Sylvain Kustyan and the Characteristics of a Pedophile

These are the Characteristics of a Pedophile according to this website:  http://crime.about.com/od/sex/p/pedophile.htm

The elements in bold refer specifically to Sylvain Kustyan.  

Pedophiles Can Be Anyone:

Pedophiles can be anyone -- old or young, rich or poor, educated or uneducated, non-professional or professional, and of any race. However, pedophiles often demonstrate similar characteristics, but these are merely indicators and it should not be assumed that individuals with these characteristics are pedophiles. But knowledge of these characteristics coupled with questionable behavior can be used as an alert that someone may be a pedophile.

Characteristics of a Pedophile :

•               Often the pedophile is male and over 30 years of age.

Sylvain is nearly forty years of age and a male. 

•               Single or with few friends in his age group.

Most of his "friends" appear to be students or former students of his who are definitely not in his same age category.  

•               If married, the relationship is more "companion" based with no sexual relations.
The last that was known of him he has had live-in relationships that were of short periods of time.  

•               He is often vague about time gaps in employment which may indicate a loss in employment for questionable reasons or possible past incarceration.

When Sylvain Kustyan was in the United States, he was very vague concerning his “leave of absence” from his teaching positions back in France.  

Pedophiles Like Child-like Activities:

•               He is often fascinated with children and child activities appearing to prefer those activities to adult oriented activities.

Sylvain frequently hangs out with young boys.  He brings them to the United States on trips with him, without parental supervision.  And insists that the little boys share the same bed with him.   

•               He will often refer to children in pure or angelic terms using descriptives like innocent, heavenly, divine, pure, and other words that describe children but seem inappropriate and exaggerated.

Sylvain always uses exaggerated terms.  At a Thanksgiving celebration in the United State in 2010 he wouldn’t let the women take a picture with the Turkey because the turkey was supposedly not “attractive” enough.

•               He has hobbies that are child-like such as collecting popular expensive toys, keeping reptiles or exotic pets, or building plane and car models.
Sylvain writes books aimed at the young children's market.  He also composes little musical ditties that are for children.  And as a teacher he taught primarily in the equivalent of elementary or middle schools which naturally enabled him to work with children.

Pedophiles Often Prefer Children Close to Puberty:

•               Pedophiles often have a specific age of child they target. Some prefer younger children, some older.

So far it appears Sylvain Kustyan prefers little boys around the age of ten.

•               Often his environment or a special room will be decorated in child-like decor and will appeal to the age and sex of the child he is trying to entice.

Sylvain Kustyan’s gargantuan bed in the United States in 2010 was covered with big fluffy teddy bears.  And this is a man of nearly forty years of age . . .

•               Many pedophiles often prefer children close to puberty who are sexually inexperienced, but curious about sex.

Sylvain Kustyan targets young innocent little boys, especially around the age of ten.  

Pedophiles Work Around Children:

The pedophile will often be employed in a position that involves daily contact with children. If not employed, he will put himself in a position to do volunteer work with children, often in a supervisory capacity such as sports coaching, contact sport instruction, unsupervised tutoring or a position where he has the opportunity to spend unsupervised time with a child.

Sylvain Kustyan is an English teacher in France.  Having scored very high on all the French English teacher exams that they are required to take, he nonetheless preferred to teach in a French middle school.  Where he has and has had daily contact throughout the school year with young impressionable kids. 

The Target Child:

The pedophile often seeks out shy, handicapped, and withdrawn children, or those who come from troubled homes or under privileged homes. 
Sylvain teaches at what he himself described in 2010  as an underprivileged school in France.  In the United States he would target little boys who came from divorced homes and were being raised by their single Mothers. 

He then showers them with attention, gifts, taunting them with trips to desirable places like amusement parks, zoo's, concerts, the beach and other such places.  
Sylvain frequently lures young impressionable students of his with all expense- paid trips to the United States. 

Manipulation of the Innocent:

Pedophiles work to master their manipulative skills and often unleash them on troubled children by first becoming their friend, building the the child's self esteem. 
In the United States he would work his way into the family by being a foreign exchange student and then claiming he wanted to be a “member” of the family.  He would then target the young children of the immediate and extended family. In France he would so ingratiate himself into the families of friends that he even became the Godfather of some of his suspected victims.  


They may refer to the child as special or mature, appealing to their need to be heard and understood then entice them with adult type activities that are often sexual in content such as x-rated movies or pictures. They offer them alcohol or drugs to hamper their ability to resist activities or recall events that occurred. In the United States in 2010 Sylvain was seen serving alcohol to minors.  Even though he was warned that it wasn’t legal in the state of Alabama. 

Stockholm Syndrome :

It is not unusual for the child to develop feelings for the predator and desire their approval and continued acceptance. 
Sylvain’s latest protégé that he had in the United States was seen walking two steps behind Sylvain at all times. 


They will compromise their innate ability to decipher good and bad behavior, ultimately justifying the criminal's bad behavior out of sympathy and concern for the adults welfare. 
Sylvain’s latest protégé whom he brought to the United States in 2010 appeared to many to be imitating Sylvain's less desirable traits.  


This is often compared to Stockholm Syndrome - when victims become attached emotionally to their captors. Sylvain’s latest protégé who was seen in the USA in 2010-2011 and who has been an acquaintance of Sylvain's since infancy appeared to be so emotionally attached to Sylvain that onlookers referred to him as Sylvain’s “sex slave.”

The Single Parent:

Many times pedophiles will develop a close relationship with a single parent in order to get close to their children.  Sylvain befriended single Mothers in the United States throughout his twenty year association in the country.    Once inside the home, they have many opportunities to manipulate the children -- using guilt, fear, and love to confuse the child. Sylvain due to his height easily worked his way into unsuspecting families as an authority figure to the young innocent kids.  If the child's parent works, it offers the pedophile the private time needed to abuse the child.  The singles Mothers out of sheer necessity, work. 

Fighting Back:

Pedophiles work hard at stalking their targets and will patiently work to develop relationships with them. Victims in the United States report that Sylvain targeted them immediately. It is not uncommon for them to be developing a long list of potential victims at any one time. Many of them believe that what they are doing is not wrong and that having sex with a child is actually "healthy" for the child.  Sylvain listed on his application for being a foreign exchange student that he was an atheist.  And in the United States frequently discussed his lack of belief in right from wrong.  In fact, he was sent to live with an old divorced woman in the United States because he was rejected by every single other family in the country, due to his atheist beliefs. 

Almost all pedophiles have a collection of pornography, which they protect at all costs. Sylvain displayed pictures of his suspected victims in his room in the United States in 2010-2011 that were very amorous in nature.  Many of them also collect "souvenirs" from their victims. They rarely discard either their porn or collections for any reason.

One factor that works against the pedophile is that eventually the children will grow up and recall the events that occurred. This is happening to Sylvain right at this moment.  Some of his child victims in the United States have grown up and after seeing his behavior with his latest protégé in the States, have decided to come forward to the police.  Often pedophiles are not brought to justice until such time occurs and victims are angered by being victimized and want to protect other children from the same consequences.  The victims who have come forward in the United States came forward because they realized that Sylvain had not changed his ways after seeing his interaction with some of his former students. 

Laws such as Megan's Law - a federal law passed in 1996 that authorizes local law enforcement agencies to notify the public about convicted sex offenders living, working or visiting their communities, have helped expose the pedophile and allows parents to better protect their children.