Staff photo / Ed Runyan
Bruce Corlett, left, of Lake Milton was sentenced to seven years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. At right is his attorney, J.P. Laczko.

YOUNGSTOWN — Bruce D. Corlett, 66, of Harbor Avenue in Lake Milton, was sentenced to seven years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.

The offenses involved a girl, 15, Daniel Yozwiak, assistant county prosecutor, told Judge Anthony D’Apolito of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. They occurred June 25, 2023, according to prosecutors.

Corlett is also now a Tier 2 sex offender, required to register his address with the sheriff where he lives every 180 days for 25 years after leaving prison.

Yozwiak said the crimes took place after Corlett invited the girl to smoke marijuana with him, and she did so. “During the course of some of their hangouts … he engaged in some inappropriate conversations with her,” he said.

At one point, he invited the girl into his home and engaged in sexual conduct with her before attempting to engage in a second sex act with her, Yozwiak said.

He left the room, and the girl left his house and “immediately reported this incident to law enforcement,” Yozwiak said. “DNA was, in fact, found on her right breast. He pled guilty to these charges.”

Yozwiak read an impact statement from the victim in which she said she was “scared and shocked, but I am so glad I told my grandma right away. A lot of people didn’t believe me, and that was really hard.” She said she is getting counseling and takes medicine to help with her depression and anxiety.

Yozwiak asked the judge to sentence Corlett to seven years in prison.

J.P. Laczko, Corlett’s attorney, called Yoziak’s summary of the facts “succinct,” but said he thinks the judge “is aware or should be aware of the fact that during the investigation, the victim’s statements were less than that succinct and varied wildly every time she was talked to as this case progressed.”

Laczko said he thinks that is “one factor” the judge should consider. He said another factor the judge “also needs to be aware of is that there was a theft of drugs from Mr. Corlett by the victim during the pendency of this friendship.

“So when we come in here and try to paint the victim as someone who is completely innocent and had nothing to do with the relationship, I take offense to that,” Laczko said.

Laczko noted that the case took a long time to complete because of “mental state and mental health of Mr. Corlett,” noting that Corlett was evaluated for competency to stand trial and was found to have a “severe mental disease but nothing that rose to the level that is required by law to make him incompetent to stand trial or assist his attorney.”

Laczko said the presentence investigation of Corlett’s background was “one of the more disturbing (presentence reports) I have read, simply based on the childhood history that is outlined and authenticated in that (presentence report) for Mr. Corlett.”

Corlett was the victim of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of a male in his life “for his entire life up until the time (the male) passed away,” Laczko said.

Laczko said that “statistically, Judge, we know that’s a substantial factor” in a person who was abused becoming an abuser. Laczko said he thinks those issues are “important mitigating factors.”

A niece of Corlett read a letter from Corlett’s son, which stated his father “dedicated his life to raising me and being the absolute best parent possible. ” He said his father “was devoted, loving, unwavering in his support. He instilled in me the values of hard work, integrity and resilience. Throughout my upbringing, he was a stable and responsible parent who always put my well-being first.”

He said his father started to battle mental health issues after the son moved away from home, but those struggles “do not define him.”

When D’Apolito spoke before announcing Corlett’s sentence, he agreed that Corlett’s presentence report was especially “disturbing,” but said because of what Corlett experienced, “he would know more than most how you can destroy a young person’s psyche, their trust in others, affect their relationships for the rest of their life.”

The judge said the most important thing is “the victim and what happened to her.”