The creator of a brand of childlife sex dolls for pedophiles has maintained he is an “artist,” despite backlash from the Australian community.
Over the past few years Australian Border Security has seized 18 consignments of childlike sex dolls, Fairfax Media reports.
Japanese company Trottla is behind the dolls who are lifesize and sold wearing different types of lingerie.
The company’s founder, Mr Shin Takagi, is a self-confessed pedophile. He says he has never acted on his urges and believes the dolls will stop offenders from preying on real children and act as a “substitute” for a human girl.
In an interview with The Atlantic, Mr Takagi said he was “helping people express their desires, legally and ethically”.
“We should accept that there is no way to change someone’s fetishes,” he said. “It’s not worth living if you have to live with repressed desire.”
A Department of Immigration and Border Protection spokeswoman told Fairfax the possession of “anatomically correct child dolls” was considered child exploitation material.
Penalties for importing the dolls carry fines of up to $450,000 and 10 years imprisonment.
Earlier this year a Change.org petition called for the government to ban the sale and import of the child sex dolls in Australia. More than 60,000 agreed the “sickening aid for pedophiles” should not be allowed into the country.
“The dolls are made to be lifelike therefore the idea normalises pedophile behaviour,” the petition started by Fighters Against Child Abuse Australia said.
“They are physically and anatomically correct. This raises serious concerns. I do not believe in any way that this is an appropriate deterrent against children being sexually abused.”
