In Re Commitment of Thomas Lynn Atchison v. the State of Texas

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided June 15, 2023·No. 01-22-00424-CV·Published

Opinion

Opinion issued June 15, 2023

In The

Court of Appeals

For The

First District of Texas

treatment and supervision upon his release from prison on parole. In three issues, Atchison contends that (1) the evidence is legally insufficient to support the “behavioral abnormality” element of the State’s case, (2) the evidence is factually insufficient to support the “behavioral abnormality” element of the State’s case, and (3) the trial court erred in excluding evidence that Atchison would be placed in an assisted living facility upon his release from prison on parole.

We affirm the trial court’s judgment and order of civil commitment.

Background

In August 1991, a jury found Atchison guilty of aggravated sexual assault of a child. After finding a felony enhancement paragraph true, the trial court sentenced Atchison to forty years’ confinement.

In July 2021, after Atchison had served thirty years of his sentence and prior to his release on parole, the State petitioned to have him declared a sexually violent predator subject to civil commitment under the SVP Act. See id. § 841.081. The case proceeded to trial and the jury heard from two witnesses: Atchison and the State’s expert, Dr. Darrel Turner. A. Atchison Atchison was seventy-five years old at the time of trial. He testified that he had a history of committing sex offenses against children, but he could not

remember the first time he had sexual contact with a child or with how many children he had sexual contact.

Atchison recalled that he was convicted for exposing his genitals to a thirteen-year-old girl in 1969, and that he received probation for that offense.

He testified that he took two boys to a construction site and that he probably fondled the boys’ penises and had them fondle his genitals. Atchison testified that he remembered having one of the boys perform oral sex on him. He stated that he probably left the boys at the site and recalled shooting a gun in the air which he characterized as “utter stupidity” because discharging the gun resulted in the police responding immediately. Atchison was convicted of fondling the boys.

In 1972, Atchison received two convictions for sodomy and was sentenced to ten years’ confinement. He testified that if he had convictions for sodomy against two boys, then he probably committed the offenses. Atchison testified that he knew he had a problem with committing sex offenses against children when he went to prison.

In 1976, after serving four years of his ten-year sentence, Atchison was released on parole and moved home with his wife and seven-year-old daughter. He testified that he began receiving Depo-Provera shots that “gave [him] control over [his] actions,” and that he continued taking the shots for many years until his

doctor moved to California. He testified that, for a while, he did not have sexual contact with children.

In 1982, Atchison was arrested for driving while intoxicated (DWI) and received probation. He testified that the DWI was “probably one of many” but he did not remember it. Atchison testified that he has an addiction to alcohol.

In June 1989, Atchison was charged with sexually assaulting a nine-year-old boy who was his younger daughter’s friend. Atchison testified that he engaged in anal sex with the boy when no one else was at home, and that he did so despite being aware of the risk that he could return to prison for his behavior. Atchison denied taking nude photographs of the boy. He testified that he was not sexually attracted to the boy but that he engaged in anal sex with him after the boy French- kissed him.

Atchison testified that while he was being investigated for engaging in anal sex with the boy, he was also being investigated for committing an offense against a fourteen-year-old boy who was his son’s friend and who worked for Atchison during the summer. Atchison testified that the boy invited Atchison to perform oral sex on him, so he did.

In 1991, a jury found Atchison guilty of aggravated sexual assault of the nine-year-old boy and he was sentenced to forty years’ imprisonment. In 1994, while in prison, Atchison read in a local newspaper about a five-year-old boy

whose family had incurred medical expenses to pay for the boy’s surgery. Atchison testified that he sent the family a donation and may have written a letter to the boy. He testified that he tried to add the boy’s name to his visitation list, but the boy’s parents asked that their son’s name be removed. In 2006, Atchison wrote another letter to the boy who was by then seventeen years old and graduating from high school.

Atchison’s older daughter was deposed as part of the civil commitment action. Atchison denied sexually abusing his daughter or son. When asked if he had any reason to dispute his daughter’s testimony that he sexually assaulted her and her brother, he responded that he did not remember it if it had happened.

Atchison testified that he did not believe that he was at risk to reoffend sexually. He testified that he would make sure that there were always at least two adults with him so that no one could allege that he had had sexual contact with a child. Atchison testified that he would “much rather die at a living assisted facility in Schulenburg than in the death camp at Littlefield.”1 The State objected, and the trial court sustained the objection.

Atchison has cataracts, Type 2 diabetes, heart issues, and hearing difficulties. His wife visited him while he was in prison until her death several years ago, and he has remained in contact with his two daughters. Atchison did not

1 The Civil Commitment Center is in Littlefield, Texas.

know why he committed sexual offenses against children. He stated that it was obvious that he was sexually attracted to children and that he was out of control when he committed the sex offenses against them.

Atchison testified that the last time he was written up for a disciplinary infraction was for his involvement in a prison fight in 2017. He accepts responsibility for the harm he caused the children he sexually assaulted. He testified that he is no longer on Depa-Provera and that he is impotent. B. Dr. Darrel Turner Dr. Turner, a psychologist, evaluated Atchison and testified that it is his opinion that Atchison suffers from a behavioral abnormality that predisposes him to engage in sexually violent acts. Dr. Turner has a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a master’s degree in counseling psychology, and a doctorate in clinical psychology with a focus in forensic psychology. He completed a predoctoral internship with the Federal Bureau of Prisons and worked as a staff psychologist at a United States federal penitentiary in Pollock, Louisiana. Dr. Turner is licensed in Texas and Louisiana.

Dr. Turner’s methodology for conducting a behavioral abnormality evaluation consists of a review of the individual’s records (court documents, police investigative documents, statements from the individual and victims, medical records, prison records, and criminal history information), a face-to-face interview

and evaluation, and testing, from which he then compiles all the information to form an ultimate opinion, if possible. He testified that he also used research related to sexual recidivism and reviewed the depositions of Atchison and his daughter in forming his opinion in this case.

1. Sexual Offending History According to the records, Atchison’s mother reported that Atchison began engaging in sexual activity with other boys his age when he was nine years old. When Atchison was eighteen years old, he exposed his genitals to his niece who was considerably younger than him. Atchison’s family placed him in treatment at that time.

In November 1969, when Atchison was twenty-five years old, he exposed himself to a thirteen-year-old female in Houston. He was later arrested and received probation for the offense which was subsequently revoked.

In December 1969, while on probation, Atchison exposed himself to a group of girls in Austin.

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In Re Commitment of Thomas Lynn Atchison v. the State of Texas, (Tex. Ct. App. 2023).

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