Child-like sex dolls are “helping” paedophiles, claims creator

Could this bleak addition to the human-size doll industry actually be saving lives?

For well over a year now, Japanese sex doll manufacturer Trottla has been making a “child model” doll in what it calls an "effort to to help paedophiles deal with sexual urges." A petition to stop a shipment of Trottla dolls from reaching Australia recently gathered in excess of 50,000 signatures.   Shin Takagi, the founder of Trottla, has called the petition "hysterical", arguing that his products are "just dolls". Via translated email, the designer told BuzzFeed News:

“They don’t hurt anybody. Fearing a beast drawn in paintings, to me, can’t possibly be a reaction of a person from a civilised country. Through communicating with the customers, I’ve realised the possibility of helping paedophiles and contributing to the society. I deeply understand the feeling parents have. But human beings can be so cruel to others in order to protect the ones that they love and treasure."

In the same interview, Takagi went on to add:

"A lot of the people who are called pedophiles are not monsters. They are good citizens with obedience. That’s the more reason they abide by the laws and control themselves in reality. To control their desires, they use the dolls I create.”

Speaking to The Atlantic last year, Takagi argued that as offensive as the dolls may seem, the use of such products will actively lower rates of paedophiles offending in the future.

Citing a controversial study in which rates of re-offending ranged from between 10 percent to 50 percent when dolls where prescribed, Takagi declared them "not only safe, but sensible."

Is he helping people express their awful desires in a legal and ethical way? Or opening the door for something far worse? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlHrvQ7D5OU