MONROE - A former Monroe man was sentenced to a year in jail Tuesday in a child molestation case that "ripped up a whole family," the victim's mother told the court.
Dustin Michael Dean, 26, Dubuque, was sentenced in Green County Circuit Court to a year in jail for fourth-degree sexual assault, a misdemeanor, and for an unrelated Class F felony burglary conviction for breaking into and stealing cash from Bahler Produce, 901 19th St., Monroe, in April 2014.
Judge James Beer also sentenced Dean to seven and a half years on probation - two and a half more years of probation than recommended in the joint plea agreement presented by defense attorney Joseph Pecora and Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Kohl.
"Upon your violation, I can send you to prison," Beer told Dean in a sharply worded sentencing statement. Beer admonished Dean for his lack of remorse and inability to control his drug addictions.
Beer reviewed Dean's lengthy prior criminal record of thefts and drug-related offenses in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa and remarked that drug use appears to be a precipitating factor in Dean's crimes.
Beer also detailed Dean's "very limited employment record" - primarily a year at a car wash - and addictions to heroin, prescription pills and crack cocaine. At one point, Beer said, Dean was shooting heroin into his feet to avoid having track marks on his arms. His record shows several relapses, as recently as this spring.
Dean was initially charged with a felony in the molestation case, for repeated sexual assault of the same child with at least three violations involving first- and second-degree assault.
The charge was downgraded to a misdemeanor because there were "problems of proof" that made for a weak case, Kohl said. The downgraded charge and joint plea agreement were a way to "obtain something rather than end up with nothing," he said.
Pecora, the defense attorney, described the joint plea agreement as "excruciatingly negotiated."
The victim in the case was a preteen when the offenses began in 2012 and continued for two years. Her report of ongoing, forced sexual abuse was brought to authorities after her family found out she'd contracted herpes, a sexually transmitted virus for which there is no cure. In an interview with an investigator, she said no one else had touched her but Dean.
Dean tested negative for herpes, according to Kohl. But herpes testing can be unreliable and false negative tests are possible.
When a detective interviewed Dean about the reported abuse, Dean "stated he is gay and likes guys and the accusation hurt him."
When given an opportunity to speak in court Tuesday, Dean said he takes "full responsibility." Without apologizing or being specific, he described his actions as "awful, childish and selfish" and said he is in counseling, attending Narcotics Anony-mous and has plans to go to a community college in Iowa.
"As an adult, I should have known better," he said, reading from notes.
"He has ripped up a whole family," the victim's mother told the court at Tuesday's hearing.
On the other side of the courtroom sat Dean's father, his drug counselor and several people described by Pecora as Dean's family friends. None made statements to the court.
The victim's sister sobbed as she spoke to the court.
"Dustin, I really hope you learn from this, and I hope you don't do this to anyone else," she said. Her sister believes "this whole molestation defines her," and she won't be able to be in a loving relationship or have children. Her sister is also stuck with a lifetime of treating her herpes infection with pills, she said.
The victim did not appear in court. In a written statement filed with the court, she wrote, "This incident has changed my life and my future. ... It bothers me knowing I have to live with herpes for the rest of my life.
"I feel Dustin should receive a lot of prison time."
Dustin Michael Dean, 26, Dubuque, was sentenced in Green County Circuit Court to a year in jail for fourth-degree sexual assault, a misdemeanor, and for an unrelated Class F felony burglary conviction for breaking into and stealing cash from Bahler Produce, 901 19th St., Monroe, in April 2014.
Judge James Beer also sentenced Dean to seven and a half years on probation - two and a half more years of probation than recommended in the joint plea agreement presented by defense attorney Joseph Pecora and Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Kohl.
"Upon your violation, I can send you to prison," Beer told Dean in a sharply worded sentencing statement. Beer admonished Dean for his lack of remorse and inability to control his drug addictions.
Beer reviewed Dean's lengthy prior criminal record of thefts and drug-related offenses in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa and remarked that drug use appears to be a precipitating factor in Dean's crimes.
Beer also detailed Dean's "very limited employment record" - primarily a year at a car wash - and addictions to heroin, prescription pills and crack cocaine. At one point, Beer said, Dean was shooting heroin into his feet to avoid having track marks on his arms. His record shows several relapses, as recently as this spring.
Dean was initially charged with a felony in the molestation case, for repeated sexual assault of the same child with at least three violations involving first- and second-degree assault.
The charge was downgraded to a misdemeanor because there were "problems of proof" that made for a weak case, Kohl said. The downgraded charge and joint plea agreement were a way to "obtain something rather than end up with nothing," he said.
Pecora, the defense attorney, described the joint plea agreement as "excruciatingly negotiated."
The victim in the case was a preteen when the offenses began in 2012 and continued for two years. Her report of ongoing, forced sexual abuse was brought to authorities after her family found out she'd contracted herpes, a sexually transmitted virus for which there is no cure. In an interview with an investigator, she said no one else had touched her but Dean.
Dean tested negative for herpes, according to Kohl. But herpes testing can be unreliable and false negative tests are possible.
When a detective interviewed Dean about the reported abuse, Dean "stated he is gay and likes guys and the accusation hurt him."
When given an opportunity to speak in court Tuesday, Dean said he takes "full responsibility." Without apologizing or being specific, he described his actions as "awful, childish and selfish" and said he is in counseling, attending Narcotics Anony-mous and has plans to go to a community college in Iowa.
"As an adult, I should have known better," he said, reading from notes.
"He has ripped up a whole family," the victim's mother told the court at Tuesday's hearing.
On the other side of the courtroom sat Dean's father, his drug counselor and several people described by Pecora as Dean's family friends. None made statements to the court.
The victim's sister sobbed as she spoke to the court.
"Dustin, I really hope you learn from this, and I hope you don't do this to anyone else," she said. Her sister believes "this whole molestation defines her," and she won't be able to be in a loving relationship or have children. Her sister is also stuck with a lifetime of treating her herpes infection with pills, she said.
The victim did not appear in court. In a written statement filed with the court, she wrote, "This incident has changed my life and my future. ... It bothers me knowing I have to live with herpes for the rest of my life.
"I feel Dustin should receive a lot of prison time."