Polygrapher spies on lies

A Tampa Palms entrepreneur tests many sex offenders who have gotten out of jail but who, under Florida law, must take polygraph tests.

By KATHERINE GAZELLA

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 20, 2000

TAMPA PALMS -- David Bryant spends his days with a colorful cross section of humanity.

He questions sex offenders, hears confessions from thieves, seeks the truth from convicted criminals.

"Have you been participating in chat rooms?" he asks sex offenders. "Are you going to the beach with a camera? Have you lied to your probation officer?"

Bryant, who lives in the Asbury subdivision in Tampa Palms, is a self-employed polygraph examiner. Most frequently, he performs the test on sex offenders who have returned to society and, under Florida law, must take polygraph tests as part of their treatment.

Bryant also gives the test to people in professional and domestic situations. One bizarre subgroup he has encountered are ex-cons who want to ensure their mates were faithful while they were in prison.

"I call them the Jerry Springer cases," Bryant said with a sly laugh.

It's a bizarre way to conduct a relationship, he said. With domestic situations, he tries to talk the people out of having the polygraph. Still, many go through with it.

Bryant shrugged. "It's not my money."

Bryant, a former police officer and drug court counselor, has created a portable business. He carries his laptop computer and polygraph equipment to offices and people's homes.

He hooks his subject up to the blood pressure cuff, finger sensors and breathing analyzers. He asks questions in a controlled voice and watches the three lines rise and fall on the screen.

If he sees a wavering breath or a spike in the blood pressure curve, he suspects the person is lying. He asks the same question three times, and he often learns that the people are lying to him. With sex offenders, he said, more than half are not telling the truth.

"They're great at conning. That's the nature of the crime," he said.

Before polygraphers were brought into the mix, sex offenders often lied to their therapists and probation officers. If the sex offender isn't being honest, Bryant said, the therapy and other treatments won't work for him.

Sometimes he catches people telling small lies. But often, the lies are more serious: The sex offenders have failed to tell their probation officers about visits to teenage chat rooms on the Internet. They've had inappropriate thoughts about children. They've spied on children in public places.

"If you see someone at the beach, sitting in their car with a telephoto lens, they're not taking pictures of the sea gulls," he said.

Some people would get discouraged if they dealt with pedophiles and other sex offenders every day. Not Bryant. He sees his work as a great service to society -- and to the sex offender, who can't get help if he's always telling lies.

"You're keeping him from lapsing into denial," he said.

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