Concord man pleads to crimes against children

A former foster father who originally faced up to 9 1/2 years in prison if convicted of sex offenses against children accepted a plea deal July 31 for reduced charges.

James M. Dunn, 41, of Concord Township, waived his right to have his felony charges of gross sexual imposition and illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material or performance presented to a grand jury.

Instead, he agreed to plead guilty in Lake County Common Pleas Court to three lesser felony counts of attempted child endangering by way of an Alford plea — which stems from a 1969 U.S. Supreme Court case that allows a defendant to plead guilty while still protesting his innocence to avoid the risk of being convicted of more serious charges.

Dunn now faces up to 4 1/2 years in prison when he is sentenced Sept. 14 by Judge Vincent A. Culotta.

The plea deal also allows Dunn to avoid being declared a sex offender, which would have been mandatory if found guilty on the original charges.

The first attempted child endangering count occurred during December 2015 against a 14-year-old boy in Lake County, Assistant Lake County Prosecutor Jenny Azouri said.

“He rubbed lotion on the boy’s genitals. As a result of the incident, the child is going to be in continued therapy,” said Azouri.

The other two counts reportedly happened on Dec. 26, 2015, at Mentor Heisley Racquet and Fitness Club against two different boys, ages 11 and 15.

“He videotaped the boys without their knowledge while they were changing clothes,” she said. “The video was found on his home computer.”

In addition, he washed the youngest victim’s genitals while at the exercise facility that day, Azouri added.

Dunn worked as a foster parent at the time for the Lake County Department of Job and Family Services. However, none of the three victims were his foster children, said the prosecutor.

“The parents of each of these children did entrust the defendant with taking them places — vacations, the Mentor racquet club... They did allow him to take the children,” Azouri said. “He was the person loco parentis.”

Dunn appeared in court with defense attorney Eric Nemecek.

Dunn remains free after posting 10 percent of a $300,000 bond. He currently has no foster children in his custody, and is forbidden from having contact with any minors.

One of his bond conditions is that he continue to be monitored via GPS.

Dunn