MOLESTATION Teen's sentence is under review

The teen can rot in prison, one parent said, noting her child still has nightmares.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Judge Theresa Dellick of Mahoning County Juvenile Court is considering a defense motion to overturn the recommended prison sentence for an Austintown teen who sexually assaulted six children.
Magistrate Donna McCollum recommended in April that Brian Dudek, 17, spend a minimum of three years in a state juvenile prison for sexually assaulting six children younger than 8 at his mother's Austintown home day-care business on Cumberland Drive.
If Dudek serves the maximum, he will be in prison until he is 21.
During a hearing Thursday in juvenile court, Atty. Gary Van Brocklin, who represents Dudek, argued that Dudek has not received needed counseling and medical care while at Scioto Juvenile Correctional Facility in Delaware. Dudek has been at the Scioto facility for about 30 days pending his transfer to the Circleville Juvenile Correctional Facility, Van Brocklin said.
No other offenses
Van Brocklin also said the assaults were Dudek's first offenses and asked Judge Dellick to consider placing him under house arrest instead of having him sent to Circleville. He noted that a counselor testified at a previous hearing that Dudek posed a low risk of assaulting children in the future.
"I think there is a better way to treat Brian Dudek, and I think we need to look at it from a different perspective," Van Brocklin said.
Dudek was sent to prison based on McCollum's recommendation, but Judge Dellick has final say over the sentence. He was arrested for assaulting the children in September 2003, and in February he pleaded guilty to six counts of felony gross sexual imposition.
Anissa Jones, an assistant county prosecutor, argued that she does not consider Dudek a first-time offender, because he was convicted of assaulting six children.
"A first offense is the first time he does something; it's not the first time he gets caught," she said.
Jones added that if Dudek is allowed to return home, he would be living where he molested the children. She also stressed that state law is designed in part to protect public safety by keeping offenders such as Dudek off the streets.
Both Jones and Van Brocklin noted that they understand that little can be done to repair the emotional damage Dudek caused his victims and their families. Some of the families attended the hearing.
Victim's mother
When asked what she thinks about Van Brocklin's arguments, the mother of one victim replied: "I think it was crap. He could rot there. I don't care. My daughter still has nightmares."
A victim's father added, "Now that he's admitted he's guilty, Van Brocklin wants to say he was wrongly sentenced, which I don't understand. When you say you're guilty, that's it."
Judge Dellick did not indicate when she would rule on Van Brocklin's motion.
Dudek's mother, Cynthia Dudek, 48, also attended the hearing. She is charged in Mahoning County Court in Austintown with eight counts of misdemeanor child endangerment. She is accused of allowing the sexual assaults to occur. She has pleaded innocent to the charges, and her next hearing is set for Aug. 30.
Before the hearing, Judge Dellick had a short meeting with Jones and Van Brocklin in the court bailiff's office, during which the judge said she was "really disturbed" by the publication of Dudek's picture in The Vindicator.
The door to the bailiff's office was open, and the conversation could be heard by a reporter and the victims' families across the hall.
The judge also said she had called Austintown police to find out how The Vindicator had learned about Dudek's case.
The newspaper learned about the case by reviewing police incident reports, which are public record.
hill@vindy.com