The sex offender next door

John Middleton, psychologist, often hears his sex offender clients say:
“I didn’t hurt the child.”
“It’s not like I raped the child.”
“The kid is doing fine.”
“It was because of pornography.”
“I was drinking.”
Middleton confronts offenders with their “thinking distortions” and helps them realize their actions were wrong and should never be repeated. His work with sexual abusers started 19 years ago through the county’s mental health department and has continued under the nonprofit agency Repay since 2007.
According to him, 200 people convicted of sex offenses reside in Burke County. He estimates the true numbers at 20 times that as many may live here and these crimes — ranging from peeping to actual abuse — are underreported. He and Dr. Sheila Williamson, Ph. D. psychologist, see 100 clients, most court-mandated from the Unifour area. They’ve seen both men and women, people as young as age 4 and as old as 84.
Dr. Williamson, who’s worked with Repay’s Sex Abuse and Intervention Service (SAIS) for three years said, “It’s John’s program. He did what he had to do to get it started.”
Middleton offers one comforting statistic: if apprehended, fewer than 25 percent will re-offend in their lifetimes.
“With good treatment, we can bring this down to under 12 percent and in my experience, only 5 percent re-offend. The majority are capable of successful relationships with adults.”
So how do you know if abusers have stopped? No further arrests or convictions, checking Department of Social Service reports and regular follow-up with families.
Middleton said the average treatment is three to five years and involves clients fully acknowledging what they were convicted of and being fully open with their families about it. “We require clients to undergo a polygraph test every six months until they’ve passed two in a row, then they take one once a year,” he said.
The tester is professionally trained in administering polygraphs to sexual offenders.
Middleton grew up in Winston-Salem and moved to Burke County in 1978. He met his wife, Sondra, here and they’ve reared two daughters in Morganton.
For relaxation, he enjoys reading and watching DVDs. His favorite author is Cormac McCarthy, and favorite DVDs are the sci fi channel’s, “Firefly,” and a 1970’s BBC series, “The Duchess of Duke Street.”
Why would a nice, reserved family man like John Middleton devote his career to working with people who, as he puts it, many would like to surgically fix and send to a desert island?
After earning his master’s degree from Appalachian State University, he worked as a psychologist at Broughton Hospital for six years, then began seeing clients at Burke County’s Mental Health Center.
He said, “I met some very dangerous pedophiles and they fooled me. All during the time they were telling me they truly wanted to get better and wanted treatment, they were re-offending.”
One day a client’s landlady called him to report the man was spending a lot of time alone with a neighbor’s little boy.
“The landlady is the hero of this story,” he said.
She called the authorities who discovered his crime. The abuser was convicted for that offense and a number of times for repeat offenses. He remains in prison, and the experience left Middleton with a determination to prevent that from happening again.
“The most dangerous are the nicest,” he said. The sad truth is the more we like a client, the more careful we have to be.”
What can parents do to protect their children?
Middleton said, “Be present in their lives. Know their coaches, teachers, scout leaders. Some of the folks we know and trust and love have built their lives around gaining access to children because they want to sexually abuse them. If something seems creepy, talk about it. The more openness and communication the better.”
Middleton stressed that, “The way through this wilderness is communication both for kids and offenders.”
He and Dr. Williamson teach offenders to speak openly to neighbors and say, “I’m working really hard not to hurt anyone else, but I want you to know about the risk.”
He added, “If you have a sexual offender in your neighborhood, go and introduce yourself. Ask questions.”
Gwen Veazey is a member of the Morganton Writer’s Group. Repay’s SAIS program is located at 202 Patterson St. in Morganton. Call 438-6218 or visit www.repayinc.org.