[The following paper was published in The Forensic Echo, a magazine journal devoted to forensic behavioral science. The reference is: Dubrow-Eichel, S. (1999, January). Commentary on Lee David Humphrey v. State of Wyoming, [Expert Testimony/Criminal Profiling section]. The Forensic Echo, 3(2), 3. ]
 

Commentary on Humphrey v. The State of Wyoming

by Steve K. D. Eichel, Ph.D.

 

In my work with non-satanic cult survivors, there inevitably comes a point when the victim begins to speculate about the psychology and motives of the cult leader. Does my former leader really believe what he preaches? Is he psychotic? Is he a sociopath? Grappling with these questions is important in the cult victim's ongoing attempts to understand and make sense of what many people perceive as their "voluntary" participation in their own victimization. (Survivors of satanic cults typically are less engaged with these questions; their leaders are almost always blatantly sociopathic or psychotic.)

Humphrey v. The State of Wyoming speaks to the core of this issue. Like the Peoples' Temple tragedy in Jonestown, Guyana, the heinousness of the crime is not in question. A jury found Lee David Humphrey guilty of two counts of second-degree sexual assault of one of his daughters.

Sexual exploitation is common in destructive cults. The well-documented abuses by David Moses (messianic leader of the Children of God, a.k.a. The Family), the purported excesses of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and the maltreatment of women and girls by David Koresh and Jim Jones have all provided the media with dramatic examples of sexual exploitation in coercive religious groups and destructive cults.

The behavior of Lee David Humphrey closely follows the "typical" pattern of cult-related sexual exploitation. These include the initial "wooing" or "seduction" into the leader's belief system, the demand for rigid adherence and absolute obedience, secrecy, isolation from the outside world, and isolation of each woman from the others.

There is a very thin line between "pure" sociopathy and behavior that is perceived by some to be "divinely-inspired" but by others to be sociopathic. Keep in mind that, at some point in time, all radical religious leaders could have been, and often were, labelled "antisocial." What distinguishes unpopular behavior that is labeled "antisocial" from true sociopathy is the intent and the target of the behavior(s). In the Humphrey case, the perpertrator's intent was not even nominally concerned with enlightening or reforming a secularized, spiritually-backward society by publicly criticizing its sexual hypocrisies. Rather, Humphrey's behavior was deliberately secretive, and meant to be kept from discovery. He was aggrandizing and serving himself. Underlying intent is a crucial characteristic in distinguishing between sociopathic behavior and behavior that, while antisocial, can also be perceived by some as "divinely-inspired."

The victim of the cult leader travels a somewhat different road to recovery, and that road is often more difficult than the road of the victim of the sociopath.

While victims of sociopaths run the diagnostic gamut (including sociopathy), victims of cults tend to be situationally vulnerable but otherwise psychologically "normal." They are not typically sociopaths. Their initial attraction to the cult is primarily idealistic rather than self-serving; the typical cultist wants to make the world a better place. The personal tortures they endure are in service to what they believe to be a greater social and/or spiritual good.

Moreover, the motives of cult leaders are often more complex than those of the pure sociopath; they can include expressions of deep empathy and a sincerely-felt desire to "love" and "care" for cult members. Sociopaths typically gain confidence by appealing to the greed of their marks. Cult leaders, on the other hand, often gain confidence with their apparent ability to deeply and instantly "know" their recruit's "real" or "highest" self, their true spirit. As a result, victims of cult leaders are often more deeply and permanently scarred; their confusion can last a lifetime, and their relationships with anything spiritual or anyone who demonstrates empathic concern may be irrevocably damaged.