A suspected British child pornographer committed suicide at an Amsterdam police station May 5. The unidentified man apparently hanged himself in an interrogation room before detectives could talk to him, according to news wire reports and the Dutch press. Officials of both Dutch police and the British embassy couldn't comment that day because it was a public Dutch holiday, but reports indicated the man was arrested after leaving a photo development shop. Because he was not in official custody yet, the reports say, his belt and shoelaces had not yet been removed.
ATLANTA - We're sure we've mentioned this in the past couple of months, but did you know that cybersex addiction is tearing partners apart and setting a dangerous new compulsion affecting just everyone, from housewives to gay men and CEOs? That's what psychologists said May 5 here, noting the Net's anonymous and instant gratification is "surprisingly appealing" to the ladies, who "prefer the interaction in sex chat rooms to leering at pornographic pictures." This at a seminar on cybersex at the National Council on Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity conference. San Jose, California sexuality clinic director Al Cooper told the conference cybersex is changing how we define sexual compulsion - "like crack cocaine changed the field of substance abuse." The conference revealed some research studies showing approximately 15 percent of Net surfers surveyed visiting online sex chat rooms or porn sites, with the 9 percent using the Net for sex spending over 11 hours a week hunting erotica. And between the men and the ladies, it was about even up among cybersex participants - with the anonymity and experimentational aspects the most appealing. But, as Arizona psychologist Kimberly Young warned, the conference also expressed concern that compulsive cybersex could kill marriages and partnerships. "The pain that this can tear through a relationship is deep, and it's profound," she said. "And relapse is really just a click away."
--- Compiled by Humphrey Pennyworth
