Pedophilia is one of the more common paraphilias; the large worldwide market for child pornography suggests that it is more frequent in the general population than prison statistics would indicate.

use of the empty signifier of 'paraphilia' aside, i think this is a valid observation. i also think the high rate of occurrence of sexual assaults on children indicates that sexual attraction to children is far from unusual in the general population.

the way i see it, 'paedophiles' are people with a primary sexual orientation to children, just as gays and lesbians are primarily homosexual. the existence of paedophiles and homosexuals should not be allowed to disguise the fact a significant proportion of the general population exhibits a strong but secondary capacity for arousal to members of the same sex and/or to children.

i believe the factors that lead to sexual assaults on children are mainly to do with antisociality and disinhibition, and that primary paedophilic orientation is a relatively minor contribution to the rate of this kind of offending.

altho paedophiles are uniquely vulnerable to the temptation of child porn, and may be more likely to meet the kinds of scenarios (child friendships) that could lead to sexual acting out with children, if GC members are a representative sample, i think self identified and self aware paedophiles represent a far lower risk for this type of offending than a random sample of 'normal' primary teleiophiles.

personally, i think self knowledge and self acceptance has made me far more confident about my ability to act within social norms, and also far more conscious of paedophilic sentiments in the general population and of eroticisation of children by society.