David Kienholz’s room is a shrine to heavy-equipment brochures and toy tractors. Most days, he carries around a phonebook-sized catalogue whose cover reads “Caterpillar Performance Handbook.” The handbook is an annual compilation of farm equipment and engine parts, which Kienholz spends his free time memorizing.
In the common room of a community home in Missoula, Montana, Kienholz traces the black-and-white images of tractors with his index finger. “When it comes to book learning, it’s just over my head,” he says, his brow furrowed. He stares intently at the captions underneath the pictures. “I’ve been practicing, though.”
Kienholz, 40, was born with mild mental retardation. He’s one of roughly 8 million people in the United States with an intellectual disability (ID)—a spectrum term that encompasses a range of conditions, including severe autism, fetal alcohol syndrome, and Down syndrome, in addition to mental retardation. The staff at the community home has to double-check that he does his chores and hover closely as he brushes his teeth.
His arms are mapped with scabs he picks open during bouts of anxiety. He oscillates between glee and angst with the capriciousness of an 11-year-old. He is also a registered sex offender.
Kienholz lives with six other men who are both intellectually disabled and included on a national list of people convicted of sexual misconduct. Their crimes range from watching child pornography to masturbating in public to sexually assaulting a four-year-old relative.
Absolutely disgusting! Actually there is a gentleman I know from Seminole County (I actually knew him long before any of this crap impacted our lives) and he is slightly challenged. When I saw him the registry after my son was added I was appalled – this gentleman is one of the kindest people I have ever known. He also was a productive member of society for many years. I saw recently that he moved to another county. I can guarantee you he does not understand the complete impact of his situation.
Just another fine example of how this “wonderful” country treats its citizens. I think it’s such a tragedy for people like this (and myself) who have been sexually abused as children. An overwhelming majority of them (I believe it’s like 90%) go on to express some sort of sexually delinquent or abusive behavior later in their lives as teens or young adults. And then, if they get caught, they’re labeled and sent to prison and the rest of their (and my) lives are a living hell. So it’s like, my entire childhood was a living hell because of my sexual abuse, and now because I went online and indulged in dating websites and personal ads and never even talked to an actual minor, my entire adult life will be a living hell also. That’s the plight of those of us that get sexually abused as children.