A former UND student busted in an Internet sting was sentenced Wednesday to a year on electronic home monitoring and five years of supervised probation after pleading guilty to three felony counts of luring a minor.
Christopher Humphrey, 23, was accused of chatting online with a Grand Forks police officer posing as a 14-year-old girl.
Humphrey and the "girl" discussed sexual acts on three occasions between March 3 and 7, 2008, and at one point, he used a Web camera to expose himself, according to court filings.
Wednesday, a clinical psychologist from Boston testified as an expert witness on Humphrey's behalf. Dr. Joseph Plaud, who was hired by the defense, said that after evaluating Humphrey, determined that he does not show patterns of sexual deviance and is not a risk to reoffend.
"He's the lowest risk I can possibly communicate to this court," said Plaud, who taught at UND in the '90s.
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A doctor at the Northeast Human Service Center in Grand Forks put Humphrey at a low to moderate risk to reoffend, Judge Sonja Clapp of state District Court said.
Attorney Steven Light said his client was under the influence of painkillers and alcohol when the online exchanges occurred.
"I firmly believe that this was an act of stupidity rather than personality," Light said.
State's Attorney Peter Welte asked the judge to order Humphrey to register as a sex offender. But Clapp ruled otherwise, citing three factors: 1) The defendant does not have a previous conviction of a crime against a child or as a sex offender, 2) Plaud and the other doctor who evaluated Humphrey agreed that he has no mental abnormalities, 3) Humphrey did not show "predatory" conduct in this crime.
Clapp noted that Humphrey did not set up a rendezvous with the "girl" and ended contact with the "girl" on his own.
Humphrey, who lives in Alaska, plans to serve his sentence there.
Ingersoll reports on crime and courts. Reach him at (701) 780-1269; (800) 477-6572, ext. 269; or send e-mail to aingersoll@gfherald.com .
