Despite pedophilia and sex fantasies, therapist says sex offender should be released

9-13-2012 Wisconsin:

A state psychologist testified Wednesday that while a man who was convicted of molesting several young girls as a child is a pedophile who still fantasizes about one of the youngsters, he no longer belongs locked up in a state treatment hospital.

Cory R. Lamp, now 31, was convicted of sexually assaulting three young girls between 1990 and 1994, when Lamp was between 10 and 13 years old. The victims ranged in age from 3 to 9 years old at the times of the attacks.

Despite Lamp being diagnosed with having pedophilia and still having sexual fantasies about one victim when she was 6 years old, a clinical psychologist testified Wednesday that Lamp doesn’t fit the requisite criteria to legally remain involuntarily civilly committed at Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center in Mauston. The chances of Lamp victimizing another child are too low, said Brian Bradley, a psychologist with Sand Ridge’s sex offender evaluation unit.

“Mr. Lamp’s likelihood of committing additional offenses as an adult is about 9 or 10 percent,” Bradley testified during the third day of Lamp’s bench trial.

“My opinion is the likelihood of Mr. Lamp committing a sexually violent offense does not meet the thresh hold of ‘more likely than not,’ which typically (is) interpreted as greater than (a) 50 percent (chance of re-offending),” Bradley said. “Therefore, he does not meet the criteria for continued commitment.”

Under cross examination, Assistant District Attorney Randy Schneider questioned Bradley on how he can conclude that Lamp should be released if he’s diagnosed Lamp with having pedophilia and said Lamp has been ambivalent at times to sex offender treatment.

“You indicated he continues to have sexually deviant interests, is that correct?” Schneider asked.

“Yes,” Bradley said.

Racine County Circuit Judge Tim Boyle pressed Bradley on how he and the other doctors who evaluated Lamp over the years can say “Mr. Lamp doesn’t qualify for supervised release, yet at the same time you can turn around and say (he doesn’t belong in the institution) — let’s just discharge him without any help. Can you explain that?”

“That, in my opinion, is one of the flaws in the (law). It goes against common sense,” Bradley said, explaining it related to definitions of terms used in the statute.

He said he has to follow what it spelled out in that law, and by those legal definitions, Lamp doesn’t meet the criteria to continue his commitment at Sand Ridge.

“Hopefully the Legislature will consider this and modify it in the future,” Bradley said.

The three-day trial occurred so Boyle can determine whether Lamp should be released from Sand Ridge.

More than a decade ago, Lamp was declared a sexually violent person in a separate, civil proceeding in court. As such, he hasn’t lived outside of a ...continued... by KRISTEN ZAMBO