The trial began Monday for Wayne Chapman, the convicted child rapist who faces additional time behind bars after allegedly exposing himself to prison nurses in Massachusetts.
Chapman, 71, has served 30 years in prison after he was convicted of sexually assaulting two boys in Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 1977. He faces additional time behind bars after the newest accusations came to light last June.
According to prosecutors, Chapman exposed himself to staff at Massachusetts Correctional Institution – Shirley for hours on June 3, 2018, then openly masturbated several times the next day.
"I noticed Mr. Chapman masturbating," said one nursing assistant at the prison. "I saw Mr. Chapman put his left hand into his pull-up and began a masturbating motion."
The courtroom was quiet as the jury watched surveillance video of the alleged incident.
The nursing assistant said she cared for Chapman as a patient at the prison's health services department for nearly two years.
"I felt very disgusted and violated," she said of the incident.
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Defense attorney Melissa Devore argued that Chapman suffers from Parkinson's disease and chronic itching, and that it often takes him two hours to get dressed.
"He was not intentionally exposing himself," Devore said. "He was not masturbating on purpose for others to see."
Chapman has pleaded not guilty to charges including open and gross lewdness and wanton and lascivious acts in connection with the alleged incidents.
He remained in prison as he awaited trial because he was unable to pay $25,000 in bail.
Chapman's prison term ended in 2004 but he remained civilly committed until last year. If convicted for the new charges, he faces an additional three years in prison.
The defendant is suspected of sexually assaulting as many as 50 children. He was also a suspect in the missing case of Andy Puglisi, a 10-year-old Lawrence boy who disappeared after he was heading to a pool.
