Convicted rapist is denied release

SALEM -- As relatives of victims listened, some weeping, a convicted child rapist was denied release from state custody yesterday by a Superior Court judge who said the frail 59-year-old sex offender still posed a threat to children.

Wayne Chapman, who has just completed a 30-year sentence for his 1977 conviction for raping two boys in Lawrence, was ordered to stay one day to life in a state treatment facility for sex offenders and told to continue treatment.

Under Massachusetts law, convicted sex offenders can be held indefinitely after serving their sentences if the state deems them still sexually dangerous. The rulings can be appealed annually.

If Superior Court Judge Howard Whitehead had ruled that Chapman was not sexually dangerous, he would have been free to live anywhere in the state, though he would have to register with the state as a sex offender.

Chapman sat quietly in his wheelchair listening to the proceeding, shaking from what lawyers have described as a condition like Parkinson's disease.

Melanie Perkins, a filmmaker who had just finished a documentary on her childhood friend Andy Puglisi, who disappeared in 1976, attended the proceeding yesterday. She said she felt relief at the ruling.

"I think the judge made the right decision," she said. "I got emotional in there." Chapman was one of two main suspects in the case but was never charged.

Defense lawyer John S. Day had sought Chapman's release from state custody, arguing that he was no longer sexually dangerous and that his declining health and age made him unlikely to offend again. According to doctors, Chapman suffers from high blood pressure and tremors that prevent him from walking long distances.

But prosecutor Andrew J. Camelio argued that Chapman's declining health makes him more dangerous because he appears less threatening. Camelio said that Chapman admitted during psychological evaluations that he still had sexual fantasies about young boys, including previous victims.

Whitehead agreed with the prosecutors and said Chapman's admission about his fantasies, combined with his appearance, mean that he is still dangerous.

"It may be that he's unable to chase after a little boy," Whitehead said. "But his seemingly elderly status may well cause him to appear harmless, and thereby making him more approachable to younger victims."

Whitehead also said the state failed to give Chapman the proper treatment when he was sentenced to 30 years and told Chapman he may earn his release eventually if he participates "in a meaningful way" during treatment.

"If you do," Whitehead told Chapman, "there is hope."

Before his 30-year sentence, Chapman had been convicted previously in child sexual abuse cases in three other states. He had admitted to sexually abusing more than 50 children, but has since recanted that assertion.

Russell Contreras can be reached at rcontreras@globe.com.