IT is a picture of innocence. A child in a red life jacket smiles in the sunshine, surrounded by other similar pictures from magazines and catalogues. They are pasted into the pages, with as much care as a child would take. But this was the scrapbook of a convicted paedophile.
The man was convicted in 1985. He had been involved in an international network and would travel to Portugal to abuse young boys.
The image was used by Det Insp Bob MacLachlann of Scotland Yard's Paedophile Unit. "I know men who have been collecting this stuff for 30 or 40 years." They go to elaborate lengths to hide and protect the material. One of the reasons they like it is that the child "never ages in the photograph".
He said real child pornography should be considered not just as a form of pornography but as evidence of a crime. "Abusers use it in order to seduce children. The danger of it is that it will ultimately lead to the abuse of another child."
He said there were three types of paedophile: those who "groom" children; the introverted offender who hangs around outside school gates; and the sadistic offender. "He has to hurt children to get sexual pleasure and he is more likely than any other child abuser to abduct and murder his victim."
RUC Det Sgt William McAuley told the seminar that police should be trained to deal with child abuse, to understand the perpetrators and what motivates them. Police forces also needed special facilities for dealing with children and families. And he believed that police should specialise.
Det Garda Bernard Owens from the Dublin Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit said all sexual offences were predicated on fantasy. Pornography contributed to that fantasy.
Asked how he dealt with the harrowing nature of his work he said, "one of the release valves for most of us, and especially myself, is actually talking about the job."