'Noseless' sex offender arrested for allegedly possessing child porn
A convicted sex offender, who is disfigured with a missing nose, was arrested last week in Arkansas on the charges of possession of child pornography. 35-year-old Joshua Box from Fayetteville was indicted on four counts of receiving material involving the sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of possessing material involving the sexual exploitation of a minor younger than 12 on June 5. He has been detained at the Washington County Jail on the five counts just two days after the grand jury at his trial came back with the indictment.
On May 23, the Washington County Sheriff's Office warned resident in the area that the man had moved to Fayetteville. Box is a Level 2 sex offender according to the notice that the department put up on social media. The notice that was posted also made it very clear that, at the time, Box was not wanted by the police.
The status update said that had been convicted in August 2015 for the possession of 2,500 photos and 450 videos that depicted children exgaging in sexual intercourse. The notice also revealed that he had been put in the 'Medium Risk' category which meant he is a person who could re-offend at any time.
KSFM cited the arrest warrant that was made in his previous conviction and it said that the Level 2 sex offender had told the police that he had been downloading child pornography ever since he was 15 years old.
There is still no information on how, when or why Box had been disfigured. The man's booking pictures show that he has a lot of scar tissue on his face and also has a tracheotomy tube fitted in his throat.
Box will go on trial for the new charges on August 7.
A study that was conducted recently has said that pedophiles are most likely to be left-handed, have non-detached earlobes and misshapen ears.
According to the controversial study that was conducted, pedophilia has been found out to be a biological problem that creates a clear difference in the person's appearance compared to regular people.
Scientists have said that it is these physical traits can be used to identify pedophiles from the general population even before they commit crimes and this could keep the children in the area safe.
Fiona Dyshniku from the University of Windsor in Canada said: "Evidence is steadily accumulating to support a neurodevelopmental basis of pedophilia. If we find that paedophilia has a biological basis, with a very early, even prenatal onset, this will influence and hopefully improve methods of treatment for this group."
Researchers have found out that, on a whole, pedophiles have other irregularities with their physical appearances called Minor Physical Anomalies (MPAs). These could possibly include low-set ears, a furrowed tongue, a curved fifth finger, a third toe that is longer than the second toe, and a large gap between the first and the second toe.
According to the study, these features develop while the infant is still in the womb and during the second trimester.
Scientist believe that the features develop because the mother could be exposed to viruses, alcohol or drugs, obstetric complications, or nutritional deficiencies during the prenatal development stage. These abnormalities have been found out to be more common in men which could mean that the male brain is very susceptible to disruptive events while in the prenatal development stage.
Clinical neuropsychologist and co-author of the study, Rachel Fazio, has said: "If we know more about the etiology of an injurious behaviour, we can create more effective treatments and look toward prevention. For years, it was thought that child molestation was somewhat of a learned behaviour, potentially from the abusers having been sexually abused themselves as children. While this may be a factor in some cases, this is not the case in those with genuine pedophilia."
140 members of the public who took part in the study all showed signs of "distressing or illegal sexual behaviour". The study was made up of both a forensic and a medical file review, an interview where they spoke about offense and sexual history, and a test for erotic preference. Specific physical traits on whether the participant was right or left handed were also tested.
The results showed that the pedophiles who had taken part in the study had been more likely to have had minor facial and head anomalies compared to the men who did not classify as pedophiles. The study found out that the features on the head of the pedophiles were more obvious than on the rest of the body.
Research that was conducted before by James Cantor, who is an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto, has discovered that pedophiles seem to have a lack of connection that links different parts of the brain. He said that when men find women sexually attractive, they widen their stance and lower their voices but when they talk to children, their voices take on a higher pitch.
He also found out from his research that instead of the typical responses they make when they see a child, "it’s as if [paedophiles’] responses are cross-wired’ so that when they see a child, their brain ‘triggers the sex response system instead of the parental, nurturing system".
Dr. Cantor also said that the pedophiles generally have an IQ level that is between 10 and 15 points lower than the average rate. They are also physically 2.5cm shorter than the average male. Dr. Cantor had found out in his study, before the latest one that was conducted, that almost 30-35% of pedophiles are left-handed.