the definition does not require the person to actually engage in
a sexual act. Pedophilia is a psychological disorder that does not
require, and usually does not involve, a criminal act. The pedophile
might keep his desires a secret. He may never go public or share his
fantasies with anyone. At times, they will even marry a single mother
to gain or continue access to her children. Pedophiles can be very
determined and single-minded in their efforts to stay close to
children. Maintaining access to children at all costs is one of the
defining trademarks of pedophilia, which will be discussed later. Child
molesters, however, can have many different motivations for their
crimes. And those motives, surprisingly, are often not of a sexual
origin.
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(1) Polly's parents later established the Polly Klaas Foundation,
an organization that provides information and support in cases of child
abduction.
(2) To see Richard Davis' complete rap sheet, see The San
Francisco Chronicle which published it on August 6, 1996
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