James Perry, Madison’s infamous “mall rapist,” was sentenced to a total of 195 years in prison Thursday. Perry pleaded guilty to numerous counts of sexual assault and one of kidnapping before receiving his sentence.
Perry, 34, is already serving a 180-year prison sentence at Leavenworth Prison in Kansas on charges of child pornography. Last week he faced an additional seven sexual assault charges, bringing his total number of felony counts to 48, which some believe is the largest number of charges against a defendant in Dane County.
John DeLamater, a University of Wisconsin sociology professor, said behavior such as Perry’s is difficult to explain and often first appears during adolescence.
“Something seems to happen at that time,” DeLamater said. “I suppose partly through learning as [people] associate violence with sexual arousal and feelings of power.”
Although he is serving a sentence that will exceed his lifetime, the state asked to compound his sentence to guarantee Perry will never go free. DeLamater noted the lengthy sentence also served to give Perry’s victims closure and reassurance.
The number of assaults Perry committed is unparalleled in county history and detectives believe he is guilty of a significantly greater number of assaults than he has been formally charged with.
In some instances Perry raped victims and at other times he fled before he could complete the assaults. He also grabbed and fondled victims, threatening them with a knife that he used in a 2000 incident, permanently scarring a woman’s face.
The arrest of Thomas Redecker, 56, earlier this year led to Perry’s sentencing as police linked the two men through child pornography videos they made.
Perry lived in Stoughton with his wife and two daughters before his imprisonment and could not explain his behavior, although he expressed regret for his actions, sobbing as victims testified in court.
DeLamater explained Perry’s apparent sorrow by distinguishing between guilt and shame.
“Shame is an emotion that comes when others discover what you’ve done and you are forced to confront them,” he said
