John Grisham apologises for controversial child porn comments

Bestselling author John Grisham has condemned paedophilia and issued a public apology after incensing youth protection campaigners with his controversial views on child pornography. The writer behind hit legal thrillers A Time to Kill and The Firm found himself under fire on Thursday (16Oct14) when an interview he conducted with Britain’s Daily Telegraph earlier this week went viral over comments about a friend who had been jailed on child porn charges.
During the chat, Grisham claimed some offenders are judged too harshly for seeking out explicit images of youngsters online, saying, “We have prisons now filled with guys my age. Sixty-year-old white men in prison who have never harmed anybody, would never touch a child. But they got online one night and started surfing around, probably had too much to drink or whatever, and pushed the wrong buttons, went too far and got into child porn.”
He went on to insist, “I have no sympathy for real paedophiles”, but added, “So many of these guys do not deserve harsh prison sentences, and that’s what they’re getting.”
His views drew the wrath of child protection activists at the U.K.’s National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) and ECPAT UK, who branded Grisham’s remarks “irresponsible”, “inaccurate” and “dangerous”, and now the author has felt the need to explain himself, admitting he “regrets” his comments about the sensitive issue.
A statement posted on his website on Thursday reads: “Anyone who harms a child for profit or pleasure, or who in any way participates in child pornography – online or otherwise – should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
“My comments made two days ago during an interview with the British newspaper The Telegraph were in no way intended to show sympathy for those convicted of sex crimes, especially the sexual molestation of children. I can think of nothing more despicable.
“I regret having made these comments, and apologize to all.”