Former Bridgeport man gets prison for yearslong sexual abuse of West Haven teenager

MILFORD — A former Bridgeport man has been sentenced to serve more than eight years in prison for sexually assaulting a girl in West Haven for two years, beginning when she was 13 years old.

The man, 54-year-old Dennis Roy Mitchell, pleaded guilty to two counts each of second-degree sexual assault and illegal sexual contact with a minor before Judge Peter Brown in November.

During a Feb. 1 sentencing hearing at Superior Court in Milford, State’s Attorney Margaret Kelley said Mitchell knew the victim, and coerced her by claiming he would go to jail if she told anyone about the sexual abuse, which occurred in West Haven and went on for more than two and a half years.

The abuse dated to August 2017, according to court records. Mitchell has been behind bars since his arrest in the case in November 2020.

“This was a total betrayal of a very, very vulnerable child,” Kelley said, noting the lasting impact on the victim. “It was a terrible burden put on this child.”

“There are many ways this crime has impacted me,” the victim said in a statement read by a court victim advocate. “When this crime was occurring, my grades went down in school, since I was experiencing anxiety, depression, and fear for my safety.”

She said she still suffers from problems including trouble sleeping, social isolation, and trust issues.

The victim’s parents and sister also submitted statements read in court detailing the effects of the sexual abuse and asking that Mitchell be barred from contact with minors going forward.

As part of the plea deal, Mitchell will be on probation for 10 years following his release from prison, during which he must register as a sex offender and have no contact with any minors. A protective order in the case will prohibit him from any contact with the victim until 2073.

Mitchell’s lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Kenneth Bunker, said the details of the case were “terrible.”

Stressing that he was not challenging the feelings of the victim or her family, the lawyer said that Mitchell’s own traumatic upbringing played a part in his conduct, though it wasn’t an excuse for it.

Without going into detail, he said Mitchell suffered “some of the worst abuse, neglect, physical and mental terror...that I’ve seen in my 25 plus years as a public defender.”

He said Mitchell has “done nothing but express remorse” since his arrest.

“He understands that his actions were wrong and that they had terrible consequences,” Bunker said. “While he can’t undo them, he is determined to go forward once he’s released from prison, do the right thing, and get the help that he needs.”

During a brief statement, Mitchell offered an apology.

“I know my actions were not becoming of an adult,” he said. “I am truly and heartfully sorry.”

Brown said that Mitchell “betrayed that trust and in doing so did great harm to a very young child.”

“Those are facts that are not in dispute. What’s also in my mind not in dispute is that Mr. Mitchell’s upbringing was horrific,” the judge said, citing a confidential pre-sentence report detailing Mitchell’s background as unlike anything he has seen in nearly 20 years on the bench.

“It’s not an excuse, it’s not in any way minimizing any of the pain and the horror that (the victim) went through,” Brown said.

An offer from the judge meant Mitchell would receive an 18-year prison sentence to be suspended after he serves eight and a half years. Kelley noted that the victim’s parents objected to an offer she had made in prior plea discussions calling for Mitchell to serve 10 years behind bars.

“I’ve heard the pain of everybody in this courtroom, and the offer the court made to resolve the matter is so that justice can be done and also the parties can try to move on to the extent that they can and get on with their lives,” Brown said. “There are no perfect solutions.”

The victim’s family members present in court appeared unmoved. As Mitchell was led to the lockup following the proceeding, one of them clapped slowly, and another told Mitchell to “rot in hell.”