Like a wolf & other predators they can smell out their prey. A pedophile or child predator will seek or smell out its victim. Like a bully searches for some one to victimize & over the years hones it's tracking abilities & techniques a pedophile does the same. A pedophile first places themselves in a position the gives them the greatest access to their type of pray. Hence the high number of pedophiles enrolled in the churches, boy scouts, etc. they also know they will be trusted, respected & won't be questioned. Foster care, what a heavenly position for a pedophile, almost a cushy as a priest's. They know the case workers are overloaded, that the agency is in dire straights, that they'll be seen as heroes making great sacrifices & once screened they're trusted & respected, maybe not as much as priests but still they won't be suspect unless someone make a very serious complaint (which a picture of some one pissing is certainly not or will be convinced that it's not). Blame it on the agency, the times, the money, the government, even blame it on George W Bush, but don't blame it on homosexuals, heterosexuals, lesbians, trans-sexuals, bi-sexuals, cross-dressers, asexuals, roofers, steeple-jacks or tin-knockers ( yes Ake, I too work in all weather conditions for 35+ years, in the high altitudes & with the same low attitudes. BLAME it on PAEDOPHILES they are the ones that are child predators not the others, though a pedophile can & do belong too any of these groups of humans, but none are more likely to be found in one than in another. Just like a murderer can be found to belong to any of these groups of people but you would not bare any of these groups from working with, say children, just because a heterosexual or a cross-dresser murdered a kid. If this logic doesn't seem sound then YOU ARE PREJUDCICE & you should be checking out your own shit.
A pedophile like any other type of predator starts learning it's preferred MO, it's victim & it's "means & method" from a young age. (Who knows why?). They learn what actions they take to complete their objective works & what doesn't work. They learn the boundaries of what they can & can't get away with, what & who make up the easier type victims. How to set up & manipulate their pry. How to take advantage of their victims & those close to their victims. How to work the system in their favor & how they themselves should behave in all situations. They are continuously researching their style & they've been refining it since their start, which may be from childhood. They have worked at this for years, starting slow & small & graduating all the time, bit by bit.
So is it any wonder that they know how to take advantage of a young naive social worker, after all the turnover & low pay would not keep the more experienced hanging on. It's not surprising that they know full well how to get around the system, & it's shocking when they've been found out to be something that they're not what everyone thought them to be.
Barry