In the past, we have been critical of those overly restrictive, often hysterical, sex offender residency laws. Not all sex offenders are “dangerous predators,” incapable of controlling their impulses, impervious to treatment and rehabilitation. But there’s no denying that some truly are, which has led us to support, with qualifications, the state’s civil commitment law adopted in 2007. The first local trial under the new law has just concluded, and judging by the testimony, it appears that the sex offender in this case, Gloversville native Richard Houghton, is the kind of person it was designed for. The jury agrees, having found on Monday that he has a “mental abnormality,” a necessary step for a civil commitment.

Houghton, who was allegedly sexually abused himself as a child by an older female relative, has a history of sexual offenses. At age 13, he was sent to an institution for male adolescent sex offenders for molesting as many as eight children. While there, he committed at least two more sex offenses — and when he wasn’t abusing others, according to the staff, he was scheming to.

Upon his release in 2000, Houghton was almost immediately arrested for molesting a 13-year-old girl. After a brief jail sentence, he molested another young girl, for which he was jailed again. Twelve days after release from that jail term, he committed another sex offense.

Clearly there is something wrong with Houghton, who, according to a psychiatrist testifying for the state, often compared himself to the fictional psychotic killer Hannibal Lecter [from “Silence of the Lambs”]. The psychiatrist also said that Houghton told him of a childhood in which he enjoyed killing animals, and that he was “gleeful” in discussing fantasies about torturing people.

What do you do with a sex offender who has not responded to treatment; has said that he knows his actions are wrong but doesn’t care; has shown that he can’t control his sexual impulses, or even has any desire to; and that, if released, is almost sure to offend again — soon? Those were the limited conditions we had in mind when we supported the civil commitment law, and Houghton has met them in what one juror called a clear "pattern of escalation.”

Supreme Court Judge Richard Giardino will now decide whether Houghton needs to be confined in an institution or sentenced to strict outpatient care and supervision, both subject to annual review. The first alternative would seem to give Houghton the best chance of getting the help he needs while protecting society.