Gregerson case fuels concerns over porn

Not everyone who looks at pornography becomes a pornography addict, and not all pornography addicts commit sex crimes. But the experts who treat sex offenders have noticed one striking similarity: "Every sex offender I've ever dealt with, and I've treated hundreds," says Logan therapist Dr. Todd Freestone, "has viewed porn."

Whether sex crimes can be blamed on pornography, though, is another matter — one that may surface in the months to come. An interview with accused child murderer Craig Gregerson last week hints that a "pornography defense" may be part of Gregerson's strategy.

"I have now become a strong advocate against pornography," Gregerson obliquely told KSL-TV in a non-videotaped interview, after saying his lawyer was preventing him from answering whether he killed his neighbor, 5-year-old Destiny Norton. The little girl went missing on the evening of July 16; her body was found in Gregerson's basement on July 24.

He told KSL he was "addicted to pornography at one point," and added, "It was ruining my life and affecting my relationship with my wife." He declined to say whether he was talking about adult or child pornography, according to the station.

Among the list of items seized from the 20-year-old's apartment by police was "sex mag. & plastic bag (wht)."

Psychotherapist Freestone, who runs the Comprehensive Treatment Clinic in Logan, says "looking at pornography is not going to cause someone to become a sexual offender, but it definitely lowers inhibitions." Studies have shown pornography increases the tendency to view other people as

objects and increases aggressiveness, he says. "Amazingly, it didn't matter whether the pornography was soft-core or hard-core."

Most people who look at pornography don't become porn addicts, says University of Utah psychiatry professor Dr. David Tomb. "The majority will look at it a time or two and say 'Golly, that's boring' and move on," he says. But "there is a small group that, once exposed, can't let go."

The problem, Tomb says, is that it's impossible to predict who will become addicted and who won't.

It's not the amount of pornography watched that increases the likelihood of addiction, he says, but "probably the brain you have to start with," in the same way some people are more likely to become addicted to alcohol or drugs.