Cheryl Wetzstein

About the author: Cheryl Wetzstein is a journalist for the Washington Times.

Many U.S. citizens favor locking up child molesters and keeping them in jail forever. However, attempting to identify dangerous pedophiles presents a dilemma. Child molesters suffer a diversity of sexual disorders that are difficult to clinically diagnose, making it nearly impossible for psychiatrists to determine which abusers will commit repeat offenses. Since the mid-1980s efforts have been made to collect statistics on the extent of child abuse, but the data suffer from both exaggeration and underreporting.

"I got away with molesting over 240 children before getting caught for molesting just one little boy," convicted child molester Larry Don McQuay has confessed.

"With all that I have coldheartedly learned while in prison, there is no way that I...