MAYVILLE – A Conewango man who plead guilty to sexually assaulting two women in Jamestown was sentenced Monday morning in Chautauqua County Court.
Dennis Park, 35, was sentenced to a total of 18 years in prison with 25 years of post-release supervision.
The Chautauqua County Public Defender’s Office represented Park during the case. The office, during sentencing, said that Park has apologized for his actions while adding that he didn’t place blame on anyone but himself.
“What I did was heinous,” Park himself stated before asking his victims for forgiveness during the sentencing.
Judge David Foley, who presided over the case, says that he wanted to remain with an 18-year-sentence that he committed to following Park’s plea, but he “probably” should have sentenced Park to more jail time based on the allegations in the indictment, along with Park’s previous criminal history.
WNYNewsNow’s Matt Hummel spoke with Chautauqua County District Attorney Patrick Swanson following the sentencing. Swanson says he’s pleased with the outcome.
“When you can get a guilty plea for that substantial amount of time, you’re pleased, you feel like you’ve accomplished what you wanted to for your victims, and this man will either be in state prison or civilly confined for a long, long time,” Swanson said. Swanson says, despite Foley’s statement on the sentencing, he remains satisfied with the sentence.
“Eighteen years is a significant period of time, and with the particular offenses and Mr. Park’s history, the Attorney General’s Office would, I assume, be considering holding him civily,” Swanson said. “The prospect of him staying under the control of the state, and not able to do this to anyone else, I think is very real and it’s going to extend past the 18 years.”
Swanson says the Attorney General’s Office solely handles the civil confinement matters, but they’ll typically consult with the District Attorney’s Office when reviewing the case.
“Given Mr. Park’s history, there’s a substantial chance (they hold him civily). In fact, it’s our expectation that they will hold him beyond that 18 years if they deem him to be a danger,” Swanson stated. “Considering he’s a repeat offender, I would suspect that that consideration is likely.”
WNYNewsNow reached out to Chautauqua County Public Defender Ned Barone for comment, but he hasn’t returned our phone call as of 11:25 a.m.
Park previously plead guilty to first-degree rape and first-degree criminal sex act stemming from two incidents that occurred in July 2018.
The pleas were entered before Park’s second trial attempt. In August, the first attempt to prosecute was declared a mistrial.
Police say Park sexually assaulted a woman at knife-point during an incident near a laundromat on Marion Street. He also plead guilty to a similar act behind a Jamestown factory.
According to the New York State Correctional Database, Park previously served time in the Gowanda Correctional Facility for first-degree rape.
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