‘Bikers Against Child Abuse’ support victims and families as Garrett Dean sentenced to 7 years on sexual abuse of minors plea agreement convictions

A 26-year-old man who plead guilty to several charges related to the sexual abuse of two minor girls as part of a plea agreement with the Commonwealth was sentenced to seven years in prison Friday, September 30, in Warren County Circuit Court. Somewhat convoluted sentencing guidelines indicated a range of from 2-years-1-month on the low end (with special circumstances possibly lowering that to zero time of incarceration and only probation served) to 9-years-11 months on the high end. Should Garrett Dean break the rules of 10 years of probation he faces upon his release, the first five years supervised, the second five unsupervised, he could face imposition of three 5-year suspended sentences imposed on two Indecent Liberties with a Minor charges and one Child Pornography charge he was convicted of in the plea agreement. The seven years he was sentenced to serve was on an Aggravated Sexual Battery of a Minor guilty plea.

It was noted by a representative of Blue Ridge Legal Services present for the hearing that a “Lifetime Protective Order” against Dean had been filed on behalf of the two victims and their families.

Garrett Dean, at the time of his March 19, 2021, arrest on initial sex offenses against minors charges. Below, on April 15, 2021, the 26-year-old Dean was arrested on additional charges related to the same cases after child pornography evidence was found on his electronic devices. Mugshots from the RSW Jail website

Judge Dennis L. Hupp heard testimony from six Commonwealth witnesses concerning victim impacts from four relatives of the two victims and two counselors/mentors who have treated the children for trauma through a Warren Coalition program cited as Project Courage. Defense counsel Tyler Simmers presented four witnesses, two sisters of the defendant and his stepfather, as well as the defendant himself. The gist of his relatives’ testimony was that the Garrett Dean they knew had been a good, caring, and helpful person who had gone bad under the influence of hard drugs.

Dean testified to addiction issues, particularly with crystal methamphetamine during the time frame of the abuse. In fact, the 26-year-old testified he had done crystal meth since he was 17 “almost every day” – “I lost my life, I lost my job of three years … I lost who I was and made poor judgments,” Dean said in response to his attorney’s questions about his addiction issues, which Dean indicated during his testimony at least one family member of a victim was proactively aware of during that time-frame.

Questioned about treatments he was undergoing in the wake of his arrests in March-April 2021 on these charges, Dean also noted he has been treated for mental health issues, citing schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and depression. He also expressed remorse for his actions, apologizing to the victims and their families for what he had done. “I wish I could take back what I’ve done,” he said on the witness stand.

The defendant also told the court he had adhered to the terms of home-release status as he awaited his sentencing hearing. However, the prosecution presented one rebuttal witness who testified they had seen Dean with his mother at a Salvation Army thrift store in Winchester during his home incarceration. And while Commonwealth Attorney John Bell admitted being at a Salvation Army store with one’s mother wouldn’t normally be “a bad thing” – in this case it was a technical violation of his pre-sentencing release terms, the prosecution noted.

Prosecution Counterpoint

Commonwealth’s Attorney John Bell countered the good-boy-gone-bad-under-the-influence defense scenario on two fronts. One was Dean’s 2016 arrest on a Schedule 1 or 2 drug distribution charge at age 20. Rather than rehabilitate following that experience, Bell pointed out that once out of the control of the judicial system, he had returned to the addictive behavior he now blames for his sexual predatory behavior five years later.

Somewhat worn mug shot of the then 20-year-old Dean following his August 2016 arrest on Narcotics Sale for Profit of schedule 1 or 2 drugs charge.

“He was given a chance to remove drugs from his life but went back and ruined these two families lives. He has taken an opportunity and rejected it as soon as he was out from under the thumb of the court,” Bell told the court of the defense contention Dean was committed to kicking his drug habit and bad behavioral choices this time around.

The second and perhaps most nefarious aspect of the cases Bell told the court, was the way the defendant ingratiated himself into the lives of the two victims’ families over time so that he became a trusted caretaker of the young girls he ended up abusing. The personal consequences and impacts reverberated beyond the victims throughout their families, Bell reminded the court during closing arguments, referencing the victim impact statements previously submitted to the court in writing, four examples of which were heard on the witness stand that day.

Commonwealth witnesses described the traumatic emotional impacts on the victims, essentially changing how they perceive the world around them and how they now lead their lives. Asked how the victim she treated was doing, a Warren Coalition counselor replied, “Not very good … I feel I will be a part of her life as long as I can, as long as she’s (age) eligible for treatment. It breaks my heart – you shouldn’t have to lose your childhood like that, especially with someone the family trusted,” the counselor told the court. Asked by Judge Hupp if she had treated the victim before the sexually abusive incidents occurred, the counselor replied, “No,” adding that she began treating the girl two weeks before her 10th birthday in the wake of discovery of the abuse.

The prosecution’s victim impact testimony continued in that vein for both victims, with relatives often sobbing through their description of the emotional impacts on the victims and how the abuse had come about through the defendant’s connections to the families.

Following closing arguments in the hearing that began shortly after 10 a.m., at 11:50 a.m. Judge Hupp retired to his chambers to ponder his sentencing decision. It might be noted here that present throughout the proceedings in support of the victims and their families was a contingent from the Virginia Chapter of “Bikers Against Child Abuse.” Those bikers sat among family members throughout the sentencing hearing and stood with them in and around the courthouse second-floor lobby and witness rooms during recesses.

Members of the Va. Chapter of ‘Bikers Against Child Abuse’ gathered in support of victims and family members for Friday’s sentencing hearing.

Sentencing parameters

At 12:22 p.m., just over a half hour after adjourning to chambers, Judge Hupp returned with his sentencing decision. First, he asked the defendant if he had anything else to say. “I’m really sorry … I’m trying to move on one day at a time,” Dean said in a final expression of remorse for the devastation he had brought to those in two families who had once believed him to be a trusted friend and companion.

Judge Hupp pointed to the potential impact of surrounding mental health issues on the defendant’s behavior, adding, “That doesn’t diminish this case. You have stolen the innocence of two young girls … who are still dealing with the pain and trauma and consequences.” The judge then referenced the long-term nature of the abuse citing the defendant’s first gaining the trust of the victims’ families and the victims themselves. However, the judge acknowledged the defendant accepting responsibility for his actions and expressions of remorse as tempering his decision somewhat. But he then noted that Dean’s past history suggested: “a continued risk on the other side” of returning to drug abuse with whatever impact that might have on his future behavioral decision-making.

Judge Hupp then gave his sentencing as cited above: suspended 5-year sentences on the two Indecent Liberties with a Minor convictions, another five years suspended on the solicitation of child pornography conviction, and the seven years to serve on the Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Minor conviction; followed upon his release by the five years of supervised probation, then five years of unsupervised probation. Dean was also ordered to continue treatments for his sex offender behavior and mental health issues.

The judge denied a defense request to delay imposition of the sentencing, ordering him to be taken into custody for processing into incarceration immediately. Dean will also be required to register as a sex offender after his release and abide by the Lifetime Protective Order prohibiting any contact with the victims and their family members. Noting the increasing dependence on electronic communications in today’s world, Judge Hupp did not prohibit Dean from owning electronic communications devices after his release. However, related to the solicitation of child pornography conviction, Judge Hupp prohibited Dean from having any social media accounts in the future.