Episode 215: James Kyle – Interviewing Pedophiles, Conversation with Purpose

Retired agent James Kyle served in the FBI for 28 years. He served in the Denver Division, Colorado Springs Resident Agency, the Newark Division, and the Philadelphia Division/Williamsport Resident Agency, where he initially worked violent crime, Bureau of Prison corruption, and drug cases. Later in his career, he specialized in investigation Crimes Against Children (CAC) violations.

How do you sit across from a person who has sexually abused a child and have a conversation with purpose?

In this episode of FBI Retired Case File Review, Jim Kyle reviews several of his child predator cases and the conversation with purpose interview strategy. Using this innovative investigative technique, he successfully investigated several hundred Crimes Against Children cases to include eight known Child Victim Identification Program (CVIP) matters and numerous high profile sexual exploitation child pornography production subjects and sex rings, such as the international investigation into the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) and the Pedophile Information Exchange (PIE) that resulted in the dismantling and disruption of 921 subjects in 23 countries and 22 States.

Jim traveled overseas to England, Netherlands, Spain, and other countries, to conduct the investigation in cooperation with law enforcement agencies within those countries and Interpol, assisting with cases involving the “Dark-Net” and specifically peer-to-peer targeting.

Prior to retiring from the FBI, Jim was a full-time instructor for New Agent Training (NAT) and FBI National Academy at the FBI Academy as a senior instructor in the Investigative Training Unit and a supervisory special agent with the Cyber Division/Training and Logistics Unit. Currently, Jim is employed as a senior instructor/contractor, with Time Solutions, LLC, where he is assigned as a course facilitator for the Directorate of Intelligence/FBI within the Targeting and Data Exploitation Unit.

Special Agent (Retired)

James Kyle

12/1/1986 – 08/22/2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I’m not here to be your friend, but I am going to be empathetic and respectful and build that trust, that agreeableness to get this conversation going. [I say this] whether it’s to a pedophile or a terrorist.”—Retired Agent Jim Kyle

The following are links to articles about the FBI Crimes Against Children program and cases where Jim Kyle testified as an expert witness and used the conversation with purpose concept:

FBI.gov Website: Crimes Against Children/Online Predators

Foster.com – 4/62010:  FBI charges Newmarket man with making child porn

The Daily Item – 8/20/2008: FBI agent calls brother “cockroach” for crimes

During the episode, Jim Kyle mentions his mentor Ken Lanning several times. You can listen to Ken’s FBI Retired Case File Review interview here:

Episode 165: Ken Lanning – Satanic Ritual Child Abuse, Confirmation Bias

 

This is the FBI Crimes Against Children logo. Every year, thousands of children become victims of crimes—whether it’s through kidnappings, violent attacks, sexual abuse, or online predators.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jerri Williams

View posts by Jerri Williams
Jerri Williams, a retired FBI agent, author and podcaster, jokes that she writes about the FBI to relive her glory days. After 26 years with the Bureau specializing in major economic fraud and corruption investigations, she calls on her professional encounters with scams and schemers to write police procedurals inspired by true crime FBI cases in her Philadelphia FBI Corruption Squad crime fiction series featuring flawed female FBI agent Kari Wheeler. Jerri’s FBI for Armchair Detectives nonfiction series enables readers to discover who the FBI is and what the FBI does by debunking misconceptions about the FBI in books, TV, and movies. Her books are available as ebooks, paperbacks, and audiobooks wherever books are sold. She’s also the host of FBI Retired Case File Review, a true crime podcast with more than 300 episodes available on all popular podcast apps and YouTube.

3 Comments

  1. […] Episode 215: James Kyle – Interviewing Pedophiles, Conversation with Purpose […]

    Reply
  2. Valerie KeltonOctober 28, 2020

    This Episode 215 has to be one of the most interesting podcasts that I’ve heard in a long time regarding child molesters and how this FBI Agent handled them. I believe retired FBI Agent Kyle to be correct in that he handled these people with “respect” rather than with abuse – especially when trying to get the information that is required to convict these perpetrators. Agent Kyle is wise to say that these people have been subject to abuse as well; however, we all know for every one perpetrator who was abused as a child and then goes on to abuse children while he or she is an adult….there are hundreds of adults who were abused as children and do not in adulthood go on to abuse children – instead, WE (that includes me) seek counseling, psychotherapy, a lot of self-awareness and self-assessment, prayer, personal reading and study, journaling, Bible study, etc.
    I truly believe the Christian Church is NOT completely dealing with this issue when there is just counseling on the victim side. Celebrate Recovery helped me greatly, along with years of therapy, group therapy, etc., There needs to be counseling for pedophiles, as well as people who find themselves attracted to children yet have not actually committed the offense(s)-as yet. I am sure people would fear even going into counseling for fear of being “outed”, but until they get some kind of help, these people will live in the dark corners of society.
    The Catholic Church is trying to resolve this issue with Catholic Priests who have committed these grave offenses, but people must realize that even though this is a subject that is totally offensive and vile to normal society – there are many others who suffer in silence their guilt and their sin nature.
    Of course, there are some who do not see their actions as sin or that their actions are illegal – personally, I don’t know what the answer in that kind of instance would or should be …. other than incarceration, which is probably the only way these kinds of people will be stopped from harming any more children in the future. I do not understand how some people who even though they were abused as children, go onto to accept their own behavior in abusing other children. (Surely emotional IQ and intellectual IQ play major factors in understanding one’s own behavior). Thank you Mrs. Williams for bringing Agent Kyle to your show.
    One more thing: I wonder how many FBI Agents have to go through counseling themselves after they have had to deal with such vile and abhorrent cases – not only child molestation, but cases of torture, and extreme violence? I have often thought about the many Detectives, Officers, FBI Agents, etc., that deal with these kinds of crime and I bet that the “insomnia, depression, alcohol abuse, nervous break-downs”, etc., has to be higher than average, but I could be wrong. Probably another issue that is not addressed that often, because it may be seen as an admission of “weakness”, but really it’s an admission of “being human”.

    Reply
    1. Jerri WilliamsOctober 29, 2020

      Thank you for letting me know you appreciated the interview. Have you had a chance to listen to Episodes 126 and 127 with Jeff Rinek? In part 2, we discuss many of the issues you mentioned. https://jerriwilliams.com/jeff-rinek-yosemite-park-murders-in-the-name-of-the-children/

      Reply

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