The 19-year-old woman called the relative who sexually assaulted her for six years “a sick person.”
“Kevin Dasen took away my childhood, and for that he is wrong,” the woman said during Dasen’s sentencing Wednesday. “I’m thankful justice has been served for me — that he can’t do this to nobody ever again.”
Summit County Common Pleas Judge Lynne Callahan sentenced Dasen, 42, of Akron, to 70 years in prison. He won’t be eligible for judicial release. He does, however, plan to appeal.
Dasen, a former night custodian at an Helen Arnold Elementary School in Akron, was convicted by a jury Jan. 15 of 12 counts of rape, first-degree felonies, and seven counts of sexual battery, third-degree felonies.
The woman, who was diagnosed with a developmental disability when she was 9, reported that she was raped by Dasen repeatedly for six years, beginning when she was 13.
The Beacon Journal generally doesn’t name victims of sexual crimes.
During the trial, Dasen took the stand in his own defense and admitted to having sex with the girl more than 100 times. He claimed his teenage relative was to blame and that he was the victim, not her.
The victim’s mother said during the sentencing that Dasen has a “sick, twisted view of reality.”
“He has caused a lot of damage to my family that we have started to rebuild,” she said, adding that she hopes Dasen spends the “rest of his pathetic waste of existence pondering the harm that he has done.”
Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Joe Dangelo urged Callahan to impose the maximum possible sentence for Dasen, saying that what he did was “evil” and he could pose harm to other vulnerable people if he is freed.
“He believes what he did was OK,” Dangelo said. “He is more than a danger to the community. It is crucial to protect the community from his demented thinking.”
Job Esau Perry, Dasen’s attorney, said Dasen had a difficult childhood, which included abuse and his mother dying at a young age. He said Dasen suffered from substance abuse and alcohol abuse and paraphilia, a disorder in which a person is sexually aroused by atypical behavior. Perry said Dasen held a stable job as a custodian and “had the opportunity to prey upon other children and didn’t.” He suggested a 25-year prison sentence.
Dasen apologized for letting everyone down.
“I wish I could change the course of what happened,” he said. “I just don’t know how everything went the way it did.”
Dasen began to cry and a long pause ensued. He began blubbering unintelligibly.
“Are you trying to say something?” Callahan asked him.
“I can’t put together a thought,” Dasen responded.
Callahan called Dasen’s crimes “the worst of the worst.” She said his victim suffered serious psychological harm.
“I am not moved by your tears,” she told him. “You are not a candidate for rehabilitation.”
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @swarsmithabj and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/swarsmith.