Top-selling novelist John Grisham was today accused of being “dangerous and ill-informed” for saying some people who look at child abuse images “probably had too much to drink”.
He called for lighter sentences for some offenders who view images of children being sexually abused.
He also revealed that one of his “good buddies” had been caught in a child abuse imagery sting in Canada.
The 59-year-old’s controversial comments attracted a barrage of criticism.
Peter Saunders, chief executive at the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, said: “John Grisham is reminding us why the world remains a dangerous place for so many children and vulnerable young people.
“The consequences of these vile crimes last a lifetime...we should acknowledge the enduring harm to victims and state that we should accept nothing less than zero tolerance.”
Peter Wanless, CEO at the NSPCC, said Grisham’s comments are “dangerous and ill-informed” while former home secretary Jacqui Smith tweeted: “Grisham is an idiot and they are child abuse images not ‘child porn’”.
During an interview, Grisham attacked the high number of serving convicts in America.
He said: “We have prisons filled with guys my age. Sixty-year-old white men who’ve never harmed anybody, would never touch a child. But they got online and started surfing around, probably had too much to drink or whatever, pushed the wrong buttons, went too far and got into child porn.”
He added: “I have no sympathy for real paedophiles. God, please lock those people up. But so many of these guys do not deserve harsh sentences.”
