Convicted child rapist Wayne Chapman is being held in a medical facility somewhere in Boston, his attorney said in a press conference Tuesday.
“After 40 years in prison, he is not in good shape, he needs help, he cannot live independently,” said Eric Tennen, the lawyer representing Chapman.
Chapman was released from prison Friday after a jury found Chapman not guilty of open and gross lewdness and lewd, wanton and lascivious acts after allegedly fondling himself in front of prison staff at Massachusetts Correctional Institution - Shirley in June last year.
Tennen listed Chapman’s current residence on the sex offender registry as “on the street” somewhere in Boston. “He is listed as homeless because if you have to register in Massachusetts and you don't have a permanent address, you are listed as homeless,” Tennen said. “And he is homeless.”
The 71-year-old was given a check from the state for nine cents, the remainder of money in Chapman’s name after four decades in prison, and released into the public, according to Tennen, who would not specify an exact location in an effort to protect Chapman.
“If he were literally left to his own devices to wander the streets of Boston, I don't think he would survive a couple of nights,” Tennen said. “People are so worried about what he would do, but there's no way that he ... would have any ability to survive on his own.”
In 1977, Chapman was convicted of raping two boys. One year later, he was convicted of attacks on four more boys that occurred in 1974 and 1975. Chapman has admitted to molesting over 100 children.
Tennen did not specify what kind of “medical facility” Chapman is staying in, and only said that it’s a place that is “helping him recuperate.” Tennen didn’t explicitly say who is funding the treatment, but suggested Chapman, who suffers from medical issues including Parkinson’s disease, is utilizing Medicare resources as a ward of the state.
Following the completion of his sentences, Chapman was held in prison under involuntary civil commitment laws, after psychiatric experts deemed him a “sexually dangerous person.” Last year, a psychiatric evaluation deemed Chapman no longer sexually dangerous.
The high-profile case motivated Gov. Charlie Baker to file legislation to expand state laws and sentence serial child rapists with life without parole. This year, Baker refiled the legislation, which would call for a trial to determine someone’s “sexually dangerous” status, if experts disagree.
“Gov. Baker talks about how this was wrong and the system needs to change because it's broken,” Tennen said. “That creates a panic … when this is exactly the way the system was designed to work and there is nothing wrong with the system.”
Tennen also addressed a portion of his statement during the press conference to Chapman’s victims.
“I wish you peace of mind,” Tennen said. “The truth is, there's probably nothing I can say that will ever make you feel whole or give you closure. ... Unfortunately, I believe we teach victims that the only way they will ever heal is through vengeance and retribution, and if your mindset is that someone should die in jail, then nothing will ever help you heal.”
