"I struggle with my sickness and get by day for day. If it wasn't for this group, I would have [messed up] a long time ago. I abuse my own family - and when you do it to your own family, you're a real son of bitch." -- James Wilcox, during group therepy session in Ocala. Photo by Patrick Farrell/Miami Herald

Offenders who participate in treatment at the Florida facility average fewer than eight hours of therapy a week, with some getting as little as two hours. Meanwhile, those in California receive 10 hours, and in Kansas and Wisconsin, they get more than 30.

''We have tried to keep up a good standard, but it's been hard,'' said Adam Deming, the clinical director of the Florida center.

''We've really had difficulty maintaining what I feel is an adequate level of group time. What we have is minimally adequate.'' The main reason, he says: lack of funding by state lawmakers.

In general, the overall rate of sex offenders repeating their crimes after they are arrested is low, between 10 and 15 percent. However, experts say those who are diagnosed with paraphilias have much higher rates of repeating sex crimes.

While studies show that treatment can work, no research has been done to show the effectiveness of civil commitment on keeping offenders from preying on new victims. That's because there are only 16 states with these types of programs, and most are small, obscure centers that hold a relatively small number of men.

''We don't really have a way to answer that yet, partly because there have been so few people released from civil commitment and partly because the number who have been committed is also low,'' said Jill Levenson, a Fort Lauderdale psychologist and professor at Lynnn University.