Wichita ? A forensic psychologist testified Thursday that Reginald Carr began having sexual interaction with girls at age 6 and that he was devastated when his father abandoned the family.

“Father abandonment, any parent abandonment, is a major risk factor across every study and textbook you wanted to read,” psychologist Thomas Reidy said. “In this instance, Mr. Carr had a strong positive feeling about his father.”

Reidy’s testimony came on the third day of the penalty phase of Reginald and Jonathan Carr’s capital murder trial. The brothers were convicted Monday on murder, robbery and sex crimes charges stemming from a nine-day rampage in December 2000. A total of five people were killed. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

The psychologist, who was testifying on Reginald Carr’s behalf, told jurors that when Carr was 6 years old he began fondling girls his mother babysat at their home. By age 7, Carr said he had frequent sexual intercourse with a female cousin. Reidy said there also were allegations Carr and his siblings were sexually abused, but that he could not verify those allegations.

Reidy, who acknowledged Reginald Carr knew that what he was doing was wrong, said he based his testimony on interviews with Reginald Carr and other family members during the past two months.

The brothers’ aunt, Phyllis Harding, also testified about her observations of her sister’s family. A pediatrician in Dodge City, Harding testified she never saw any evidence of physical or sexual abuse of the Carr children.