Post by KC on Feb 24, 2007 20:41:43 GMT -5
MIDDLESEX COUNTY — A disgraced Woodbridge police officer, who sexually assaulted a teenage boy for three years and took lurid pictures of a 15-year-old girl in a separate case, was sentenced to 17 years in prison Friday in Superior Court, New Brunswick.
But Officer Douglas Karlson, 47, can see as little as five years and five months of prison time.
Karlson was convicted in July of official misconduct and endangering the welfare of a child for taking topless photographs of the 15-year-old girl. That same jury could not agree on the charges involving the sexual assault of the boy, now in his 20s.
During a December retrial, Karlson was convicted of the sexual attacks that occurred between 1994 and 1997 when the boy was 14 to 17 years old.
Karlson, dressed in a suit and wearing a scruffy beard, declined to speak in court Friday.
The victim of his sexual assaults told Superior Court Judge Frederick DeVesa about the legacy of those attacks.
"To this day, I still have nightmares," said the man. "I was too scared (as a child) to press charges."
DeVesa sentenced Karlson to 12 years with six years of parole ineligibility for the attacks on the boy. Karlson also drew a consecutive sentence of five years for photographing the girl.
He has about seven months of credit for time served.
Karlson's sentence includes community supervision for life and a place on the Megan's Law list.
His attorney, Thomas Buck of Milltown, said Karlson is appealing the convictions.
During Karlson's first trial in July, Assistant Middlesex County Prosecutor Christie Bevacqua showed the jury more than 50 photographs Karlson took at photo sessions with the girl between October 2004 and May 2005.
The photos show the girl in various topless poses in which she covers her breasts.
Karlson met the girl and a woman, Ann Marie Dobbs, for the first time after being sent to a Colonia residence in 2004 to investigate the report of a stolen camera.
Dobbs, charged with Karlson, was due to get probation in exchange for her testimony against him during the July trial.
On Friday, Bevacqua said Karlson, who acknowledged having an affair with Dobbs, used his position as a police officer to manipulate an emotionally unstable woman to get at the girl for his own sexual gratification.
"He sized them up from the moment he met them," Bevacqua said.
Photographing the girl and molesting the boy has wrought enormous emotional damage, she said.
"He took advantage of them in their formative years," Bevacqua said.
Karlson took the stand in his own defense in July, saying the allegations of sexual assault of the boy were fabricated in retaliation for a dispute between the boy, Karlson and Karlson's wife, Donna Karlson, a Middlesex County sheriff's officer.
But the victim testified that the abuse started in June 1994 when Karlson took him to his bedroom under the pretense of teaching him how to use a condom. During the process, the man said, Karlson performed various sex acts. He said the activity continued about every two months for the next three years.
The crimes committed by Karlson had tragic ripple effects.
Last year, a 5-year-old Sayreville boy, Erik Sturgis, died in a house fire after being left alone by his single father who struggled to find day care while holding down a job.
Part of Kevin Sturgis' day-care problem stemmed from Karlson's crimes. The state Division of Youth and Family Services deemed Karlson, Erik's stepgrandfather, an "inappropriate caregiver" after his arrest on the endangering and official misconduct charges.
Karlson had been with the Woodbridge Police Department for more than 18 years before his automatic termination following his conviction.
www.thnt.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070224/NEWS01/702240402/1005
But Officer Douglas Karlson, 47, can see as little as five years and five months of prison time.
Karlson was convicted in July of official misconduct and endangering the welfare of a child for taking topless photographs of the 15-year-old girl. That same jury could not agree on the charges involving the sexual assault of the boy, now in his 20s.
During a December retrial, Karlson was convicted of the sexual attacks that occurred between 1994 and 1997 when the boy was 14 to 17 years old.
Karlson, dressed in a suit and wearing a scruffy beard, declined to speak in court Friday.
The victim of his sexual assaults told Superior Court Judge Frederick DeVesa about the legacy of those attacks.
"To this day, I still have nightmares," said the man. "I was too scared (as a child) to press charges."
DeVesa sentenced Karlson to 12 years with six years of parole ineligibility for the attacks on the boy. Karlson also drew a consecutive sentence of five years for photographing the girl.
He has about seven months of credit for time served.
Karlson's sentence includes community supervision for life and a place on the Megan's Law list.
His attorney, Thomas Buck of Milltown, said Karlson is appealing the convictions.
During Karlson's first trial in July, Assistant Middlesex County Prosecutor Christie Bevacqua showed the jury more than 50 photographs Karlson took at photo sessions with the girl between October 2004 and May 2005.
The photos show the girl in various topless poses in which she covers her breasts.
Karlson met the girl and a woman, Ann Marie Dobbs, for the first time after being sent to a Colonia residence in 2004 to investigate the report of a stolen camera.
Dobbs, charged with Karlson, was due to get probation in exchange for her testimony against him during the July trial.
On Friday, Bevacqua said Karlson, who acknowledged having an affair with Dobbs, used his position as a police officer to manipulate an emotionally unstable woman to get at the girl for his own sexual gratification.
"He sized them up from the moment he met them," Bevacqua said.
Photographing the girl and molesting the boy has wrought enormous emotional damage, she said.
"He took advantage of them in their formative years," Bevacqua said.
Karlson took the stand in his own defense in July, saying the allegations of sexual assault of the boy were fabricated in retaliation for a dispute between the boy, Karlson and Karlson's wife, Donna Karlson, a Middlesex County sheriff's officer.
But the victim testified that the abuse started in June 1994 when Karlson took him to his bedroom under the pretense of teaching him how to use a condom. During the process, the man said, Karlson performed various sex acts. He said the activity continued about every two months for the next three years.
The crimes committed by Karlson had tragic ripple effects.
Last year, a 5-year-old Sayreville boy, Erik Sturgis, died in a house fire after being left alone by his single father who struggled to find day care while holding down a job.
Part of Kevin Sturgis' day-care problem stemmed from Karlson's crimes. The state Division of Youth and Family Services deemed Karlson, Erik's stepgrandfather, an "inappropriate caregiver" after his arrest on the endangering and official misconduct charges.
Karlson had been with the Woodbridge Police Department for more than 18 years before his automatic termination following his conviction.
www.thnt.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070224/NEWS01/702240402/1005