Smithfield man called ‘cancer’ on society for abusing children
A Smithfield man was deemed a sexually violent predator and called a “cancer” on society by a Fayette County judge on Wednesday.
John Zack, 37, was ordered to serve a total of three to six years in prison for two counts of indecent assault involving a boy, now age 7, and a girl, now 9, over a two-year period in Georges Township.
President Judge Gerald R. Solomon imposed the maximum sentence of 1 ½ to 3 years for each count, and told Zack that the abuse “violated the sacred trust children have in adults.”
“These children looked up to you. … Apparently they loved you and respected you. In turn, you violated them,” Solomon said. “This court cannot imagine a more heinous crime than violating the trust of children.”
Solomon told Zack that he wished that he could undo the damage he did to the children he was convicted of molesting. Because he cannot, Solomon said he would sentence to the maximum term allowed.
“You, sir, are a cancer on our society. We cannot cure you. We cannot change you. But like a cancer, we can excise you from the body of our society and incarcerate you,” the jurist said.
Solomon also accepted the recommendation from Herbert Hays, a representative of the state’s Sexual Offenders Assessment Board. Hays testified that Zack was a sexually violent predator, which qualified him for a lifetime of community notification and registration with authorities.
Under questioning by Assistant District Attorney Linda Cordaro, Hays testified that Zack acknowledged having a sexual attraction to children since he was age 14, and because of his age and the age of the victims, qualifies for a diagnosis of pedophilia.
“That presents a risk of re-offense throughout the defendant’s lifetime,” Hays testified.
Hays also told Assistant Public Defender Thomas W. Shaffer under questioning that offenders who have male victims are two times likely to offend again than those who have female victims.
In this case, the children involved disclosed the abuse to their mother in 2010. The children did not testify at Zack’s trial in December, and prosecutors were forced to withdraw the more serious charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and aggravated indecent assault.
Solomon told Zack that although those charges were withdrawn, he believed Zack committed the more serious offenses. The jurist said he believed that the children were unable to testify because of the trauma of the more graphic sexual contact.