John Mark Karr, who received worldwide attention in 2006 for confessing to the 1996 murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey, is back in the news. Now, he is reportedly attempting to create a network of young girls with blonde hair and small feet, traits they share with the late JonBenet. He calls this network “The Immaculates.”
Karr is the subject of a nationwide Web-based “manhunt” by those who believe he poses a risk to children. Police in Seattle and San Francisco are looking for him, too. He has claimed to have undergone gender reassignment surgery and to now prefer the name Alexis Valoran Reich.
Karr has a flair for the dramatic. He has penned an unpublished novel based in part on his fantasies, which he shared with me when I interviewed him in 2006. At the time, I was hosting the Dr. Keith Ablow Show. Karr granted me his first interview after being released from prison following his false confession in the Ramsey killing.
Karr was only too happy to sit for hours of taped interviews. He does love attention. What he did not know was that during periods of time he believed we were just chatting alone in an office, a hidden camera was still taping us, which is legal in New York.
When he knew he was being taped, Karr played it cool, insisting he had no sexual impulses toward children, only a desire to nurture them. Off camera, Karr confessed that he indeed desired sex with little girls, considered it normal to have sex with them, and thought our society’s sanctions against sexual intercourse with children deprived those children of their natural instincts to want sex with adults.
When we aired my off-camera interview with John Mark Karr, his tone was sufficiently threatening enough that the syndicator of my show provided me with two bodyguards for a protracted period of time.
There is no question in my mind that Karr is indeed a pedophile and that he represents a risk to the community. While his writings and the news of him collecting JonBenet look-alikes may mostly reflect a flair for the dramatic, he is not pretending one bit when it comes to being willing to do almost anything in order to have a sexual relationship with a little girl.
Keep in mind that Karr’s first marriage was to a 13-year-old, who has since accused him of drugging and raping her. Keep in mind, also, that Karr was a teacher at several schools outside the United States. He refused to give me the names of those schools. That was one of the very few things about which he stayed quiet.
Dr. Keith Ablow is a psychiatry correspondent for Fox News Channel and a New York Times bestselling author. His book, "Living the Truth: Transform Your Life Through the Power of Insight and Honesty" has launched a new self-help movement including www.livingthetruth.com. Dr. Ablow can be reached at info@keithablow.com.
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