Atlanta Spa Murders: Experts Discuss Sex Addiction

ATLANTA, GA — Can being addicted to sex drive a person to kill?

Robert Aaron Long told police investigators he shot and killed eight people at three Atlanta-area massage parlors Tuesday, blaming the parlors “for providing an outlet for his addiction to sex,” police said.

Yet what drove Long's reported actions may be more complicated than that.

“Whatever is going on with this man cannot be fully explained by the words ‘sex addiction,’” said Bill Herring, a veteran Atlanta-area counselor who specializes in sexual health.

Richard Blankenship, another longtime Atlanta counselor with expertise in the field, agreed.

“Even if this man is a sex addict, something deeper is going on, because there are tens of thousands of people in recovery from sex addiction all over the world who are law-abiding citizens,” Blankenship told Patch. “I cannot think of anybody I’ve treated in over 25 years who’s gone out and shot a bunch of people in massage parlors.”

Herring declined to speculate what may have happened inside the massage parlors, and he said it would be unethical for him to diagnose Long without meeting him.

Still, both counselors agreed, people diagnosed with sexual addiction are no more prone to violence than anyone else in the population at large.

Herring compared sex addiction — compulsive sexual behavior that doesn’t match a person’s values — to alcoholism or drug addiction, except with an added level of embarrassment.

“This is so difficult because shame makes it difficult to talk about,” Herring said. “It’s much easier to tell someone that you struggle with alcohol and that you’re an alcoholic.”

Sex addicts, he said, are typically driven by a painful trauma. Their addiction initially eases the pain but inevitably leads to more pain.

“A sex addict is both drawn to and repelled by what they can’t control,” Herring said to Patch. “Often, they love it and hate it.”

Those who deal successfully with sex addiction don’t keep it a secret, he said. Instead, they talk about it — with a counselor, a pastor, a support group, even a trusted friend or family member.

“The important part is to not keep this secret bottled up inside,” Herring said.

It’s also important to take responsibility for any addiction, Blankenship said, much the way a person with any chronic illness takes responsibility for their treatment.

“You can’t justify bad behavior with more bad behavior,” Blankenship said. “Addiction is an illness. It’s not an excuse.”

For more on the Atlanta and Acworth Massage Spa shootings:

• 8 Killed In 3 Massage Parlor Shootings, 1 Arrested: Police
• Atlanta Massage Parlor Shootings 9-1-1 Calls Released
• Spa Shootings A Platform For Biden To Deliver On Unity Promise