Paedophiles offered 'happy pills' to curb their sex drive

The Government secured headlines this summer when it promised offenders would be given - on a voluntary basis - strong medication to curb their sex drive.

However, these drugs, which amount to chemical castration by making it difficult to have sex, have a number of side-effects which could deter potential users.

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Yesterday, it was revealed that Prozac will be offered as an alternative to offenders who claim depression is to blame for their paedophile tendencies.

The anti-depressant will be paid for by the taxpayer and will be offered to offenders both in jail and in the community.

Probation and prison staff have been told to trawl their books for those who may be suitable for the policy - which comes into force at the start of next month.

Critics, however, said it marked a significant softening of the

Government's position because paedophiles were far more likely to opt for a course of Prozac.

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: "If Government departments could be charged with misleading the public, the Home Office would be the first in the dock.

"This turnaround is equivalent to a minister announcing a diet of bread and water for prisoners and then hiring a Michelin starred chef to cook for them.

"Before paedophiles are given a happy pill at our expense, a thought should be spared for the victims of their terrible crimes."

Norman Brennan, director of the Victims of Crime Trust, said: "The only way to protect children 100 per cent is for paedophiles to remain locked up until they no longer pose a danger of reoffending."

Papers sent to probation staff reveal two different types of treatment are on offer to paedophiles, subject to referral by doctors or offender managers.

The strongest - which was dubbed chemical castration - is the administration of antilibidinal medication, which reduces testosterone levels to those found in pre-pubescent boys.

Offenders will become less interested in sex, and there is a 'great reduction in spontaneous sexual behaviour'. Having sex is made 'much more difficult', the papers reveal - offering the greatest potential protection to children.

The most common type of medication is called Androcur, which is taken as a pill. Other forms of the treatment are given by injection.

But sex offenders considering the treatment are likely to be put off by side-effects, including hot flushes, breast growth and a decrease in bone mass.

The second treatment - Prozac - is packaged as being far more appealing. Side-effects from the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors are 'usually mild, and often go away after the early stages of treatment'.

Offenders are told the drug 'might be helpful if you have frequent sexual fantasies ( particularly when you find it hard to distract yourself from these fantasies), if your sexual urges are hard to control, or if you have thoughts of offending when you feel depressed'.

Final decisions on which sex offenders will be entitled to the treatment will be overseen by Professor Don Grubin, a forensic psychologist who specialises in the treatment of paedophiles.

Officials defended the use of Prozac for sex offenders. They said SSRI drugs had been used successfully to treat those with obsessive thinking, compulsion and impulsivity.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: "Evidence suggests certain types of medication can be useful in reducing the risk from certain sex offenders.

"Medication is to be used in conjunction with other ways of managing the risk from sex offenders."