Defense: Sex assault suspect is not sane

DENVER — Defense attorneys at the trial of Bret Thompson tried to show Thursday that he has dissociative disorder and was not sane when he allegedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted an 8-year-old girl in 2011.

Thompson is accused of kidnapping the girl from her west Denver neighborhood, taking her to Aurora, sexually assaulting her and then dropping her off at a gas station.

He left Colorado and was arrested in New Jersey several days later.

Thompson has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. He faces charges of second-degree kidnapping and sexual assault on a child.

Dissociative disorder, which used to be called multiple personality disorder, is a condition where someone can develop alternative identities, often as a reaction to trauma and to help keep difficult memories at bay.

After his arrest, Thompson told police “When I went out that day, I was like someone else. Like a puppet on strings. I felt that breaking point.”

Thompson said he felt as if he was watching someone else commit the acts.

Thursday morning the doctor who evaluated Thompson, Dr. Peter Mayes, testified that Thompson “was dealing with dissociative disorder.”

“Under the definition under Colorado law, I don’t believe he was sane,” Mayes said.

Wednesday, Thompson’s foster mother Sylvia Luckett testified that he was always a troubled child.

Luckett told the jury that Thompson’s birth mother was a prostitute and that she allowed him to be sexually abused by her clients.

From the age of 3, Thompson was “fragmented,” Luckett said.

Closing arguments may come as soon as Thursday afternoon, in which case the jury will then decide on the charges.

Earlier this week, the victim in the case testified against Thompson describing her attack.