AUSTINTOWN Teen pleads guilty to sexual assaults of children

PARENTS OF THE VICTIMS SAY THEIR CHILDREN'S LIVES HAVE BEEN FOREVER CHANGED.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- Steve and Cheryl couldn't bring their young daughter to Austintown's Christmas tree-lighting ceremony last year. They couldn't take pictures of her as she sat on Santa's lap or watch her play with other children around the huge Christmas tree.
They said she would have been too afraid of Brian Dudek, who stood next to Santa and worked to film the event with Channel 19, the township's public access television station.
Dudek, 17, of Cumberland Drive, Austintown, pleaded guilty Friday in Mahoning County juvenile court to six counts of felony gross sexual imposition for assaulting Steve and Cheryl's daughter and five other children younger than 8.
The assaults occurred at his mother's home day-care business.
"He took away her innocence," Steve said, when asked how Dudek had affected his daughter.
A hearing will be March 19 in Mahoning County juvenile court to determine if Dudek should serve time in a state juvenile detention facility. He could be sentenced to stay in that facility until he is 20 or 21, or he could be freed.
Dudek also will have to register as a juvenile sexual offender.
Magistrate Donna McCollum placed Dudek on house arrest until the hearing. She said he can leave his home only for school or counseling.
Victims' families
Parents of Dudek's victims said they plan to bring their families, friends and counselors to the sentencing hearing for support and to talk about how Dudek has affected them. They hope the magistrate will send Dudek to a detention facility.
"It should be automatic," Steve said. "He did it. He said he did it. He should go.
"I want my children to be able to go places without worrying that he's going to be there," Steve added.
The victims' parents also stressed that they want to tell others about Dudek's crimes so they can protect the community from him in the future.
"The next time it could be worse," Steve said.
Angela, the mother of a victim, said Dudek has irrevocably changed her daughter's life. She noted that she and her daughter are going through counseling and are taking anti-depressants to deal with the assaults.
"I'll never trust another baby sitter," Angela said.
Other parents said that their children's school work has been affected by the assaults, and that their sons and daughters have been lashing out in anger.
On Friday, parents cried and passed around tissues when Dudek quietly said "yes," "no" and "guilty" in response to McCollum's questions.
Dudek's mother, who has not been charged, showed no emotion, and stared straight ahead from her chair at the end of the defense table.
Longtime caregiver
Parents said area residents have been taking their children to Dudek's mother's day care for years. At times, children were left overnight while their parents worked. Some parents said they were referred to the day care by friends; others said Austintown school officials directed them to Dudek's mother.
The investigation into the assaults began last spring, when Cheryl's daughter told her she had a secret.
"She blurted out, 'Big Brian made us pull down his pants and touch his privates,'" Cheryl said.
The girl gave her parents and police names of other children who had been assaulted.
Parents, police and counselors told other parents, who talked with their children about the assaults. Those children gave police the names of other boys and girls who had been assaulted.
Prosecutors and parents noted that some of the children named as victims have yet to be found. Steve described his daughter as a hero for her willingness to talk about the assaults with police, parents and school counselors.
Nancy said that her young son and daughter both attended Dudek's mother's day care, and that her daughter had been assaulted. She said when she talked with her son about the assaults, he cried.
"He just broke down crying because he couldn't protect" his sister, Nancy said.
Investigation
In April, Detective Sgt. Ray Holmes went to the day care and spoke with Dudek's mother, who was watching several children at the time. The children said Dudek's mother had been in her yard or out of the home running errands when the abuse occurred.
When parents arrived at the day care, Holmes told them about the assaults.
Angela said that's how she first learned her daughter might be a victim. "My mouth dropped," she said.
Throughout the summer, police and caseworkers from the county children services board continued to investigate the assaults and interview children who had been at the day care.
Dudek was arrested in September and charged with 12 counts of gross sexual imposition. A 13th count was added later.
At Dudek's arraignment, county prosecutors argued that he should be held in jail until his trial.
Magistrate James Lowe, however, ruled that Dudek could be released because his mother was no longer running a day care, said Anissa Jones, an assistant county prosecutor. Dudek was then able to be at the Christmas tree-lighting ceremony in December.
Prosecutors agreed to drop seven gross sexual imposition charges against Dudek in exchange for his guilty plea. Jones and Holmes both said that by accepting the plea deal, they hoped to spare the children the trauma of having to testify about the assaults at trial. "They went through enough," Holmes said.
hill@vindy.com