Unless you live in some weird country like Iran, it isn't illegal to simply BE a pedophile. Thoughts and attractions aren't against the law, at least not yet. You may read in the paper that someone was arrested or charged with pedophilia, but that's a misnomer. What they really mean is that it was for molestation. The sad fact is that a lot of people think all pedophiles are either past present or future child molesters. This isn't true, of course. But you won't convince a lot of people of that. That's why we are secretive about our attractions, even in the church. There are a few instances where someone "came out" with a positive result, but there are a whole LOT more instances where someone came out or was found out with a very negative result, even if that person didn't DO anything wrong. A lot of people would prefer that we all just die or kill ourselves, or at least are locked up for the rest of our lives, regardless of any resolve we may have against acting on our attractions. Sad but true. Fortunately, there is God (and a few people) who think better of us and acknowledge our efforts of restraint.

As far as counceling, if you think it will help to unburden yourself to someone, I would encourage you to give it a try. I've never tried it for a few different reasons. But some have found it helpful and some have not. Legally, councelors are required to report any admissions of sexual abouse, which wouldn't be a problem for you. They are also required to report it if in their professional judgment they think that abuse is likely to occur against a child. That is more of a gray area, but I don't think you would have to worry about that either.

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer and am not qualified to offer legal advice.

Dakota