"I repeat. A paedophile is not a child molester. I presume that you all know that and understand it, but the plain fact is that, in the eyes of most of the world, paedophiles are evil, should be locked away at least, preferably in the company of some big fat lifer who will make the paedophile 'his bitch'..." I looked around the group again and saw some nodding heads.

"Each of you in this group has been invited by one of our scouts because they saw something in you, something you have tried to keep hidden, perhaps even from yourself. But here you don't have to hide. So, at the risk of sounding like an AA meeting... Hi, I'm Steven and I'm a paedophile. I'm a paedophile and I don't intend to let society persecute ME out of existence!"

There was a ripple of applause from the men and women in the circle and, smiling, I launched straight into my story.

"Like I said, my name is Steven and I'm a paedophile. It isn't something I've always known and it certainly isn't something that I have always accepted, but let me tell you how I got here. I married young, the girl next door, the whole romantic dream. By the time I was 20 I was a father, settled into a reasonably good job, and madly in love with my wife.

Rebecca, my wife, taught me many things; but the most important thing was not to be ashamed of my body. She had been brought up within a family of naturists and was totally comfortable with being naked in a crowd. The first time I went with her to the Cliffview Community I was terrified, but, eventually, I was able to strip of all of my clothes and learn about the pure sensual pleasure of the sun on my naked skin.

Rebecca knew everyone and soon I was comfortable standing talking to beautiful naked women. I was embarrassed by my hard-on a few times, but everyone took it in their stride. I wouldn't have described myself as a paedophile then, sure I appreciated beautiful young girls, but I would never have dreamed of doing anything. Our little daughter, Rachel, was the apple of my eye. Even as a toddler she was full of confidence and often we would be talking with new acquaintances at the Cliffview Community and she would simply climb up naked into a stranger's lap and sit there solemnly listening to what was going on while she sucked a thumb.

Everything was perfect. A beautiful wife, a lovely daughter, no money worries; I should have known it couldn't last. One day I drove home from work to find a police car parked outside the house. A policewoman told me about the accident, reassured me that Rachel had been safe in her harness; but Rebecca was in a coma."

I paused for a second to take a deep breath and noticed a young woman staring hard at me, her eyes wet with unshed tears. She nodded at me and smiled encouragingly. Gulping back my own tears I continued with my story.

"Rebecca stayed in the coma for two months but finally died without waking. I was devastated of course and found it hard to cope with Rachel, she reminded me of her mother too much. But, after months of support from friends and family, I managed to pull my life back together and at least carry on; even though my heart was broken. For the last seven years Rachel and I have lived on our own, relying on each other, growing closer every day. In that respect I'm luckier than most father's who never get as close to their children as I am to my darling Rachel......(cont)