'Stop the nonsense': Psychologist condemns Chapman 'fearmongering'

BOSTON — Admitted child rapist Wayne Chapman should be given a chance to be released from civil commitment, his attorney said Monday afternoon.

In a news conference Monday afternoon, Attorney Eric Tennen criticized the efforts to keep Chapman in custody despite the fact that he is legally allowed to be released.

Chapman, who is believed to have attacked as many as 100 children, has been fighting for his release from prison since 2004 when he finished a decades-long prison sentence for raping two Lawrence boys.

Chapman has also been suspected in the 1976 disappearance of a 10-year-old Lawrence boy. Perkins was childhood friends with Andy Puglisi and in 1976, Andy disappeared from a Lawrence swimming pool.

After serving his full prison sentence, Chapman was civilly committed as a sexually dangerous person and has remained in state custody ever since.

“I understand why Wayne Chapman’s victims never want him to be released, but everyone should understand that Mr. Chapman was given a sentence that he served," his attorney, Eric Tennen, said. "He was then civilly committed and was deemed allowed to be released.”

Tennen says chapman was never accused of any sexual misconduct during his 41-year prison sentence. Accusations have only been made in recent months, he noted.

Chapman had been approved for release from prison by two independent psychologists, but last week, was arrested on new charges, including indecent exposure and lewdness for an incident that investigators say involved prison nurses.

His release was appealed to the state's Supreme Judicial Court. A single judge denied the appeal, but it will now be heard by the full panel for review.

"We should all be skeptical when the government openly criticizes a lawful process," Tennen said.

The attorney said he has received 'nasty messages' that threatened harm against himself and his family.

“Smart, sensible policy does not normally arise from emotional responses,” he said.

Tennen says there is a lot of misinformation surrounding Chapman's case and his potential release.

“There are hundreds, if not thousands of people who have been through the civil commitment process and do not re-offend,” Tennen said. “A process that doesn’t allow someone’s eventual release from civil commitment would be unconstitutional.”

Tennen noted he does not represent Chapman in the case of new charges filed against him last week.

Dr. Joseph Plaud spoke after Tennen, further condemning the response of 'needless fear-mongering' to Chapman's proposed release from both lawmakers and the media.

Chapman is 'medically compromised' and would never be in a situation or of the ability to re-offend, his attorney explained.

“Please put down any pitch forks and Tiki torches," Dr. Plaud said. “Protecting our children and grand children should always be a central part of who we are. We must do more to protect sexual violence in all of its forms.”

He explained there must be consistent, on-going evidence for a person to be deemed sexually dangerous.

Tennen claims Chapman, an admitted pedophile, is too old and sick to re-offend.

"If he were to be released today and had no criminal case and just got walked out of the treatment, he probably wouldn't be alive after two days

At the same time, Dr. Plaud told Boston 25 News reporter Bob Ward he wouldn't want Chapman around his children:

Ward: "Would you let your kids near Wayne Chapman?"
Dr. Plaud: "No."
Ward: "Why should anybody else let their kids be near him?"
Tennen: "I have kids too, he could never be in a situation in which he would be living next to me or the doctor or anything like that. That's kind of the point, where he goes matters."

In a news conference organized by victim's rights lawyer Wendy Murphy to respond to comments made by Chapman's attorney, one of Chapman's victims broke the silence on a secret he kept for years.

Dan Christian Sr. has kept the abuse he suffered from Chapman when he was 7-years-old to himself for years.

"He completely wrecked my life," said Christian Sr. "I want him to know he was my boogie man for 40 years."

Christian Sr. said Chapman ran a 4-hour club in Providence and sexually abused him and other children during the four-hour sponsored outings.

"I've seen pictures where he had children tied to trees and I'm sure they were dead children and [he] told me I would be like that too if I ever said anything, he would kill my family, kill my mother," said Christian Sr.

MORE: Lawyer: Convicted sex offender is 'too old' to reoffend

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